S’pore-exclusive plush flowers from Flower Market installation listed at 3 times original price on Carousell
Flower plushies exclusive to the Flower Market installation in Singapore have been listed on Carousell for up to three times their original price just hours after the installation opened.
The immersive installation is designed by Australian contemporary artist Catherine Jenna Hendry (Cj Hendry) and will run from June 10 to 14 at Gardens by the Bay’s IMBA Theatre gallery space.
Over 30 types of plush flowers, including eight exclusive Singapore variants, are up for grabs. Among the Singapore exclusives are the Raffles’ Pitcher Plant, Singapore Lipstick flower, and Papilionanthe Miss Joaquim, the national flower of Singapore, better known as Vanda Miss Joaquim.
Visitors would each receive a complimentary plush flower, with additional stems going for $7 each.
Pre-registration slots were fully claimed ahead of the five-day exhibition’s launch, and its opening day saw waiting times stretching up to two hours.
Videos of the crowd, posted on the event’s social media pages, showed visitors streaming into the exhibition hall and rushing to grab flowers by the handful.
One visitor was seen holding an armful of pink plush flowers, while others stuffed stems head-first into bags.
In one scene, six visitors stand shoulder to shoulder, reaching for the same flower species, while another attendee runs ahead carrying more than 10 flowers. Several visitors are also armed with multiple bags to carry their haul.
The video, initially shared on Flower Market and Hendry’s Instagram pages, has been taken down but was later reposted to the Singapore subreddit.
“The secondhand embarrassment is strong,” one Redditor wrote, while another claimed they witnessed scalpers when the installation first opened.
Resold online with marked up prices
Listings for the plush flowers surfaced on Carousell on the installation’s opening day.
Among the listings seen by Stomp, one seller priced the Singapore Lipstick flower plushie at $21 — three times its original price — while another offered $30 for each of the Singapore-exclusive designs.
Several users also offered “help-to-buy services” for those who are unable to visit the installation. Checks found some users implementing a surcharge of $3 to $5 per stalk, depending on the variant.
No plans to limit plush flower purchases
In response to Stomp’s queries, chief executive officer of IMBA Michael Lee said that crowd management has been a “key consideration” of the event’s planning.
To ensure a “safe and comfortable visitor experience”, Lee said the following measures have been implemented:
- Timed registration
- Controlled venue capacity
- Dedicated entry and exit flow management
- On-site queue marshals
- Additional front-of-house staffing throughout the event
Checks on the event’s Instagram page showed regular updates on waiting times. A 30-minute queue had formed by around 9am, while an update at 10am informed guests that walk-in visitors could expect to wait up to two hours.
“Even with crowds buzzing on-ground, energy levels are high and entry to the experience has been orderly,” Lee added, thanking guests for their patience.
Stomp understands that there are no plans to limit the number of plush flowers visitors can purchase.
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