Break the news about Hatchimals to the kids early.
Do you - or your child - want a Hatchimal for this holiday gift giving season? Well, guess what?! You probably can’t have one!
MuahahahahahahaSOB!
As the ramp up to shopping frenzy season starts, the item that’s emerging as the It Toy is a Hatchimal. Retailing for $50, they’re like a cross between a Furby and those little capsules you soak in water until the casing melts and a little sponge dinosaur pops out. Basically, your kid gets an egg that glows and stuff. They have to play with the egg to get it to hatch, although I’m not sure what playing with an egg entails. Once you play with it enough, the egg opens and a weird animatronic toy emerges. You are then supposed to take care of it as it ages from Baby to Toddler to Child. You teach it to walk and talk and treat it like a pet with an off switch, I guess.
Kids want these things like pandas want bamboo.
The problem is, you can’t get them. Big box stores are getting them in incredibly limited numbers. A friend told me a Target location she knew of has gotten a shipment of eight - yes, EIGHT - Hatchimals recently. And independent toy stores? According to a local news report in the DC area, they can’t get them at all. The manufacturer says they won’t be available until February.
The secondary market for these toys is just as extortionate as you’d assume. On Amazon, resellers are offering them starting at about $200. On eBay, prices are truly insane. Single Hatchimals are running at $1,000. One enterprising seller has 14 of them and is offering the whole lot for $20,000.
Honestly? You might be better off getting your kid a puppy. Even factoring in vet visits and replacing anything the puppy destroys, it still might be cheaper than a Hatchimal. Cuter too, if we’re being blunt.
While there might be some tears from kids who don’t get their Hatchimals in December, maybe there is a bright side. A Hatchimal could be a perfect Valentine's Gift, right?
Yeah, I don’t believe that either. So good luck, shoppers, I hope you get your egg.
