If you know a person obsessed with Hello Kitty, you know that they might go to great lengths to score a coveted collectible.
TikTok creator @agustus9223 recently went viral for his post about finding a Hello Kitty fan’s secret stash of an in-demand item at their local TJ Maxx store.
The video has more than 536,000 views and 76,000 likes.
@agustus9223 Found hidden cookie jars hello kitty #fyp #viral #hellokitty ♬ original sound – gusbus
In the video, the creator shows viewers the aisles of a TJ Maxx location, saying, “We’re always looking for Hello Kitty stuff.” The camera shows shelves of mugs, jars, and the like, some Halloween-themed.
“And then all of a sudden, we see that,” the TikToker says, pointing to a white object on the ground tucked between two display shelves. “We know that doesn’t belong here.”
The creator pries open the space between the shelves to reveal two black-and-white, Halloween-themed Hello Kitty cookie jars.
“Whoever did this needs to chill, guys, on this Hello Kitty sh*t,” the TikToker says.
The creator calls over their shopping companion, theorizing that someone hid the cookie jars.
“Let’s get them both,” the other person says.
In the comments section, viewers suggested that a customer—or even a store employee—may have hidden the cookie jars so they could purchase them later.
“I would’ve bought both just to be petty,” one viewer commented. Someone else replied, “i would’ve bought one & left one … lol y’all mean.”
“I always look in the laundry baskets at Marshall’s, Burlington etc. cause people hide stuff in them,” one savvy shopper noted.
Another person commented, “i work at marshalls when i saw them I IMMEDIATELY put it on hold and bought it.”
The cookie jars seem to cost $12.99 at TJ Maxx. However, seemingly identical jars are listed on eBay for $45 and Mercari for $34.
Hello Kitty was created in 1974 by Japanese company Sanrio. In the ensuing two decades, the character—who the company emphasizes is a little girl, not a cat—found worldwide fame through merchandise bearing her image, according to Encyclopaedia Britannica. She became a symbol of Japanese kawaii culture.
Today, you can find Hello Kitty on everything imaginable: bags, thermoses, backpacks, towels, cat treats, cutlery, sheet masks, Vera Bradley handbags, and so much more. There’s also a traveling Hello Kitty truck that brings exclusive merch to people in certain cities. It might be easier to say what kind of products Hello Kitty isn’t on.
And Hello Kitty collectors take their hobby seriously. In 2017, a retired Japanese police officer made the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest Hello Kitty collection in the world, with 5,169 items.
The Daily Dot contacted @agustus9223 via TikTok direct message and Sanrio and TJ Maxx via email for more information.
