Woman Queues 2 Hours For Gardenia Bread EZ-Link Charm; Says 2 Men Ahead Of Her Bought 43

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You wouldn't expect to queue two hours to buy something from a vending machine when you're just seventh or eighth in line. 

Yet, that was what happened to one woman who was queueing up to buy the recently launched Gardenia x EZ-Link bread charm and saw two men allegedly snapping up a whopping 43 charms between them. 

A 41-year-old woman, who asked not to be named, tells 8days.sg she was in line at Compass One in Sengkang hoping to get her hands on the EZ-Link charm that looks like a loaf of Gardenia white bread, which is sold for S$21.90.

It's available in limited quantities through EZ-Link vending machines at 10 locations, including Compass One, Junction 8, Bugis Junction and Westgate.

But getting this electronic bread trinket is proving considerably harder than walking into a supermarket and buying the real thing.

Queues have been forming whenever the vending machines are restocked.

Our reader thought she'd put herself in a pretty decent position. She was, after all, only around seventh or eighth in line.

The woman says she started queueing when the Compass One vending machine was being restocked at around 4.30pm, and the queue began moving at around 5.15pm.

"The first and second guy bought 43!!!!" she tells us, adding that their purchases alone took around 15 to 20 minutes.

Those waiting behind weren't exactly thrilled.

"The uncle and aunties behind me [were] so angry," she recalls.

Thankfully, the woman managed to get her hands on one. 

By the time it was her turn, only 10 charms were left in the machine, despite there still being a long queue behind her.

Her reaction after finally securing hers?

"I buy le faster run," she jokes.

Honestly, after waiting that long, we'd probably be guarding our tiny loaf pretty carefully too.

The woman wasn't the only person who noticed bulk buying at Compass One.

Footage circulating online from the same location showed people purchasing large quantities of the charms while a queue formed behind them.

People could be heard questioning the purchases, and the incident has since drawn criticism over whether customers should be allowed to buy so many at once.

To be clear, there is no evidence available to 8days.sg establishing that the men seen buying in bulk were themselves reselling the charms.

But resale listings have certainly appeared. 

On Carousell, the Gardenia EZ-Link bread charms are listed for S$40 to S$60.

That's almost three times the original price at the upper end.

According to Lianhe Zaobao, an EZ-Link spokesperson said the company was aware of feedback about customers purchasing multiple charms at once.

EZ-Link said it understands the disappointment of customers who haven't been able to get one and stressed that it does not encourage reselling.

The company has also not authorised or endorsed third-party sellers offering the charms.

More importantly for anyone contemplating paying S$60 for one, EZ-Link says its vending machines will continue to be restocked.

So maybe don't panic-buy that S$60 loaf on Carousell just yet.

After all, that's enough money for quite a lot of actual Gardenia bread, right?