'I queued for 45 minutes to try this viral $17 cookie. It was all a scam.'

Guys, have we been duped?

Over the weekend, an exciting pop-up store appeared in North Bondi, Sydney, selling a viral cookie from the US bakery Crumbl.

Founded by Jason McGowan and Sawyer Hemsley in 2017, the bakery is the fastest growing dessert chain in the history of America, per Datassential research. The brand has likely been all over your social media pages due to its viral success.

With over 900 stores across the US and expansion into Canada, it seemed that little old Australia was next! Or, so we thought.

On Sunday, eager Sydneysiders waited in line for up to 45 minutes to get their hands on the cult treat. And despite being priced at a whopping $17.50 each, the cookies sold out.

Watch Sydneysiders line up for unofficial Crumbl pop up. Post continues after video.

Influencer Elle (@elle_easternsuburbsmum) spent $150 on the day.

Trying the treats with her friends, their reactions were mixed — describing the 'pink sugar' flavour as "really good," while the 'regular cookie' was "underwhelming".

Then, comments came flooding in to clarify that the pop-up was, well, unofficial.

On one TikTok video, the official Crumbl brand reportedly commented: "We are only in the US and Canada as of now!"

Yep, it turns out the organisers of the Sydney pop-up travelled to the US and "imported Crumbl cookies from their store in Hawaii" to sell in Australia.

"We aren't endorsed by Crumbl, just fans importing them," the organisers wrote on social media.

TikTok was obviously upset about this, and users took to the account associated with the event — @crumblsydney — to air their grievances, claiming they had been scammed.

"Crumbl will see y'all in court," one joked.

"Now help me understand this. You're saying you aren't affiliated with Crumbl and not trying to pass off as them, but your TikTok is called Crumbl Sydney? With the pink background?" a second added.

"I feel insanely bad for all the people who spent $17 per cookie," a third penned.

As of September 2024, Crumbl cookies sold in America were marked as $4.50 each USD (around $6.50 AUD).

A couple of people pointed out that Crumbl "now knows they can bring their cookies to Australia and sell them for $17".

Screenshots from the Crumbl Sydney TikTok account. Image: TikTok/@crumblsydney

Many took to social media to lament the fact that people were spending their hard earned cash, and so much of it, on a days-old imported cookie.

"What in the cost of living crisis is going on here?" said influencer Danielle Russell (@dani.russell).

Another TikTok user @sofiaqistinee said, "I was actually really sketched out because I found this through TikTok and Instagram and it wasn't endorsed by Crumbl, but I went there anyways.

"It was next to this gas (petrol) station and oh my god, look at the line. There were so, so many people. We arrived 30 minutes before the pop-up but there were still so many people in front of us."

She said the price tag when they got to the front of the queue was a "jumpscare".

"We were gonna get three until we saw the prices, so we're like, let's just get two. I think the cookies are so hyped about because there was like, a little fight in the front of the line. I don't even know what was happening."

Sofia later added that the cookies didn't cut the mustard with her and were a little stale.

"The moral of the story here – Crumbl cookie isn't all that," she said. "Spend your $17 somewhere else."

Watch influencer Elle react to Crumbl cookies. Post continues after video.

@elle_easternsuburbsmum

Crumbl cookie sydney pop up review this time in 60 seconds🍪

♬ original sound - Elle

While the @crumblsydney Instagram account was soon banned, organisers took to TikTok to release a statement in wake of the backlash.

"We never claimed to be an official Crumbl store," they insisted.

And, sure, if you look at their bio and comments section, you will find the repeated statement: "Not endorsed by Crumbl, just fans importing."

However, other videos on their account seem a lot more ambiguous — including suggestions that "Crumbl has landed in Sydney," showing the cookies in the official Crumbl packaging.

"Our goal was to bring the authentic Crumbl cookies to Australia by importing the cookies directly from the USA," organisers said, adding that they kept the cookies in the required conditions to keep them fresh. They even shared footage from their journey overseas to pick up the cookies.

As for the $17 price — which TikTok users have slammed as "ridiculous" — the organisers alleged that they didn't see much of a profit.

They broke their costs down as: $4k on flights and luggage; $6k on the cookies and packaging; $2k in duties, taxes, and customs brokering; over $1k in staffing; and additional costs for microwaves, tables , venue, and marketing.

"We set the prices without an intention of making a large profit," they added.

"We followed all legal procedures, declaring the cookies as commercial goods and obtaining the necessary approvals from Australian customs," they continued, arguing that the product fell under "parallel imports".

According to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), "a parallel import is when a business sells a product that has been brought into Australia, but doesn't have the specific permission of the product's manufacturer to do so".

Sellers must, however, meet consumers' basic rights known as "consumer guarantees" and offer a repair, replacement, or refund if there is a problem with the product. They must be truthful and accurate about the product and the pricing, and they must make sure the product is safe, as per the ACCC.

With the backlash still pouring in, we'll have to wait and see how it all unfolds from here.

Feature Image: TikTok/@cillastyle/@crumblsydney