The Pioneer Woman Jadeite Cake Stand: Discontinued version versus Timeless Beauty redesign

On a lark, I decided to check ebay for how much the discontinued Pioneer Woman jadeite cake stands were selling for. Originally, when I bought mine, these were just shy of 20 dollars in the store, but since they were discontinued so quickly, it seemed to start a buying frenzy on ebay for them, and last time I had checked, there were several sold between $120-150 dollars.

Back when they came out, I bought all 4 they had in the store at the time, with the intention of keeping two for myself and giving one each to my mom and mother-in-law for Christmas gifts. But when I opened them up and checked them, one of them was cracked. I returned that one and gave one to my mom.

I went to another Walmart within the week and found one in good condition (I checked before I even got out of the store) to replace the one I'd returned, only to be denied purchase at the register.

That was frustrating. I don't know why they wouldn't let me buy it. The register just wouldn't allow the item to be purchased.

I kept tabs on that page of their site, as well as their facebook page, curious about what happened and when/if they'd get more in. Many customers posted reviews and complaints similar to mine, such as cracks or places where the glass was glued badly. The packing material was pretty scant and it seemed like many were arriving to the store already broken.

Walmart posted on their facebook page that the item was discontinued and a redesigned version would be available in the Spring.

So when I randomly checked a couple of days ago on ebay, I noticed there was a new version. I looked it up on the Walmart dot com site and they have it for sale, only now it is 10 dollars more and a bit different.

Here are the boxes side by side:

The box is slightly taller. Inside is much, much better packing materials. Styrofoam in between the two pieces and all the way around it, unlike the original version which just had cushioning in between the pieces and on the top and bottom of the box. I'd actually trust this new one to survive shipping. I don't think you could buy the original one online and have it shipped from the site? I don't remember now. It might have just sold out online before I could get one.

But as for the actual cake stand, mine is a darker green. On the box itself, I noticed they've changed from calling it Jadeite to Timeless Beauty. No mention of jadeite whatsoever on this new one. My husband, who likes to surprise me by remembering random facts I've read in glassware books, immediately said "looks like Skokie green", which is a darker shade of jadite produced in the 1930's by McKee glass, rather than the more famous shade popularized by Anchor Hocking's Fire King line.

In general, I think the redesign is nice. The top of the dome is much, much easier to lift, and just had a nicer, more stable grip overall.

On the negative side, this one has the glumped-up glue that other folks seemed to have issues with on the earlier version. I was not happy with the difference in color. In general, it's fine, it just stands out. If you're looking for a match to your vintage Fire King, this may not do it for you. Or mine may be unusually dark, I'm not sure? My store only had one out, and the way the shelf was set did not seem to allow for more than one to even be out at a time. So if you're looking for one, I'd flag down an employee and ask if there are more on hand. Or skip the store altogether and order online.

I also wasn't thrilled this one is ten dollars more for essentially the same piece. It's still much cheaper than other jadeite stands that don't even come with a dome. And I really love the dome redesign. In fact, if I could, I'd buy the dome alone to pair with a cake stand that didn't come with one.

Generally, it's the same weight (light) and quality of the original piece, only now it's packaged better and has a nicer dome. The change in price and color is what I personally was disappointed with. I'd love to see more jadeite items in the Pioneer Woman line, but I'd much, much prefer the lighter color that blends with the vintage jadeite I collect.

Hope you're finding thrifty treats and treasures!

Happy Thrifting!