By Austin Gonzales
The holiday season may be over, but that hasn’t stopped consumers gathering at Targets nationwide, just to get their hands on a Stanley brand tumbler cup. Since the big red retailer opened up post-Christmas Day, shoppers have been asking, “Where are the Stanley cups?”
It all came to a start just one day after Christmas. Videos circulated on TikTok featuring parents filming their kids gratefully opening up their new $45 Stanley tumbler.
User @lateapendleton uploaded a video of her daughter happily opening up her new Stanley cup before embracing her Dad on Christmas Eve. The TikTok video went viral with over 24.5 million views and 3 million likes, adding to the Stanley cup’s popularity.
The Stanley brand has always made very durable and insulated drinkware products. One viral TikTok video showed a Stanley tumbler surviving a car fire. The tumbler still had ice and virtually no damage. So, it’s no question why these became so popular. The (unintentional or not) marketing of this cup has been tremendous, outdoing itself even further with the new collaboration with Target.
Target partnered with the Stanley thermos company to introduce an exclusive, “while supplies last,” Valentine’s Day Starbucks tumbler. One in pink, one in red. After the announcement, people camped outside of Target stores all night. They all wanted to be first at checkout with the Valentine’s Day Stanley cup. Some Target stores reported guests gathering an hour before closing time the night before it launched.
TikTok user @victoria_robino_26 posted on New Year’s Eve footage of the moment her local Target opened its doors. Customers flooded the display, bickering over who gets what and how many cups they can carry. This video was the first of several that gained traction because of the Stanley cup craze.
Despite the rave, Amanda Garcia, of the Saginaw Target location said the cups were “too much money” and “overrated.” One man even jumped the line at a Target location, stealing a box of the exclusive tumblers for himself – or to resell. This was caught on-camera by TikTok user @yuki.anax, but the video has since been deleted.
There is a good chance that you’ll find these exclusive tumblers on Facebook marketplace, just for a higher price. Resellers are now flooding the online market. It is reminiscent of the scarcity of the PlayStation 5 console just two years prior. What usually adds up to about $50 for a fancy bottle can be found on eBay or Etsy from $119.99 to $930. And that doesn’t count the extra $7.20 for shipping.
