PARENTS across the UK are fuming after missing out on Aldi’s new wooden toy range – only to find it on eBay for “triple the price”.
The budget supermarket’s Wooden Toy Event landed in its middle aisles yesterday just in time for Christmas and sold out in minutes.
The limited edition range contains 84 toys, mostly made from wood, according to the Aldi website.
But despite its volume, a number of loyal customers missed out on nabbing any of the wooden toys.
Aldi bosses even warned shoppers to “run, don’t walk” to their nearest store ahead of the drop.
They said: “They’ll be gone faster than your chance of a lie-in.”
This meant mums and dads were queuing up outside stores from 6am in hope of nabbing some of the toys for their kids.
Among the best buys were the £24.99 Little Town Wooden Aldi Supermarket and £9.99 Little Town Wooden Toy Roleplay Bags.
The £7.99 Little Town Wooden Cuthbert Cake was also highly desired.
However, also in the early-morning queues were resellers looking to buy multiple of every available product to stick them on eBay for an inflated price.
And now, just 24 hours after the launch, items from the range have been listed for “triple the price” on the auction site.
Among current eBay listings from the Wooden Toy Event is the Cuthbert Cake for £35 plus £3.99 postage – a whopping £31 mark-up.
Another seller has listed the Takeaway Roleplay Bag for an eye-watering £25 plus £6 postage – despite it costing less than a tenner in-store.
Others are trying to flog the Wooden Aldi Supermarket toy set for £59.99 plus £6 postage – more than DOUBLE its original price.
A number of virtuous Aldi customers have taken to TikTok this morning to share their upset at resellers.
“The fact you haven’t put limits on how much people can buy – shame on you Aldi,” one slammed.
The Rise of Reselling
In recent years, auction sites like eBay has seen a significant rise in users flogging viral products at inflated prices.
From must-have kitchen gadgets to limited-edition beauty items, products that gain sudden popularity on platforms like TikTok and Instagram are sold for two to three times their original value.
Aldi’s Specialbuys are typically subject to the new trend, due to their limited edition nature.
Some consumers find the practice frustrating, and argue that it takes advantage of desperate buyers and exploits them with steep price tags. Others view it as a business opportunity, with resellers cashing in on trending items.
“People are greedy and fill up several trollies to resell. It’s awful.”
“It’s so disgusting that resellers go in and buy everything to sell for profit, while us normal folk can’t get to Aldi early in the morning as we have to go to work,” a second bashed.
“There should be a limit per item,” a third said. “People going in early getting five of each is appalling.”
Some shoppers even complained that resellers are listing the items on Vinted, which is against the second-hand app’s policy.
Other shoppers urged Aldi to take action against resellers.
One suggested: “You really need to put restrictions on these toys as people are selfishly buying them to resell for crazy amounts on Vinted.
“It’s so unfair for people who want affordable toys for their kids.”
A second said: “If you made more of things, then people wouldn’t have to buy overpriced ones off eBay, and there would be no incentive for people to overbuy and resell at hugely inflated prices.”
Aldi confirmed on its TikTok page that the most shops “have had their lot” of the wooden toys – meaning they won’t be restocking.
