Hiiiiiiiiiiiii, it has been so long. I knowwwww, the word you’re probably looking for is #icanteven. Why did I suddenly disappear again after announcing my past determination to blog on a consistent basis? Well, a big part of it is I am a lazy fatass and with Thesis reports and internship happening last year, I honestly didn’t the willpower to blog. But its November 2015 now, and I’ve graduated from my course since January 2015. I took a long period of break, just to escape some adult responsibilities (lmao) and really just wanted to enjoy being a jobless, unemployed semi-hobo at home. I placed more time in working out at the gym to no avail and just did lots of catching up with friends who were returning from overseas for their summer break. Over time, I noticed my English has gotten rather poor again and it has set me in to motion to take steps and ensure that my aptitude for language hasn’t deteriorate to the point where I sound like a dumb shit, so this is where the post comes in.
Anyways, I wanted to share my experience of buying some limited edition toy that McDonald’s recently released worldwide. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, McDonald’s recently collaborated with Nanoblock to release nanoblock themed food icons from McDonald’s. Being a nanoblock fan myself, I wanted to collect these toys and own it as a part of my collection. If you followed the hype, you will notice that people are crazy about the collection, and some are willing to spend a fortune just to get a cheap and tightly glued toy. These toys were released over the span of 4 weeks, with a new collection being released for sale on every Wednesday midnight and surprisingly enough, I was consistent enough to go through all the trouble of getting a RM6-RM8 toy. These are just some of the things I noticed from my experience in attempting to procure these toys for myself and some other people I promised to get.
Crazy, crazy, crazy…
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It gets progressively harder each week
Honestly speaking, some people will call bullshit on this. Even though this whole nanoblock incident was a first time for me, I’m pretty sure what I’m about to say is 100% applicable. Throughout my effort to secure my share of toys, I’ve noticed the trend just enough to realize it will happen again. Toys being released at Week 1 tend to be easier to purchase because people are generally uninformed of the event. The event is usually spread by word of mouth or McDonald’s facebook page before people eventually realize it. Therefore Week 1 toys are more or less easy to own, you can pop in to buy your toys at night time and it probably won’t run out of stock. Certain cases like the Minions or Hello Kitty hype may require you to go as early as morning/afternoon time because you know.. Minions and Hello Kitty are more worldwide trend. Nanoblocks were slow to catch on because it appeals to a specific group of people, like myself as a Nanoblock collector and from thereon, it snowballs in to a huge thing and people start buying the toys out of pure hype. If you bought week 1 successfully, chances are you’ll start feeling complacent and think week 2 will just be as easy and effortless. That’s where you’re wrong! Week 2 is the common trap for newbies to fall for, most people would think if week 1 is easily bought then week 2 will certain come with no problem. The key here is to remain vigilant and alert, and to make preparations starting from Week 2 to the end of the hype. Seasoned collectors will be sure to purchase their toys as early as midnight or morning in fear the toys are sold out. Having learned from Week 2’s failure, first timers and seasoned buyers alike will prepare themselves better for Week 3, this is a situation where luck favors the prepared, if you want it, you’re gonna have to go 1-2 hours early in advance just to get it. You can expect small queues to be formed but generally, if you prepare yourself, Week 3 shall be a breeze. Week 4 will usually be the last toy to be released, and it is also quite frankly, the hardest toy for anyone to get (hey, save the best for the last right?). Again the same advice applies, luck favors the prepared. This is where the real challenge begins and sometimes people just get so fucking pissed that fights occur for a cheap toy. The ideal outcome of week 4 is that you should be within the top 20 buyers who get their hands on the toy. And I kid you not, if you’re not in the first few queues, you
can kiss your collection goodbye. Toys are usually sold out within the first 15 minutes if the crowd gets intensive enough, no joke. -
It is daylight robbery
In all honesty.. you can technically call this a legal form of robbery done by McDonald’s and Collectors alike. Really, if it’s not robbery, I think the second best word to describe situation is pure rip-off. On McDonald’s part, they don’t start enforcing any receipt policies until shit hits the fan, usually they’ll let the hype sink in for the first two weeks before making any moves to change the rules to “2 per receipt” policy to curb any exploitation of the event. A part of it is that they don’t care much for the toys and the other part is how they realize if they made the rules a bit more stringent, they could boost their sales and profits too efficiently. On the seller/buyer’s part, it is a form of entrepreneurship. Since the first two weeks of toy purchases is unlimited, some people will walk in to the counter, order just some cheap burger and then buy the toys in huge quantity and walk away with everyone throwing them sideways look for being such greedy fucktards. From what I heard, one guy bought 70 nanoblock toys in one go from one of the McDonald’s outlet in Malaysia. Following that, they wait till that week’s toy is sold out and proceed to post on lelong.com.my or some sale sites and charge double or triple the original price for the toy itself. In extreme cases or someone super desperate, some assholes will sell the a glued toy up to RM140 or higher. That’s what I was told at the very least. Regardless, the purpose for most buyers other than collecting is to buy a huge portion of toys and attempt to sell them for some extra minimal profits. Sure, you think you’re not stupid enough to fall for that ruse, but let me assure you that even if you don’t, others would. Because that’s how I had to get Week 2’s nanoblocks as a result of being complacent. I made the deal knowing I was getting ripped off of course, but a promise is a promise, I made an agreement with a friend of mine that I’d get her these toys and I’m the kind of person who tries to keep to my word. But if you’re those kind of people who would fight for every sew and penny, just make earlier preparations to get your toy so you’ll avoid overspending for something cheap and mass produced.
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It is a test of patience and wits
Don’t laugh, waiting for new toys to pop up every week so you can get this over with can be pretty daunting. It’s something I kinda look forward yet hate at the same time, and you have to sort of plan your strategy to secure toys as the week goes by, especially starting from Week 2. Like I said, if it was Minions or Hello Kitty, it’ll probably get crazy by Week 2 so you’re gonna have to amass a few helpers to help you get the toys. On top of that is the waiting part, where you can wait up to the range of 20 minutes to 2 hours depending on how bad the crowd is. Again, this is fairly situational, the more popular the toys are, the earlier the queue forms and thus, longer wait time you can expect. Yesterday, I was kind enough to have another friend who went with me to get the final toy and boy, did we stood for two hours holding our bladder loads. The problem is once you’re in the queue, you better stick to it and secure your spot because the moment you left, some buggers are going to find some excuses to ruin your rights to queue back at where you left. The safest part is to hold on to your bladder (if you can) or just drink less water prior to queuing up. Another part of it boredom, especially if you went alone. I see some people bringing their tablets and mini Ipads to stream an hour long drama or videos. If you’re someone who gets bored from standing around easily, make sure you bring a small book to read, or tag along with your friend like I did, or just simply make conversation with the people around you who are similarly queuing up for the toy. And again, please don’t go to toilets or even attempt to sit down and disregard your position, just to be safe.
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Be prepared for anything
There’s a reason why I’m urging ya’ll to plan in advance and make preparations ie: bringing friends along or queuing up earlier and being within the first 10 or 20 buyers to purchase the toy. Aside from facing the possibility of just having your toys sold out within 10 – 20 minutes, there’s also the possibility of chaos breaking out or some group of stupid adults causing trouble by throwing fits in the restaurant. Thankfully enough, most Malaysians are (I assume) pretty civilized and mature when it comes to fighting cheap toys. But don’t rule out anything and take things for granted, while it many not happen at the restaurant you queue at, it’s bound to happen elsewhere, just like this short video of two Chinese boys raging over the issue of not being able to buy toys because they attempted cut the lines. For your safety and precaution, just be within the first few buyers before shit hits the fan (remember the Hello Kitty incident?). Even if no fights or mess break outs, some sneaky bastards are going to try to cut your queue or pickpocket you too. So the moment you’ve gotten your toy, please don’t hang around long enough, get your food and toy, head straight to your car, lock the damn doors and go home before some stupid people come along and rob you, no shit!
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Always look out for yourself
This is just an emphasis, I’ve already mentioned that you shouldn’t leave your spot no matter what happens and just prepare for the worst. But another part is to never depend on the McDonald’s staff to contain the situations. Trust me, it’s not a part of their job and you can’t blame them if anything happens to you. Night shift workers are little and usually they’ll struggle with the cashier and maintenance of the counter so half of the manpower is going to be pooled on to the front counter or the packaging section. If you complain, they’ll probably throw the question back to you about not keeping an eye out for your belongings and items. This varies from chain restaurants or the size of the , I’ve heard friend share their experience of an organized system by one of the chains where they allow batches of buyers to come in and place their orders. Other restaurants like the one I go to will probably just send some staff to keep a close eye on the customers and ensure everyone adheres to the rules. Some took the extra precaution by locking down alternative entrances and exits so that whoever intending to buy the toys will come in from one door and join in the queue. Regardless, don’t expect McDonald’s staff to set up barricades and enforce rules to make your competitions easier.
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Observe and have fun
Really, that’s the best advice I’ll give to make your experience worthwhile. If you’re ever going to get another batch of McDonald’s toys, it doesn’t kill for you to observe the trends and behaviors from the customers. I think the saying “Do as the Romans (collectors) do” is helpful, follow along the crowd if you’re clueless on your first few tries and ask if you’re heavily confused. If need be, clarify with the cashiers on the amount of toys you can buy per receipt and what not. Make a few friends while you’re queuing, just strike up a common topic and talk, some people are really affable and it’ll make your waiting time a bit more bearable. At the end of the experience, it pays for you to reflect upon what you did well or wrong, like knowing how preparations are often helpful for everyone. To top it off, just seriously take it as an experience so that the next time someone talks to you about the relevant event, you can share with them your experience and give pointers for those who intend to hop in the bandwagon of hyped customers.
Seriously, will there a second time for me? I have no idea, last night when I got back home, I swore to my bro that I was never going to deal with the hype again, it’s just madness (speak for yourself, Jason LOL). But really, the crowd itself was making me feel overwhelmed. If it weren’t for a promise I made to a few people and myself, I would have thought twice and possibly exit the competition. It’s just ridiculous, for 2-3 hours I spent for the past few weeks queuing up in McDonald’s, I could have easily put it to my beauty sleep and allowing my skin a quicker chance of rejuvenating itself. Pfft.
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