Furious mothers slam ‘disgraceful’ Aldi customers for snapping up beloved £8.99 Cuthbert the Caterpillar toys… then flogging them for as much as £255 on eBay
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Furious mothers have slammed ‘disgraceful’ Aldi customers for snapping up the beloved £8.99 Cuthbert the Caterpillar toys and then flogging them for as much as £255 on eBay.
Aldi’s popular wooden toy range has returned for Christmas this year, but the Cuthbert the Caterpillar toy has sparked controversy among parents as money-savvy customers are reselling the sold-out item on sites like Vinted and eBay to make a profit.
The extortionate resale prices has left some customers ‘disgusted’. One toy was flogged on eBay for a shocking £255 – more than 28 times its retail value of £8.99 while others were sold for £40 or £50.
Mother-of-two Ria Jones went to Aldi on October 19, the day the wooden collection was released, but was shocked to see the shelves stripped bare.
The 39-year-old teacher then began searching on resale sites to purchase the item and was horrified to see customers flogging the toy for sky-high prices.
Aldi’s popular wooden toy range has returned for Christmas this year, but the Cuthbert the Caterpillar toy has sparked controversy among parents as they are resold for extortionate amounts
One toy was flogged on eBay for a shocking £255 – more than 28 times its retail value of £8.99
She claimed there was a ‘special place in hell’ for people who did this and said it was ‘just not fair’. Others branded them ‘vile’ and said it was ‘awful’ and ‘disgraceful’ behaviour.
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Ms Jones, who lives in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, said: ‘The frustrating thing for me is that these people queue up and buy these toys as if they want them then just go on to resell them.
‘But some people have kids that actually want to play with them. It’s infuriating, it’s about human decency.
‘My mum went to three different Aldis to try and find it but couldn’t.
‘It’s just frustrating when you can’t find them in any shops then see them being resold for triple and quadruple the price.
‘People seem to be wanting the wooden caterpillar cake more than anything this year.
‘What I find most frustrating is people are realising that people are wanting them a lot and pushing the prices up.
‘It is very unfair. People have gone and bought the whole shelf just to sell them on which is frustrating. I wouldn’t do it because I have a bit of dignity.’
Ms Jones, who has a two-year-old and four-year-old, has suggested Aldi limit the amount of toys sold in a bid to stop mass re-selling.
Ms Jones said: ‘That Aldi wooden range is amazing – I wish they would sell them all year round. They’re all really good quality and the Cuthbert cake is just adorable and it’s just sad people are being ripped off with resale prices.
The extortionate resale prices of the Aldi wooden toy has left some customers ‘disgusted’. Pictured: Cuthbert the Caterpillar toy listed for £127 on eBay
‘I don’t know if Aldi could limit them to one customer or one per family but you don’t know if someone has five kids and wants them for everyone.
‘As much as I want it, I’m not willing to pay the prices they’re being sold for on eBay.
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‘The people that do genuinely want this toy are losing out.
‘I understand people are trying to make some money during a cost of living crisis but there are people who genuinely want to play with this toy and aren’t being given the chance.’
Fellow Aldi customer Abigail Matthews was also left disappointed when she began hunting for the wooden caterpillar toy at her local supermarket.
The 22-year-old, who lives in Bognor Regis, West Sussex, intended to buy the item for her two-year-old niece as a Christmas present – but was shocked to see the excessive resale prices online.
The self-employed driver said: ‘Me and my sister were both looking online to see if we could find one but the cheapest we could find was £25 – and even that is extortionate.
‘The most we were willing to pay was £13 – it’s only £8.99 in the shop.
‘It’s absolutely ridiculous the lengths people will go to to try and make a bit of money especially when people are struggling.
‘There are some people who have bought the toys and resold them for retail price who have done it for people that can’t get to an Aldi but others have just put them up for ridiculous prices to make some money.
One mother went to Aldi on the day the wooden toy range was released, but found the shelves empty. Pictured: Cuthbert the Caterpillar toy sold for £52 on eBay
‘People are queuing up at ridiculous hours to get these Aldi wooden toys.
‘I think because Cuthbert is like the Aldi mascot he’s the most popular. And it’s only going to get worse.
‘I’ve seen prices for £65 – it’s just absolutely ridiculous. Anyone willing to pay that amount is just stupid.
‘Aldi should try and stop people from bulk buying. If they’d put the toy out online they would’ve made so much money easily without all this backlash.’
Horrified mother Emily Jade took to TikTok to hit out at Aldi customers flogging the toys on sites like Vinted for triple the price to make a quick profit.
The influencer, who posts under emily-mamaofgirls, said: ‘If you are one of these greedy people who goes to the shop, buys something and then tries to resell it for this price, leave.
‘Just get a grip and leave. Think about people who do not have much money, okay?
‘This is probably what one kid’s gonna get for Christmas and that be it.’
Aldi has apologised to customers who are not able to get their hands on the Wooden Cuthbert Party Cake.
The supermarket chain said the availability of the toys are limited and said it cannot control how the toys are used after they are purchased.
eBay and Vinted have been contacted for comment by MailOnline.
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