Tiki Mugs at Cost Plus

Sorry if this has been posed before, I did search but didn't find anything.

Cost Plus stores here in the San Francisco bay area are stocking tiki mugs for $3.99. They aren't particularly pretty, but I bought 6 of them. They are fairly big and heavy. Made in China. They come in blue and brown. The brown ones have kind of a hazy glaze, like they might have been a fault in the glaze. I was told that they are going to be a regularly stocked item.

Yeah, this is Libbey's "Totem" design which doesn't shake my Mai Tai (if you know what I mean). I much prefer the "Bambusa" design (looks like a large stalk of bamboo), which is used at the Mr. Tiki Mai Tai Lounge in San Diego. I think they also use the "Tonga" design if I remember correctly.

Pretty smart of the Cost Plus chain. Sure enough, they're selling it at cost, plus extra. :)

Can't wait to see these on ebay as "rare, vintage" mugs.

-SV

Hey Billbot, do you know how many oz. they hold?

According to Ooga-Mooga, they hold 20 fluid ounces, with the optimal drink size being 9 oz plus ice. I have put some very large drinks in mine. They are my drinking mug of choice at home since they were cheap and are easily replacable, so it won't break my heart if anything happens to them.

These same mugs are also available at Dollar Tree stores for... um.. a dollar.

I haven't seen them at Dollar Tree, but good to know!

Which Dollar Tree specifically were they at?

Thanks!

I picked mine up here in Northern KY & had some friends pick me up one from a Cincinnati store. Doesn't help with one near you though.

On 2007-07-29 14:21, Billbot wrote:
Sorry if this has been posed before, I did search but didn't find anything.

Cost Plus stores here in the San Francisco bay area are stocking tiki mugs for $3.99. They aren't particularly pretty, but I bought 6 of them. They are fairly big and heavy. Made in China. They come in blue and brown. The brown ones have kind of a hazy glaze, like they might have been a fault in the glaze. I was told that they are going to be a regularly stocked item.

..don't worry..the haziness in the glaze is from the lead those cheap bastards use in china!!! ...but don't let it throw ya...drink up, shriner!!!! LOL

[ Edited by: Tipsy McStagger 2007-07-30 19:24 ]

I too haven't seen them at the 4 dollar stores out here.
Anyone in Texas have any luck?

Well, well, well....

On 2007-07-31 15:10, Haole'akamai wrote:
Well, well, well....

Well ... that's twice the price ($3.99) of the same mug at World Market in Oakland. Then when you add the shipping cost, you're looking at almost five times the price of picking one up in your local Cost Plus/World Market store. Looks like a major ripoff to me!

They are usually 2.99 at the Goodwill and the Salvation Army stores.

They may also be purchased at just about any restaurant supply biz. If they are in stock. If not you'd prolly have to buy the case.

http://dynastywholesale.com/
is one place I've found for that sort of thing. Anyone else know any other sites for wholesale mugs?

Actually, I've always thought that the Totem mug design was merely a poor ripoff of the Dynasty 113 Mug(DW113) which is just the Orchids R-5 mug given a second life.

It really makes me appreciate the modern mug designers out there who are constantly cooking up new variations. Just when I think no one's going to surprise me anymore with something I just have to possess, someone does.

• SV

So, I did a lot of digging and here's the skinny on this.

Libbey has discontinued their entire Tikiware line and does not have a replacement line planned at this time. I got this answer from the Northern California sales rep. for Libbey. There are a number of websites that claim to have the Bambusa mugs, but when I called, most did not actually have any. Some Tonga and Totem designs can be still be found, but the Bambusa seems to be long gone.

Cost Plus, Dollar Tree and whatnot are getting clearance stock, so this is the last hurrah for these mugs.

So, hold on to them, and in 40 years or so they'll be vintage and maybe worth something. :)

• SV

In addition to the mugs seen above, Cost Plus/World Market is carrying these three now: $4 for the bamboo mugs, and $3 for the "Tiki Bar" glass.

(A little) Cheaper by the dozen here...

On 2008-05-05 18:04, LOL Tiki wrote:
(A little) Cheaper by the dozen here...

It costs $30 to ship from Colorado to SoCal. That is another $1.40 on top of the Cost Plus price. :)
Mail order and internet is not always a good deal, especially if they are based in your state.

JUST TODAY at an out-of-town antique store I found two of the Libby mugs mentioned at the start of this thread for... $18.00 each! I didn't buy them and then tonight I find this thread confirming them to be over-priced.

Thanks for the heads up Rum Balls! Got some bamboo mugs at Cost Plus today. I didn't care for the 'tiki bar' glass, too cheesy IMHO.

The bamboo mugs are on sale for $1.99 right now. They're not bad for beater mugs.

just picked up 2 Bamboo & 3 Tiki Mugs for $1.99 ea here in Atlanta.

[ Edited by: Sideshow Bob 2009-04-09 13:06 ]