Why the Starbucks 'Bearista' cup has everyone losing their minds

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00:00Videos are surfacing of fights breaking out inside Starbucks over their new holiday release.

00:04Sure, it's cute and seasonal, but the real story isn't the bear,

00:07it's the scarcity strategy behind it. And this isn't new, as Starbucks has been stoking hype

00:12and chaos with holiday cups for years. But here's why everyone is losing their minds

00:16over a $30 barista cup. Like clockwork, Starbucks dropped its holiday menu,

00:22featuring seasonal favorites like their peppermint mocha, red cups, and limited edition merchandise.

00:27And this year, fans were in for a real treat. A 20-ounce glass, shaped like a bear wearing a

00:33green beanie, holding a small cup, complete with a white and green striped straw. And as usual with

00:38Starbucks' limited holiday drops, the frenzy started almost immediately. The barista cup was

00:43released November 6th, where some patrons showed up as early as 4am to stand in line for this limited

00:48edition merch. But no one expected just how limited these cups would be. Within hours, social media

00:54exploded with customer frustration. One fan wrote, so Starbucks, who has a rabid cup collection fan base,

01:01announced this arguably adorable cup and then only gave out two per store. Diabolical. Another early

01:08riser who lined up at 2am shared why the wait felt wasted. So five minutes before the doors open,

01:14one of the workers opened the door and said, I'm just letting you guys know, like, I'm going to be

01:19buying the bear cups and the Hello Kitty plushes. So you might want to try another Starbucks that

01:26were wasting our time. And Spoon University reports, according to shoppers, the already limited supply

01:32of cups are being bought out by employees and fought over by fellow customers. As if store scarcity

01:37wasn't enough, the hunt for the barista cup spilled online. Like many other limited edition items,

01:44the barista cup quickly attracted resellers looking to flip it for a profit, with some listings reaching

01:50as high as $500 on Facebook Marketplace and eBay. This caused some shoppers to turn to Amazon in search

01:56of dupes, but others warned, purchase at your own risk. As the listing featured AI-generated mock-ups

02:03and had zero reviews, meaning buyers might never actually receive a cup. And it seems Amazon moved fast,

02:09the link that was circulating has already been removed. Starbucks has responded to the backlash,

02:14tellingtoday.com. The excitement for our merchandise exceeded even our biggest expectations.

02:19Despite shipping more barista cups to coffeehouses than almost any other merchandise item this holiday

02:25season, the barista cup and some other items sold out fast. We understand many customers were excited

02:30about the barista cup and apologize for the disappointment this may have caused. And now as

02:35Starbucks promises, quote, more exciting merchandise coming this holiday season, critics are calling out

02:40the brand's marketing strategy. One thread's user suggested, the bear cup isn't random, it follows a

02:46century-old pattern where economic uncertainty makes people vulnerable to artificial scarcity.

02:51And another creator summed it up bluntly, you're not chasing a collectible, you're doing free marketing

02:57for a billion-dollar brand, laughing to the bank. Unfortunately, brands like Starbucks use scarcity

03:02marketing because, as researchers note, it works by tapping into human psychology, making people want

03:08items more when they're perceived as rare or limited in supply, a phenomenon also known as FOMO.

03:14And judging by all the feedback, the barista chaos isn't just about a cute cup. It's a perfect example

03:20of how brands can turn planned scarcity into hype, excitement, and even free marketing. But with store

03:25closures and an upcoming strike in the mix, was this really Starbucks' smartest move? Share your thoughts

03:30below and follow us everywhere at What's Trending.