People are selling the viral S$19.90 Scotch Brite EZ-Link charm on Carousell for double the price
A user on Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu posted a video of herself copping the charm at Sengkang MRT a week ago, and was quickly bombarded with comments asking for the exact location of the machine. (FYI: It's near the Compass One mall entrance, but chances are you'll be greeted with a sold-out sign.)
It also looks like the charm isn't just popular among locals – the original poster even received a request from a couple of netizens based overseas, asking if she can help buy it for them.
"It does not even come with any top-up value, do Singaporeans really love cleaning that much?" joked one netizen. Another quipped: "An actual cleaning sponge costs less than that."
However, if the comments on EZ-Link's Instagram page are of any indication, people are more than willing to part with S$19.90 if it means owning the unique charm.
Many are asking for a restock, but according to EZ-Link Singapore's reply, they "do not have information on any restocks", and have recommended that interested buyers keep a lookout on their social media pages for updates instead.
Listings of the sponge charm have also popped up on Carousell, with people selling them for an average of S$30 per piece.
The most expensive listing has the "limited edition" charm going for S$49.90 – more than double the retail price.
Speaking to 8days.sg, one Singaporean, who has been desperately looking for the charm, said: "I agree that S$19 is expensive, but it's so cute I don't mind paying for it. Comments on TikTok say it's sold out everywhere, I went to the vending machine at Chinatown and it was no longer available as well."
When asked if she would consider buying it from Carousell instead, she immediately replied: "No! They're unethical to be reselling it at such a price."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
AsiaOne
an hour ago
- AsiaOne
Alex Fong and wife expecting 1st child, Entertainment News
Hong Kong singer-actor Alex Fong and his wife Maple Yip are expecting their first child. Alex, 45, took to Instagram on Father's Day (June 15) to share the news, adding a small 'stick-baby' to the photo he had used to announce their marriage on Valentine's Day. "I am going to be a father, I wish everyone a happy Father's Day. #It sAWonderfongLife," he wrote in the caption. "My father is 80 years old this year, I wish him good health and vitality." [embed] Alex married Yip, a non-celebrity 14 years his junior, earlier this year. He revealed they were dating in 2023. Yip is a cult victim who appeared on the Netflix documentary In The Name of God: A Holy Betrayal to expose the South Korean Jesus Morning Star (JMS) cult. Back then, Alex told Hong Kong media her interview in the documentary was "tough to watch". "I admire her courage greatly, that she would come out and talk about such injustices and report them," he said. "It chilled me to the core initially, and I wondered why she could be so naive and immature, but she was probably more resilient compared to the rest of us in the things she did. "I treasure her more after watching it. It chilled my heart, and it hurt, but I felt she is all the more amazing." [[nid:719059]] syarifahsn@
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
Actress Tay Ying and celebrity chef Wu Sihan hold star-studded wedding
The wedding was held at Orchard Hotel Singapore with 72 tables and about 700 guests. PHOTOS: TAYYING_/INSTAGRAM SINGAPORE – Local actress Tay Ying and celebrity chef Wu Sihan tied the knot on Father's Day on June 15. 'We had the perfect wedding thanks to so many people,' Tay, 29, wrote on social media on June 16, tagging Wu, 33, in the post. 'While we take our time to absorb everything that happened this weekend, here are some snippets of day 2 of our wedding last night.' The Blockbusters (2024) actress posted four photos from the ceremony, including one in which she was accompanied by her father – actor-producer Zheng Geping – and her uncle and godfather, Hong Weiwen. Hong is the younger brother of Tay's mother, actress Hong Huifang. Tay Ying also has a younger brother, singer-actor Calvert Tay, 25. The wedding was held at Orchard Hotel Singapore with 72 tables and about 700 guests. According to Chinese-language daily Lianhe Zaobao, Tay Ying and Wu chose the venue as it was where Hong Huifang, 64, and Zheng, 61, had held their wedding 32 years ago. The star-studded affair on June 15 was attended by many current and former local artistes. The guests included Christopher Lee and his wife Fann Wong, Yvonne Lim and her family, Florence Tan, Vincent Ng, Cassandra See, Chen Xiuhuan, Xiang Yun, Aileen Tan, Jin Yinji, Huang Biren, Tang Miaoling, Cherie Lim, Chen Tianwen, Chen Hanwei, Richard Low and Lin Ruping. Also on the guest list were younger artistes such as Elvin Ng, Romeo Tan, Rebecca Lim, Chantalle Ng, Desmond Tan, Hong Ling and her husband Nick Teo, as well as Denise Camillia Tan and Xixi Lim. Tay and Wu met in 2021 at Italian bistro Supply & Demand at Esplanade Mall – where Wu is the head chef – through his cousin, a friend of Tay's. Wu proposed to Tay in March 2024, but the couple kept it under wraps for a year before announcing the engagement on social media in March. Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
Straits Times
3 hours ago
- Straits Times
From catching a plushie to rocking a baseball cap: Pope Leo reaches out to Generation TikTok
Pope Leo XIV was seen wearing a White Sox baseball team cap as he met with newly weds at the Vatican on June 11. PHOTO: AFP From catching a plushie to rocking a baseball cap: Pope Leo reaches out to Generation TikTok From catching a plushie with just one hand to rocking a White Sox baseball cap, Pope Leo XIV is proving that the words 'cool' and 'conservative' can exist without clashing in the same sentence. He is connecting with younger, Tik Tok-era non-believers that the Catholic Church is reaching out to as it tries to gain a foothold into a world of virtual realities, artificial intelligence, online echo chambers, and closed-off Internet cocoons. The 69-year-old Pope Leo was seen on June 11 trading his zucchetto for a '47 branded Chicago White Sox baseball team cap as he met newly-weds at St Peter's Square inside the Vatican. The Pope – a Chicago native and the first American pontiff – is a fan of the Chicago White Sox. He was at Game 1 of the 2005 World Series, which broke the team's 88-year drought when they won the title. That photo of him with the baseball cap has already spread far and wide, cementing his reputation as 'Da Pope' who, like everyone else, delights in some earthly pleasures and can preach from both on high and down low. 'He's the ultimate influencer,' Mr Patrick Cassidy, vice-president of marketing at '47, told the New York Times. One non-fan commented on the White Sox's Instagram page: 'Pope Leo is making me a fan of you.' Two weeks earlier, Pope Leo was seen catching a 'Little Leo' plushie with his left hand as he stood at the open bed of the Popemobile that was being driven around the grounds of the Vatican. A clip of that one-handed catch has been seen close to 200,000 times on The Straits Times' Instagram page. 'The Pope is chill like that,' said one commenter on the site. 'Because most people are right-handed, it's remarkable that he caught this with his left hand. He could be a lefty, but it's doubtful. I'm so impressed with Pope Leo!! He's amazing!!' said another. Like Pope Francis Effusive takes like these burnish Pope Leo's image as someone young digital natives can relate to, even if his religious beliefs still skew towards conservative values. The 1.4 billion-strong Catholic Church is trying to keep up with the times to stem an exodus of young church-goers put off by its staid rituals and iron-clad dogmas. While Catholicism in Asia and Africa is growing, church attendance in Europe is dropping and growth has been near-stagnant. In a nod to the youth, the church will canonise in September Carlo Acutis, a teenage computer whiz dubbed 'God's influencer', making him its first 'millennial saint'. Acutis, who died in 2006 at age 15, is being held up as a role model for Internet savvy teens seeking to bring out their deeply spiritual side. With his blazingly expanding digital footprint, Pope Leo is drawing comparisons to his more liberal predecessor, Pope Francis. Pope Francis famously went viral with an image of him outfitted in a Balenciaga-coded white puffer jacket in 2023. But that one was AI-generated, and the Vatican was quick to distance him from it. Pope Leo, on the other hand, is embracing the hype and, in doing so, is sparking a renewed interest in the Catholic faith among the youth. Mr Gary Stefano, the groom who asked the Pope to wear the baseball cap for a photo with him and his new wife, told CNN that Pope Leo's willingness to play along 'showed the human side in the man'. 'He is the most humble man, down to earth and funny,' he said. Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
