Dutch Bros Passenger Princess Magnets Flip For Huge Profits

The coffee chain gave away free Passenger Princess car magnets on November 19 with medium or large drink purchases starting at 3 p.m. All 1,050+ locations participated, offering three different designs. “Passenger Princess” day was a massive hit, with long lines and sold out locations across the country. Now the magnets are reappearing on eBay for much more than the prices of the drinks they came with.

Dutch Bros capitalized on the #passengerprincess trend that’s racked up over 200,000 posts on TikTok and Instagram. The trend celebrates people who get driven around while their partner or friend handles the driving, usually involving coffee shop runs.

Last year, Dutch Bros tested this concept with crown straw toppers for Passenger Princess Day. The response was massive enough that they officially declared the third Wednesday of November as National Passenger Princess Day and upgraded to car magnets this year.

The company announced the giveaway a week in advance, giving resellers plenty of time to plan. Three unique magnet designs were available, with a 10-per-customer limit. The catch was customers had to buy a medium or large drink to get one magnet free.

Dutch Bros has built a cult following around limited merch drops. Fans track drops on social media and coordinate multi-location visits to complete sets.

The 10-per-customer limit created scarcity. Resellers grabbed full sets at single locations, but most customers only visited once. By evening, stores across the country sold out.

The free aspect made this attractive. Your only cost was the drink, typically $5-7 for a medium. Hit three locations at $6 each and you spent $18 for magnets now worth $150 as a set.

Complete sets list at $100-150 on eBay, with sales around $130-140. Individual magnets move for $20-25 each.

Since magnets were free with purchase, resellers calculate profit after drink costs. Three locations at $6 per drink equals $18 invested for magnets worth $130-140. That’s roughly $115 profit for driving around yesterday.

Volume mattered. Resellers who hit 5-10 locations grabbed 30-100 magnets total. Even selling individually at $20-25, that’s serious money for a few hours.

Dutch Bros hasn’t announced restocks. Last year’s straw toppers didn’t get restocked, setting precedent these giveaways are one-day-only.

However, unexpected popularity might push another run. Resellers should monitor Dutch Bros’ Instagram and TikTok. They announced this drop a week ahead, so any restock would likely follow the same pattern.

If you copped sets this week, flip them now and take your profits The smart play was hitting multiple locations during the 3-6 p.m. window when stock was fresh. Evening visits mostly struck out as inventory depleted.

For those who missed it, paying $130-150 for complete sets makes sense only if you’re a serious Dutch Bros collector. Individual magnets at $20-25 are more reasonable for casual fans.

Dutch Bros has proven they understand how to create collectible value through limited availability. This won’t be their last lucrative giveaway.