From Instagram to the Luas: my search for one of THOSE €5 Penneys Chip cups

If you saw a crazy person running across Dublin city this morning, well, that was me.

My search for a Penneys Chip cup began weeks ago. As soon as it made its debut on Instagram I knew I HAD to have one. And after weeks of enquiries, and trips to the retailer, I almost lost hope. Just to give you some back story: Beauty and the Beast is one of my all-time favourite movies. I would have it on repeat as a child. I was that kid. So, when they were coming to Penneys it was the 10-year-old in me that got excited.

A post shared by I SELL DISNEY MERCH ON EBAY (@karen8karen8) on Mar 26, 2017 at 5:07am PDT

Much like the Chip purse that preceded the mug, there were reports coming from England that people were buying baskets full of the cups and selling them on Ebay for 10 times the price. So I knew the chances of even getting your hands on one were slim. Then, on Sunday I was in the Mary Street store in Dublin and I overheard two Penneys employees talking about how a delivery was due in that week. I lingered nearby (trying not to look like I was eavesdropping) and managed to catch them saying that they were due in on the Tuesday evening delivery and would be on shelves on Wednesday morning. They speculated that it would be the night-time staff that would be putting them out, so people would be in first thing on Wednesday to buy the cups. They said 200 would be arriving. 'TWO HUNDRED', I thought to myself. Surely with this nugget of information I can finally nab myself a Chip cup. Or so I thought. Off I went to Penneys at the crack of dawn this morning. Queued up with around a dozen other women. We all glanced at each other and didn't speak. I could tell they were all there for the same reason. The first door we were at wasn't opening at 8.30am and then we heard a bolt unlocking from the other door and over we scurried. Through the bikinis and passed the woolen jumpers we all headed down to the homeware section. I could see some employees looking and eye-rolling at us, probably thinking: 'These eejits are here for the cups'. With panicked looks on all our faces, one of the store managers broke it to us that there were no cups left. It was no longer than 1 minute after the shop had open so how could it be? Apparently, there was a crowd of people waiting for the delivery truck yesterday and they didn't even make it onto the shelves. 200 of them gone within an instant. She said that the only stores that received them were Mary St, Liffey Valley, Blanchardstown and Dundrum. Liffey Valley and Blanchardstown were miles away from me at this point so I thought I'd venture out to Dundrum. I ran across town, jumped on the Luas and off I went for one last shot. The Dundrum shop floor had none in sight so I asked a lovely member staff if there was any chance of one lying about. At first, he told me they were completely sold out, flying off the shelves on Tuesday within 20 minutes. But then must have seen the utter despair in my face that he said, "Go on, I have one spare if you want it." IF I WANT IT? Yes, please! Someone had rung up the day before when they went on the shelves to save one but never turned up to collect it and the store rules stipulate that if you don't arrive before the end of the day it goes back out. Lucky for me I was at the right place at the right time. I handed over the €5 and finally got a Chip cup. And just look at its little face. There is some good news for other fans of the Chip cup: Penneys is apparently getting a delivery of some 30,000 in May. One of the employees in the Mary Street store confirmed that to me this morning. When in May, I don't know, but surely because there are lots coming people will have a better chance of getting them. As soon as we have more information we'll let you know. Follow us on Snapchat (@her.ie) to see my excursion today or watch it here:

Here's how @laurholland got on in search of the Chip cup. #chipgate pic.twitter.com/npDCKMNz8C

— Her.ie (@Herdotie) March 29, 2017