Labor-Driven Death of Hostess Fuels Twinkies Frenzy on Ebay

Cash in while you can

Twinkies merchandise is hot on Ebay, with prices soaring now that Hostess Brands is moving closer to closing down.

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, after Hostess said it was seeking permission from a federal bankruptcy court to close down all its bakeries.

The Hostess announcement had an obvious impact on bidding. The lunch box, advertised as "mint condition, never used," was listed on Nov. 9 with a starting price of $14.99. There were no bids for a week. But then, on Friday morning, 58 bids pushed the price to $690. Most of those bids occurred in less than two hours.