November 24, 2000
This years hot toys will be hard to get
By Christine Brucker
Staff Writer
Now that the feasting is done and the leftovers are in the refrigerator it is time to head out to the stores to begin Christmas shopping. This year, the hottest toy will be nearly impossible to get.
We can all thank Sony for causing holiday stress even before the season begins. PlayStation 2 is the hottest thing out there, and the hardest to get.
"PlayStation 2 is definitely this year's most popular toy," said Tom Weber, manager of Tiffin's Wal-Mart. "We don't have any and won't be getting any before Christmas."
The sentiment was echoed by Randy Grose, assistant manager at K-Mart in the Tiffin Mall and Josh Walton, senior sales associate at Software Etc. in the Findlay Village Mall.
If you were hoping to hit an online toystore for the prized Playstation 2, think again. Visits to etoys.com and toysrus.com show both sites are out of the game console, although they have games available. For the truly desperate, a visit to ebay may be your only hope. PlayStation 2 units are selling at a furious pace. But be prepared to pay premium prices. During a recent auction, the game console with four games and a memory card went for $1799. The average price for the console alone is $500.
So what if you are not desperate, crazy or made of money? Another popular toy this season is the scooter. This is the high-tech version of the same toy kids have enjoyed for generations. Today's scooter is fashioned from ultra-light aluminum with light plastic wheels like those found on rollerblades.
"Scooters are really popular this year," Weber said. "But so are bicycles."
A scooter can range in price from $25 up to $99 depending on the manufacturer.
Grose finds bicycles and skateboards to draw the attention of kids at K-Mart.
For girls, the hottest toy is Poochi dogs. These little, robot dogs bark and interact with each other.
The Pokemon craze has settled to a low roar with store managers seeing a declining interest in the spinoff toys.
"Kids are still asking for the trading cards," Grose said. "They are buying the new Pokemon Gold and Silver editions for the Gameboy, but not the other toys as much."
Parents with access to the internet can do some real pre-shopping with their kids. Toysrus.com and etoys.com offer their own lists of top toys and best-selling toys. The categories are broken down by gender and age group.
Many traditional favorites appear on both lists. Lego has new versions of their castle series. Barbie, Hot Wheels, Matchbox and even the traditional Easy-Bake oven and Play-Doh have modern versions.
Anyone ordering from an online toy store is urged to order early. Last year many online retailers had difficulty filling last-minute orders.