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'Inception' fan frenzy sends toy sales spinning
By Xu Chi |
September 15, 2010, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THE spinning top, an item that plays a notable role in the blockbuster film "Inception," has become a cash cow for online vendors as movie fans rush to purchase the toys.
Despite prices of 100 yuan (US$14.82) to 280 yuan for each top - pretty expensive for a half-finger-tall stainless steel toy - the number of buyers has soared on the country's popular online trading platform Taobao.com, along with the movie's popularity. One Guangdong Province-based seller has sold out his supply of 725 spinning tops at 130 yuan each.
Although all the sellers claimed to be selling the official Warner Brothers Studio promotional item imported from abroad, they can't offer direct evidence.
Some sellers even misspelled the word "Inception" as "Inseption," carving the wrong word on the tops and claiming they were selling the official products.
In the movie, the top is a totem used by the character played by Leonardo DiCaprio to check whether he is in a dream or reality.
Many movie fans bought the tops not only as a souvenir but as a totem to test whether they too were in a "dream."
"The spinning top ... is so good that one can keep spinning for several minutes," said a buyer on Taobao,com, "Though I was so scared that I broke into a cold sweat during the minutes before it stopped."
In the movie, if the top kept spinning, it meant the characters were still in a dream, far from reality.
Despite prices of 100 yuan (US$14.82) to 280 yuan for each top - pretty expensive for a half-finger-tall stainless steel toy - the number of buyers has soared on the country's popular online trading platform Taobao.com, along with the movie's popularity. One Guangdong Province-based seller has sold out his supply of 725 spinning tops at 130 yuan each.
Although all the sellers claimed to be selling the official Warner Brothers Studio promotional item imported from abroad, they can't offer direct evidence.
Some sellers even misspelled the word "Inception" as "Inseption," carving the wrong word on the tops and claiming they were selling the official products.
In the movie, the top is a totem used by the character played by Leonardo DiCaprio to check whether he is in a dream or reality.
Many movie fans bought the tops not only as a souvenir but as a totem to test whether they too were in a "dream."
"The spinning top ... is so good that one can keep spinning for several minutes," said a buyer on Taobao,com, "Though I was so scared that I broke into a cold sweat during the minutes before it stopped."
In the movie, if the top kept spinning, it meant the characters were still in a dream, far from reality.
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