The Hardest to Buy Toys

SCARCE TOYS Toys THAT ARE HARDEST, TO Buy BEFORE THE HOLIDAYS CABBAGE PATCH KIDS 1983 SOFT-SCULPTURE DOLLS, EACH WITH THEIR OWN NAME AND INDIVIDUALIZED "ADOPTION CERTIFICATES" • Created in 1978 by Xavier Roberts • Became wildly successful overnight due to a clever marketing campaign and made more than $600 million in sales by 1985 • Led to hours-long waits for customers during the holidays and quickly became the best-selling introduction of a doll in toy history TRANSFORMERS TOY VEHICLES, DEVICES AND ANIMALS WHOSE PARTS ARE ABLE TO SHIFT INTO ROBOT FORM 1984. • Originally produced in 1984 by Japanese toy company Takara and American toy company Hasbro • Became so popular that they spawned an animated series, an animated film in 1986, and a blockbuster live-action franchise in the 2000s TEDDY RUXPIN 1985-1986 AN ANIMATRONIC, TALKING TEDDY BEAR THAT WOULD "TELL STORIES" AS HIS LIPS AND EYES MOVED IN SYNC WITH THE AUDIO FROM A CASSETTE TAPE ATTACHED TO HIS BACK • Initially produced by the toy manufacturer Worlds of Wonder and introduced in 1985 • Named by Scott Stillinger after the sound it made when hitting the ground KOOSH BALL 1987 A TOY BALL MADE OF RUBBER STRINGS NINTENDO 1988 ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM 8-BIT HOME VIDEO GAME CONSOLE • Sold 7 million systems in 1988, mostly during the holiday season • Created a market for game cartridges that, at the time, was larger than the market for all computer software GAME BOY 1989 HANDHELD VIDEO GAME CONSOLE • Quickly outsold its video game counterparts with sales of 1.1 million units • Became one of the best-selling electronic game devices of all time TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLE TOYS 1990 TOY ACTION FIGURES BASED ON CHARACTERS FROM THE FILM • Sold over $30 million by the end of the Christmas season in 1990 SUPER NINTENDO 1990 • Quickly became the best-selling console of the 16-bit era BARNEY DOLL 1992 PURPLE DINOSAUR PLUSH TOY BASED ON THE CHARACTER FROM THE POPULAR TV SERIES • Demanded by parents after their kids were seen cuddling video cassette boxes of the series • Created by toy manufacturer Dankin TALKBOY 1993 PORTABLE AUDIO CASSETTE PLAYER AND RECORDER • Originally conceived and used as a prop for the 1992 film Home Alone 2: Lost in New York • Became so popular during the holiday season that Hasbro was forced to pull its ads due to supply shortages 1994 MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS TOYS ACTION FIGURES BASED ON THE CHARACTERS OF THE POPULAR TV SHOW • Merchandise flew off the shelves during the holiday season of 1994 BEANIE BABIES 1995 A LINE OF COLLECTIBLE STUFFED ANIMALS • Commanded hundreds of dollars for the hardest-to-find "collectibles." which were arbitrarily taken off the market by creator Ty Warner • Resulted in physical altercations between customers in the aisles of toy stores TICKLE ME ELMO PLUSH TOY BASED ON THE ELMO CHARACTER 1996 FROM SESAME STREET THAT LAUGHS AND VIBRATES WHEN SQUEEZED • Introduced by Tyco in 1996, Elmo was an unexpected success, selling out almost immediately • Sold by scalpers for hundreds of dollars and provoked altercations between customers • Entire stock of 1 million dolls sold out by the end of 1996 TAMAGOTCHI 1997 HANDHELD VIRTUAL “PET" • 15 Tamagotchis sold every minute in the U.S. and Canada at the height of its popularity • More than 40 million units sold, worldwide FURBY 1998 ELECTRONIC ROBOTIC TOY • So high in demand during the Christmas season that its $35 price tag skyrocketed to as much as $300 resale • 27 million Furbies sold in 1998 POKEMON 1999 POPULAR MERCHANDISE FRANCHISE BASED ON THE VIDEO GAME • Christmas craze involved various kinds of merchandise, such as Game Boy cartridges, dolls and trading cards • Still a powerhouse today, topping $4 trillion in worldwide sales in 2013 RAZOR SCOOTER 2000 SCOOTER WITH A THIN STRUCTURE • Originally manufactured by Sharper Image • Led to the creation of a new extreme sport, freestyle scootering BRATZ 2001 TEEN FASHION DOLLS WITH BIG HEADS AND SKINNY BODIES • So successful that they surpassed Barbie as the #1-selling toy geared towards girls • Generated concern by many parents that the dolls were too provocatively dressed and that they promoted an unhealthy body image BEYBLADES 2002 A LINE OF SPINNING TOP TOYS • Developed and manufactured by Takara Tomy • One of the most popular toy lines in the world from 2000-2005 ROBOSAPIEN 2004 BIOMORPHIC ROBOTIC TOY • Manufactured by Wow Wee toys • Sold a whopping 1.5 million units between April and December of 2004 XBOX 360 2005 VIDEO GAME CONSOLE • Sold a total of 5.5 million units in its first six months on the market • Was rushed to retail shelves by Microsoft to beat the later-to-be-released Sony Playstation 3 PLAYSTATION 3 2006 VIDEO GAME CONSOLE • So popular upon its release that people became violent in their attempts to acquire one. NINTENDO DS 2007 DUAL-SCREEN TOUCHSCREEN GAMING SYSTEM • Most popular handheld system in history • Second-most-sold console in history (1.4 billion units) NINTENDO WII 2008 VIDEO GAME SYSTEM • Sold 10 million units by the end of 2008, many of which were during the holiday season ZHU ZHU PETS 2009 PLUSH ROBOTIC TOYS • Originally known as Go Go Hamsters in the U.K. • Became so huge that their retail $9 value shot up to $60 IPAD 2010 TABLET COMPUTER • Sold over 300,000 units on the first day of its release LEAPPAD EXPLORER 2011 TABLET COMPUTER DEVELOPED FOR KIDS • Awarded Toy of The Year by the American International Toy Fair in New York City WII U 2012 HOME VIDEO GAME CONSOLE • Customers waited in line for hours to get one 2013 BIG HUGS ELMO PLUSH, TALKING TOY • Followed in the massive success of Tickle Me Elmo ELSA DOLL 2014 BASED ON THE CHARACTER FROM THE HIT ANIMATED FILM 'FROZEN' • Crowned the new queen of best-selling dolls marketed toward girls • Caught retailers off guard by the demand during the holiday season, and many were short in supply BB-8 STAR WARS TOY 2015 REMOTE-CONTROLLED TOY DROID BASED ON A CHARACTER FROM THE UPCOMING STAR WARS FILM • Initial supply sold out in merely one day Source: http://www.ebates.com/blog/hardest-to-buy-toys-before-the-holidays/ EBATES