Olympics Panda Mascots Selling for Up to $500 Spark Police Warning
- Fans paying more than $500 for panda mascot Bing Dwen Dwen
- Supplies squeezed by factories shut for Lunar New Year holiday
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A chubby round panda decked out in a suit of ice has become a national sensation in China, with shoppers in Beijing lining up in freezing temperatures overnight for the chance to buy stuffed versions of the Winter Olympics mascot.
Those who don’t want to queue are paying as much as 17-times the retail price for toys featuring the panda named Bing Dwen Dwen. Prices have surged so much on the secondary market -- stuffed toys are selling for more than $500 online -- that police in Beijing have issued public warnings against buying the mascot from scalpers, and as of Wednesday punished three people in a crackdown over price gouging.