Rare Toy Finder

Back in The US, Back in the US, Back in the USS....Well Back in the UK actually....

2008-01-21T08:20:00.000-08:00

After a very pleasant and lengthy break in Mexico, its back to the grindstone time.

It has taken a huge amount of time to wade though the correspondence; the offers of Wii's at amazing prices and the general start 2008 brouhaha to ring things back to normal.

The retailers are doing their annual wringing of hands and bemoaning the poor Xmas sales and have to sell off their stock at amazingly low prices (yet still make a profit!).

Yes, it's January, the month of making resolutions, breaking resolutions, plans for the year and the start of the 'look for an excuse to market yourselves' 2008 calendar.

Americans are superb at this lead by meisterguru of marketing Dan Kennedy. Today is Martin Luther King day, the first proper public holiday of the year in the US (I don't count NYD as it's part of the Xmas fiasco).

In poor blighty we have to wait three months for our first day off - Easter and in 2008 we get a poor 2 days off!

2008 will be interesting for toy collectors, the tough trading conditions and the economic downturn will make little difference to people who want to buy what they want to buy. There is still big money floating around and this is good news for owners of collectibles and memorabilia, particularly rare toy owners, which is still a fairly inflation proof investment.

We are compiling a report on the most collectible and rare toys of 2008 and hope to have this done by February, together with a guide to prices being paid for the items.

Subscribe if you want to learn more.

BTW Wii's are becoming easier to obtain in the UK - the sports pack priced at only $140 over retail took almost an hour to sell out completely at Game.

Anthing Wii Can Do You Can Do Better

2007-11-28T06:16:00.000-08:00

Posted by Spooky on http://www.gameater.com

With the Holidays just around the corner desperate parents are looking everywhere to find a Wii for their kids just in time for Christmas.

Their chances of actually finding one are pretty slim though, as retailers across the world report incredible demand which they sadly can’t satisfy.

For example, last week, when the stock at Amazon UK was finally renewed, 1.400 Nintendo Wii were sold in just ten minutes, and Dixons.co.uk sold thousands of consoles in just 2 hours.

The global shortage of Wii consoles made its price skyrocket on sites like Ebay, where some people are selling them for somewhere around $600 (second hand).

And they actually might sell them since the only places where you can find a brand new Wii these days are the shops that are bundling them with 5 games at a very high price.

And it’s not like Nintendo isn’t producing enough consoles fast enough, poor guys are working their butts of to ship out 1.8 million systems a month but it’s just nowhere near enough.

I’d hate to be in the shoes of a parent telling his offspring he couldn’t get him what he wanted the most. It’s not like children understand about shortages, demand and such.

Wii Haah

2007-11-28T06:10:00.000-08:00

Things Are Hotting Up Over The Pond......

November 27, 2007
by: Matt Furtado

Wii's are flying off shelves still.

Earlier today, Nintendo revealed that they have sold more Wii's in the last two weeks than in any week since the systems initial launch last November.

Nintendo has reportedly sold over 350,000 Wii's last week, during the Thanksgiving holiday, whereas they moved over 300,000 the week prior.

The last time sales were this high in a two week time frame was when the system launched and sold over 600,000 units in its first eight days of release. "I couldn't find a single Wii system on the shelves - literally as I was walking into a Wal-Mart at 11 a.m., someone was walking out with the last one," stated Fils-Aime. "Consumers are buying every game we can put into the system."

Earlier this year, Nintendo predicted that they would sell 17.5 million Wii's before the end of the fiscal year, which ends on March 31. Currently, Nintendo is manufacturing 1.8 million Wii's a month to reach demand worldwide.
source: Nintendo

Wii're still Not Happy

2007-11-16T04:42:00.000-08:00

The Saga continues:

As crowds gather at Game stores around the country in the early hours of the morning, you can see by their haunted expressions that these people are not happy.

Just like the people in that old Charlton Heston classic Soylent Green who had to get their fix of Soylent Green the staple food of that era (that turned out to be made from recycled humans!), the Brits just can't get enough of the Wii.

In fact they can't get any of the Wii.

A local store reported that they have 125 names on their waiting list, queues are starting in Malls at 5.00 a.m. just in case there are some for sale.

The nine a.m. disappointment call says it all.

Even though the shops proudly announce in their window displays that they have none in stock and that you should check the website for new deliveries; people turn up in the vain hope that the posters are wrong.

Staff in our Game store delight in telling the customers the sad news.

At 9.00 a.m this morning the counter clerk delighted in telling customers that there were none in stock, adding a 'Can't you read?' for good measure.

It's a pity that she doesn't realise that it's the customer who pays her wages.

Ah well, with a bit of luck she won't get her Xmas Turkey this year, as the recent outbreak of Bird Flu in the UK is probably going to push those birds into the rarity market.

I hope the butcher has his 'Can't You Read?' response ready for her.

What Goes Around Comes Around.

The award for today's Smug Git title goes to the guy in the queue of the Wii-less who just turned up to buy the latest Wii game Super Mario Galaxy that was released today.

"Wii console? Nah I bought mine months ago before the rush. I've just come in for this game."

And with a twirl of his moustache the villain exited stage right. BOO HISS. The Pantomine season has started early this year. For our American Cousins: - Pantos are really weird - guys get dressed up as old buxom women and very attractive young women get dressed up as the leading man; except that the women have to wear the tiniest shorts imaginable to show off their legs, just to confuse the audience even more.

The stock phrase shouted by the audience in the Panto is either 'He's Behind You' and then a shouted (screamed sometimes) contradictory phase of either 'Oh Yes It Is' or 'Oh No It Isn't' depending on the phrase uttered by the character.

The exchanges go on until the audience fall over from exhaustion.

It's a bit of a cross between the Senate and the Houses of Parliament.

No wonder we all want Wii's.

Amazon.co.uk is the new home for exploiters - you can get a Wii if you pay £150 ($300) over list price.

And the TV ads and the glossy fliers continue to show us how wonderful the Wii is.

By Xmas 2008 there should be a law banning ads for things you can't buy.

I'm writing to Gordon Brown now.

Oh No You Aren't

Oh Yes I Am

Oh No .... You get the gist don't you?

Riding On A Donkey

2007-11-13T08:36:00.000-08:00

Would'ya Believe It?

With Christmas on the way, retailers are really gearing up for the final big push to see if they can maximise their selling period for the last big sales period of the year.

One of the most popular things in the UK at the moment are themed markets, where vendors from specific sectors set up in a large market scenario with other similarly themed vendors to sell, sell, sell like h*ll to eager customers.

Really popular over the last few years have been the Farmers' Markets, selling all types of products from cuts of meat to freshly grown 'local' produce. On the back of that we have also seen the arrival of French Farmers' Markets, Polish Markets, Asian Markets, German Markets; all doing tremendously well in all parts of the UK.

Well all parts of the UK except Sunderland, in the good old North East of England it seems.

Why?

Well it seems that there is a local medieval law that forbids the setting up of such markets where there is one in existence - wait for it - within a day's donkey ride of a nearby market.

The donkey ride law means that neighbouring South Shields, definitely less than one day's donkey ride away, has precedence when it comes to markets, leaving the Sunderland shoppers little choice but to mount their donkeys and go looking for these markets in South Shields.

In this day of instant messaging, ordering online, email and web conferencing, isn't it reassuring that there are laws such as this to look after the welfare of medieval market folk.

Internet marketers? Nay Sir - Donkey Marketers

2007-11-11T10:53:00.000-08:00

Ho Ho Hold the Calories Santa!

2007-11-08T21:03:00.000-08:00

Forget the Festive Season Guys.

Seems that the PC mob (political correctness, not Personal Computer!) are at it again, this time having a go at good old Santa.

A major mall in the UK has ordered it Santas to 'shape up' by bringing in a fitness trainer.

The Santa Bootcamp has specially designed Xmascises including the Sack Lift and the Present Twist to encourage Santas to shed some pounds before Xmas.

Seems that by 2050 50% of all Brits will be obese due to their sedntary lifestyle and the growth of poor eating habits.

As Santa is so endeared to the children it is feared that some will see his round and jolly physique as some kind of aspirational role model.

Or so the report says. Maybe its a bit of Christmas hype to get some column inches for the mall?

Incidentally this follows closely on a report in the National Press that being fat is actually good for you with moderately overweight people living a tad longer that the skinny brigade.

This also follows on from a report that using the BMI calculator (body mass index, a method of determining whether you are overweight or not) the entire British rugby team were obese. I'm sure that this calculation would also indicate that all American Footballers are similarly obese.

Now who is going to tell them?

Just remember a minute on the lips, a lifetime on the hips. Enjoy your Christmas.

Wii's - No Wii!

2007-11-05T08:21:00.000-08:00

Aha;

seems like the exploitation crew is back in season.

No sooner than a shortage is detected, up go the prices. A £179 Wii with Sports pack is now averaging £250 on the internet.

Way to go guys!

I do know where you can still get them for less than £179, but you would have to join my newsletter to find that out.

And the source is a big company; very, very big.

Now that Disney Pixar Cars - The Movie 2 is being trailered expect a bit of a rush for the new toys that are being released in the States before Xmas. We have had some of them, and can tell you that are pretty keen, especially the Walmart -only lines.

Prices are at a premium in the UK for these, but buyers still prefer to buy local from their fellow Brits even at inflated prices, so you sellers in the States might need to form some strategic alliances with your Atlantic cousins pretty quick.

I am putting together some lists of series models so that the avid collector can write up his requirements to Santa. Should be available soon and I will be sending out a special newsletter with the list in so can check the items off.

Head over to http://www.raretoyfinder.com/ for the US version and http://www.raretoyfinder.co.uk/ for the UK version, but you will need to subscribe to the newsletter to get the info until I can insert the code onto this site.

The chase is on!

Happy Hunting

Jimbob

Hunter -in-Chief

Rare and Hard To Find Toys

2007-11-05T04:23:00.000-08:00

This 'toy-hunting' for scarce and hard to find toys is not a new dilemma; it's been with us for years.

I can remember when I was a kid, (and you have to have a good memory to remember that far back! ) the must-have toy was the Dinky toy James Bond Aston Martin DB5 complete with rockets and ejector seat. A definite must-have, if you could find one. I eventually did find one and I must admit, played it to death - the death of the car that is.

A wiser move (in hindsight, the great investors tool!) would have been to buy two, play one to death and keep the other locked away for a few years. I saw one of these 'unplayed with' go at auction for £1000, an amazing return on investment.

Ever since, I have been fascinated with toys and collectables in general, but have never took an abiding interest until recently with the birth of my grandson. The amount of kid targeting and peer pressure that goes on is unbeleivable, and while some toys are instant successes and become much sought after immediately, there are some sleepers that all of sudden become 'hot'.

Take the Wii for example, big launch, low takeup. Stocks were languishing a bit then something happened in the run up to Christmas that no-one can really explain. Maybe it was the constant drip, drip of advertising, maybe it's the fact that the Wii is fun and families can play together without the jet pilot skill and reactions needed to operate some of the PlayStation and Xbox games.

Suddenly in the UK people are queuing up for the Wii, they are selling out in minutes when a store gets them in.

They are so hot they are on fire and you can't get them from regular suppliers. Last night I found a guy that had twenty for sale, but this was from my team of hunters out there, who scour the oddest places, not just on the net, but in mom and pop shops, supermarkets and of course the good old internet.

Some gems are waiting to be discovered, like the Shaman King range, cheap when you can find them, but set for a price leap soon.

Remember Pokemon?

At a time when US and UK kids were clamouring for them, the Japanese had become bored with them, instead demanding Magic the Gathering; items that had dropped in popularity in the US.

Consumer trends are confusing enough but when you add the kids demand-led element to the equation, you really need a crystal ball to second guess the market.

So what we try to do is analyse trends from other countries and see if we can detect a potential demand pattern the seek out the right products.

We put all of this info in a newsletter that you can subscribe to at http://www.raretoyfinder.com/ and also for the Europeans at http://www.raretoyfinder.co.uk/.

We also hope to have the subscription forms on this site very soon.

The newsletters have their own slant as different markets follow slightly different trends, but they do have a whole load of information such as the rarity, current prices, hot items, and where to find them.

We are also developing a 'How To' course showing you just how to become a whiz at hunting the collectables, so subscribing to the newsletter would keep you up to speed with latest developments on the learning front.

Keep Posted and call back soon.

Happy Hunting

Jimbob

Hunter-in-Chief