So many things sound good when they drop. Hearing things like “limited-edition” and “exclusive release” manages to make our hearts race, and that gets everyone in line, waiting to buy these products. But a lot of these special products are actually anything but.
Here are twelve limited-edition items you shouldn’t believe the hype about. What “rare” product have you bought that wasn’t worth the effort?
Starbucks x Stanley pink quencher
People lined up before sunrise at Target to get their hands on the Starbucks x Stanley pink stainless-steel cup. You can see videos online of crowds sprinting to get one.
The big hype was that these were only going to be sold for a short time, but it turns out that “only” has a flexible meaning. Stanley restocked similar ones just a few weeks later, and prices online dropped almost immediately.
McDonald’s adult Happy Meal toys
McDonald’s once sold Happy Meal toys for adults, trying to cash in on their sense of nostalgia. But they were essentially just boxy, four-eyed toys from Cactus Plant Flea Market. They were fun for about five minutes.
Yes, the stores sold out fast, but nobody cared soon after because they understood that these were simply plastic figurines that came with fries.
McDonald’s Pokémon 25th anniversary cards
That’s not all for McDonald’s. The fast-food company released limited-edition Pokémon promotional cards, and some people bought dozens of Happy Meals to get their hands on the cards.
It didn’t take long for resale listings to start popping up. But then more print runs arrived & the prices tanked because those apparently “rare” cards kept coming back.
Supreme x Oreo (2020)
All you got with the 2020 Supreme x Oreo collaboration was a $3 pack of red Oreos with the Supreme logo printed in cream. That was quite literally it.
The cookies themselves tasted exactly the same as regular Oreos, yet many early resellers tried reselling them for hundreds. But that’s not all. A few batches expired before shipping because sugar & hype don’t really age that well.
Nintendo NES Classic Edition (2016/2018)
Many retro gaming fans thought that Nintendo’s 2016 re-release of the NES Classic was an essential buy. It sold out almost instantly & prices shot through the roof. Then Nintendo reissued it two years later.
Now, people who had paid triple for their “limited edition” console were frustrated to find out that almost anyone could get it. How annoying is that?
Xbox Series X mini fridge (2021)
Many people made jokes about how Microsoft’s Xbox Series X looked like a fridge. So Microsoft made one.
Naturally, people rushed to buy it, including scalpers who pushed the prices way up, until every major retailer restocked it. They even discounted the fridges. Really, it was a simple mini-fridge, nothing more, nothing less.
Disney Lorcana “The First Chapter” (2023)
Disney’s trading card game was released in 2023, and it disappeared almost immediately. Due to this scarcity, people began selling their boxes for triple the price on eBay. Then the publisher announced more reprints.
The limited-edition games were no longer worth the inflated prices, while the rare cards weren’t so rare anymore. All that panic succeeded only in making scalpers rich for a week or two.
PlayStation 4 20th anniversary edition
Sony made just 12,300 20th anniversary editions of the PS4s. They sold out practically the second they dropped, and one early unit actually reached six figures at auction.
While the console did look cool, the specs were no different from the regular edition. The anniversary consoles ran the same games, the same way.
Prime Hydration “KSI” limited flavor
Across the pond, people went crazy for Prime drinks in the UK. The hype reached a new level when the company released a limited-edition KSI flavor that had people lining up before sunrise & stores enforcing bottle limits.
But it didn’t take long for supermarkets to sell them like normal. As for the flavor, it was slightly different, yet it was the same energy drink in a different bottle.
Pepsi x Peeps limited cola
The Pepsi x Peeps collaboration was a little strange, and it was nearly impossible to get at first. There were only 3,000 cans available, and you could only get them through a sweepstakes. It changed a few years later.
Pepsi then put the cans everywhere, and anyone who had spent too much money on them had the shock of understanding that they had massively overpaid for a marshmallow-flavored cola.
Lego NASA Saturn V reissue saga
Even toys can be limited edition. Many collectors panicked when LEGO released the NASA Saturn LEGO set in 2017, and they paid double for it online.
But LEGO brought it back three years later. Nothing changed with the toy except the set number on the box, and the resale value for it collapsed. Who knew that “limited edition” could last so long?
God of War Ragnarök Jötnar Edition
The collector’s edition box of the video game God of War Ragnarök sold out in minutes. Apparently, people really wanted the fancy hammer replica & a SteelBook case.
Yet the box didn’t even have a physical version of the game. Just a download code. All gamers paid for was expensive packaging & trinkets, which don’t seem all that worth it.
Sources: Please see here for a complete listing of all sources that were consulted in the preparation of this article.
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