The Halloween bucket hunt has been the retail story of the month, and it now has a second front. Petco is selling Halloween-printed buckets in two sizes starting at $1.50, they ship, and the cheap one undercuts the $2.98 bucket everyone has been chasing at Home Depot by nearly half.
Here is what Petco is actually selling, what each one costs, and what happened to the Lowe’s version people keep searching for.
Petco: two sizes, $1.50 and $7.00, and they ship
Petco is selling Halloween buckets in two completely different form factors, and it is worth knowing which is which before you order.
The cheap one is the Petco Halloween Skeletons Trick-or-Treat Bucket in orange, at $1.50. It is a plain plastic candy pail with a handle, measuring 7 inches high by 9 inches wide, listed under SKU 4741471. There is a matching Ghosts version at the same $1.50. Both were showing as available to ship at the time of writing, with free shipping on orders over $35.
The bigger one is the interesting one, because it is the same idea as the Home Depot bucket. The Petco Halloween Pumpkin Bucket with Lid in orange is a 2-gallon utility bucket with heavy-duty construction, a sturdy metal handle with a grip, and a snap-on lid, at $7.00 (SKU 4763056). The Frankenstein version in green is the same bucket at the same price (SKU 4763048). Both were listed as shipping with an arrival estimate of July 30 when we checked.
The detail that gives away what these actually are: Petco files the 2-gallon buckets under Fish Supplies, in Aquarium Maintenance. The product copy says so outright, describing a bucket for “everything from water changes to trick-or-treating” that works “for aquatic care or for novelty purposes like trick or treating.” That is a water-change bucket in a Halloween wrapper, which is exactly the trick Home Depot pulled with a paint bucket. The $1.50 pails sit in the Halloween for Pets section instead.
The Lowe’s lighted bucket is harder to get
Lowe’s has a Halloween bucket that keeps turning up in searches, and the situation with it is worth knowing before you go looking.
The Magic Seasons 6.5-inch Lighted Trick or Treat Bucket (item #837973) is a battery-powered pail that throws light onto the ground in front of you as a visibility aid. It comes in orange with a jack-o’-lantern face, purple with a ghost, and green, runs three light modes, and takes a replaceable CR2032.
Its product page also carries a note reading “This item is no longer sold on Lowes.com.” A search of Lowe’s site for a current-season replacement turns up only third-party listings from Joyfy, Jazwares and Trick or Treat Studios, not a Lowe’s item. If you want one, a store is your only shot. Do not count on ordering it.
Home Depot’s bucket: online availability depends on where you are
When we covered the Home Depot bucket it was not purchasable online anywhere we could find, and searching homedepot.com for it still returns only the plain orange 2-gallon bucket and the 5-gallon Homer.
Readers have since told us otherwise, and the picture is regional. Several people commenting on our Facebook post reported buying the printed buckets online and getting them delivered free the same day, with one saying two stores nearby were each showing over 900 in stock. Another reader who ordered successfully added that they hoped the listing would come back “for everyone soon,” which reads like the online availability blinks in and out by market rather than staying up.
So: check homedepot.com for your own ZIP before you drive anywhere. If it is not there, it is a store hunt, and stores stack the printed buckets in with the plain orange ones near the entrance and in the garden center.
How the prices compare
| Bucket | Retailer | Price | Size | Buy online? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skeletons / Ghosts Trick-or-Treat Bucket | Petco | $1.50 | 7 in. H x 9 in. W | Yes |
| Halloween-print 2-gallon bucket | Home Depot | $2.98 | 2 gallons | Regional |
| Halloween Pumpkin / Frankenstein Bucket with Lid | Petco | $7.00 | 2 gallons | Yes |
| Magic Seasons 6.5-in. Lighted Trick or Treat Bucket | Lowe’s | Was carried | 6.5 in. | No longer listed |
The plain orange 2-gallon Home Depot bucket also sells online at $2.98 year-round if you would rather buy the blank and add stickers.
Which one to actually buy
If you want the biggest candy haul for the least money, the Home Depot printed bucket is still the best value at $2.98 for two gallons, assuming your area can get it. Check a second store before you pay a reseller, because these are already listing on eBay at roughly triple retail.
If you want a Halloween bucket delivered without the hunt, Petco’s $1.50 pail is the cheapest Halloween-printed bucket we have found this season from a major retailer. Its 7-by-9-inch size is a normal trick-or-treat pail, not a novelty.
If you specifically want the oversized utility-bucket look, Petco’s $7.00 lidded 2-gallon version is the only one of these you can reliably order, and the lid is a real advantage for hauling candy home or storing decorations after the season.
More 2026 Halloween retail from HAN
- Home Depot’s Viral Halloween Buckets Are Back for 2026
- Home Depot Debuts the 2026 Halloween Collection
- Target’s 2026 Halloween Collection
- At Home’s 2026 Halloween Collection
- The Best Halloween Pet Costumes for 2026: Every Retailer’s Lineup
- The Best Halloween Animatronics for 2026
Prices, sizes and availability as listed by each retailer at the time of writing and verified in-browser on July 26, 2026. Stock on seasonal items moves fast, and store-level and online availability vary by market.
