Current:Home > Finance$350 for Starbucks x Stanley quencher? Fighting over these cups isn't weird. It's American. -ProWealth Academy
$350 for Starbucks x Stanley quencher? Fighting over these cups isn't weird. It's American.
View
Date:2025-04-27 15:05:04
Who knew pink and red drinking vessels could cause so much commotion?
We all did.
The Starbucks x Stanley Quencher is far from the first product to cause retail madness, and it won't be the last.
That's why shaking your head that people were willing to swarm Target for the limited-edition cup may say more about you than the people willing to battle it out for the cup that retailed for $50 and is now reselling for $300 and more on eBay.
Judging other people's spending is not reserved for cup buyers.
Some shook their heads at Taylor Swift and Beyoncé fans who were willing to pay big bucks to see the Eras and Renaissance tours.
Some of those same people will shell out top dollar for Super Bowl tickets or an Apple Watch.
Apple Watch wasn't built for dark skin.We deserve tech that works for everyone.
Galentine's Day Stanley quencher is not our first rodeo
Long before the tumbler was a twinkle in its creator's eye, I was a little girl who really, really wanted a squashed face doll with yarn hair and big thumbs.
For weeks before Christmas 1983, I remember lying on our living room floor and circling Toys R Us ads for Cabbage Patch Kids that came with my hometown newspaper.
I could only hope my mother or/and Santa would get the hint.
My mom did. She scraped up enough money and fended off ravenous Cabbage Patch Kids seekers to purchase an official doll for me.
I still have and cherish it.
It is far less violent, but scenes of frenzied shoppers trying to buy the Stanley cup – the result of a limited Target and Starbucks collaboration – are reminiscent of the Cabbage Patch riots of fall and winter 1983.
Not sure if anyone lucky enough to get their hand on a Stanley tumbler will cherish it 41 years later, but maybe I am wrong.
It is clear many people really, really wanted the tumbler for themselves – not their kid as was the case with my mother and the rabid parents she encountered (for the record, my mom got my doll fair and square while avoiding the riots).
Still, the so-called Galentine's Day tumblers would make wonderful Valentine's Day gifts for water lovers – hint, hint.
Are the limited-edition Stanley cups still available?
Good luck finding one and paying for it. According to the company's website, they are out of stock at many Target stores.
A representative for Starbucks told People magazine that the cups will "not be restocked" where they have sold out.
What do the Stanley cup, Beyoncé, Taylor Swift and the Super Bowl have in common?
As with the Cabbage Patch Kids doll craze and other fad obsessions, the Starbucks x Stanley Quencher chaos is the result of low supply and high demand. The same can be said about nearly every other hot item from housing to seats at a fancy restaurant.
It is very easy to make fun of people willing to pay that kind of money for a cup, but it is neither fair nor square.
What it is is judgmental and perhaps more than a little hypocritical.
It may seem frivolous to you, but people want to do things that make them happy.
That thing maybe drinking from a hot cup, seeing Taylor Swift or Beyoncé perform or cheering on the Cleveland Browns – fingers and toes crossed – at the Super Bowl.
Who will win the Super Bowl?2024 predictions: An asteroid won't save us. Maybe an AI Taylor Swift/Beyoncé fusion will.
One woman's Stanley Galentine's Day tumbler is another's Eras tickets.
One woman's Eras tickets is one man's $5,495 PlayStation 2 "Call of Duty: Finest Hour."
Who saw the Cabbage Patch Kids, Slinky, creepy Furby robots, iPhone or any of America's other past obsessions coming?
God only knows what will be next.
People want what they want even if it just looks like another pink cup or squashed faced doll to you.
Amelia Robinson is the opinion and community engagement editor at The Columbus Dispatch, where this column first published.
veryGood! (817)
Related
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Triathlon
- Trump on Day 1: Begin deportation push, pardon Jan. 6 rioters and make his criminal cases vanish
- Climate Advocacy Groups Say They’re Ready for Trump 2.0
- Jordan Chiles Reveals She Still Has Bronze Medal in Emotional Update After 2024 Olympics Controversy
- House passes bill to add 66 new federal judgeships, but prospects murky after Biden veto threat
- The charming Russian scene-stealers of 'Anora' are also real-life best friends
- Engines on 1.4 million Honda vehicles might fail, so US regulators open an investigation
- Are Ciara Ready and Russell Wilson Ready For Another Baby? She Says…
- Jorge Ramos reveals his final day with 'Noticiero Univision': 'It's been quite a ride'
- Steelers shoot for the moon ball, but will offense hold up or wilt in brutal final stretch?
Ranking
- Tarte Shape Tape Concealer Sells Once Every 4 Seconds: Get 50% Off Before It's Gone
- 'Joker 2' actor pans DC sequel as the 'worst film' ever: 'It has no plot'
- Beyoncé's Grammy nominations in country categories aren't the first to blur genre lines
- Unexpected pairing: New documentary tells a heartwarming story between Vietnam enemies
- Trump invites nearly all federal workers to quit now, get paid through September
- Prayers and cheeseburgers? Chiefs have unlikely fuel for inexplicable run
- Pie, meet donuts: Krispy Kreme releases Thanksgiving pie flavor ahead of holidays
- FSU football fires offensive, defensive coordinators, wide receivers coach
Recommendation
Are Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp down? Meta says most issues resolved after outages
Early Black Friday Deals: 70% Off Apple, Dyson, Tarte, Barefoot Dreams, Le Creuset & More + Free Shipping
Question of a lifetime: Families prepare to confront 9/11 masterminds
Firefighters make progress, but Southern California wildfire rages on
Residents worried after ceiling cracks appear following reroofing works at Jalan Tenaga HDB blocks
Tennessee fugitive accused of killing a man and lying about a bear chase is caught in South Carolina
World War II veteran reflects on life as he turns 100
'Devastation is absolutely heartbreaking' from Southern California wildfire