I remember in grade school a friend of mine telling me that her mother had driven to Memphis (two hours away) in search of the famous pogo ball. Apparently the mother had engage in a little bit of hand combat in order to get this toy during a mad rush of parents attempting to provide material happiness for their offspring. My little elementary-aged mind could not comprehend that as we weren't much into fads in our household (I did not get a Cabbage Patch Kid until their second year of popularity--this has left deep emotional scars).
Well, TMX Elmo came out today. We try to prevent large quantities of battery-operated toys from entering our household due to their annoyance factor so please scratch this item off your Christmas shopping list for Isaac. However, there are currently over 12,000 TMX Elmos for sale on Ebay. These have all been put on there today. Some are one day auctions and the bidding is up over $300 (TMX Elmo retails for $35 at Wal-Mart). Am I crazy to be seriously considering jumping in my car and heading out to our local Target and picking up one of these balls of red fur to make big bucks on Ebay? Also, do the people who are frantically bidding hundreds of dollars on this toy not realize that once January 1, 2007 arrives there will be an abundance on the shelves and likely be on sale?
(By the way, the picture of the pogo ball is off eBay and the bid is currently up to $51 if you are interested. I bet you could find some parachute pants and original Air Jordans to complete the look.)
UPDATE: I did not go out and buy and Elmo last night. Perhaps today, but I imagine everywhere will be sold out by lunch time. However, Tobe and I did catch a demonstration of the new Elmo on the news last night (yes, on the news. Apparently there are not serious issues to discuss, but rather child marketing schemes to promote.) This toy is pretty darn funny. We both actually laughed out loud. I bet there is a video of it on YouTube if you are interested.
4 comments:
I don't remember the pogo ball, but I do remember my first CPK (funny, those are also my husband's initials). Her name was Kay Lizbeth. I like your rule re: battery operated toys. Kids need to use their imagination. Having had both, Patrick has always gone for the simple, silent toys.
It really is amazing how much money parents are willing to spend on a silly toy! I think when Jackson is old enough and doesn't get the desired toy, I am going to tell him that Santa called and said he had to give the toy to a homeless kid because Jackson already has so many toys. Then I will go buy the toy after Christmas for much less and be a hero. Would this be bad?
Lynley, I'm scarred as well- I think I got a "real" Cabbage Patch 2 years after the big phenomena.... the year of the hysteria my mom made me a doll that was supposed to look like one and I liked it ok, but deep down I knew it didn't have the signature on the baby's toosh! I keep hearing about this new Elmo, so I'm sure people will be going crazy for it til Christmas- Kate, I like your idea for your post-Xmas purchase....
Battery operated toys just get more irritating as they grow. Don't break that rule often. When they get older it cost a fortune, and they waste batteries by changing them whenever there is a problem. Don't even get me started. . .
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