To Buy A Hatchimal For The Holidays, Get Lucky Or Dig Deep
by KYW tech editor Ian Bush
Hatchimals are heir to Cabbage Patch Kids, Furbies, Beanie Babies and Tamagotchis. The toy craze of 2016 features a furry creature that pecks its way out of its speckled eggshell; with nurturing, it can 'learn' to talk, dance, and play games.
Retail price: $60. That's if you can find one on the shelf.
"You'd be amazed to see what kinds of bidding wars are going on for these things," says Mike, who we found advertising dozens of Hatchimals for sale via Twitter.
Mike got in on Hatchimals before the clamor; his 10-year-old daughter, playing the role of Warren Buffett in this capitalist Christmas pantomime, advised dad and Uncle Stan that this would be The Next Big Thing.
"We took a big risk on this," Mike says, noting their investment was in the 90 Hatchimal, or $5000, range.
Over the weekend, one of the eBay auctions run by Mike and Stan closed at $220. They expect that price won't be an outlier come Black Friday.
"The markup on this unit is anywhere between $150-$190," he says. "We get hate mail. A lady accused me of ruining her daughter's Christmas. Here's the reality: I don't dictate the market. I'm putting these up for $60 on my eBay store. It's not me that's getting on there and jacking up the price to $180-$200."
If you don't want to go the resale route, your best shot at a Hatchimal might be through a website like NowInStock.net or Zoolert.com: they offer browser alarms and other alerts when stores like Target, Amazon, Toys R Us, and the like restock their virtual shelves.
A statement from Hatichimals maker Spin Master says in part that the company has "increased production and a whole new batch of Hatchimals will be ready to hatch in early 2017. This is a special season and we don't want anyone to be disappointed, nor do we support inflated prices from non-authorized resellers. We are working on creative solutions to help kids and their parents withstand the wait. In the interim, some retailers are developing pre-sale and/or rain-check programs for redemption in January."