Are McDonald’s collector cups worth more than the liquid assets inside?

McDonald’s is getting some help from Hello Kitty, Shrek, Barbie and Grimace. 

The fast-food chain has launched collector’s cups that feature its own mascots and pop culture icons from different franchises. These are characters that McDonald’s has based previous collectibles on. The company is using nostalgia as a marketing tool to lure in customers amid rising menu prices and slowing sales.

Fans are on the hunt for these collectibles, and TikTok creators have even shared strategies on how to get the cup of your choice. 

McDonald’s, naturally, says they’re a valuable investment. “in 20 years ur gonna be happy u collected all 6 limited edition cups,” the company’s official X account reads. 

On eBay, some individual cups are selling for between $15 and $50, while the complete set of six can go for $250. Owners are even selling cases of 100 for $1,500. 

But does their value appreciate over time? It turns out that fast-food promotional items don’t have a lot of long-term value, said Justin Caravoulias, consignment director for action figures and toys at Heritage Auctions. 

McDonald’s has released collectible cups over the years, including “Batman Forever” glasses, Dream Team cups featuring members of the 1992 U.S. Olympic basketball team and Disney Millennium drinkware decorated with Mickey Mouse. (As a note of caution, some collections, like the 2010 “Shrek Forever After” cups, were found to contain hazardous materials.)

Other chains have also favored this strategy, with Taco Bell rolling out promotional cups for multiple “Batman” movies, and Burger King releasing “Pocahontas” cups and “Lord of the Rings” goblets.

Fast-food chains have distributed a massive number of these cups, which means they’re not very rare, Caravoulias said. Collectors have preserved them, anticipating their future worth, which means it’s easy to locate examples in good condition. 

You can find many of these cups on resale websites like eBay for just $10 a pop. And if you go into a secondhand shop, you may see bags filled with unopened collectibles from McDonald’s, Burger King or other eateries that date back 20 to 30 years, Caravoulias said. 

When new items are released, people will go into a frenzy trying to collect them. Short-term investors are going to buy those cases, break them open and sell sets while they’re a hot commodity, Caravoulias said. 

But while past performance may not predict future stock market returns, the market for promotional items is more consistent. 

“History repeats itself. They’ll never be as valuable as they are now,” Caravoulias said. “This is probably the highest value that they’ll ever be.” 

Though cups are generally cheap, there are exceptions. A McDonald’s “Star Wars” cup from the ’70s recently sold for $128 on eBay.

Hanging displays with all the 1992 Dream Team cups also recently sold, fetching $900 on eBay. Timing likely contributed to that high price. Basketball’s huge popularity aside, the sale was made shortly before the Paris Olympics hit the airwaves. Fans compared this year’s team to the ‘92 roster, which reignited interest in Dream Team memorabilia, Caravoulias said.

As people try to complete their vintage collections, often they’ll pay a premium for some items, especially those from an iconic franchise, Caravoulias said. 

Some enthusiasts might spend $100 or $200 on complete sets so they don’t have to track down each cup. But most items in this genre are still “fairly accessible to the average collector,” Caravoulias said. 

While it’s easy to find the cups online, some collectors enjoy the hunt in person. Amethyst Bowlsby, a 34-year-old cup collector from Riverton, Wyoming, likes to scour thrift stores and garage sales for mementos, partly because of the stories she hears from the sellers.

When she was a teen, Bowlsby began the quest to complete her collection of McDonald’s “Batman Forever” cups, an emblem of her “comfort movie.” She already owned a cup glorifying the Caped Crusader, but she needed to find Robin, Two-Face and the Riddler. 

She found Robin at a thrift store for just under five bucks, and her now-husband gifted her the Two-Face cup. 

But the Riddler cup was her Holy Grail, thanks to Jim Carrey’s wonderfully “ridiculous” performance. Unfortunately, it was the hardest to find. Then, on her 28th birthday, she received a package from her mom containing the coveted cup. 

“I’m weirdly into ‘Batman Forever.’ It’s a stupid movie and it makes me happy,” Bowlsby said.

On eBay and Etsy, some sellers list the full “Batman Forever” collection for $50 or less. One reason many fast-food trinkets don’t accrue value, according to Caravoulias, is that “everything has become collectible” since the 1990s. The internet made people more knowledgeable about the value of vintage items, so they amassed merchandise and kept it in mint condition, he added. 

But with so many toys around in perfect condition, their individual value dwindles. It’s a matter of supply and demand. 

“One of the things about collectibility and the value of things over time is people need to have nostalgia for it. Then there also has to be some degradation of the original stock out there,” Caravoulias said.

One reason the Beanie Baby bubble burst is that parents told their kids not to play with them because they might be valuable one day. But people don’t want to collect toys they don’t remember playing with, antiques expert Harry Rinker said in a previous interview with Marketplace. 

In comparison, certain Pokemon cards are worth a lot of money these days. The franchise is still successful, kids watched the TV show and played the trading card game growing up, and the scarcity of some cards has boosted their value. 

“Star Wars” action figures from the 1970s also sell for a lot of money. The brand remains hugely popular, and it’s rare to find these toys in perfect condition. Kids ripped open the packaging and had fun with their toys, like you’d expect them to, Caravoulias said. 

In the ’90s, new “Star Wars” toys, based on the original franchise, were also released. Collectors snapped them up, aware of how much money older merchandise was worth, Caravoulias said.

Like “Star Wars” collectors, fast-food cup cognoscenti have learned to carefully store their memorabilia. But that doesn’t jack up its market value.

“They’re not disappearing, they’re not breaking, they’re not getting used, they’re not getting thrown away. So everybody who wants them can get them pretty easily,” Caravoulias said.

That still doesn’t deter people from wanting to acquire collectible cups with every new release. So for fast-food restaurants, it’s a “solid strategy” to pack customers in, Caravoulias said.

Some people think they can make a quick return, while others, like Bowlsby, just cherish the souvenirs.

You never know what something will be worth in the future, Caravoulias said. So his parting advice? “If you like these cups, if you enjoy them, if you feel some type of connection, then collect them.”