A Target shopper was shocked to spot two of the viral Stanley Galentine’s Day Quenchers simply hanging out on a store display, without there being a crazed mob of people attempting to fight over them.
Kendra’s (@kenyandthejets) viral TikTok clip has accrued over 1.5 million views. It had folks coming up with a variety of reasons as to why they weren’t being instantly purchased and how they ended up in what looks like the Starbucks section of a Target store.
“I’m sorry this is the Stanley y’all went crazy for???? Just sitting at my local Target????” Kendra writes in a text overlay of her video as she inspects the pink variant of the limited edition Valentine’s Day cup.
There have been several viral incidents linked to these beverage containers, delineating deep drama between customers who have gone so far as to camp outside of their local Target stores for a chance to get their hands on the “Galentine’s Collection.” One woman who purportedly tried to shame a man for cutting ahead of everyone waiting in line so he could get a cup before everyone else. However, the same man in the video decided to upload his response, along with pictures, that painted a different picture of the situation where he was not trying to encroach on other people’s space in line.
Target sells the limited edition 40-ounce Quenchers for $45, the smaller tumblers that retail for $20, and a two-pack of its 10-ounce cups for $30. However, there are tons of eBay listings advertising authentic Stanley cups that sell for hundreds of dollars more than Target’s listing. There are also several listings shipping from Hong Kong that curiously retail for around their standard cost, which has raised suspicions from consumers and warnings from law enforcement about the counterfeit cup market. This makes Kendra’s discovery of extra cups especially surprising.
Her post prompted a ton of different responses from various users on the platform, with some TikTokers speculating as to why Kendra was able to so easily spot a pair of 40-ounce Galentine’s Day quenchers in her clip.
One TikToker thought this was an instance of Target being grimy and not informing customers that they would be restocking their cups: “I do think there’s something shady about limited releases failing to mention that they’ll restock.”
But Kendra didn’t think that the cups were being restocked—rather someone decided that they didn’t want them and brought them back to the store. “I have a feeling these were returned!” she said in a response to the aforementioned user.
Another commenter seemed to agree with Kendra and provided some further insight as to why the cups were out on the floor: “They aren’t restocking. Some targets don’t get the shipment in time so they put them out later.”
One person who claimed to be a Target employee wrote: “I work at Target and we do not restock limited Stanley’s people just either return them or we find hidden ones in the back.”
Others expressed joy at the leftover cups—with a hint of malice for resellers. “On the other hand, it’s funny when resellers get stuck with things,” one user wrote. “Love when they go in debt over a f*kin water bottle,” another person on the platform penned.
@kenyandthejets Im confused #stanley #target #starbucks #stanleytumbler #starbucksstanley ♬ Wedding March to Circus Music – Robert Tolppi
Someone else said that they’ve seen one reseller adjust prices in real time on numerous occasions. “There’s a lady who’s been trying to sell one for $200 on facebook. she’s reposted it like 10 times and now it’s down to $120 lmao,” they wrote.
While some of the folks replied to Kendra that they would pay her to grab the cups and send them their way, it looks like they’re going to ultimately be left out in the cold. “Yall I went back to target today to get a few groceries and they weren’t there anymore!” the TikToker added.
Kendra’s mention of the cups’ rapid disappearance does cast doubt on some speculation that the craze behind these massive thermal cups is starting to come to an end.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Stanley and Kendra via email for further comment.
