Collecting Starbucks Coffee Mugs

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Ranked #772 in DIY, #13,388 overall

Starbucks Mugs will likely retain their value even if Starbucks business declines

Forbes magazine had an article recently about things to invest in.. given the possibility of inflation, paper money might decline in value. One of the article's suggestions was "trinkets"....


I think Starbucks mugs might be just the right kind of trinket to invest in. They have become cheaper on ebay recently, and when something is cheap it is a good idea to buy.

BUY LOW, SELL HIGH!


There are many devoted collectors out there, including completists.. If Starbucks continues the decline, their mugs will likely remain valuable over the long haul.


Each city mug was only sold in the city it represents, so there is a limited supply of them.




Think of your Starbucks mugs collection as an investment :) At least its value may continue to climb during this economic downturn...

Are you a normal Starbucks fan? 

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Bid on Some Bargains! 

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Timeline of Starbucks Mugs Produced 

There have been so many mugs produced, often times more than one mug for each city, that collectors often classify them by year and type of image on the cup (i.e. collage, photo, skyline, architecture, etc), as well as size.
  • 1994-1995 Icon City Series
  • 1994-? International Style Cities
  • 1999-2001 Collage Series
  • 1997 States of Bean Series
  • 2002-2003 US "Italian Romance" Series (Valentine's Day)
  • 2003 Christmas Ornament (Miniature) Skyline City Mugs
  • 2002-2003 Skyline Series
  • 2004 City Scenes (Mini cups, too)
  • 2005 Destination Series (featuring 25 American Cities)
  • 2005 Photo Series, Featuring London & other UK cities
  • 2006 Architecture Series
  • 2007 Parks Series

Starbucks City Mugs & Crazy Selling Prices 

Here is a list of some of the top-selling auctions:


  • FIRENZE ITALIAN EDITION II Starbucks Coffee mug ($501)
  • 1994 New Orleans City Mug ($306)

  • NYC Starbucks Coffee Mug featuring yellow taxi cabs ($99)
  • Starbucks Skyline Seattle Headquarters Coffee Mug ($87)
  • Mt Rushmore Coffee Mug ($61)
  • 1994 Santa Barbara 20oz Coffee Mug ($78)
  • Bucharest, Romania Coffee Mug ($58)


Prices vary widely (and wildly!) on some of the city mugs. In 2004, a woman said she would pay $1000 for the Minneapolis city mug. Since then, there have been new Minneapolis mugs produced, but perhaps if you have the first original Minneapolis city mug you might be able to make some big money! In fact, I read that a Minneapolis mug sold for $2000. If I see it happen with my own eyes I will be sure to update this page.


Newsflash: Starbucks Mug sells for over $1000!


Please bookmark or save this site and check back regularly for updated prices on top-selling Starbucks coffee mugs.

WHY Starbucks CITY mugs are sooo valuable!

The sky-high prices that people will pay for some of the Starbucks city mugs reflect the fact that you can only buy a Starbucks city mug in its home city....
Once again rarity drives the price up! Are you going to travel the world to complete your collection or are you going to do some Ebay buying?

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Starbucks City Mugs 

The first Starbucks mugs were produced in 1994. Here are a few of the ones currently up on auction.

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Expensive Starbucks Mugs on Ebay 

Which ones are bringing in the big money now? Take a look...

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To Aimee: How to Determine the Value of your Starbucks Mugs 

Hi Aimee,

Thanks for visiting my site!

Determining the value of a Starbucks mug is not a science. Basically, how much you can sell your mug for depends on:

- How rare is your mug?
- What is the condition of your mug?
- How long are you willing to wait to sell it?
- How desirable is your mug?

Mugs that are in new or like new condition will sell for more than those with scratches or other problems. If the mug has its original box or tags then that is even better.

If your mug is extremely rare and desirable, then you have a good chance of getting a good price for it.

If you put it up on auction, then the price you get is somewhat up to chance. Who will see it while it's up on auction?

To find out if your Starbucks mug has sold before, go to Ebay's advanced search and search completed listings. However, this only goes back a few weeks. I also use Terapeak which searches back 90 days but that's a subscription service.

Does your Washington DC mug hold 1 GALLON? Someone sold a Giant San Diego coffee mug that holds one gallon for $136 on Ebay.

I've sold a few blue glass mugs. I think I sold them for around $15 each.. They took awhile to sell, and they sold to people in Europe. I think there are lots of different kinds of blue glass mugs so you'll have to look up which ones you have.

I hope this helps!

Hotbrain

Tip on finding Starbucks Mugs on Ebay 

When you look for Starbucks mugs on Ebay, the search results do NOT usually show Ebay Stores items which are buy-it-now items listed on the Ebay Stores website. Currently, there are over 1200 Starbucks mugs in Ebay stores... It is a great opportunity for you to find the mug you are looking for without any bidding competition!

Other Lenses About Starbucks 

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Since going public in 1992, the Starbucks stock has increased by more than 6,500% and Starbucks has opened 11,000 shops worldwide.  If you are looking to find out more about how the Starbucks corporation acheived such immense growth, or what mak...

Jump Start Your Collection 

Here are a few Ebay auctions for LOTS of mugs... You can buy a whole lot of mugs all at one time. A great way to begin your collection!

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How Starbucks Saved My Life: A Son of Privilege Learns to Live Like Everyone Else

How Starbucks Saved My Life: A Son of Privilege Learns to Live Like Everyone Else

by: Michael Gates Gill

The riches-to-rags true story of an advertising executive who had it all, then lost it all-and was finally redeemed by his new job, and his twenty-eight-year-old boss, at Starbucks.

Amazon Price: (as of 12/18/2009) Buy Now

Starbucks Skyline City Mugs 

Here are a few of the mugs from the Skyline series that are currently on Ebay.

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What else do you like to collect? 

Do you collect other mugs? Other Starbucks items? Or something else completely different? Take a moment to tell me what is is. :)

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  • Reply
    Tien Tien Mar 21, 2009 @ 11:29 pm
    wow, fantastic lens, so many mugs to choose from!! i love starbucks mugs, there's something so wonderfully warming about being able to choose from a colorful cupboard collection of mugs for every season. i'm adding this one to my lensroll.
  • Reply
    ocdgirl2000 ocdgirl2000 Jan 4, 2009 @ 9:54 am
    Yep. I LOVE Starbucks mugs! I have tons of them, have sold some on ebay and drink out of them at home and at my workplace.I have a bunch to sell, and they will be listed on GoAntiques as soon as I learn how to list correctly there!LOL!It's tough on us old ebayers learning how to list on other sites! I love this lens! It's a wealth of information! Hope to stop by often and read some more!Thanks for your squidoo knowledge!
  • Reply
    Winter52 Winter52 Dec 11, 2008 @ 9:14 am
    I think that I just found something new to collect. Definitely going to look. I need some new Christmas mugs. :)
  • Reply
    Shamir Shamir Oct 18, 2008 @ 5:15 pm
    Hi there,
    Take a look...
    Jerusalem mug - http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&item=300266548480
    Haifa mug - http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&item=300266551402
    cheers
    Shamir
    phalkie@gmail.com
  • Reply
    WhiteBison WhiteBison Sep 19, 2008 @ 2:52 pm
    Great lens! We have TONS of Starbucks mugs, especially the travel ones. We use them daily, and we've collected them from most every city we've been to that had them! Though we couldn't find a few and bought some on eBay a while back...
    Added our Starbucks lens to your Plexo, there's plenty of recipes there!

    Favoriting this one!
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Seattle's Best Coffee Mugs on Ebay 

this coffee shop is now owned by Starbucks.. so start collecting!

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Starbucks Architecture City Mugs 

Here are some mugs up on Ebay right now!

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Guestbook 

If you liked this lens, I'd love to hear from you! Please leave a comment below, and, if you would like to help other people find this lens, just scroll up to the top and give this lens a 5-star rating.. It will be much appreciated! If you have a lens, too, let me know and I will be sure to visit it :)

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  • Reply
    Treasures-By-Brenda Treasures-By-Brenda Mar 10, 2009 @ 7:19 pm
    Well done lens! I've lensrolled it to my Chaleur Coffee Mugs lens.

    Brenda
  • Reply
    sellingnicestuff sellingnicestuff Aug 16, 2008 @ 6:42 am
    Thanks for your lens! We collect Starbucks and other mugs. We love coffee!
  • Reply
    Aimee Aimee Jul 22, 2008 @ 6:57 pm
    I have a clear (i think from the late 90's) mug that I don't know how much it is worth. I also have one of the blue glass mugs from a few years ago. I have a Washington DC LARGE display mug that I have't seen for sale anywhere. How much should I estimate these when I sell them?
    I either can't find or wish there was a website with a history of all Starbucks mugs and appr. value, like antiques roadshow for us! :)
    Thanks for any info.
    -Aimee
  • Reply
    Janet21 Janet21 May 15, 2008 @ 8:07 am
    Nice lens! I have lensrolled you to my Novelty Coffee Mugs lens. :)
  • Reply
    Jon Jon May 5, 2008 @ 2:55 pm
    Aloha -

    I have what may - or may not - be an original Starbucks mug/tumbler. It has the brown cigar-band logo and seems to fit what the original tumblers looked like.

    I was wondering if there was someone I could send pictures to who could confirm whether it is or not.

    Thanks
    Jon
    Joneco@aol.com
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Starbucks of McDonald's? 

ABC Nightline covers the competition

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by hotbrain

Hello and welcome :) I live near Seattle and seem to find Starbucks mugs everywhere!  When I find really nice condition ones, I usually put them... (more)

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