Jokers selling original M&S Percy Pig sweets with gelatine on eBay for up to £1,000
Panic set in when fans of the popular treat found out the recipe had changed
JOKERS have taken to eBay to sell packets of original recipe Percy Pigs containing gelatine for up to £1,000.
It was revealed this week Marks & Spencer sneakily changed the recipe of all versions of the sweets to be vegetarian – and people weren’t happy.
In a backlash to this revelation, wily eBay users are selling packets of the non-vegetarian Percy Pigs online and it looks like some are really reaping the rewards.
One seller has the sweets at a price of £19.98 on eBay and has already sold 22 packets, and at £2.75-a-packet, that’s a profit of £379.06.
While some people have chosen an affordable price to make a reasonable profit from their stocks of Percy Pigs, others have taken their chance at making the big bucks.
One cheeky seller has listed their packet of original Percy Pigs for a whopping £1,000 (plus £2.90 for postage and packaging).
‘BRING BACK PERCY’
The recently-added product is yet to receive a bid, and it looks unlikely anyone will bother.
Yesterday it was announced M&S might reverse the decision and bring back the gelatine-filled version of the popular sweets after a huge social media backlash.
Many fans claim the new vegetarian recipe tastes like washing up liquid.
They accused the store of pandering to veggies and declared: “Bring back Percy.”
But the tens of thousands of posts on Facebook and Twitter showed the nation was split — with 44 per cent in favour, 35 per cent against and 20 per cent on the fence.
M&S is selecting a panel of 100 Percy fans to meet on May 16 to discuss and vote on the sweet’s future.
The main option is to bring back packs of the original recipe and sell them alongside the new veggie-friendly option.
An M&S spokesman said: “The Sun’s front page got the nation’s Percy fans debating and we want to hear what they have to say.
“So we’re recruiting a panel of 100 Percy mega fans to come to Percy HQ to decide on whether we should bring in a special edition – classic Percy pack with the gelatine in.”
The Sun interviews Percy Pig
Why did you change, Percy?
Well, I’m a popular pig already but we wanted even more people to be able to have their fill of Percy so earlier this year I went gelatine free.
Did you think this was going to cause such a big fuss?
Turns out it’s quite a pig deal! It’s split the nation’s opinion – we’ve had a big trotters up from some people but not everyone agrees…
What did you think of Piers’s comments?
Piers really got his tail in a spin, but he didn’t need to spit it out! Given he’s such a big fan of the classic Percy, rather than s-whining, perhaps he’d like to join our Percy Pig panel.
Are you enjoying being in the spotlight?
To be honest I’ve got used to the fame over the last 27 years. I’ve got some big celeb fans like Amanda Holden, Andy Murray, Calvin Harris and Lewis Hamilton, gate crashed the arrival of Prince George and have been on Britain’s Got Talent. Some of my mega fans have even got Percy tattoos, it’s always a bit awkward when you meet them…
What are you going to do now?
Some customers aren’t happy…It’s all about the fans! We’re recruiting 100 of my super fans to form a Percy Pig panel and vote on whether M&S should introduce a special pack of classic Percy pigs with the gelatine back in.
Can anyone join the panel?
Yes – fans should trot over to the M&S Facebook page to pitch for their place on the panel. They’ll need to share why they love Percy. I can’t wait to see their reasons… although I don’t want to get a pig head!
How are your wife and piglets?
Penny and our piglets have been veggie for a few years now so are totally on board. As a family we’ve been hogging the limelight at M&S for some time, but we didn’t predict this would be quite a pig deal.
M&S launched a Veggie Percy In 2011, which was free from animal product gelatine, but still kept the originals for meat-lovers.
However after tweaks the veggie recipe has been quietly rolled out as standard, with the store claiming the flavour is the same.
The sweets, introduced in 1992, are one of M&S’s most popular products, with a Facebook appreciation society boasting 250,000 members.
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