(PCM) If you are the parent of a young child this holiday season then you have most likely seen Hatchimals pop up on your child’s holiday gift list, however many children are going to be left disappointed as these toys are sold-out everywhere and it’s not even Thanksgiving yet! It’s like reliving the Tickle Me Elmo and Furby crazes all over again. In fact, Hatchimals are eerily kind of similar to Furbys.
They are small brightly colored bird-like creatures that you must wait patiently to hatch out of a plastic egg. Once the Hatchimal breaks free of the egg they can be taught to speak and play games. There are five “species” of Hatchimals: Pengualas, Draggles, Owlicorns, Burtles and Bearakeets. The shopping panic has already begun, as it is not even Black Friday yet and these toys are literally flying off the shelves. Stores are completely sold-out of any inventory and unclear the manufacturing company is unclear as to whether or not any more will be in stock before the start of the holiday shopping season.
There are already rumors circulating online that Hatchimals purposefully distributed low stock numbers to drum up more publicity and demand, however the company, Spin Master, claims it is no way a PR stunt and the demand for Hatchimals has surprisingly exceeded their expectations. They claim that more products will be available in November, however after that shipment sells out there will not be any more Hatchimals available until early 2017. The retail value for a Hatchimal is $60, but people are now selling them for hundreds (even thousands!) of dollars on eBay, Amazon and other online retailers.
Looks like there might be a lot of rain checks/ IOU’s under the Christmas Tree this year! Either that or just stick a Furby in a box and call it a day!