--- title: Patti LaBelle's Sweet Potato Pies Are Selling for $50 on eBay description: Here's why there's a black market for pies that cost just $3.48 at Walmart. authors: - name: Martha C. White role: Writer url: https://money.com/author/martha-c-white/ education: BA, English, Princeton University at_money_since: 2015 articles: 350 covers: - Lifestyle - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Federal Reserve Rate Cuts - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology published: '2015-11-18T22:17:56.000Z' modified: '2024-05-07T10:22:53.000Z' section: Lifestyle tags: - eBay - Food & Drink - Patti LaBelle - pubdesk - sweet potato - Walmart word_count: 232 canonical: https://money.com/patti-labelle-sweet-potato-pie-ebay-black-market/ type: Article source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Singer Patti LaBelle attends the Grand Tasting presented by ShopRite featuring Samsung Culinary Demonstrations presented by MasterCard - Food Network & Cooking Channel New York City Wine & Food Festival presented by FOOD & WINE at Pier 94 on October 18, 2015 in New York City.](https://img.money.com/2015/11/151118_em_labellepie1.jpg?crop=0px%2C27px%2C2100px%2C1181px&quality=85) *Singer Patti LaBelle attends the Grand Tasting presented by ShopRite featuring Samsung Culinary Demonstrations presented by MasterCard - Food Network & Cooking Channel New York City Wine & Food Festival presented by FOOD & WINE at Pier 94 on October 18, 2015 in New York City.* An enthusiastic video review for a sweet potato pie catapulted the humble dessert to fame, instigating the kind of black market usually reserved for fast-fashion designer collaborations. Until mere days ago, the Patti LaBelle sweet potato pie was just another seasonal treat in the bakery section at Walmart, and a bargain at $3.48. But after an online review by YouTube user James Wright (literally) [singing the pie's praises went viral](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQRwFn7WPk8) (it currently has more than 2 million views), a feeding frenzy kicked off and there was a run on the pies. Walmart reported selling one a second over the weekend, according to the Associated Press, and running low or selling out entirely at some locations. In response, a booming black market sprang up for Patti LaBelle's sweet potato pie. At the time of writing, [eBay](http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1313.TR1.TRC0.A0.H0.Xpatti+la+belle+pie.TRS0&_nkw=patti+la+belle+pie&_sacat=0) had [listings](http://www.ebay.com/itm/PATTI-LaBELLE-SWEET-POTATO-PIE-21oz-SOLD-OUT-NATIONWIDE-NEXT-DAY-EXPRESS-SHIP-/252176020177?hash=item3ab6dcb2d1:g:WMwAAOSweuxWTNHV) for individual pies as high as $50. Walmart told the AP it was shipping its remaining Patti LaBelle pie stock — which was supposed to last for the next month and a half — to stores with the highest demand. Hungry shoppers not willing to pay the eBay markup to people scalping pies should keep their eyes open for when they go to Walmart, because whatever stock is left is all there is; that is, unless the retailer can get its hands on another 2 million pounds of sweet potatoes in time for Thanksgiving. [Watch video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQRwFn7WPk8) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/patti-labelle-sweet-potato-pie-ebay-black-market/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Lifestyle", "item": "https://money.com/lifestyle/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Art and Culture", "item": "https://money.com/art-and-culture/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Patti LaBelle's Sweet Potato Pies Are Selling for $50 on eBay" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/patti-labelle-sweet-potato-pie-ebay-black-market/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/patti-labelle-sweet-potato-pie-ebay-black-market/", "name": "Patti LaBelle's Sweet Potato Pies Are Selling for $50 on eBay", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2015-11-18T22:17:56.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/patti-labelle-sweet-potato-pie-ebay-black-market/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/patti-labelle-sweet-potato-pie-ebay-black-market/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2024-05-07T10:22:53.000Z" }, { "@type": "Article", "headline": "Patti LaBelle's Sweet Potato Pies Are Selling for $50 on eBay", "articleSection": "Lifestyle", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2015/11/151118_em_labellepie1.jpg?crop=0px%2C27px%2C2100px%2C1181px&quality=85", "width": 1012, "height": 569, "caption": "151118_EM_LabellePie" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Martha C. White", "url": "https://money.com/author/martha-c-white/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/martha-c-white/#author", "image": "https://img.money.com/2014/01/martha.png?w=350&h=430&crop=1", "jobTitle": "Writer", "alumniOf": "BA, English, Princeton University", "worksFor": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } } ], "publisher": "https://money.com/#organization", "datePublished": "2015-11-18T22:17:56.000Z", "description": "Here's why there's a black market for pies that cost just $3.48 at Walmart.", "abstract": "Here's why there's a black market for pies that cost just $3.48 at Walmart.", "@id": "https://money.com/patti-labelle-sweet-potato-pie-ebay-black-market/", "inLanguage": "en-US", "dateModified": "2024-05-07T10:22:53.000Z", "wordCount": 232, "keywords": [ "eBay", "Food & Drink", "Patti LaBelle", "pubdesk", "sweet potato", "Walmart" ], "about": [ { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Lifestyle", "sameAs": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lifestyle" ] }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Contents/Culture and the arts", "sameAs": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Contents/Culture_and_the_arts" ] } ] } ] } ```