Holiday pet peeve: People scalping Children's toys at Christmas.

[Werewolf]

Okay, this really bugs me.

Scumbags scalping children's toys at Christmas. These are toys that have zero collector value and are only hard to get because of the seasonal demand from children wanting Christmas presents. People that buy up these toys, to jack up the prices for resell during the holidays, are vermin preying on children and frustrated parents.

It disgusts me, ****es me off and really shows an ugly side of humanity and the people that do it.

[megoat]

Do you also put blame on the toy companies who purposefully limit production?

[Werewolf]

Do you also put blame on the toy companies who purposefully limit production?

We all know toy production is done months and months and months in advance and it is often hard to predict how any toy will be recieved. Once a toy takes off it is no easy task to make quick corrections and ramp up production to compensate. It's a fine line. Overestimate demade and you have tons of unsellable stock in a insecure economy. Underestimate, you run the risk of alienating customers that may not come back once you ramp up production.

Now, that being said, when I see on ebay thousands of listings of a particular toy children want, the company making it is obviously trying to meet the demand and the only reason kids and parents can't get them is because of the dirt bags scalping the toys just to resell.

So, in this case, scalpers are purely to blame. Long story short, don't scalp children's toys at Christmas time. It makes you a scumbag.

[BlackKnight]

I dunno if I am Familiar with the Toys children want that scalper's are buying, that do not hold any value, other than a child's want. ... I remember the Tickle Me Craze...., but thats about it.

[mitchedwards]

I agree its the scalpers that create the artificial demand for the toys.

I was at TRU mid Oct, and there was a huge line at the door. Found out they were getting in a supply of zsu zsu pets, and folks were lining up to buy.

Odds are 60% of them were going to do a quick E-Bay flip

[Zemo]

To me it's just capitalism and supply and demand. Scumbags/scalpers what ever you want to call them. You can also call them capitalists and this country is a capitalist country.

[megoat]

We all know toy production is done months and months and months in advance and it is often hard to predict how any toy will be recieved. Once a toy takes off it is no easy task to make quick corrections and ramp up production to compensate. It's a fine line. Overestimate demade and you have tons of unsellable stock in a insecure economy. Underestimate, you run the risk of alienating customers that may not come back once you ramp up production.

Now, that being said, when I see on ebay thousands of listings of a particular toy children want, the company making it is obviously trying to meet the demand and the only reason kids and parents can't get them is because of the dirt bags scalping the toys just to resell.

So, in this case, scalpers are purely to blame. Long story short, don't scalp children's toys at Christmas time. It makes you a scumbag.

I agree for the most part, but I guess I'm just a little more cynical and believe that toy companies enjoy the hype when their product becomes the "hot" item and sometimes react slowly to control supply and enhance demand.....

[Werewolf]

To me it's just capitalism and supply and demand. Scumbags/scalpers what ever you want to call them. You can also at capitalists and this country is a capitalist country.

I'd rather we didnt, but if you must go there.

The Free market/capitalism works when there are ethics and checks and balances. A company offering goods and services that people want at a fair market price. Which the toy company does. Scalpers artifically inflates the market to a level that cannot be sustained in the long term and the market colapses.

Besides, this is not about capitalism, politics, collectors, the collector market or reselling vintage toys or adult collectables. This about people scalping children's toys at Christmas. Which makes them a scumbag. No way to sugar coat it.

[Werewolf]

I agree for the most part, but I guess I'm just a little more cynical and believe that toy companies enjoy the hype when their product becomes the "hot" item and sometimes react slowly to control supply and enhance demand.....

Let's look at Zhu Zhu Pets for example, which mitchedwards brought up, I just checked ebay and there are currently over 16,000 listings for the toy. The company is obviously trying to meet demand and the only reason kids and parents are having trouble getting them is because of the heavy scalping.

Personally, I wish the media would stop doing these hot toys lists. Kids already know what they want and parents are already looking for the stuff. It just gives the scalpers a heads up of what to buy up.

[megoat]

Personally, I wish the media would stop doing these hot toys lists. Kids already know what they want and parents are already looking for the stuff. It just gives the scalpers a heads up of what to buy up.

But this is exactly my point. When CNN does a 60 second piece on "hot" toys, the toy companies are getting FREE exposure. Toy companies spend millions to manufacture a buzz so when one springs up the last thing they want to do is extinguish the hype.

[megoat]

For instance, I think this strategy worked rather smashingly for the Nintendo Wii.

[Meule]

Same goes for the Hotwheels 66 Batmobile, Batcycle and Batboat. Ever since they were released I keep hearing stories of people not being able to find them, but they're all over eBay.

[Werewolf]

But this is exactly my point. When CNN does a 60 second piece on "hot" toys, the toy companies are getting FREE exposure. Toy companies spend millions to manufacture a buzz so when one springs up the last thing they want to do is extinguish the hype.

Toy companies obviously want toys children will want to buy and put a lot of effort, research and marketing into trying to make their products successful. But kids are fickle and all the hype, media lists and marketing does not guarantee a success.

Like I mentioned earlier, production numbers are planned way WAY in advance. It is not easy to estimate how much to produce or how well a toy will sell. It is also difficult to quickly ramp up production if a toy takes off better than estimated. Getting the materials, labor, manufacturing and shipping the stuff takes a lot of time.

A company also has to weigh in if their toys are actually selling to the intended market, kids and parents, or are they just ending up on ebay from scalpers. Because if ebay is the case, they could be ramping up production for a consumer base that is really not there and end up with stock they cannot sell.

[jwyblejr]

It really doesn't matter to me. How long has this been going on? Since the Cabbage Patch Kids?

[megoat]

Toy companies obviously want toys children will want to buy and put a lot of effort, research and marketing into trying to make their products successful. But kids are fickle and all the hype, media lists and marketing does not guarentee a success.

Like a mentioned earlier, production numbers are planned way WAY in advance. It is not easy to estimate how much to produce or how well a toy will sell. It is also difficult to quickly ramp up production if a toy takes off better than estimated. Getting the materials, labor, manufacturing and shipping the stuff takes a lot of time.

A company also has to weigh in if there toys are actually selling to the intended market, kids and parents, or are they just ending up on ebay from scalpers. Because if ebay is the case, they could be ramping up production for a consumer base that is really not there and end up with stock they cannot sell.

And again, I mainly agree with you. Companies can't predict if their items will be in demand. My only argument is that when a company's product has a buzz then the company reacts in ways to sustain that buzz.

The Wii is a good example. I don't think Nintendo knew when they launched the Wii a couple of years ago that it would be such a hit. So there was indeed a genuine shortage. But when it became clear that it was a hit and Nintendo rose to the top of the video game heap, I believe that they willfully controlled supply to sustain the demand. It maintains a buzz and generates MORE interest in your product.

The way I see it--it's just one big confluence of public demand + plus scalpers + media + toy companies--everyone has a hand in it!