So You Want a Tesco Pixar/Marvel Figurine Pen?

Here's the latest craze. Exclusive Disney/Pixar and Marvel figurine pens!

I was at Tesco last week, minding my own business with my family, when my daughter started to ask for these cute little figurines which looked like giant headed representations of some Pixar cartoon characters and Marvel superheroes. And she wanted Woody.

What's all the fuss about the thing inside???

So what's a dad got to do? They were giving these things for "free", so can't be that hard to get one right? Well, I'm writing this blog to help you out if ever you think you want one of these things too. Yes, this article isn't going to be much of photography or technology, but heck, I just like writing for fun.

For you moms and dads who want to get these things, I suggest you read this first.

Rules of Engagement

You get a little leaflet that tells you how you can get one. But it's pretty long and somewhat inaccurate. Here's a simplified version from my experience:

1. You need 10 stickers to get one free pen. 
2. You can also do with 5 stickers and top up RM4.90.
3. To get a sticker, spend RM50 in a single receipt. RM100 will get you 2 stickers and so on. You collect this sticker from the cashier. 
4. Each sticker has a unique serial number (Tesco's really serious about this eh?)
5. You also get "bonus" stickers by purchasing "partner branded" items which you can find from a flyer. These items range from cheap to expensive and are only from certain brands. 
6. Bonus stickers must be redeemed from a dedicated counter outside after you pay. 
7. Bring your receipt and show the promoter at the counter exactly which item you bought which qualifies for your bonus sticker.
8. You can only get 1 bonus sticker for every RM50 purchase you made. 
9. You can buy the pen once you have at least 5 stickers.

The Strategy

The terms and conditions on the flyer they provide only tell you half the story. Here's what I learnt the hard way:

1. Make sure you have bought at least RM50 worth of goods, and at least on bonus point item. Use the price checkers and calculator if you have to!
2. Pick the cheapest bonus point item, i.e. the Dutch Lady UHT milk or Dutch Lady Low Fat Yogurt if you have no use for those other things on the list
3. There are some aisle which show Tesco products giving you bonus points (e.g. Tesco cheddar cheese). Don't believe it, the counter only accepts items from the flyer list!
4. If you buy an electrical item, you may have to pay at the electrical items counter and may not be able to buy the bonus items as per item 2. This is not a good because they will be in separate receipts and you will not be eligible for additional stickers, even if you paid RM2,000 for your TV. I lost one sticker because of this. So if possible, just bring your Dutch Lady UHT milk or yogurt to the counter too and force them to accept payment for it.
5. It may be a good idea to just pay RM4.90 and collect 5 stickers instead of 10.
6. Look out for people who aren't interested in these stickers (single men, foreign workers, grandmothers, aunties, etc.) and ask them to give you their sticker
7. Look on the floor! One man's rubbish may be another man's treasure. My wife found a THREE discarded stickers right next to my car (I take it as divine providence! hahaha...)
8. You have 12.5% chance of getting the figurine you want. Coz what they didn't tell you is that the figurines are sealed and random! You won't know what you get until you buy it and open it.

The stickers themselves are pretty cute. But you can't keep them if you want a pen. And it's strange coincidence I got so many repeat stickers (especially the Hulk which I hope I won't get!). This here is actually my second set of stickers...

Our Story

So Evangeline was really adamant I got her a Woody. I personally had my eye on Mike Wazowski (yeah, lame pun alert) but of course, it's her toy, not mine.

We initially thought we could get 5 stickers by purchasing RM50 worth of goods AND 4 of the listed bonus items. But I was wrong. When I arrived at the redemption counter (after queuing for 10 minutes), I was told I can only get 1 bonus sticker from my RM60 receipt. But God somehow knew EV wanted her toy and the first of the sign was kind samaritan lady came up to me when I was queuing and asked me if I'd wanted her sticker. I gladly took it (to the dismay of the lady in front of me) together with her receipt of RM120. So fortunately, I now I have 3 tickets and I searched for something that matched the list. It must be God's providence again to find out that this lady bought a Dutch Lady UHT milk! Now I have 4 stickers, and I just needed one more. Combing through her receipt, I thought I found another match which was the Softlan softener. But upon checking, she only bought the 1 liter version instead of the 2-3liter version which qualifies. Bummer.

So I decided to do something shameless. I walked to the back to the payment counters and scouted for people who may want to let go of their stickers. I told them my sad story after I notice that their total is more than RM50 and that there is no children around them. "Hi, would you want that sticker? My daughter really wants that pen and I need just one more sticker (showing them my sticker booklet)". After 3 attempts, I got one kind old aunty to donate me hers (although I felt more like a credit card sales person at this point). Why did I do this and not buy another RM50 worth of goods? Well, first of all, I didn't want to spend RM50 aimlessly. And secondly, there are bound to be people who don't want a toy pen. So there's a good chance for me and it paid off.

I ran back to the counter to claim for my gift, and that's when I found that we had no choice what the figurine is going to be. Sucks, that means I only have a 12.5% chance of getting Woody. And my daughter was pretty upset when I told her we may not get Woody. My wife was just hoping we didn't fall under the other 12.5% of people ending up with the Hulk. After the promoter gave me the box (not before she said a little "prayer" coz I told her of my plight), EV opened it immediately. And guess what? She got a WOODY!

Happy daughter = happy father

Well, so now you got my story and some tips to make this work for you. I'm on to my second sticker booklet already and I got my third divine providence when my wife found THREE stickers right near my car! Hmmm... I think I'm sounding a bit too crazy about this here toy pens. GAH! What have you done to me TESCO?!