Sell-out supermarket item listed on eBay at a 750% markup

Woolworths’ viral Bachelor’s Handbag bag sold out almost instantly when it hit shelves on October 14. Now, the novelty item is surfacing on eBay and Facebook Marketplace for up to $85 – a staggering 750 per cent markup on its original $10 price tag.

There are multiple listings of the bag ranging in price, but sellers will have to move quickly to make a profit, with a Woolworths spokesperson telling nine.com.au: “The Bachelor Handbags are available while stocks last, and we’ve already seen a huge amount of excitement. We’re expecting more stock to land in stores from next week.”

The bag is a fully functional bag styled to mirror the original packaging of the supermarket’s popular hot roast chickens. It comes with a sturdy handle, detachable adjustable strap, and built-in thermal insulation that can function as a lunch bag.

Before the handbag’s release, Rhonda Ma, general manager of bags at Woolworths, said: “Aussies have affectionately called hot roast chickens the ‘Bachelor’s Handbag’ for years. It shows you just how much the product fits into everyday life as the ultimate grab-and-go solution for fast weeknight meals, workday lunches or weekend trips.

“We decided it was finally time to make the moniker literal. It’s the ultimate novelty accessory for super fans of the hot roast chook. Fully insulated and built to last, it’s designed for real life – from daily work commutes to weekend beach trips and more.”

Woolworths sells about 20 million hot roast chickens each year. Combined with Coles and IGA, the major supermarkets sell as many as 90 million of them.

Affectionately named the “bachelor’s handbag” due to its popularity with younger shoppers looking for a quick, easy, healthy and protein-rich meal option, it is available in a range of flavours including the original Country Style Hot Roast Chicken.

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One Woolworth hot roast chicken costs $13 and some locations now sell them in halves for $6.50. Current additional varieties include Macro Free Range and Smokey BBQ.

Woolworths and Coles have been selling hot roast chickens in stores for decades, originally from staffed deli counters. The grab-and-go format in standalone warmers became commonplace by the mid-2000s and is now a significant supermarket seller.

Some Woolworths and Coles locations even have multiple standalone warmers filled with hot roast chickens.

Today, the distinctly Aussie nickname “bachelor’s handbag” has become ingrained in popular culture, so much so the phrase won Macquarie Dictionary’s People’s Choice Word of the Year in 2022.

The charming definition reads that a Bachelor’s Handbag is a “takeaway roast chicken [from the fact that such a chicken requires no further preparation before consumption, so is seen as an easy meal favoured by a single person, and that it is often packaged in a small plastic bag with a handle, resembling a handbag]“.

And now that it is an actual handbag, it is even more iconic than ever before.