It began as an Aussie supermarket chain\u2019s novelty collaboration with one of the showbiz world\u2019s biggest corporations.<\/p>\n
But as the Disney Ooshie promotion at Woolworths and Big W prepares to leave the shelves, the craze has taken on a life of it own.<\/p>\n
From dominating online marketplaces to shady mailbox drops and even school bans, there is little escaping the fad for Aussie parents.<\/p>\n
It launched a month ago and rewards shoppers for spending $30 with small, rubber toys in the shape of characters from Disney-owned franchises including Toy Story, Marvel and Star Wars.<\/p>\n
And unsurprisingly, a tidal wave of collector culture has washed across Australia, as kids \u2013 and some big ones \u2013 scramble to complete the collection of 40.<\/p>\n
The fad has sparked remarkable online bidding wars, led to playground bans and even seen some resorting to dirty tactics to try to ensure their collections are not left incomplete.<\/p>\n
One TikTok user revealed an elaborate scheme in which she splashed out on expensive goods from Big W to claim Ooshies before immediately returning her purchases for full refunds.<\/p>\n
Others have turned to online wheeling and dealing to get their last remaining collectables.<\/p>\n
\u2018Call me the Ooshie dealer\u2019<\/p>\n
Ree Towers, a 34-year-old mum from Newcastle, has been collecting with her two kids Leonardo, 6, and Sophie, 2.<\/p>\n
She recently devoted an entire day to Ooshie swapping with people she met online to help get their collections over the line.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is the excitement of opening the packets and seeing if you\u2019ve got the one you need that my children seem to love,\u201d Ms Towers told NewsWire.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe other day, I dropped my son off at school, then spent the day driving around meeting people to swap Ooshies,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI dropped him off, went to swap an Ooshie, went to my pilates class, then did another swap, then a mailbox drop.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought to myself, \u2018I can\u2019t believe I\u2019ve spent a whole day driving around Newcastle swapping Ooshies\u2019, but that\u2019s just the lengths you will go to make your kids happy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Towers said the phenomenon had created something of a community of its own, as people connect with one another.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt definitely has brought out some wild behaviour,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Shelby Rhian, whose family has also completed their collections, said she was originally adamant they would not be taking part in the craze but caved after her kids picked up on the hype at school.<\/p>\n
She posted a video on her TikTok page of completing a letterbox drop-off with the caption: \u201cPOV: You spend your day Ooshie dealing for your kids cos (sic) it is that serious.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI started a Facebook Marketplace listing with all the Ooshies we had to swap and what we needed,\u201d she told NewsWire.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have done face-to-face swaps, letterbox drops and even mailed some. The furthest I\u2019ve travelled is probably 15 minutes one way.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018Got, got, need\u2019<\/p>\n
For people of a certain age, the craze will spark memories of collecting fads of years gone by of misspent youths trading stickers, Pokemon cards and Tazos.<\/p>\n
The supermarket chain responded to the demand by setting up swap meets for families to attend stores and make all-important trades.<\/p>\n
An event in stores last weekend sent so many Aussies scrambling that a second event this weekend has been organised.<\/p>\n
But it is not just Woolies and Big W that have made themselves trading hubs.<\/p>\n
Brumbies Bakery in Moorooka, Queensland has set up an honesty counter where youngsters can take an Ooshie on the condition that they leave one behind.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was an idea we had last time they were out to try and help the community a bit, so we thought we\u2019d do it again,\u201d owner Phil Yarnold said. <\/p>\n
\u201cSome days we\u2019ll have between 20 and 30 swaps an afternoon and it is marvellous watching it happen. We even had staff coming from Woolies to replenish their stock for their swap day.<\/p>\n
\u201cLots of kids have completed their collections through us \u2013 and quite a few big kids as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd if they buy a loaf of bread while they\u2019re swapping, all the better. It\u2019s definitely helped business.\u201d<\/p>\n
A Woolworths spokesman said the promotion had sparked a \u201cphenomenal\u201d reaction.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe response to our Disney Ooshies program has been massive, with millions of customers getting involved nationwide.<\/p>\n
\u201cSwap Day last weekend was phenomenal, with thousands of families, kids and passionate collectors coming together in our stores to connect, trade their duplicates and help each other complete their sets. It was so popular that we are bringing it back all over again this Saturday from 12pm-3pm. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe love seeing the community spirit these events bring out, and we want to thank all of our shoppers for making the day, and the whole Disney Ooshies program, such a fun and successful celebration.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018Controversies\u2019 <\/p>\n
While the promotion has captured the imagination in some parts, it has not proven to be without its controversies.<\/p>\n
One such incident revolved around the eBay listing of a rare flocked Bullseye Ooshie, of which only 125 were circulated.<\/p>\n
Based on the Toy Story character, the collectable was initially listed for an already excessive $32,100.<\/p>\n
A winning bid of an eye-watering $100,000,019.15 was made, but the sale ended in farce and seller Mark Hunter ended up with nothing.<\/p>\n
He told Yahoo that all multimillion-dollar bids turned out to be fake.<\/p>\n
However, the rare collectables are still regularly appearing on online marketplaces at hugely inflated prices.<\/p>\n
The craze has also created havoc on playgrounds, with some schools opting to ban Ooshies in a bid to quell fighting, arguments and thefts.<\/p>\n
Among those was Somerset College, an independent primary and secondary on the Gold Coast, which wrote to parents urging them to make sure their kids\u2019 Ooshies are left at home.<\/p>\n
Another school, Bellevue Park State School in Queensland, made a similar plea to parents on Facebook.<\/p>\n
The school placed an \u201cimmediate ban\u201d on the collectables, stating they were causing \u201cdistractions, conflict and unfair trading\u201d.<\/p>\n
The promotion ends on Tuesday, August 25, but the supermarket giant has warned supplies will likely run out by this weekend.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It began as an Aussie supermarket chain\u2019s novelty collaboration with one of the showbiz world\u2019s biggest corporations. But…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":857407,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[427859,427818,427864,420656,427787,146155,380581,427838,29279,427873,427858,376963,427791,387580,427840,427809,391196,427801,427804,377545,427868,427862,376594,427822,427810,427825,427830,427834,427856,427806,427874,427850,414923,427792,427852,64,268185,427831,27621,63,427823,224416,4246,99,120336,427829,51521,427861,427841,427812,379391,427802,427817,427824,427839,427848,40397,427847,378963,427863,427807,427827,427872,427819,391934,12756,317216,392652,45641,427843,401893,427816,427854,98637,29705,427877,427811,427821,384569,427842,378061,10668,46634,379399,427860,388615,377164,353309,427828,427837,427879,427790,427789,427845,6622,427797,1861,427826,427866,129824,701,427808,427813,137687,427876,427835,20637,427795,427867,78124,28852,427800,427796,400677,427857,10659,11457,62478,222413,427805,427870,427865,385285,427799,380572,427814,397467,427844,379738,380191,427820,380154,427853,427793,416109,377297,87494,77470,427833,386694,427855,404336,395303,381219,427803,427878,427788,384703,427832,427794,427869,427871,427836,427851,427815,419716,427846,379782,25230,165749,410110,427786,73202,427849,32388,414201,427798,378974,427875],"class_list":["post-857406","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-s-biggest-corporations","tag-s-novelty-collaboration","tag-12pm","tag-15-minutes","tag-2-she","tag-146155","tag-3pm","tag-40-the-fad","tag-29279","tag-a-phenomenal-reaction","tag-a-34-year-old-mum","tag-a-bit","tag-a-certain-age","tag-a-community","tag-a-facebook-marketplace-listing","tag-a-letterbox-drop-off","tag-a-life","tag-a-loaf","tag-a-mailbox-drop","tag-a-month","tag-a-second-event","tag-a-tidal-wave","tag-a-video","tag-a-whole-day","tag-a-woolworths-spokesman","tag-all-the-ooshies","tag-all-important-trades-an-event","tag-an-afternoon","tag-an-aussie-supermarket-chain","tag-an-elaborate-scheme","tag-an-entire-day","tag-an-honesty-counter","tag-an-idea","tag-an-ooshie","tag-another-swap","tag-au","tag-aussie-parents","tag-aussie-parents-it","tag-aussies","tag-australia","tag-between-20-and-30-swaps","tag-big-w","tag-bread","tag-business","tag-characters","tag-collector-culture","tag-customers","tag-dirty-tactics","tag-disney-ooshies-craze","tag-disney-owned-franchises","tag-each-other","tag-even-school-bans","tag-expensive-goods","tag-extremes","tag-face-to-face-swaps","tag-fads","tag-families","tag-full-refunds-others","tag-her-kids","tag-her-purchases","tag-her-tiktok-page","tag-her-two-kids","tag-hubs-brumbies-bakery","tag-incomplete-one-tiktok-user","tag-its-own","tag-kids","tag-last-time","tag-last-weekend","tag-leonardo","tag-letterbox-drops","tag-lots","tag-marvel-and-star-wars-and","tag-meeting-people","tag-memories","tag-millions","tag-misspent-youths-trading-stickers","tag-moorooka","tag-ms-towers","tag-my-children","tag-my-pilates-class","tag-my-son","tag-newcastle","tag-newswire","tag-one-another","tag-one-craze","tag-one-thing","tag-one-way","tag-online-marketplaces","tag-online-wheeling","tag-ooshies","tag-our-disney-ooshies-program","tag-our-shoppers","tag-our-stores","tag-owner-phil-yarnold","tag-part","tag-passionate-collectors","tag-people","tag-playground-bans","tag-pokemon-cards","tag-pov","tag-queensland","tag-quite-a-few-big-kids","tag-remarkable-online-bidding-wars","tag-rewards","tag-rhian","tag-rubber-toys","tag-school","tag-school-she","tag-shady-mailbox-drops","tag-shoppers","tag-small","tag-so-many-aussies","tag-some-big-ones","tag-some-days","tag-some-wild-behaviour","tag-sophie","tag-staff","tag-stores","tag-swap","tag-swap-day","tag-tazos-the-supermarket-chain","tag-the-better","tag-the-caption","tag-the-collection","tag-the-community","tag-the-community-spirit","tag-the-condition","tag-the-craze","tag-the-day","tag-the-demand","tag-the-disney-ooshie-promotion","tag-the-excitement","tag-the-fad","tag-the-furthest","tag-the-hype","tag-the-lengths","tag-the-line","tag-the-one","tag-the-ooshie-dealerree-towers","tag-the-other-day","tag-the-packets","tag-the-phenomenon","tag-the-promotion","tag-the-response","tag-the-shape","tag-the-shelves","tag-the-showbiz-world","tag-the-wall","tag-the-whole-disney-ooshies-program","tag-their-collections","tag-their-duplicates","tag-their-last-remaining-collectables-call","tag-their-sets","tag-their-stock","tag-their-swap-day","tag-these-events","tag-this-saturday","tag-this-weekend","tag-thousands","tag-toy-story","tag-whose-family","tag-wild-lengths","tag-woolies","tag-woolworths-and-big-w","tag-years","tag-youngsters","tag-your-day-ooshie","tag-your-kids","tag-your-kids-cos"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/857406","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=857406"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/857406\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/857407"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=857406"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=857406"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=857406"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}