Pulling into the work parking lot at 4:20 a.m. always means I am one of the first ones there. When the opening shift has three to four total people scheduled, you’d imagine my surprise pulling into a full parking lot that early in the morning. Some first thoughts were, “Am I dreaming?” and “Is it not actually 4:20 a.m. right now?” A few minutes later, when one of my co-workers pulled in, we both got out of our cars, and she reminded me what today was: the Starbucks x Snoopy collection launch.
Tuesday September 15th, 2026 was the global, in-store launch of the Starbucks x Snoopy collection. Once we started walking up to the storefront, everyone started getting out of their cars. My co-worker told everyone that we did not open until 5:00am, but that they could line up outside and wait. It was the start of the colder mornings we have had lately, and it was windy. Despite this, we had a line of 10+ people outside peering in as we prepared to open the store.
The Starbucks x Snoopy collection had been very anticipated, with a lot of online discourse before the actual launch. A lot of people thought it would be similar to the glass bear cups that Starbucks has released this year, and they were right. Except instead of one sought after item, this was the whole collection. There were keychains, pins, cups, mugs, plushies, bags, and the most sought after item, the glass Snoopy cup.
After taking time to perfectly set up the display, and prepare for the chaos we knew was about to ensue, we opened the doors. People came rushing in, and began grabbing literally everything and anything. There was a two item per person limit of the same item, but not to how many total people could buy. Many people brought tote bags and just began stuffing them. The weirdest thing I witnessed was that people were taking the cardboard decorations of Snoopy, Charlie Brown, and the Great Pumpkin that weren’t even for sale, they were just a part of the decoration.
Within minutes, we were sold out of pretty much the entire collection. I was watching people drop $200 on this limited-edition collection, and I watched a lot of people get disappointed when they got up to the counter that there wasn’t anything left. Unfortunately, most physical Starbucks stores got shipped a very small amount of the merchandise, and this created FOMO for customers.
The entire day we were getting phone calls from people asking if we still had any Snoopy cups, and we had a lot of people who came at 7am or 8am that were astonished that we could possibly be sold out already. Explaining the concept that we didn’t even know what time some of the people who showed up that morning because they got there before we did was mind boggling to me. People were so focused on the trophy-like and collectible aspect of the Snoopy collection that they would literally do anything. I saw so many people posting online about it later that day, and personally I think the buzz around it was a little insane.
The way Starbucks made it a limited-edition drop is what made so many people come out, but part of me wonders if they would have made more money by having more inventory. Peanuts is a brand that has been around for a long time, and a lot of people collect their things. Obviously making it a limited-edition collection made them a lot of money, but I feel like even without that urgency and FOMO factor, a lot of people would have bought the collection.
Some people were definitely buying for the wrong reasons, as I’m sure online these things are still re-selling for $100+ each, when the items were around $40 or below to purchase. These people weren’t buying to enjoy the actual products or use them, they were there with the sole intent to take advantage of other desperate people and profit off of them. So many people also don’t realize that in a few years, even maybe less time, a lot of this stuff will just end up in landfills. Overconsumption and consumerism are very dangerous to society, with the waste and literal harm to others when people become violent over getting the items. Overconsumption is being turned into a game of online validation, and it is pretty sad that at the end of the day, it is factory-produced plastic and glassware that is being flaunted by the people who were able to get it.
I really think people should consider this the next time something like this is launched by Starbucks (because it is guaranteed to happen again). It is not worth it to wake up that early, sit in the cold, and spend that much money on something that you may forget you even bought in a few years. If this isn’t the case for you, don’t get ripped off online by scalpers who are trying to take advantage of your emotional attachment. If I am opening on the next launch, I probably won’t be as surprised when there are already people lined up outside the door before I even get there, because the popularity of these camp-outs only seems to be growing.