Hanwha Eagles Mascot 'Suri' Figure Purchased by Fans
"Bought More Than Ten, But All Are the Same Type... Waste of Money"
Seller Late to Address Issue... "Additional Shipments Will Be Made"
Several consumers who ordered multiple random figures from the official sales channel operated by the professional baseball team 'Hanwha Eagles' have reported receiving only duplicate products. Fans are expressing anger, raising suspicions that the Eagles may have been 'clearing out inventory' targeting their fandom.
Consumers who purchased the 'Suri Random Figure' from the official Hanwha Eagles store are complaining that they all received the same type of figure. [Photo by Hanwha Eagles Fan Cafe Archive]
On the 16th, a post titled "I bought 15 Suri random figure boxes, but all of them were the same product" was uploaded on the official Hanwha Eagles fan cafe. Suri is the mascot of the Hanwha Eagles, announced on April 13, 2016. With its round and cute design, it is very popular among fans.
Riding on this popularity, the Eagles began selling the 'Suri Random Figure' at 25,000 KRW starting from 4:30 PM on the 12th through their official sales channel. When purchasing one box, one of the nine types of Suri figures is provided. Especially, the figures were designed with various themes related to Hanwha Eagles, such as 'Gray Suri' wearing a uniform and 'Rabbit Suri' shaped like an animal, sparking fans' desire to collect them.
Mr. A, who purchased 15 figures and paid a total of 375,000 KRW, claimed, "I like Suri the most among Hanwha Eagles characters, so I initially bought 15 to try to collect all nine types," adding, "I planned to continue purchasing after checking the results, but when I opened the figures, they were all the same type, the 'Gray Suri' figure." Photos shared by Mr. A show Suri figures wearing the Hanwha Eagles gray uniform lined up side by side.
Mr. A was not the only one to receive only the same type of figure. Netizen B said, "All the figures I bought were 'Masked Suri,'" and added, "At first opening, I didn't think much; at the second, I felt it was a waste of money; at the third, I thought something was wrong; by the fourth, I was so frustrated that I just opened them recklessly. It seems like they were clearing out inventory from fans."
Mr. B also said, "I called the customer service in charge of figure production, but they absurdly replied that since the figures were sent randomly, exchanges or refunds were impossible," and appealed, "This is an unreasonable situation, and I was so upset I even cried. This is a clear case of consumer deception."
Mr. C, who purchased five Suri random figures and received all 'Dark Suri' products, told Asia Economy in a phone interview, "Are they trying to make a baseball team out of figures? They just sent the same type of figure," criticizing, "The team is already struggling, so fans must be having a hard time, and deceiving them like this is wrong. How can fans want to cheer on the team when they are treated like this despite their passionate support?"
There have been consecutive reviews stating that customers who purchased the 'Suri Random Figure' sold at the Hanwha Eagles official store all received the same type of figure. [Photo by Hanwha Eagles official store]
Consumer complaints about receiving the same type of figure have been pouring in through buyer reviews. Buyers responded with comments such as, "If it's random, why did I get the same one?", "I got two identical ones. At first, I thought it was a coincidence, but after reading reviews, it seems they didn't even try to mix them," and "Even though it's random, four out of five figures I bought were 'Pierrot Suri.' There seems to be a problem."
As the controversy grew, the sales channel apologized, stating, "We will not conduct a full product recall for customers who received shipments on July 15," and added, "All previously shipped products will be provided free of charge, and additional figures will be sent to customers who purchased two or more."
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