That can of Campbell’s Cream of Shrimp that was just sitting there quietly on grocery store shelves at a price tag of around $1.50 to $2.50, is now fetching a whopping price of $150 to $200 per full case from certain eBay vendors.
Campbell’s pulled the condensed Cream of Shrimp variety in 2025. The company never made a big public announcement. Shoppers simply started noticing empty spots on shelves. A Campbell’s spokesperson later told Chowhound:
“We discontinued Campbell’s Cream of Shrimp last year. We found that consumers prefer our other ‘Cream Of’ products, which are excellent soups for our variety of easy recipes.”
The company’s official X account also confirmed the discontinuation to customers in October 2025.
For many American home cooks, this wasn’t just another soup. It was the secret base for shrimp dip mixed with cream cheese and green onions, creamy seafood casseroles, bisques, and holiday dishes passed down for decades. Online comments have been emotional. One longtime fan wrote about a 50-year family shrimp dip recipe. Others said they can no longer recreate a late grandmother’s casserole exactly the same way.
The resellers were quick on the uptake. The remaining cans can still be found in some smaller outlets at the usual price, although most of those have already been sold out. On eBay, individual cans sell between $12 and $18. Pairs usually sell between $25 and $35. Twelve-packs that cost about $20 to $30 now sell between $150 to over $200. There are listings with best before dates as late as 2026 and early 2027.
One should also remember that an asking price is not always the same as an accomplished deal. Usually, when talking about a price of $200, one means multipacks but not single cans. In addition, the recently published article from Dexerto provided some additional details about the diversity of the offers and the stocks in smaller shops.
Alternatives exist. Blue Runner cream of shrimp soup remains available in some regions. Many cooks experiment with other Campbell’s cream soups plus cooked shrimp or seafood seasoning. Homemade versions using shrimp stock, a roux, and cream also circulate. Still, none fully match the exact canned flavor and convenience that generations relied on.
It’s a traditional tale of the secondary market. A specialty product gets withdrawn for commercial purposes, there isn’t enough stock anymore, and those who know how to use it and some enterprising individuals come into play. The high prices on eBay are no myth. But are consumers actually willing to pay such prices on a regular basis? Time will tell.
