DEATH TO TOY FADS

[CrazedClerkthe2nd]

You're being ripped off then, assuming you're in the US.

http://www.amazon.com/Wii-Nintendo/d...8681985&sr=8-1

$200 new from amazon now, $279 back then. And console manufacturers tend to get pissy if the prices are jacked up much beyond MSRP. Putting a Wii to the price of a PS3 is nearly criminal.

I believe he was referring to console bundle packs, which are common when a hot console is in short supply.

The retailer will "bundle" the console so you can only buy it together with a second controller, carrying case, 3 games and an extended service plan for whatever jacked up price they come up with.

Happened with the PS2, happened with the 360, happened with the wii.

[Broomjockey]

happened with the wii.

Really? Damn. Not around here. I've not seen any bundles, except for very close to Christmas. =\ I kinda feel unlucky, now.

[fireheart]

Hmm

I remember Beanie Babies, Tamogotchi's, giga pets, Tickle me Hellmo's, Wii,

Some of these I'm unfamiliar with because of me being from the Land of Vegemite, but the ones I do remember and the fads down here....

Tamagotchi's/Giga Pets: I remember these in Year 4/5. I also remember that the Digimons were quite popular as well (the little square ones that you'd connect to battle them) until they got banned after one got thrown on the ground (and yes, I actually witnessed it)

Tickle Me Hellmo's: that's a good name. I don't think they were nearly as popular down here from what I know.

Wii-ohhhhh yeah, they were popular all right. I remember being in an EB games once and a couple started bitching at the guy because he didn't give them an extra remote. (although a few places displayed "we have Wii" signs )

Oh, and yes, I was right about the Zhu Zhu pets being called GoGo pets down here. I'm almost tempted to actually buy one for my cats-they'd LOVE it.

[protege]

So true. We've got so many kinds of tickle me elmos. No one wants those things anymore. *le sigh*

Didn't stop people from buying as many as they could...attempting to make hundreds of dollars off of them (at least judging by the ads in the newspaper--there was an *entire* page of the damn things ), and then seeing those ads run until January. Same with Beanies, same with those stupid Razor scooters, etc. Still amazes the hell out of me that a *toy* can make some people go nuts! At least most of the "get rich quick" idiots got pwned when the market for their "product" suddenly dried up...leaving them with a boxful of crap that nobody wants

[Dreamstalker]

I remember the news talking about the hellmo's being the hot toy and being scarce.

Hahahahaha...I think I still have one at the back of a closet at my dad's place Think I can get rid of it for anything approaching a profit? Nope.

I also still have my original Tamagotchi...and Dreamcast back from when they were the hot console.

[Jay 2K Winger]

I hate toy fads, too, but thankfully, the wholesale club doesn't seem to get too much of that kind of Suck.

We had Webkinz toys for a while. Before the fad took off, there was a Webkinz polar bear doll that had been left at the express register. I took to wearing it on my head for lolz when I was bored (which was often).

When the Wii came out, we had a lot of people asking after it as well. I talked about it in a thread a while back, and we had one guy who-- after failing to get a Wii after being lined up outside Best Buy, Target, or Kids World, tried to hit up one of our overnight managers (outside on a smoke break) to see if we had any and would do a backdoor sale.

He was most disappointed when we told him, no we don't have any.

[Lady_Foxfire]

I remember being a kid during the Furby craze, but as far as I remember I didn't have to go through a lot of drama to get one; My memory is slightly fuzzy, but I do remember that I had to save up my allowance for one (so not around Christmas), and that I had no problem finding one for regular price ($30, IIRC) in a Toys R US.

My family didn't get a Wii until February of 2008, and even then my dad had to show up at the store at an ungodly hour of the morning to get one. My aunt and uncle didn't get one until last christmas, and they had trouble getting one as well. According to my aunt, she had to call around to a lot of places until she found someplace that had one left, and they wouldn't hold it for her, they just told her to get there ASAP and pray no one else got to it first. Then they had security escort her back to her car just in case anyone tried to steal it from her.

[jackfaire]

When I was a kid there was one thing I looked for every year it was in the tree and ready for me every year. A homemade gift certificate to Powell's Books http://www.powells.com/where my parents would buy me six books of my choosing. SQUEEEEEE!!!! I know huge geek but that was my toy craze.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Ruh roh...

I'm assigned to Toys on Black Friday.

That means if Zhu-Zhu pets come in on Wednesday's truck (they didn't come on today's truck, and corporate might be moving heaven and Earth to get those damn things into the store for Black Friday), I'll be having to break up fights in addition to running to the back for fast-selling toys, pulling stuff off high rises, re-doing endstands, etc.

Please burn something in effigy for me.

[Iris Kojiro]

Please burn something in effigy for me.

*burns dolls of Captain Jackass and Numbknockers*

[South Texan]

I GOT ONE!!!!

Yes, I am one of those crazed shoppers whose child asked for one of these little rodents.

I got in line at Toys R Us this morning at 5:30 a.m. Just before 6:00 a.m., the store manager walked down the row of twenty people in line and handed out a coupon for one of the rodents. One was allowed per family and you had to have a Rewards card to purchase it. (If you did not have a Rewards card, you could sign up at the register and buy your rodent.)

A most orderly and happy crowd entered the store. NO pushing/panic/frenzy/hysteria whatsoever!

The rodents all were behind the Customer Service desk. We were promised that we could shop and then come to the desk to claim our respective rodent as only as many coupons were being handed out as there were rodents available. Sure enough, I did some other shopping and went to the desk. The rodent was there.

The employees seemed content, and the customers were calm and smiling. I hope, Irving, that your store can get this organized.

[Aisling]

First major Christmas toy fad that I can remember with enough lack of availability to cause normal human parents to turn into crazed monsters was the Cabbage Patch Kids, back in the early 80's.

My sis and I were just old enough to be swept up in the Cabbage Patch Kids nonsense. My parents couldn't find any, so my mom made us some. We got to pick out the yarn for their hair and their clothes and everything. I was supremely disappointed I wasn't allowed to have purple hair on mine.

[NorthernZel]

First and last time EVER my mom caved in for a toy fad was when I was 2 yrs old - of course, I was too young to request/demand certain toys at that time, but the ads said that this certain baby doll was THE BOMB, so of course mommy would buy that for her little special girl!

Come Christmas day, I wrap open the present, see the box with a doll in it, open the box... throw the doll on the floor and start playing with the box.

Since then, no fads for me. Cabbage Patch dolls? Uh, no, honey. My Little Pony? Hm, maybe when they're on after-Xmas sales. Commodore VIC-20? Why that, honey, when your friend's got a C64 you can play on when you visit her?

Luckily for me, Lil'Zel is a boy (and has a boy-ish approach to toys), and my experience is that most fads (at least, here in Denmark) are mainly targeted towards girls. So I can save my worries until he's old enough to play video games... until then, any toy car (regardless of the brand) will do.

[El Pollo Guerrera]

I'm assigned to Toys on Black Friday.

That means if Zhu-Zhu pets come in on Wednesday's truck (they didn't come on today's truck, and corporate might be moving heaven and Earth to get those damn things into the store for Black Friday), I'll be having to break up fights in addition to running to the back for fast-selling toys, pulling stuff off high rises, re-doing endstands, etc.

Please burn something in effigy for me.

Best of luck to you... I hope you survive with all body parts intact.

Truthfully, I had never heard of these Zhu-Zhu pet thingies untill now.

I wonder what percentage of these customers are 'speculators' and not gift-givers...

[EvilEmpryss]

I will always remember the look on this one lady's face when I bought a beanie baby on sale, ripped the tag off its ear, and handed the little stuffed monkey to my teething baby girl.

Who promptly shoved it in her mouth and started chewing on it. :evil:

"You can't doooo that! They're collectable!" She screamed.

The 3'x5' table was piled high with assorted stuffed animals. Nothing is collectable at those numbers. To be collectable, there must be some rarity involved to make it worth something. Otherwise it's just hoarding.