Starbucks’ Halloween Cups Are Reselling for Hundreds of Dollars And Making People Cry
Happy National Coffee Day! Also, I was creeping on my crush’s twitter feed when I happened to stumble upon a viral tweet about Starbucks’ plastic reusable Halloween cups that read:
I saw a girl at Starbucks today who bought 6 Halloween cups and was bragging to the barista about reselling them online for like $100 each. The fact that so many people are doing this so others can’t enjoy them is messed up. Nobody should pay $100 for a damn cup.
Opinions aside on the morality of reselling Starbucks cups … WHY are they selling for so much!? Who is buying them!? Do they do anything other than hold your beverage? I reached out to Starbucks Baristas across the country, and this is what they had to say about the issue.
One Starbucks Shift Manager in California said:
It all started this summer when we got our coloring changing cups. They sold out the day we got them and for weeks we kept getting calls when we would get more and that people “have to have them”. People would buy multiple packs, one to keep for themselves and the others to auction off on Ebay since people will bid very high amounts of money for these cups. It started happening again with the launch we had for our studded matte black cups and the warehouse sent only 24 to our store and we sold out within an hour. The new Halloween cups that are out are only at licensed stores (ones you see in Targets, Safeways, etc) and since its not directly Starbucks for those stores, they get different merchandise therefore making the cups a rarity.
Due to the rarity of these cups… they’re currently selling from anywhere from $100 – $500 on sites like Ebay, Etsy, and Poshmark! Another Starbucks employee from Portland Oregon told me his store had to implement a one cup purchase per person rule because people would come in and buy tens of them to resell! He told me that after the rule was put into action, families would come in and each buy 1 cup per person to loophole around the rule.
I think the most surprising thing about this whole story is that people are expressing signs of sorrow and despair because they can’t find the Halloween cup in a store near them. This woman was brought to tears when the people in front of her got the last spooky cup! I can’t embed the tweet as her username is not the most family friendly… however this is what she had to say:
I waited in line this morning and I was only in front of 3 small families. They separated their purchases so they can get each of everything… I left tearing up and frustrated. (not to assume but I’m pretty sure some of them were just gonna resell their stuff online too)
Rightfully so? I don’t know … I’m no one to judge people’s emotional reactions as I cry over most things. THAT BEING SAID … These cups are clearly causing some emotional turmoil throughout the country and for some reason I now need one. Anyone have $139.90 to lend me?
https://www.ebay.com/i/264459677045?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-117182-37290-0&mkcid=2&itemid=264459677045&targetid=593772107693&device=c&mktype=pla&googleloc=9001987&poi=&campaignid=2086087905&mkgroupid=76935344123&rlsatarget=pla-593772107693&abcId=1141016&merchantid=6296724&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI-qnLloX15AIVjJOzCh0dRAjQEAQYAiABEgKtp_D_BwE