The claws have been out in queues at Starbucks outlets across China this week, and it’s not because a barista spelled someone’s name wrong.
According to the Beijing Youth Daily, videos of customers getting involved in fights over the coffee giant’s limited edition cat paw tumblers have been going viral since the glasses went on sale this week.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-czZ-BnBSCY
Videos posted online show customers pushing, shoving, and kicking each other in their bid to get their paws on the coveted glassware. In one instance, two women were caught on CCTV bursting into an outlet at high speed, only to collide with a rack full of boxes.
The double-walled glass tumblers are part of Starbucks China’s spring collection of products. The inner well of the glass is shaped like a cat’s paw, a feature that’s revealed when it’s filled with liquid, making it purr-fect for Instagram photos. Mainland media reports that the coffee giant’s limited edition designer tumblers have become collector’s items that can be resold online at huge markups.
Some people were even seen pitching up tents outside Starbucks stores so that they could be first in line for the mugs before they sold out.
According to the Beijing Youth Daily, the original price of the tumblers is about RMB199 (US$30), but some have already been listed for resale on sites like Taobao for as much as RMB1,800 (US$269).
At prices like that, these mugs had better be the cat’s pajamas.
