(Yicai Global) Feb. 27 -- Starbucks 2019 spring cherry blossom-themed cat's paw cups went on sale yesterday to great fanfare. 

Many prospective buyers waited outside the Seattle, US-based company's outlets starting from 4.00 or 5.00 a.m. hoping to catch a cup, only to come to blows when scrambling for their prey several hours later when the coffee shops opened for the day.

The CNY199 (USD29.7) plastic mug -- whose cavity is formed in the shape of the subject feline extremity -- has even fetched as much as CNY1,288 (USD192) on Taobao and other secondary trading platforms, National Business Daily reported today.

A woman web user said she went to a Starbucks store in Beijing at 5.00 a.m. yesterday and waited to cop a cup but was knocked down by another aspiring collector who pounced on the only two left. Another waited from 11.00 p.m. until 3.00 a.m. and succeeded in catching one mug, but a couple scratched it away from her, the kittenish victim posted on her Twitter-like Weibo account.

Ordinary stores have only two or three of the limited-edition vessels, while larger ones have more. Starbucks sets no limit on how many of the beastly beakers a customer can buy and so many latecomers were unable to get their claws on even one. The cat at the head of the line bought out all the cups in some stores. 

Many say they cannot understand the rush for the cups and think Starbucks is resorting to hunger marketing again. Others dismiss the online videos of running cup battles as likely to merely be Starbucks' hype. 

Yicai Global contacted Starbucks for clarification but has as yet received no response. The cat-paw fever rages on meanwhile.

Editor: Ben Armour