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Charli D'Amelio shared her extensive Squishmallow collection online with fans, without realizing what would happen, and has received backlash.
Squishmallows are essentially super soft and small pillow-like stuffed animals. They are round in shape and are made to feel like a squishy marshmallow with a polyester material.
According to the site, there are over 500 different characters to collect, and it has become an international seller with plenty of buyers.
Charlie D'Amelio is clearly one of those buyers, and she has created quite the collection for herself. She posted a picture of herself surrounded by all of the Squishmallows in her collection, which got plenty of comments from users.
Many other TikTokers were who were impressed by the collection, such as Madi Monroe. Others questioned whether the image was part of some brand deal or if the collection image would lead to one. Charli D'Amelio revealed the collection had 30 Squishmallows in total.
Some of the backlash came from users who were concerned about shortage and pricing. In their theories, buying that amount of Squishmallows would create even more of a deficit for them. Hence, the prices would go higher than they already are, especially in other retailers such as Amazon. That's not guaranteed, but Instagram users seemed concerned.
On the other side, plenty of people were quick to point out that it's a harmless purchase of some Squishmallows and not something Charli D'Amelio needs to be hated for.
A shortage of Squishmallows and the fear of Charli D'Amelio bringing more of a problem
While the issue is undoubtedly harmless at the end of the day, the prospect of a far sterner challenge is becoming more real for Squishmallow collectors. The shortage wouldn't just happen from Charli D'Amelio adding to her vast collection, but rather her fans.
Comments showed concern for the idea that Charli D'Amelio broadcasting her collection would bring tons of other fans onto the trend. The only thing that would drive that further is if the 16-year-old could land a brand deal with the company itself.
What is happening with Squishmallows can be similarly compared to the meteoric surge in interest for Pokemon Cards lately. Not only has there been plenty of records broken for expensive cards, but packs are consistently sold out. And much of that may also be attributed to influencers driving popularity.
