He said the collectibles had been going fast, and were down to their last cage of supply before the clock struck 9am.
Social media was full of reports that people had been queuing outside their local Coles since 6am.
Customers justified the horde-like shopping with a simple message: "They sold out too fast last year."
Tanya, who had three cases, miniature shopping trolleys and a mini shopping basket in her arms, said she was buying them for her co-workers.
"I didn't do it last year, but people at work went nuts for them so I promised I'd get some for them," she told 7NEWS.com.au.
Another shopper, Deb, said the armful of novelty supplies was for her mother and sister.
A spokeswoman for Coles told 7NEWS.com.au they had been "overwhelmed" by the collectibles' popularity.
"(They're) flying off the shelves across the country," she said.
Both Deb and Tanya acknowledged a lot of shoppers purely buy the cases to sell them online later.
New listings have already gone up on eBay, with a case and apron being sold for three times as much as it would cost in-store.
The Coles spokeswoman said they were working to ensure nobody would miss out.
"We have lots of collector cases available and our team members are working hard to keep stock on the shelves," she said.
"Some of our new items, including Coles trucks and registers, are selling more quickly than anticipated and we have extra stock on the way from our warehouses to stores.”
This story first appeared on 7NEWS.com.au - click here for more!
