Scalpers charge up to US$42 at bubble tea pop-up shop featured in Jay Chou’s Won’t Cry video in Shanghai
- Store tries to keep the profiteers at bay by limiting drinks and ordering customers to open their beverages before leaving
Scalpers have pounced on a pop-up bubble tea shop in Shanghai featured in a hit Mandopop music video, reselling the drinks for many times their retail price.
Annoyed fans of Taiwanese pop star Jay Chou complained on social media that the scalpers swamped the shop on the Bund soon after it opened on Tuesday and were charging up to 300 yuan (US$42) each for drinks selling inside for 13-32 yuan.
The tea shop was the backdrop for Chou’s latest single Won’t Cry, which broke domestic music streaming records when it was released on Monday.
The song topped the charts in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, and tells the story of a low-paid milk tea shop worker who works extra hours to buy an expensive camera for her aspiring photographer boyfriend.
Named Machi Machi, the pop-up store will be open for eight days only, and sell just 200 cups of tea per day, with drinks limited to one per person.
Several dozen middle-aged men were filmed queueing for several blocks near the store when it opened for the first time at noon on Tuesday, online news outlet ThePaper.cn reported on Wednesday.