Coffee Is Like a Collectible: Why the Manner Phantom Bear Disappointed Buyers

The limited-edition Phantom Bear merchandise released by the coffee chain Manner in collaboration with the English-language production of The Phantom of the Opera has drawn a flood of complaints on social media. After receiving the product, many users found serious quality-control problems such as crooked mouths and lopsided faces, and joked that the bear looked like an unidentified creature.

Since the merchandise could only be redeemed with points, many theater fans and coffee lovers went through considerable trouble to get one, only to be disappointed, with some demanding returns and the refund of their points. The episode shows how a point-based reward can turn into frustration when the physical item does not match the promise.

The limited-edition Phantom Bear merchandise released by the coffee chain Manner in collaboration with the English-language original production of *The Phantom of the Opera* has recently drawn a flood of complaints on social media. After receiving the actual product, many users discovered that this bear, which should have been cute, suffered from serious quality-control problems such as crooked mouths and lopsided faces, and it was jokingly dubbed an "unidentified creature." Since this merchandise could only be redeemed with points, many theater fans and coffee lovers went through considerable trouble to get their hands on it, only to be greatly disappointed, with some even bluntly demanding returns and the refund of their points. This article will sort out the sequence of events and present user feedback along with the quality-control controversy surrounding the brand's collaborative merchandise.

▲

Click to follow | Daily specialty coffee culture magazine Coffee Workshop

"I can't take it, I just can't take it at all!" "Bro, what are you even looking at?" "Sloppy little bears, each sloppy in its own way…" "What can save you, Manner little bear!"

Recently, Manner's loyal customers have been posting their newly acquired Manner bears on social media one after another, saying they were "traumatized" by this extremely sloppy-looking plush toy.

It is understood that this plush bear is a limited-edition collaborative product recently launched by Manner together with the English-language original production of *The Phantom of the Opera*. According to one theater fan, during the tour of *The Phantom of the Opera*, themed merchandise is sold on site, including this bear plush designed after the male lead, the Phantom, making it one of the most sought-after items among the merchandise.

The limited-edition Phantom Bear released by Manner, meanwhile, was reduced in size compared with the original version, and the bear was made to hold a cup of coffee in its hands. This small and cute limited-edition charm appealed to some theater fans. However, this merchandise could only be obtained through point redemption, so many people paid others on secondhand platforms to redeem it on their behalf as fellow Manner users.

Yet when they received the package and opened it, they could not immediately tell whether what was in the box was a bear or a monkey. Judging from the buyer-show photos shared by users, the plush bears they received showed varying degrees of crooked mouths and lopsided faces, so much so that some could not help joking, "Is Manner coffee made from jianshouqing mushrooms? Otherwise why does this little bear look like it's high out of its mind?"

The large number of photos posted on social media left users who had already redeemed the merchandise feeling anxious, and each of them faced this piece of merchandise with the mindset of opening a blind box. If they were lucky enough to get a Phantom Bear that could still be salvaged, they would follow tutorials shared by skillful plush-toy collectors, smoothing the fur and reshaping the face, doing all they could to restore the bear's looks.

If they were unlucky and received an "unidentified creature" whose appearance was too dreadful and beyond saving, they could only comfort themselves with remarks such as "The Phantom himself is pretty ugly anyway, so Manner's design actually fits the character setting" and "The Phantom was originally a deformed man, so there's nothing wrong with it," so as to calmly accept this piece of merchandise that far exceeded their expectations.

Among the many chain brands, although Manner cannot compare with that "collaboration maniac," it has also cooperated with quite a few well-known IPs and brands. The merchandise it has released has occasionally been criticized for mediocre quality control, but on the whole it has still received mostly positive reviews, and every new launch has made customers buy the casket for the pearl.

But this time, the "sloppy little bear" released in collaboration with *The Phantom of the Opera* truly far exceeded Manner users' expectations, turning full anticipation completely into frustration. They complained one after another that the quality control had "seriously flopped," and quite a few even directly said they wanted to return the goods and demanded that Manner refund the points used for redemption.

Some netizens believe that in order to attract theater fans to buy, Manner chose the most popular bear among the IP-derived merchandise as the limited edition, yet the actual product was "poles apart" from the promotional photos, and the quality control perhaps fell short of fans' imagination. Amid their disappointment, fans who had already received the merchandise sincerely reminded others who wanted to get it not to be carried away by the "limited edition," or else they might, like them, end up with a "strange creature" whose species cannot even be identified.

Image source: Xiaohongshu

Disclaimer: Some images in this article are from the internet. For some content on the website, such as images, we will respect the original author's copyright and indicate the source. However, due to the large volume, a few images and texts may not have been credited in time. We ask for your understanding. If the original author has any dispute, they may contact the website for handling. Once verified, we will correct it immediately. Compiled and edited by "Coffee Workshop." Please indicate the source when reposting. If there is any infringement, please inform us for deletion. Thank you~!

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.