Robotic hamsters are holidays' unlikely new craze

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Jazzy
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Robotic hamsters are holidays' unlikely new craze

Post by Jazzy »

NEW YORK -When Lori Fowlkes first saw robotic Zhu Zhu Pets toy hamsters in September, she remembers her kids started jumping up and down and saying "Please! Please! Can we buy them?"

Seeing a fully stocked shelf, she decided to hold off until Christmas.

That was "before I knew that the hamsters would soon be off the shelves and more scarce than an H1N1 vaccine," said Fowlkes, 32.

Now she can't find them anywhere.

Zhu Zhu Pets, which retail for about $10, are this year's bona fide must-have toy, following in the footsteps of past crazes for Tickle Me Elmo and Cabbage Patch Kids. On resale Web sites like eBay and Craigslist, they fetch $40 or more. Vital accessories as the hamster car and funhouse are sold separately.

By many counts, the toy is an unlikely hit. They're in a field crowded with toy pets. The hamsters, which scurry around, make noises and drive cars don't always work the way you expect and have a limited range of action.

"Honestly, I don't really get it," said BMO Capital Markets analyst Gerrick Johnson. "But I don't need to get it for a toy to be hot."

The toys do have several factors that make them compelling, Johnson said: fun accessories and scarcity — sometimes when something is hard to obtain it makes people want it more. And they have one big thing going for them in tough economic times: They're cheap.

"The last couple of years the robotic pet has been very popular, but those have been very expensive," like Hasbro 's $250 robotic dinosaur Kota the Triceratops, he said. "But here's a version of a robotic pet that only costs $10."

Hasbro's line of lower-priced Furreal Friends robotic animals have not hit the same chord, perhaps because they still cost more, are immobile and don't have any accessories.

Zhu Zhu Pets, aimed at 3- to 10-year-olds, have rushed in to fill the void. But unlike past "It" toys made by large manufacturers like Mattel 's Tickle Me Elmo and Tiger Electronic's Furby, Zhu Zhu Pets are made by tiny Cepia Inc. of St. Louis, with just 16 employees in the U.S. and 30 in China, making their success even more unlikely.
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Odie
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Robotic hamsters are holidays' unlikely new craze

Post by Odie »

Jazzy;1266476 wrote: NEW YORK -When Lori Fowlkes first saw robotic Zhu Zhu Pets toy hamsters in September, she remembers her kids started jumping up and down and saying "Please! Please! Can we buy them?"

Seeing a fully stocked shelf, she decided to hold off until Christmas.

That was "before I knew that the hamsters would soon be off the shelves and more scarce than an H1N1 vaccine," said Fowlkes, 32.

Now she can't find them anywhere.

Zhu Zhu Pets, which retail for about $10, are this year's bona fide must-have toy, following in the footsteps of past crazes for Tickle Me Elmo and Cabbage Patch Kids. On resale Web sites like eBay and Craigslist, they fetch $40 or more. Vital accessories as the hamster car and funhouse are sold separately.

By many counts, the toy is an unlikely hit. They're in a field crowded with toy pets. The hamsters, which scurry around, make noises and drive cars don't always work the way you expect and have a limited range of action.

"Honestly, I don't really get it," said BMO Capital Markets analyst Gerrick Johnson. "But I don't need to get it for a toy to be hot."

The toys do have several factors that make them compelling, Johnson said: fun accessories and scarcity — sometimes when something is hard to obtain it makes people want it more. And they have one big thing going for them in tough economic times: They're cheap.

"The last couple of years the robotic pet has been very popular, but those have been very expensive," like Hasbro 's $250 robotic dinosaur Kota the Triceratops, he said. "But here's a version of a robotic pet that only costs $10."

Hasbro's line of lower-priced Furreal Friends robotic animals have not hit the same chord, perhaps because they still cost more, are immobile and don't have any accessories.

Zhu Zhu Pets, aimed at 3- to 10-year-olds, have rushed in to fill the void. But unlike past "It" toys made by large manufacturers like Mattel 's Tickle Me Elmo and Tiger Electronic's Furby, Zhu Zhu Pets are made by tiny Cepia Inc. of St. Louis, with just 16 employees in the U.S. and 30 in China, making their success even more unlikely.




I just saw them on last nights news, they just look like a wind up mouse.
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Rapunzel
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Robotic hamsters are holidays' unlikely new craze

Post by Rapunzel »

Linky? :)
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Jazzy
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Robotic hamsters are holidays' unlikely new craze

Post by Jazzy »

Rapunzel;1266541 wrote: Linky? :)


Sorry about that! This is the link to the story: This Year's Holiday Hit Toy: Zhu Zhu Pets - BusinessWeek

This is a link as to what the toy looks like: Welcome To Zhu Zhu Pets Hamsters!
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Saint_
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Robotic hamsters are holidays' unlikely new craze

Post by Saint_ »

Jazzy;1266550 wrote: Sorry about that! This is the link to the story: This Year's Holiday Hit Toy: Zhu Zhu Pets - BusinessWeek

This is a link as to what the toy looks like: Welcome To Zhu Zhu Pets Hamsters!


I thought they looked pretty cool, but they resemble a cat toy that I bought for my cat about three years ago.

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Odie
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Robotic hamsters are holidays' unlikely new craze

Post by Odie »

Saint_;1266574 wrote: I thought they looked pretty cool, but they resemble a cat toy that I bought for my cat about three years ago.


that's what I meant, its like one of those wind up mice that have been around for decades, it does look really cute as watching it on the news last night, everyone was going nuts over trying to buy one.



my cats would be petrifyd of the noise :yh_rotfl

definably not pet friendly for those who are thinking of buying if they have pets.

maybe a dog wouldn't mind?
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G#Gill
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Robotic hamsters are holidays' unlikely new craze

Post by G#Gill »

Happy Thanksgiving ! :-6
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qsducks
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Robotic hamsters are holidays' unlikely new craze

Post by qsducks »

G#Gill;1266621 wrote: Happy Thanksgiving ! :-6


Wrong thread Gill:wah:....Quin wants the hamster toy & our cat will go bonkers chasing it:wah:
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Nomad
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Robotic hamsters are holidays' unlikely new craze

Post by Nomad »

Robotic hamsters



Been a long time comin
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fuzzywuzzy
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Robotic hamsters are holidays' unlikely new craze

Post by fuzzywuzzy »

what does this guinea pig do that a real one doesn't?
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Odie
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Robotic hamsters are holidays' unlikely new craze

Post by Odie »

fuzzywuzzy;1267660 wrote: what does this guinea pig do that a real one doesn't?


do you want a real one running around and squawking?:yh_rotfl:yh_rotfl:yh_rotfl



just a new toy out, as Trump says money, money, money!:wah:
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G-man
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Robotic hamsters are holidays' unlikely new craze

Post by G-man »

Finally! Proof that the end of the world is near... :wah:

I read that in the Wall Street Journal... I don't get it, either. I would've expected a craze over the new iPig maybe, but I don't get the thing with the tube hamsters. If it were my kid wanting that, I'd be concerned. :wah: It just seems like something my pet cat would enjoy. :yh_rotfl


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