Speculation in limited-edition comic figures is so profitable that a group of buyers is paying students and others more than the statutory minimum wage to queue up for them at a fair that provides a once-a-year chance to snap up the colourful figurines.
Buyers of popular figures can make instant profits of double to five times what they spent to acquire them, depending on whether they resell the items in Hong Kong or on the mainland, where demand is higher.
One company, Hot Toys, saw all its 1,800 figures sold out within 21/2 hours of the five-day Ani-com and Games Fair opening yesterday. Some people had queued outside the venue, the Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai, for nine days.
Hot Toys saw widespread speculation in its products online. The company said it was unhappy about the situation but there was little it could do. 'We never wish to see speculation,' spokeswoman Emily Leung Oi-yee said. 'What we hope is that real fans can buy the figures they desire. We'll consider new policies to curb resale activities next year.'
The buyers' network said it paid students and South Asians more than the minimum wage of HK$28 an hour to queue. Money was seen being handed to people in the queue on the opening day as they approached the sales booth, including students and a group of South Asians.
Three sought-after figures - Iron Man 2, Batman and Shadow Predator - sold for HK$1,380 each at the fair, but the bidding prices for these items on online markets, such as Yahoo! Hong Kong and the mainland's Taobao website, ranged from HK$3,000 to HK$7,000.
A spokesman for the fair said neither speculators nor the people hired by them would be barred from queuing as long as they observed the rules.