Want To Buy Blue Bell Ice Cream? It'll Cost You $$

The listeria outbreak that that led to last month's Blue Bell ice cream recall left many frozen dessert fans heartbroken. But, as it turns out, there's still a way to buy Blue Bell ice cream online. The Washington Post reported this month that a ice cream black market had cropped up on sites like eBay and Craigslist, but posts were quickly flagged or taken down. While it's no doubt a buyer's market for the popular frozen Southern treat, buyers should beware. Both the Blue Bell CEO Paul Kruse and the CDC have issued warnings not to eat Blue Bell ice cream. Kruse wrote in a statement:

We’re committed to doing the 100 percent right thing, and the best way to do that is to take all of our products off the market until we can be confident that they are all safe.

But as we head closer to the summer months, many are getting desperate. Business Insider reported that people in the company's home state of Texas are taking the Blue Bell recall pretty hard and can't imagine a summer without their favorite carton of Homemade Vanilla or Bourbon Pecan. Consumers were asked by both the CDC and Blue Bell to throw away any purchased Blue Bell ice cream and avoid selling, serving, or buying the confection, but that isn't stopping many from taking to Craigslist to hawk the product.

The Houston Craigslist community has several listings for Blue Bell ice cream at exorbitant prices. One ad touts a 1/2 gallon of Homemade Vanilla for $1,000 dollars. The classic flavor is Blue Bell's top seller.

Four unopened pints of ice cream are also being sold in Houston for $6,000 dollars. The ad doesn't specify which flavors are available, though the photo is of a pint of Red Velvet and Banana Pudding ice cream.

Bargain hunters could turn to Austin, where a 1/2 gallon of Vanilla Bean is being sold at $500. The seller wrote:

I have a completely unopened container of BlueBell's Natural Vanilla Bean ice cream. That has been sitting in my freezer before the recall. Perfectly preserved in all it's creamy beauty!...

Purchaser assumes any and all liability related to consumption of this ice cream. Cash only, meet in a public place in person, I will provide safe transport in a cooler with dry ice to ensure it remains frozen. (you can keep the cooler! ;)Contact me to claim this rare culinary unicorn!

Such a demand for Blue Bell might forecast a huge rise in sales when the ice cream is available again in stores. But the loss in profits in the meantime is leading the company to take drastic measures. USA Today reported last week that Blue Bell will be laying off four out every 10 of its workers, as well as putting 1,400 workers on furlough. Cleanup is taking longer than expected, particularly in the Blue Bell facility in Brenham, Texas, where employees are facing the possibility of facing a pay cut.

Tasty ice cream or not, there's a more serious reason to want Blue Bell back in grocer's freezers.

Images: Craigslist (3); Getty Images (1)