Starbucks & IKEA: How similar psychology drives massive brand loyalty
SOLD OUT Bearista cups at Starbucks drive similar buyer psychology triggers as purchasing IKEA furniture or walking their stores. Find out how.
Last week, Sidnee wrote a post on LinkedIn about the chaos of Starbucks selling out of Bearista cups in 4 MINUTES. Thatโs wild. Her post is below, and after reading that, youโll see a part 2 that stood out to me about why the Bearista fervor works. And itโs more than just scarcity.
SIDNEEโS ORIGINAL POST (link)
Starbucks sold out of Bearista cups in 4 minutes (some stores before the store opened). Chaos ensued. Resellers hit eBay within the hour.
Was this a product launch disaster or marketing genius?
While every brand chases predictable launches with controlled inventory, Starbucks just accidentally (or deliberately?) created $200 secondary market value for a $29 cup.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ป๐๐บ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐น๐น ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐:
โข Original price: $29.95
โข Resale price: $170-$1,000
โข Sellout time: Under 5 minutes
โข Customer sentiment: Mixed fury and obsession
They didnโt plan a collectible. They created one through scarcity.
๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐๐ฎ ๐บ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฒ๐ ๐๐:
โข ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐น๐น๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น๐ฐ๐๐น๐๐. When FOMO meets nostalgia meets limited supply, rational pricing dies. Adults will fight over a teddy bear cup like itโs Black Friday 1995. The collectible brain overrides the logical brain every time.
โข ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ถ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ด๐ (๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐). Supreme built a billion-dollar brand on drops that sell out instantly. Stanley cups became weapons of suburban warfare. Now Starbucks has people refreshing apps at midnight for a cup with a bear on it.
โข ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ-๐ฒ๐ป๐ด๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ผ๐
. Angry customers are talking customers. Every โthis is ridiculousโ tweet is free marketing. Every โI stayed up until 3 amโ social story builds the legend. Bad experiences become badge stories.
The genius (or disaster) move? They underestimated demand so badly it became the story.
No oneโs talking about the coffee. Everyoneโs talking about the cup they couldnโt get.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฝ๐๐๐ฐ๐ต๐ผ๐น๐ผ๐ด๐ ๐น๐ฒ๐๐๐ผ๐ป:
Perfect launches are forgettable. Messy launches become mythology.
When you accidentally create a feeding frenzy, youโve done something most brands spend millions trying to manufacture: Youโve made a $13 piece of plastic feel priceless.
The question isnโt whether this was good or bad for Starbucks.
The question is: Would you rather have happy customers or obsessed ones?
Because obsessed customers will set alarms for your next drop. Happy customers just buy their coffee and leave.
Sometimes the best product launch strategy is to not have enough product.
What camp are you in? Disaster or genius?
SETHโS POV
Brilliant breakdown, Sidnee. And that Bearista chaos perfectly illustrates something we donโt talk about enough:
The effort IS the value.
Hereโs what kills me: Weโve been taught that friction destroys conversions. Remove every barrier. Make it seamless. One-click everything.
But watch someone drive to three different Starbucks hunting for that bear cup. Watch them set five alarms. Join Discord groups. Coordinate with strangers on Reddit. Theyโre not just buying a cup anymore - theyโre on a quest.
And that quest? It creates something Amazon Prime can never deliver: emotional investment.
The psychology is fascinating. Itโs called the IKEA effect - we value things more when we work for them. That table you assembled yourself? Youโll defend its quality to anyone whoโll listen. That Bearista cup you stalked across town? Itโs not just a cup anymore. Itโs a trophy.
I saw this with a beverage client recently. They accidentally shipped to only half their retailers. Customers started calling stores, driving across town, creating โsightingโ posts on social. Sales at the stores that HAD product went up 3x. Not because of the scarcity - but because customers who worked to find it became evangelists.
They told everyone about their โhunt.โ
The brutal truth: Starbucks didnโt create $200 secondary market value with a bear design. They created it by making thousands of people invest effort. And effort creates ownership in a way convenience never will.
Not all friction is bad friction. Sometimes the chase IS the product.
The question isnโt whether to make things easy or hard. Itโs understanding when difficulty becomes part of the value proposition.
Because a cup you bought with one click is just a cup.
But a cup you hunted for? Thatโs a story.
And stories are worth more than convenience every single time.