Why This Box Of Wheaties Is Selling For $70

Apparently there's a market for unopened 8-year-old boxes of cereal. Case in point: A tiny sample box of Wheaties Fuel is currently selling on eBay for $70, recently marked down from $125.

If you've never heard of Wheaties Fuel, you're not alone. When it was released in 2009, sales of Wheaties were in a major slump, down 14 percent from the year before. Millions of dollars were spent on developing and marketing a sweeter, more "EXTREME" version of the Breakfast of Champions —which was made up of whole wheat flakes, granola, and crispy rice, and flavored with cinnamon and honey — and it was released with massive fanfare.

After 1,000 samples of three different prototypes were sent out to readers of Men's Health (who voted on their favorite), the winning formula was at first available only online before hitting supermarket shelves in January 2010. The cereal's development was documented in a six-part web series, and gracing the box were five of the day's biggest athletes: triathlete Hunter Kemper, NBA power forward Kevin Garnett, NFL quarterback Peyton Manning, MLB slugger Albert Pujols, and gold medal-winning decathlete Bryan Clay.

Despite the marketing blitz, Wheaties Fuel didn't make much of an impact. It never sold especially well, and it was quietly removed from shelves in 2013.

So why is a three-quarter-cup sample box now selling online for $125? That's anyone's guess, but if you've been craving your Wheaties Fuel fix for years and have been longing for just one more (very stale) bowl of the stuff, now's your chance! For more breakfast cereals we bet you never knew existed, click here.