It had to happen. As soon as Hostess Brands Inc. announced its plans to close shop last week, devotees of Ding Dongs, Ho Hos, Twinkies and a host of other packaged treats made a beeline for the supermarket to stock up. Some of these people, like Baltimore Hostess factory worker Adil Ahmed, had only theirs and their families’ interests at heart. According to an Associated Press story about the Hostess closure, Ahmed “…rushed to the supermarket Friday morning after hearing the news. Growing up in New Jersey, he said his Southeast Asian family bought Wonder Bread to dip in curries and loaded up on sweets from a nearby warehouse for the holidays.” In an interview, Ahmed shared, “I have nephews and nieces — we have to pass on the tradition to the next generation.” He did his part and purchased four boxes of Twinkies for a family gathering over the weekend.
Other folks joined in the shopping frenzy and it was only a matter of time before one of these enterprising people placed a soon-to-be-extinct (but hopefully not spoiled, thanks to ample preservatives) Hostess item for auction on eBay. Here it is, a Single Twinkie! Collectors Item!
Just in case you require a visual, here’s the picture from the listing:
If the $8,000 starting bid price looks steep to you, consider two things. First of all, the seller kindly is donating 50 percent of the proceeds of this sale to charity, in this case the American Red Cross in Greater New York.
The second consideration is a bit more obscure, but also potentially important regarding disaster preparedness. Hostess products, namely Twinkies, play a starring role alongside Woody Harrelson and Jesse Eisenberg in the 2009 thriller/comedy Zombieland. Harrelson’s character, Tallahassee, has such an affinity for what he calls “spongy yellow bastards” that he braves potential zombie attack to score them at an abandoned store. Here’s a montage of Twinkie scenes from the film:
Sno Balls, Devil Dogs, even Wonder Bread did not hold a candle to Twinkies, which were the most popular product made by Hostess. Their mass appeal and longevity (referring to 82 years of production, not to their actual shelf life which some people estimate as a mere 25 days when only sealed in cellophane packages) has generated some intriguing Twinkies trivia and lore:
*During his presidency, Bill Clinton called the snack cake “an object of enduring American symbolism” and placed one in the National Millennium Time Capsule.
*A single Twinkie contains 39 ingredients, five of which originate from rocks.
*That cream center? It isn’t cream, but shortening.
*The original name of the treat was Twinkie Fingers.
*At its height of popularity, Twinkies were produced at a rate of 16 per second.
*Twinkies show up on many films, including Ghostbusters and The Iron Giant. Watch the clips over at the Wired website: Sugar Drops: 10 Pop Culture Moments for Twinkies.
This madness for all things Twinkie extends beyond the little snack cake. According to Aaron Smith at CNN Money, eBay shoppers are moving in on the Hostess-themed merch as well. “A lunch box featuring ‘Twinkie the Kid,’ a cartoon cowboy character that bears a striking resemblance to the iconic yellow cake, fetched a winning bid of $690 on Friday.”
If you love your Hostess products but your budget just can’t cover an $8,000 Twinkie, take heart. There’s a whole box of Suzy Q’s on eBay for 20 bucks.
I think your story is premature as Hostess is in talks today with Union Officials. If that doesn’t work out there are a number of buyers interested in this company that brings in Billions of dollars in revenue each year. Sorry fellow Ebayers guess you’ll be eating those $5000 Twinkies you had for sale.
What has this world come too when the starting bid of a twinkie is $ 8000.00 dollars ? Regardless of the fact they are giving % 50 percent to a charity , this looks and smells like one heck of a scam , or rip off and some dumb fool is going to fall for it and bid ,and this person may not even be able to feed their family and their thinking how rich this will make them , later down the road ~ That’s hum-bug , as I’m sure they will figure out later down the road , because nothing is worth nothing , unless someone wants it and who is going to want a old twinkie , years from now ?
P.S. It looks like Hostess is going to make a come back , so now what ?
Well to me , who ever is selling those twinkies at such a uncalled for price/s should reinburse the buyer , and it’s only fair since the seller jumped the gun and Hostess/twinkie isn’t going anywhere !
Anyone who would pay $8000 for a Twinkie® needs to have their head examined.
The greed and stupidity of the average human being once again rears its ugly head. I cannot believe eBay even allows stuff like this! But then again, I guess they are only in it to make money too, adding to the greed.
Now if the entire amount were to go to charity, that would be a different story.
All those sellers who have sold their twinkies for ridiculous amounts of money wail, cry and gnash their teeth as they must refund their buyers because Hostess has come to an agreement with their strikers.
The only winner here is eBay, who will collect on the listing fees, since it is highly unlikely anyone will pay $8k.
if you look on ebay, most of the proceeds are going to charity.
“There’s a sucker born every minute.”
People are wasting money on these Twinkies ebay auctions. In a separate licensing agreement they will continue to be produced in Montreal by a company that is not part of Hostess. There are also several large U.S. bakers that are already in negotiations to buy out Hostess and continue the brand.
If you willing to pay $8k for a snack cake or even $100 for a box of them I conciser it stupid tax. I wish I had thought to stockpile them myself. Even if Hostess went away forever they would sell the recipe to another company. I highly doubt whoever bought the recipe would change it and they might be able keep the Hostess name on it too. I find this whole thing childish and humorous.
They stopped making Drake’s Cake’s too! That means we have to find our Yodels, Ring Dings, Devil Dogs, Coffee Cakes, etc. on ebay too!
Can’t wait to see the first fool who bids on this auction. XD
..at least they can offer free shipping..
I’m rather disappointed in this edition of the blog given its often repeating bizarre automobile theme… where’s the twinkie mobile, or car some nutter who lives with his parents into adulthood covered entirely in zingers? Maybe a pimp mobile from the 70′s like a purple Thunderbird or Cadillac with gold trim, with a couple scantily clad boxes of ho ho’s in the back seat?