Crave a Twinkie? The price is going up fast online
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Twinkies are being sold on the Internet like exquisite delicacies.
Hours after Twinkie-maker Hostess announced its plans to close its doors forever, people flocked to stores to fill their shopping baskets with boxes of the cream-filled sponge cakes and their sibling snacks - Ding Dongs, Ho Hos and Zingers.
Late Friday and Saturday, the opportunists took to eBay and Craigslist. They began marketing their hoard to whimsical collectors and junk-food lovers for hundreds - and in some cases - thousands of dollars. That's a fat profit margin, when you consider the retail price for a box of 10 Twinkies is roughly $5.
Greg Edmonds of Sherman, Texas is among those who believe Twinkies are worth more now that Hostess Brands Inc. has closed its bakeries. He lost his job as a sales representative eight months ago, so he is hoping to make some money feeding the appetites of Twinkie fans and connoisseurs
After spending a couple hours driving around to stores Friday, Edmonds wound up with 16 boxes of Twinkies and Ding Dongs. He started selling them Saturday on eBay, advertising three boxes for a hefty price of $300.
"I could really use the extra money since I'm unemployed," Edmonds, 50, said. "I figure I better sell them pretty quickly because I am not sure how long this novelty is going to last."
Contrary to popular belief, Twinkies don't last forever. Most bought in stores Friday carry an expiration date of early December,
If buyers don't bite, Edmonds isn't sure what he will do with his supply. He doesn't even like Twinkies. "I do like to have a Ding Dong, every once in a while though," he said.
John Stansel of Tampa, Fla. blanches at the thought of eating a Twinkie. He's a self-described health nut.
Yet he, too, rummaged shelves late Friday at a neighborhood Walgreens and then again early Saturday at Target and a grocery store. He spent about $100 for 20 boxes of Twinkies and Ding Dongs. His goal: sell them for about $1,000 and put the money to good use.
"Maybe I will hire a personal trainer for myself or go do some shopping at Whole Foods or donate the money to a charity to fight diabetes," Stansel, 40, said. "No matter what, I figure I am getting sugar off the streets."
Although Hostess is shutting down, it's still possible that Twinkies, Ding Dongs and Ho Hos could make a comeback. That's because Hostess is planning to sell its brands and other assets at an auction to be overseen by a U.S. bankruptcy judge in New York. Several potential buyers could emerge for Twinkies, particularly with the recent outpouring of affection.
A hearing on Hostess's liquidation request is scheduled for Monday morning.
Not all online sellers are demanding top dollar. Some boxes are being listed at $5 to $20. Others are willing to barter. "I am willing to trade a box for some good microbrew. A real quality six pack," offered a thirsty New York seller on Craigslist.
Despite his disdain for junk food, Stansel confesses he won't sell a few of his individually wrapped Twinkies. He plans to give them to his nostalgic friends and family as stocking stuffers for Christmas.
Hours after Twinkie-maker Hostess announced its plans to close its doors forever, people flocked to stores to fill their shopping baskets with boxes of the cream-filled sponge cakes and their sibling snacks - Ding Dongs, Ho Hos and Zingers.
Late Friday and Saturday, the opportunists took to eBay and Craigslist. They began marketing their hoard to whimsical collectors and junk-food lovers for hundreds - and in some cases - thousands of dollars. That's a fat profit margin, when you consider the retail price for a box of 10 Twinkies is roughly $5.
Greg Edmonds of Sherman, Texas is among those who believe Twinkies are worth more now that Hostess Brands Inc. has closed its bakeries. He lost his job as a sales representative eight months ago, so he is hoping to make some money feeding the appetites of Twinkie fans and connoisseurs
After spending a couple hours driving around to stores Friday, Edmonds wound up with 16 boxes of Twinkies and Ding Dongs. He started selling them Saturday on eBay, advertising three boxes for a hefty price of $300.
"I could really use the extra money since I'm unemployed," Edmonds, 50, said. "I figure I better sell them pretty quickly because I am not sure how long this novelty is going to last."
Contrary to popular belief, Twinkies don't last forever. Most bought in stores Friday carry an expiration date of early December,
If buyers don't bite, Edmonds isn't sure what he will do with his supply. He doesn't even like Twinkies. "I do like to have a Ding Dong, every once in a while though," he said.
John Stansel of Tampa, Fla. blanches at the thought of eating a Twinkie. He's a self-described health nut.
Yet he, too, rummaged shelves late Friday at a neighborhood Walgreens and then again early Saturday at Target and a grocery store. He spent about $100 for 20 boxes of Twinkies and Ding Dongs. His goal: sell them for about $1,000 and put the money to good use.
"Maybe I will hire a personal trainer for myself or go do some shopping at Whole Foods or donate the money to a charity to fight diabetes," Stansel, 40, said. "No matter what, I figure I am getting sugar off the streets."
Although Hostess is shutting down, it's still possible that Twinkies, Ding Dongs and Ho Hos could make a comeback. That's because Hostess is planning to sell its brands and other assets at an auction to be overseen by a U.S. bankruptcy judge in New York. Several potential buyers could emerge for Twinkies, particularly with the recent outpouring of affection.
A hearing on Hostess's liquidation request is scheduled for Monday morning.
Not all online sellers are demanding top dollar. Some boxes are being listed at $5 to $20. Others are willing to barter. "I am willing to trade a box for some good microbrew. A real quality six pack," offered a thirsty New York seller on Craigslist.
Despite his disdain for junk food, Stansel confesses he won't sell a few of his individually wrapped Twinkies. He plans to give them to his nostalgic friends and family as stocking stuffers for Christmas.
I can see the future now...the busloads of Americans heading up to Canada for the booze and prescription drugs will now be adding seats for buyers of Twinkies! (I read that the Twinkies brand is owned by a non-Hostess company up there).Â
You've got to be kidding...if someone is that desperate for 4 piece of fat and sugar laden cake, then the old adage is quite appropriate...a fool and his money are soon parted...
Since we passed the marijuana law in Seattle we will need to save the Twinkie! Goodness knows what will happen when you have a bunch of stoners with the munchies.
If i was younger, had more money, and had an astute marketing team behind me, I would jump on the (old term) band wagon and go for a new, body garbage product, and call it something like: Swinkies, or, Twinkettes, or Spongie Cakes. Either way, it's all body garbage with absolutely NO nutritional value.
<< is making popcorn and settling down to watch the fun!
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Wonder how the Union folks like THEM apples? Â That was a REALLY good thing to strike over and STAY STRONG...I half hope that unemployment benefits get at least delayed.
 @Woodswalker I really wonder how many of them actually looked at their own company's financials? Out of curiosity I pulled up the financials.....LOL.......wow, I can't even believe they allowed a plea for restructuring.....Their Liabilities were 400 million dollars higher than their Assets. That wasn't just insolvent.........they were dead and buried. Last year they recorded a loss of 341 million dollars. Even if they didnt strike........there was no way to save this company without shutting 80 percent of it down, but then they couldnt even have met their debt obligations, let alone any production costs. I'm truly amazed they lasted as long as they did.........
I also looked at some of the financials...it would have been POSSIBLE...but in addition to Union wage/benefit cuts, Management would have needed to feel the pain as well...preferably at the same percentages as the union. There also would have needed to be some corporate restructuring and centralization of some functions, perhaps by region or state, not by bakery. SOME jobs would have been lost no matter what. In addition, the fact is that the American diet is changing, which Hostess had JUST started to address with the purchase of some of the snack brands that cater to more healthy foods.
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Companies have come back from FAR worse....but its NOT easy, and with an irrational union leadership/membership who only see big cash flow (which Hostess DID have) and dont/wont understand that its not all free money sitting there.
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IMHO, the union should have been honest with its members when Hostess tabled the option of shutting down...and asked is it worth LOSING your job....heck..work with out a contract, continuing pay/benefits of the old while a new one is negotiated.
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It reminds me of the situation in one of the local timber town, the mill company opened their books to SHOW the union that there WAS NO MORE MONEY, let alone more for wages. They also explained that the union job structure would have to change as SOME jobs would be replaced by newer, more efficient machinery, but the company would add more machines as it could afford to add back new jobs to replace those lost to automation.  The union held firm...the company closed the doors, reopening the next day and telling folks that they could, for a short time, get their old jobs back after signing a new individual contract with a now-non-union company, and later after the grace period they would ahve to apply and interview for what jobs remained. About half of the folks took the deal...and got a LOT of flack for it...some never went back and foundered financially as there was NO other work there. Now the NON-union mill is flourishing, adding products to the mix, built a co-gen plant as well as several other product plants and wages and benefits are mostly back where they were before the strike. The company just needed time to rebuild AND to retool the mill for more efficient production.
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Seems to me that this might have been a similar situation. Also..i have an unemployed son, who will take about anything right now for a job....the union member should think about that a bit...job market is NOT good. I think that some job beats NO job.
 @Woodswalker Well, I do suppose it is possible.......but their debt alone makes it a wonder. I believe I also read that their retirement is under funded to the tune of 2 billion dollars.....WOW. Regardless......no one is getting out of this one unscathed.....
@Woodswalker I wonder how long and how much the union will pay these idiots....
When I heard Hostess was closing I thought Oh that's too bad but since I haven't eaten Twinkies for years didn't think much about it. I sure wish I had been smarter and run out and bought a bunch of boxes and started selling them on Ebay.Â
I just saw on Ebay someone is selling an Empty Twinkie box and someone else is selling a 1/2 eaten Twinkie and there is a bid on it. Â It is just crazy what people are paying on Ebay for Twinkies.Â
 @Karen L Just hang in there..........some will pick up the formulas and you can have Twinkies again soon.........Someone also stated that Hostess of Canada is fine.......so you can always make a trek up to BC if you feel a craving coming on........
@Susabelle Its just not the same if its not Hostess
Well on Friday evening, I spent a few hours seeing what was left on the shelves. While to Ding Dongs, Ho Ho's, Twinkees, etc was gone, they seemed to have plenty of the Donettes, especially the powered ones.Â
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While people are hoping to make lots of money selling on Ebay, Probably in a few months another company will buy them out & start the factories up again.Â
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Just look at what happened to Mother's cookies
Snowballs anyone?
think the ebayers are a little soon to sell them online as people can still get them on the shelf. the smart ones will sell them Dec 15th. just in time for christmas presents. sell them a year from now and you will get $50 a box.
 @32jim2 No, the smart ones will sell them in a year or two, when they are really gone.
 @32jim2 Stores are selling out quickly due to the rush to stock up, not to mention there will be loads of people stocking up in hopes of making some money selling them.
Only in America! That's all I have to say about that.
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'Worth their weight in gold' just took on a new meaning. Good grief...
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 @deadcandance Talk about stupid. Check out ebay. You have people thinking they're going to sell these for tens of thousands, one for millions! The only thing dumber would be anyone actually paying more than retail. I guess whatever blows your skirt up.
@69GT @deadcandance You mean like '69 GTs blows yours up? (I'm sure you'd only pay retail for one....)
@BoredETech A â69 GT is actually something and very doubtful that it will ever be duplicated. A twinkie is not. Or even worse. And people will be making that c*** again. Even in their own kitchens.
How foolish these people will all feel when Hostess comes back revamped and repackaged by an investment group. There are already other bakeries willing to pony up to the bar and take it on. Good luck making money off this...the old adage rings true though, a fool and his money are soon parted.
What an amazing story to somewhat describe my night! My friend and I were having a movie night tonight when she told me about standing in line earlier today at the Hostess Outlet for over 2 1/2 hours! There was a line out the door and into the parking lot. The store was only allowing 15 people in at a time and was practically sold out of everything.
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We then looked on eBay to see what Hostess products were going for. $26 on two boxes of twinkies, $41 on a variety pack of goodies, $12.50 for three Hostess pies. We decided to go up to the store and get what we could find and sell it on eBay. We ended up at 3 different Safeways, an Albertson's, and 5 different gas stations with a haul of 50 something Hostess pies in a variety of flavors, 2 boxes of donuts, 10 or so individual packages of Zingers, 2 packages of Ding Dongs, 1 of Ho Hos, and 4 three packs of Orange Cupcakes. At one gas station, the attendent was telling us that as of tomorrow the individually prices packs would go from $1.69 to $4.99 and the boxes of assorted donuts would be going from $4.99 to $9.99. Glad we got them while we did!
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I will be posting these tomorrow in various sized lots on eBay. Some of the Hostess items are doing great on eBay and some aren't. Figured I'd take my chances and if not, the pies can be served at Thanksgiving and the rest can go in the freezer and be stocking stuffers at Christmas. Either way it's a win-win.
 @Tattooed_Angel Well good luck, I do hope you make a killing. I'm just going to sit back and watch the show.
There is a sucker born every minute. Get what you can, if you can.
People know that Hostess is still in business in Canada right???? Maybe I should make a run for the border and smuggle twinkies, ding dongs, and cherry pies across in a hidden compartment in my truck. Just hope the dogs at the border won't be able to smell the cream filling.
 @JK15 Giant, burly cellmate: I'm in for more than two dozen counts each of murder, armed robbery and aggravated assault; what're you in for?
JK15: Got caught smuggling Twinkies over the Canadian border, a whole Prius-load of 'em.
GBC: Whoa, dude, please, I don't want any trouble! I'll do your laundry, you can have my dessert every day, take the top bunk, anything at all! Just don't mess me up!
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 @JK15 I hope you are happy, you may have just caused the great Twinkie Market Crash of 2012.....
 @Susabelle I can only hope.
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 @Wildstar LOL, go look on E-bay...........if you want a good laugh.......I just looked and saw someone bidding over $71 for 3 boxes of 10. Laughed so hard I cried.Â
 @Susabelle  @Wildstar Special, today only â a free Beanie Baby, once valued at $400 for a few minutes, with every four boxes of Ding Dongs.Â
 @MargeGunderson  @Wildstar I'm absolutely speechless..... of course six is better than individual...........right???
 @Susabelle  @Wildstar Just found a six-pack on Amazon for $149, and someone selling 20 "individually wrapped" (aren't they all??) ones for $100. Â
How much do you want to bet this particular market demographic will choose the six because it sounds like a better deal? :^DÂ
 @MargeGunderson  @Wildstar You know....you may be on to something...........my sister sold a stupid duck the kids had for $400 during that particular frenzy. Oh man, people can be so funny.
 @Susabelle  @Wildstar  Sure, they'll have to sell at a loss, but they'll make up that in volume, right?Â
Even that cute dog is laughing at them! :^D
 @MargeGunderson  @Wildstar Oh God, my stomach hurts....and the dog is now concerned about my sanity...........where are my kleenex.....
 @Wildstar It gets better..........an auction just closed for over $100 for two boxes......Oh My............make it stop.........
 @Wildstar Well, time will tell on this one.......but I think there is a definite window on this one. Truth be told, I'm not sure if it's now, 2 months from now or 2 years from now...Â
This is stupid... Twinkies aren't going away. Let me repeat that for you slow people... TWINKIES.... ARENT...GOING.... AWAY!Â
 @PackersCougsBravesSounders Where were you 12 hours ago when I needed talking off the ledge of Ebay? Believe me I am not slow, but for crying out loud I will admit I got caught up in the frenzy. I did notice on Ebay that 1 box literally sold for over $100 and yet I paid $30, so it was quite a spread on what they were selling for. Still $30 for a fricking box of Twinkies is just about the dumbest thing I have bought in my life. Wait! I take that back. I did buy that neckline slimmer and this contraption that you glide over your face and it is suppose to zap the wrinkles. But I do think spending $30 on a box of Twinkies is still the most asinine purchase of my life.
 @Robinsnest  @PackersCougsBravesSounders Hey, psst.....I've got a package of Donettes.......chocolate ones......I could sell them to you.......for a price....
 @MargeGunderson  @Robinsnest  @PackersCougsBravesSounders Everyone! Scatter!!! It's the po-lice!!!
 @Susabelle  @Robinsnest  @PackersCougsBravesSoundersWow, Susabelle, apparently you don't recognize my name, to deal right out in the open like this!
I am placing you under arrest for first degree possession of high fructose corn syrup with intent to distribute.
With an aggravating factor in that you intentionally chose chocolate, deliberately targeting the weak-willed among us!Â
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You're going away for a looooong time, missy!Â
 @PackersCougsBravesSounders My mom said Hostess will simply sell the reicpe.
Not quite sure who are the real Twinkies here: the little HFCS-filled cakes or the people willing to pay $100 a box!
only in america.
The loss of Hostess just creates more opportunity for local bakeries to fill the demand - and hopefully offer a better product.  No big loss as far as I'm concerned.
"Contrary to popular belief, Twinkies don't last forever. Most bought in stores Friday carry an expiration date of early December"
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Seriously, that made me laugh. We all know better.