People are selling the viral S$19.90 Scotch Brite EZ-Link charm on Carousell for double the price

If you haven't heard, a new EZ-Link charm was released earlier this month to plenty of hype. No, the charm does not feature any of your favourite Sanrio characters or nostalgic childhood icons – it's a mini dishwashing sponge. 

The Scotch-Brite Tough Clean Scrub Sponge SimplyGo EZ-Link charm was made available in EZ-Link vending machines on Apr 14.

It began trending online almost immediately, and has become so coveted, you'll have a hard time finding it now. 

The sponge charm comes with a S$19.90 (US$15.15) price tag with no top-up value, and yet people are finding it way too cute to pass up. 

A user on Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu posted a video of herself copping the charm at Sengkang MRT a week ago, and was quickly bombarded with comments asking for the exact location of the machine. (FYI: It's near the Compass One mall entrance, but chances are you'll be greeted with a sold-out sign.)

It also looks like the charm isn't just popular among locals – the original poster even received a request from a couple of netizens based overseas, asking if she can help buy it for them. 

"It does not even come with any top-up value, do Singaporeans really love cleaning that much?" joked one netizen. Another quipped: "An actual cleaning sponge costs less than that."

However, if the comments on EZ-Link's Instagram page are of any indication, people are more than willing to part with S$19.90 if it means owning the unique charm. 

Many are asking for a restock, but according to EZ-Link Singapore's reply, they "do not have information on any restocks", and have recommended that interested buyers keep a lookout on their social media pages for updates instead. 

Listings of the sponge charm have also popped up on Carousell, with people selling them for an average of S$30 per piece.

The most expensive listing has the "limited edition" charm going for S$49.90 – more than double the retail price. 

Speaking to 8days.sg, one Singaporean, who has been desperately looking for the charm, said: "I agree that S$19 is expensive, but it's so cute I don't mind paying for it. Comments on TikTok say it's sold out everywhere, I went to the vending machine at Chinatown and it was no longer available as well."

When asked if she would consider buying it from Carousell instead, she immediately replied: "No! They're unethical to be reselling it at such a price."

Well, who cares about ethics when you can have that super cute sponge charm right?