‘Boycott the scalpers’: Shoppers slammed for allegedly bulk-buying Gardenia EZ-Link charms at Compass One
Customers who apparently bought handfuls of EZ-Link charms from a vending machine at Compass One during the launch of the Gardenia SimplyGo collaboration faced backlash from netizens, who slammed their “selfish” behaviour and urged others not to purchase from scalpers.
A SimplyGo spokesperson told Stomp that purchases for resale are not encouraged.
The Gardenia SimplyGo EZ-Link charm, a collectable keychain in the shape of a loaf of bread which can be used to tap through public transport fare gates, was rolled out at 10 SimplyGo vending machines in malls.
According to the Facebook post publicising the launch, each charm costs $21.90 and can be activated by topping it up at a ticketing service kiosk before paring it with the SimplyGo app.
This follows the launch of the Minions Mahjong LED SimplyGo EZ-Link charm in November 2025.
Queue forms at Sengkang vending machine
However, some netizens did not take kindly to customers who purportedly bought handfuls of charms before other patrons could buy them.
A video of the incident was shared on Instagram page @sgfollowsall on Sept 4. In the caption, the netizen said that it happened at Compass One from around 3pm to 4.30pm that day.
According to the post, the charms were replenished at around 2.45pm, with the process completed by about 3.15pm.
A queue had started to form, and the first person in the queue began making his purchases as the rest waited patiently.
The video shared on the @sgfollowsall page shows two men dressed in black at the vending machine. One is seen squatting near the token collection area, while the other stands at the control panel and appears to be placing orders.
According to the video's caption, the man who was squatting left after packing up eight charms, while the other man continued to purchase more.
This went on for another 30 minutes, the netizen recalled, before two people confronted the man. “It doesn’t stop until we told him off and he said ok last,” the netizen added.
The video shows more than 10 people queuing, with those at the front peering into the vending machine.
Purchases for resale not encouraged: SimplyGo
In response to Stomp’s queries, a SimplyGo spokesperson said it is aware of feedback relating to purchases of multiple Gardenia SimplyGo EZ-Link charms during the recent launch.
“SimplyGo does not encourage purchases for resale, nor do we authorise or endorse listings by third-party resellers,” the spokesperson said.
“Further stocks of the Gardenia SimplyGo EZ-Link charm are available, and our vending machines will be progressively replenished over the coming days.”
Customers slammed for bulk-buying charms
In the comments section of the video, many netizens slammed customers who were bulk-buying charms, describing them as “thick-skinned”, “selfish”, and “uncompassionate”.
Several urged fellow customers to “boycott the scalpers”. “People giving in and buying from them is exactly why they keep pushing prices to ridiculous levels,” wrote one netizen.
However, others had a different perspective, saying that their actions were “fair play”.
“I don’t see the problem. Buying not stealing. They want to do business it is their business,” the netizen said.
On Carousell, the charms are listed at over twice their original price, with several listings priced at up to $50 per charm.
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