'I'm a Jellycat collector and there's one problem that really ruins the fun'
Collecting Jellycats is seriously fun as these cute little plushies can bring a lot of joy to your daily life - but there's something which is seriously ruining it for everyone...
Danielle is a Social News Reporter for the social newsdesk, serving titles including The Mirror. She previously worked as a Lifestyle Writer for The Mirror. She has a special interest in books, feminism, stories from the LGBTQ+ community, and fashion. She's also worked for Reach PLC's InYourArea team as a Senior Community Content Curator.
The popularity of Jellycats does not seem to be going anywhere, with collectors desperately eyeing up each drop, wondering which plushies they're going to add to their stash. Gone are the days of being a casual collector and occasionally dropping into your local Jellycat stockist to just 'browse'. If you want one of these adorably soft toys, you must have a game plan - especially if you're ordering online.
With the rise in popularity comes people determined to ruin it for everyone - the scalpers. These are people who will buy as many of the product as they're allowed to, and sell it for double, or sometimes even triple (or more) the RRP.
I've been collecting Jellycats for almost 15 years now, and while I'm happy the brand has seen a boom in success, I can't help but feel a little bit annoyed about the number of resellers who are trying to charge £300 for a teddy that once cost them less than £40.
Take, for example, a recent Jellycat release - the Amuseables Steepy Teabag. Retailing at just £25, he's an independent store exclusive, and many have decided to sell him in-store only to prevent their websites from crashing due to demand (and likely to get footfall into the actual stores).
He's absolutely adorable, but tiny, so well worth the £25 they command if you're a collector.
But on Vinted, where arguably the most greedy scalpers lurk, I've seen people already asking for £130. That's a whopping £105 more than the RRP. Why? What have you done to it to ask such a high price?
When you send offers to these sorts too, they act as if you've done something wrong by trying to get the Jellycat for a more reasonable price.
And while many stores have limited some Jellycats to one per customer, it seems like people who aren't genuine collectors are still using this as their opportunity to make some serious cash.
Plus, there are still stores, like Selfridges, that do not limit the amount you can buy of so many of the Jellycats, which means people can purchase up to 10.
You'll never be able to stop resellers, it's impossible; but they ruin the fun for everyone, because the genuine collectors are unable to bag the ones they want in their collections for a reasonable price.
Taking to Reddit's Jellycat forum, someone wrote: "Resellers and popularity are ruining Jellycat. Does anyone else think this? I used to have a fantastic little stockist in my hometown where I could find my fave jellies I wanted, but since the huge Jellycat boom in popularity, it’s been so empty.
"I buy jellycats for comfort and cuddles, all of mine are well-loved and will never be sold, I don’t buy them for popularity or anything, I just buy them to love them - so it sucks to see so many people buying them simply because they’re popular right now or to resell them for even more."
Another responded: "Reselling has ruined many, many, things. (Especially since the pandemic.) I’m a vintage (50s - 60s) Barbie collector. I was so excited when they made a Barbie movie. Did I get a single piece of merch? No. Nothing. Everywhere I went in person and online was either sold out and went to resellers, or had an insane markup online.
"I wanted a single movie doll, not even all of them! I gave up. I’m not paying someone triple the price for something that has just been released and isn’t vintage as a collector. Still never bought one."
"Most Jellycat lovers don’t buy them for their collectable value; we buy them because we love them," a Redditor fumed.
So, ultimately, there's nothing that we can do about scalpers. They'll always exist. But, I think we can fume a little about them together, and wish that people weren't as greedy and willing to take advantage of others. That'd be nice, wouldn't it...