Would you buy a box of cupcakes (5 pieces) for RM10 if the seller said the money would be used for his sister’s education? I’m sure most of us would gladly take a box off his hands because Malaysians are generally nice and generous.
However, this sales gimmick was exposed by netizens recently as they noticed that more and more cupcake-sellers are roaming the streets looking for their next victim to sell their cupcakes to.
According to a netizen named Winnie from Singapore, she posted her experience on social media after she encountered the bizarre incident. Apparently a guy carrying a bag full of boxes with muffins in them approached her in her cafe. She politely rejected the guy.
Source: Moretify
However, the poor muffin seller started crying on his way out of the cafe because Winnie didn’t buy his muffins. Apparently the guy was from Philippines and was without parents. The cupcakes were hand-baked by his sister and he’s selling them to earn some money. After hearing his story, the kind-hearted Winnie bought a box of muffins for $10.
Source: Moretify
As soon as netizens read about her experience, they quickly pointed out that this is most probably a sales gimmick as they have encountered similar incident but at different locations. Hmm…something smells fishy to me.
A female netizen said that these cupcake sellers are everywhere in Johor Bahru now. They pitched very similar stories which involved raising fund by selling cupcakes to put the sister through school. She stopped buying after noticing more cupcake sellers on the street.
These cupcake sellers are indeed everywhere as another netizen bought her first box at Kuala Lumpur because they were home-made. But when she came to Johor Bahru, she came across similar sales gimmick and the cupcakes packaging looks exactly the same as the one she bought in Kuala Lumpur. She can’t help but to question how can home-made muffins be so easily distributed all over Malaysia.
Another netizen comment:
“The guy will always say he’s from Philippines and he’s selling cupcakes to put his sister through school. It seems they are using the same sales gimmick. I believed them at first, but now I think they came from a same syndicate.”
To speed things up a little, they would let a piece of laminated card do the talking.
Source: Moretify
The card would usually write,
“Excuse me for a while, I’m XXX knocking on your generous heart to please buy my SPECIAL MUFFINS to support my daily needs. Thank you and more blessings to come. RM10 per BOX.”
Based on the comments by netizens, the unscrupulous cupcake sellers have been spotted in Petaling Jaya, Kuala Lumpur, Seremban, Masai and Permas.
Some netizens bought the cupcakes out of charity but don’t dare to eat because they looked ridiculously colourful while some just think that they were too sweet.
Source: Moretify
Despite acknowledging the tactic as a sales gimmick, some kind-hearted netizens felt that there’s nothing wrong with it because they earned the money through their effort.
A netizen, contrary to the other antagonistic views, commented:
“He didn’t steal or rob, he earned the money through selling cupcakes. If you’re willing to spend RM10, you wouldn’t care whether it’s worth it or not.”
So, what do you guys think? Is it ethical to make up stories just to sell the cupcakes like hot cakes?
