Starbucks Mugs Are Selling Like Hotcakes On Resale Sites

Starbucks is very possibly the thing I miss most about pre-pandemic life. It has nothing to do with the coffee (though it's damn tasty) and everything to do with routine: I never know what the day that lies ahead of me has in store, but I do know there will be a black Venti Americano at the beginning of it, accompanied by some friendly conversation with the baristas that have become a part of my life. I still drink home-brewed coffee on my couch in the morning, but it just isn't the same. Starbucks means wearing pants. It means being social. It means that in a world that has forever been full of chaos and uncertainty, some sort of constant exists. Starbucks is my ritual. Starbucks is my port in the storm.

And I'm apparently not the only one who feels this way: Starbucks branded mugs, tumblers, and fashion accessories (yes, fashion accessories) have become extremely popular in the resale market since mid-March. CNN Business reports that Starbucks has become the number-one trending brand on popular resale site Poshmark, a phenomenon that Poshmark CEO Manish Chandra chalks up to the nostalgia factor, driven by people like me who miss this tiny yet meaningful part of their daily routine. Chandra explains to CNN, "People have been making their coffee at home and pouring it into their favorite Starbucks cups, or taking their Starbucks mugs to their Zoom meetings or now, virtual coffee meets." In the past three months, sales of Starbucks merchandise on Poshmark has increased by 100%. It's outselling luxury brands like Gucci, even though the Starbucks items are priced at a significant markup.

Starbucks closed its online store in 2017 to focus more on its retail locations and its (at the time) new app. Perhaps it's a good time for the company to bring online merch back. As long as they're careful about which slogans they print on it.