Starbucks collectibles
Starbucks Collectibles are products manufactured by Starbucks Corporation and include Starbucks' cards, Starbucks' mugs, Starbucks' posters, and almost anything and everything manufactured or printed by Starbucks Corporation. The Starbucks Collectibles secondary market has existed since the inception of Starbucks and the Starbucks card collectible trading market has existed since the first Starbucks card was manufactured in 2001.[1] In the month of May 2013, there were between 26,000 and 37,000 Starbucks' item auctions on eBay every day. In the summer of 2013, auctions for Starbucks rose to over 40,000 auctions daily.[2]
Overview
Starbucks Corporation has watched the secondary market trading its cards for more than a decade on eBay and capitalized on the market by introducing the Starbucks Steel card limited release of 5,000 in 2012. According to Forbes, “The Starbucks Steel Card is Now Selling For More Than Twice Its Face Value On EBay”.[3] The highest price ever paid for a single Starbucks card not loaded with money value was $10,277.00 on January 27, 2011 despite the fact that the card was only ten years old which rivals the value of a 1940 Joe DiMaggio Baseball card which is set at $1,265.74.[4][5] www.buckscards.com has posted the issuance of every single card manufactured by Starbucks Corporation since its inception in 2001, from every single country in the world.
Starbucks cups and mugs are even more popular as the most desirable of Starbucks' product. WikiBooks carries a “Guide to Collectible Mugs/Starbucks City Mugs”.[6] The most recent highest priced auction on eBay for mugs was a Starbucks Complete Skyline set of 48 City Mugs for $10,000.[7] The highest price paid for a single Starbucks coffee mug occurred on June 2, 2013 with the purchase of a 2007 Japan mug for $1,375.00USD.[8] The original price of all Starbucks mugs originally runs between $8.95 and $18.95 USD.[9] In August 2013, Starbucks released a special limited edition Swarovski crystal Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte cup for $150 per cup. A pre-order message was sent out to current registered Starbucks customers and the cup sold out in less than 2 days.[10]
Starbucks Corporation actually boosts the secondary market by creating mugs and cards that are regional. For instance, in 2013, there were regional cards only released in the city on the card. These included New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., Boston, Chicago, and the first county card for Orange County, California. This creates a frenzy of buying as collectors swarm to buy from other cities across the U.S. on eBay. Starbucks also released that year a series of mugs along the same lines with their "You Are Here" mug collection so that collectors again had to resort to eBay to get a complete collection. Starbucks promotes these releases on their blog.[11]
Another section of the Starbucks secondary market that is fast-growing is the resale of Partner (the term for a Starbucks employee) items. This includes the resale of Partner cards, Partner reward pins, Partner booklets, Partner hats and aprons, and Starbucks stickers and stamps.
A similar collector movement that gained momentum as quickly happened with Disneyana in the 1980s.
Starbucks Seasonal Drinks
Starbucks offers Starbucks Seasonal drinks which are beverages served at Starbucks. They are usually available around Christmas time. Starbucks seasonal drinks are available for the majority of November, all of December, and the beginning of January with the exception of the pumpkin spice latte which is available earlier in the fall.
Types of drinks in the United States
Caramel Brulée Latte: An espresso with steamed milk and caramel brulée flavored sauce. Topped with sweetened whipped cream and caramel brulée topping. Also served in Canada.
Chestnut Praline Latte: An espresso with steamed milk, and flavors of caramelized chestnuts and spices. Topped with whipped cream and spiced praline crumbs. This latte is served nationwide. Also served in Canada. It is the first holiday latte to be released in five years.
Eggnog Latte: It is a Starbucks Christmas classic. Made with Real eggnog, mixed with a bit of milk, espresso, and topped with nutmeg on top. Also served in the United Kingdom, Canada and Ireland. [2] It was first introduced in 1986.
Gingerbread latte: An espresso with steamed milk and gingerbread flavored syrup. Topped with spice-infused whipped cream and real molasses drizzle. Also served in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and Ireland.
Peppermint Mocha: A classic mocha with peppermint syrup, topped with whipped cream and some festive red sprinkles. Also served in Canada, Australia, and Philippines.[3]
Peppermint Hot Chocolate: A twist on the Peppermint Mocha, lose the coffee and go for a hot chocolate with peppermint syrup, whipped cream and festive red sprinkles. Also available in Canada, Australia, and Ireland.
Pumpkin Spice Latte: Something for Halloween, a seasonal coffee made with espresso, pumpkin-flavored syrup and steamed milk,topped with whipped cream and pumpkin pie spices. Also available in The United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Philippines,and Ireland. This is the most popular latte sold in Starbucks stores.[4]
Types of drinks in Other Countries
Christmas Cookie Latte: It's a buttery, creamy latte handcrafted with a smooth shortbread cookie flavored sauce,a bold espresso and freshly steamed milk. Then, it is finished off with a crown of whipped cream, shortbread cookie drizzle and butter cookie crumbles. This latte is served only in Australia.
Honey and Almond Hot Chocolate: It is a mocha and almond syrup blended with steamed milk, topped with chocolate whipped cream and finished with swirls of mocha and honey drizzles. This drink is available in the United Kingdom and Ireland.[5]
Toffee Nut Latte: This is a latte that is rich, buttery of sweet toffee combined with the warmth of toasted nuts and blended espresso with steamed milk. It is topped with whipped cream and toffee nut sprinkles. Which is only found in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the Philippines.[6]
Holiday drink that did not make the cut
In 2013, a Cherries Jubilee Mocha was tested in a few markets, which included Indianapolis, Wichita, Orlando, Tampa, Baltimore and Omaha, said Melody Overton, a Seattle lawyer and author of the blog StarbucksMelody.[7] It was to be mocha with cherry syrup, and cocoa and cherry drizzle on top.
References
- ↑ "BucksCards.com History of Card Collecting". 2013-01-01. Retrieved 2013-06-07.
- ↑ "Ebay search "Starbucks"". 2013-08-30. Retrieved 2013-08-30.
- ↑ "Forbes". 2012-12-08. Retrieved 2013-06-07.
- ↑ "New Record Price for Empty Gift Card Set" (PDF). 2011-01-27. Retrieved 2013-06-07.
- ↑ "Free Baseball Cards Price Guide". 2013-06-07. Retrieved 2013-06-07.
- ↑ Wikibooks:Guide to Collectible Mugs/Starbucks City Mugs
- ↑ "eBay Mugs Auction". 2013-06-07. Retrieved 2013-06-07.
- ↑ "eBay Japan Mug Auction". 2013-06-03. Retrieved 2013-06-07.
- ↑ "Starbucks Corporate Online Shopping 2013". 2013-06-01. Retrieved 2013-06-08.
- ↑ "Starbucks Corporate Online Shopping 2013". 2013-08-30. Retrieved 2013-08-30.
- ↑ "Starbucks Mug Blog 2013". 2013-03-01. Retrieved 2013-06-08.