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09th Nov 2021

Packets of crisps selling for £8 on eBay amid shortage in the UK

Ellen Fitzpatrick

If it was Tayto, we’d get it.

Crisps are easily one of the best things in this world, but there’s definitely a limit on how much we’d spend on some.

With a shortage of crisps in the UK, some people are really splashing out to make sure they get their fried potato fix.

A botched computer upgrade led to a shortage of Walkers crisps in UK supermarkets and resellers have taken it as a massive investment opportunity on eBay.

With demand high, they may as well make a few bob out of it and are charging as much as nearly £8 for a single pack.

Attempting to get their hands on one of the Brit’s favourite snacks, it seems like they’re willing to fork out a lot for one pack, giving an arm and a leg for them, and the prices are only set to rise even more.

A single pack of Walkers Salt & Vinegar crisps (32.5g) is typically around 60p in most shops, but one eBay seller from Leicester is charging more than ten times this price at a whopping £6.89.

Another seller is selling them for even more with a single bag of Walkers Salt & Vinegar Squares (68g) is going on the site for £7.89.

The rise in resale prices comes as supermarkets across the UK have been going viral online with empty shelves with no crisps being shared across social media.

The likes of Tesco, Morrisons and Ocado are also completely sold out online.

“They had a change to their systems and the change has taken much longer than expected,” a spokesperson for discount store Poundstretcher told BusinessLive.

“In our last order, instead of getting 26 pallets – which is equivalent to a truckload – we received seven cases, which is not even a pallet full. It is that bad.”