GOGO hamsters selling for high prices

This year’s top Christmas toy, The GO GO Hamster, has got parents as worked up as Tickle Me Elmo did in the past, as many parents are reporting stress from trying to obtain the toy and online sellers are racking up a large amount of business at hiked up prices.

Normally, the small cuddly toy costs about ten pounds, but greedy sellers are auctioning or selling the toy online for over six times that amount, because apparently parents without other choices are buying them at an alarming rate.

In fact, a complete set of the hamsters which include Mr. Squiggles, Pipsqueak, Chunk, and Num Nums went for about £150 on eBay a few days ago. The large turnaround online is due to the fact that most stores ran out of the popular toy with over a month to go until Christmas.

Owner of the toy shop chain Entertainment, Cary Grant, who is also the Toy Retailers Association chairman, stated that the reason prices are so high now is because many people loaded up on the toys before heading to eBay making them a scarce commodity in stores.

He said that while it is always hard to tell which toy will be ‘the toy’ of the year, speculators that compile lists actually usually result in people buying up large numbers of toys and hoarding them, which drives their value up online.

Grant also added that one of the reasons that the Go Go Hamsters may hold such a versatile appeal to parents as a gift for their children is due to the fact that they are the closest thing you can buy to a pet without worrying about the mess or responsibility that a pet typically entails

Tie-ins lure children to pester for toys

It is no surprise that every year there are always a few toys that take on the title of the most wanted toys for Christmas right up there with the Tickle Me Elmo’s of the past. However, the larger question outside of what these toys will be each year is how they end up to be the biggest thing since Furbys.

Are these top toys actually any cooler or better than other toys, or are they simply the products of the best marketing?

Marketing campaigns for toys start as soon as they hit the market, but become the largest in the two months leading up to Christmas when television ads during children’s programming really start to take off in an attempt to hook children rather than their parents.

Among the tools in a professional marketer’s bag of tricks are bright colours, brand names, cool characters, and fun music. Although the advertisers know that children are not heading out to the stores to buy their items, they are hoping that the children will want the toys badly enough to pester their parents until they get them.

Advertisers are now taking a slightly different turn while promoting their toys switching to integrated marketing campaigns that include television ads but focus heavily on tie-ins with comic books and films, so that children see the characters and hence the toys everywhere they go.

Of course, the intent is to make sure that the parents see them also so that it becomes unavoidable that the toys will get snatched up by frenzied consumers.

Boys toys for all ages selling well at John Lewis

Men’s fashion and boys’ toys were the hot ticket items at John Lewis stores last week according to the popular department store retailer.

The store noted that they experienced a 15% increase in sales over the past week leading up to Saturday compared to the same shopping time period prior to the official Christmas shopping season.

One of the top selling items was a child’s scooter, but John Lewis took care to note that boys’ toys for all ages were top sellers.

Director of selling operations for John Lewis, David Barford stated that the toy department has been the focus of sales all week.

He continued to say that the scooter topped the list alongside remote controlled helicopters and cars, which leads the retailers to believe that dad’s are taking a more active role in toy buying this year. Barford also commented that the dads may be purchasing toys they want to toy around with as well.

Along with boys’ toys, adult male toys such as football tables and air hockey tables also sold in high volumes this week alongside male’s fashion items.

Outside of the men’s department, John Lewis also noted that upholstery, beds, and furniture also sold well up by an astronomical 400% in some stores.

Mending and craft sales also increased in the time period with sewing machines also disappearing off the shelves.

Finding Go Go Hamsters

Even though there are still six shopping weekends until Christmas rolls around, in order to get the best toys at the best prices, or sometimes even at all, bargain hunters know that now is the time to start looking for the hot items on their gift lists.

At the top of the list of many top Christmas toy lists this year are the ever so cuddly Go Go Hamsters, which allow parents to give their children talking and moving pets at a low cost (£9.99 at John Lewis) without worrying about the clean up and responsibility that comes with a pet.

However, even this early in the season many retailers are already out of stock of the hamsters and those that still have the Go Go Hamsters have inflated the price as high as £54.99. For these items internet shopping may be the best bet although when it comes to the internet sooner is better than later since shipping times must be accounted for.

Of course, for those who are thinking about heading online for Christmas gifts this year there are a few pointers that you need to adhere to since the shopping atmosphere and experience is vastly different than most people are use accustomed to.

The most important tip is perhaps to remember that every item that is ordered will come with shipping or delivery charges. If you are not careful, especially on auction sites with crafty third party sellers, the shopping charges can make the item higher priced than at the stores.