Image: Adult Swim
Here's a spooky Friday the 13th tale for you: A man went to McDonald's, purchased some Chicken McNuggets and received, for his efforts, a singular 1 oz. package of Mulan Szechuan Sauce (Est. 1998). In normal times this would seem mundane, almost not worth relaying in a technology publication. But these are not normal times, my friend. For this man found himself in possession of a highly coveted Rick and Morty / Mulan-themed (long story) sugar substance valued at roughly 21.8 percent of today's price of gold.Our friend here—an entrepreneur of sorts—decided not to consume the sauce. Instead, he partnered with two fellow line-standers and sold the three packets of sauce for a hefty $848 on eBay. The man, who asked to remain anonymous because of fear of retribution from the best fanbase in the multiverse™, reached out to me after I first wrote about the McDonald's Rick and Morty sauce debacle on Sunday. Here is a version of his saga that has been condensed because life is short.Motherboard: How did you get the sauce?
Szechuan Sauce entrepreneur: I'm a huge Rick and Morty fan so i knew it would be a big thing. I wanted to try and get it for myself. I kept calling the McDonald's every other day this week to see what they'd say. The morning of, I called at 9 AM and said the manager was going to hand out tickets at 10 o'clock. we went over right at 10—there were 10 other people there. I came back later and there were 150 people looping around McDonald's. They only had 60 items—20 sauces, 20 stickers, 20 posters—so there was no point in waiting for those people. It was a big mess. Me and two friends got one sauce each.
This one kid went outside and said 'I just sold mine to someone in line for $35.' Another person came back and said 'I just sold mine for $50.' Me and my friends saw this and we decided to hold off on eating it. You can't argue with getting money like that. We went on eBay and saw they were listed for crazy prices—like, individual packs for $1,000.They weren't selling for that though—how did you decide how much money was enough for this sauce?
I threw one sauce up for $1,000 to begin with and it was getting a ton of views. Thousands of views. I kept lowering the price, but then I also put up all three for $850. It sold within 30 minutes. Payment received and everything. It was done in 30 minutes.How does one pack $850-worth of McDonald's sauce
I already shipped it. The post office was closed Monday because it was Columbus Day, so I used UPS. I packed it incredibly well. Really safely.What are you going to do with the money?
I'm going to put it to savings. No immediate action. I mean, I definitely would have liked to have tried the sauce if circumstances were different, but i think the money was a better option.
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Szechuan Sauce entrepreneur: I'm a huge Rick and Morty fan so i knew it would be a big thing. I wanted to try and get it for myself. I kept calling the McDonald's every other day this week to see what they'd say. The morning of, I called at 9 AM and said the manager was going to hand out tickets at 10 o'clock. we went over right at 10—there were 10 other people there. I came back later and there were 150 people looping around McDonald's. They only had 60 items—20 sauces, 20 stickers, 20 posters—so there was no point in waiting for those people. It was a big mess. Me and two friends got one sauce each.
Was selling the sauce always the plan?I definitely would have liked to have tried the sauce if circumstances were different
This one kid went outside and said 'I just sold mine to someone in line for $35.' Another person came back and said 'I just sold mine for $50.' Me and my friends saw this and we decided to hold off on eating it. You can't argue with getting money like that. We went on eBay and saw they were listed for crazy prices—like, individual packs for $1,000.They weren't selling for that though—how did you decide how much money was enough for this sauce?
I threw one sauce up for $1,000 to begin with and it was getting a ton of views. Thousands of views. I kept lowering the price, but then I also put up all three for $850. It sold within 30 minutes. Payment received and everything. It was done in 30 minutes.How does one pack $850-worth of McDonald's sauce
I already shipped it. The post office was closed Monday because it was Columbus Day, so I used UPS. I packed it incredibly well. Really safely.What are you going to do with the money?
I'm going to put it to savings. No immediate action. I mean, I definitely would have liked to have tried the sauce if circumstances were different, but i think the money was a better option.