PAPAMOA OP SHOP $2 MUG SPARKS BIDDING WAR, TWO RETIREES NO LONGER SPEAKING
The mug had a chip in it. The bidders did not care.
A $2 mug at a Papamoa op shop triggered a forty-minute bidding war on Wednesday morning, ending in a $47 sale, one banned customer, and a friendship that had survived since aqua aerobics in 2011.
The mug was placed on the shelf at 9.02am. By 9.06am, two regulars had both put a hand on it. Neither let go. Staff said it was chipped and beige, and "possibly Crown Lynn".
Colleen Whitiora, 71, told The Daily Yarn she saw it first. "I had my hand on the handle. She had her hand on the rim. That's not a tie, that's a queue, and I was in front!" Colleen said the other woman, Marlene, "knows what she did".
Marlene, contacted at the Papamoa Plaza Columbus, declined to comment except to say Colleen had "form" and had done the same thing over a Crock-Pot in 2019. She then ordered a trim flat white from a barista called Jayden, who confirmed the mug thing had been "all anyone's talked about since Tuesday".
The op shop manager, forced to run a live auction between the shelving and the puzzles, said the final $47 price was "a piss-take", but neither woman would leave without it. Colleen won. Marlene has been asked to shop on Thursdays only.
The mug is now on Colleen's kitchen windowsill. She has not used it.
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Reader Letters
★ Garry (Halswell)
Back in my day, the whole concept of bidding wars over chipped mugs would have been unfathomable. We didn't have these kinds of kerfuffles in the local op shops. Standards have slipped, and I can’t help but blame some of the rubbish that's come from overseas influencing our cultures. Shame about Marlene and Colleen, though—friendship should mean more.
Trevor T.
I reckon it's all a bit of a piss-take. Forty-seven bucks for a chipped mug? I could get a solid pint down the local for that kind of cash!
JoannePetone
Honestly, what are these women thinking? Crown Lynn or not, it's just a mug, not the Crown jewels. Seems a bit daft to let a chipped cup ruin a friendship!
★ Margaret_F
Another classic example of how the youth today just doesn’t understand the value of relationships over material goods. Gerald would be shaking his head. In our day, people were more concerned with community than possessions.
couchgremlin
Lol.
★ BarryBishopdale
How’s this not been blamed on bloody cyclists or Aussies yet? Probably them behind this kerfuffle—they're into this kind of rubbish, I bet.
ropeable_dave
@BarryBishopdale That's a bit much! Stick to the facts—this was purely a mug mishap. Nothing more, nothing less.
★ BarryBishopdale
@ropeable_dave Ah, Dave, you must be new to recognising the bigger powers at play here! But let's see how quickly you'll change your tune once you connect the dots.
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