Zhu Zhu Collectible Hamsters Still Hot Toy of 2009?
After a brief, but HOT run during the Christmas shopping season this year, the Zhu Zhu’s haven’t been mentioned all that much. We have all seen the ones on eBay that are over priced and the signs in Wal-Marts that state Zhu Zhu’s are only available online. But now that they Christmas rush is over, is the Zhu Zhu still one of the hottest, most sought after toys of 2009?
I read in the LA Times (from Dec. 22)that most people noticed that children weren’t even after these motorized, chirping hamsters, it happened to be mostly parents. Although I am sure the parents were the ones standing in line for the doorbuster sales, only to be turned away when stores ran out, they were really still buying these toys for their favorite children. At least the ones that requested them. I would think that a child would want the real thing if possible and since they really don’t cost all that much (but more than the toy at $8-$10) more, the parents are looking at the long term maintenance and cleanup involved.
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Since I read a little about these Zhu Zhu’s I thought I would take a look around the net, specifically eBay, to see if the “hub-bub” is still there. Let’s take a look at what I found. I did a simple search for Zhu Zhu, without quotes, the returned results totalled over 9,000. This included everything from various named Zhu Zhu pets, pets with accessories and I must say, the prices weren’t all that bad. If you check the auctions now, you might be only paying $5-$6 more per Zhu Zhu (plus shipping) than you would in the store. But if your local Wal-Mart cannot get this in stock, what option do you have?
Some have said the toy is HOT because of the fact that you cannot get it. Is that really a reason to “want” something? Because it is going to be hard to get? I think the Playstation 3 and the Nintendo Wii went through some similar debacles recently, but video game systems are a much bigger deal than a “toy”.