Why Did Stanley's New LoveShackFancy Collection Flop?

First, let’s recap a bit. Last year, Stanley announced they would be collaborating with the NYC-based lifestyle brand LifeShackFancy centered around Stanley’s iconic drinkware.

For resellers, it was a match made in heaven. By this point we were well into the Stanley hype-cycle, and LoveShackFancy looked like the perfect partner to inject some much-needed flair and whimsy back into the brand.

And that’s exactly what happened. Stanley’s LoveShackFancy collection was one of their most popular drops of all time, with resellers turning triple digit profits on the tumblers within hours of them selling out.

Later in 2024, Stanley quietly released two more LoveShackFancy tumblers that also sold for a profit, but we didn’t see anything produced in numbers similar to the original drop.

Until last week. LoveShackFancy and Stanley once again worked together to produce a new line of limited edition drinkware. Tumblers were the centerpiece once again, although prices were bumped up by about $10 per item from last year’s collection.

The collection would go live on the morning of August 19. Five items were available, including a unique branded mini cooler for $140. Once again, they were accompanied by a special video and marketing from both brands.

After the success of the previous drops, resellers were lined up and ready to buy as soon as stock loaded. While they were expecting a quick sell out and some tidy profits, that’s far from what happened.

Instead, the new Stanley X LoveShackFancy sat in stock for minutes, then hours, then days. In fact, none of the items from the collection have sold out yet as of this publication.

This is what resellers call a “brick”, an item that completely fails to resell. Fortunately Stanley’s 30-day refund policy meant that they could easily cancel their orders and get their money back. In the end, the only thing they wasted was their time.

So what went wrong? With how popular the original collaboration was, how could consumer interest simply evaporate when new tumblers dropped?

There’s a couple ways of looking at this, and we’ll start with the most obvious. Many resellers have been saying it over the last year, but it’s genuinely looking like the Stanley hypetrain might be coming to a stop. There latest drops have struggled to move for a profit, and the average eBay listing has consistently crept down in price.

Some of the earliest Stanley flips we covered were Lainey Wilson’s “Watermelon Moonshine” and “Country Gold” designs. These were reselling for over $120 at a time, with some sales up to $160.

Flash forward a year or two, the LoveShackFancy collaboration is pretty much the only recent Stanley collection we can find that’s reselling for similar numbers. Other tumblers have been flipping for under $100 lately, even high profile collaborations with Starbucks and Olivia Rodrigo.

And let’s not forget the price hikes. Everyone’s wallet is hurting by this point, and we’re all well familiar with rising prices. Even battle-hardened Stanley collectors are questioning the value of another $60 (or $160) tumbler.

There’s two main takeaways from this drop. First, always check your refund policy. Even though this collection was a flop, resellers weren’t worried about getting stuck with an unsellable item. Second, be wary of chasing items that are past their prime. We’re not writing off Stanley entirely, but it’s been over two years since the brand hit it big. Hype like that isn’t sustainable.

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