toys posts

I don't think I know anyone who isn't on a budget this holiday (and those of you who aren't, feel free to keep that happy news to yourself). For the rest of us playing Santa on a shoestring, I bring tidings of great joy.

Yes, Virginia you can find great toys priced under $20 -- and I'm talking award-winning, hours of fun, thank-you note kind of toys for all ages.

After combing through 2009's lists of award winning toys from toy-testing aficionados including Family Fun Magazine, Parenting Magazine, Dr. Toy, The Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Toy of the Year Awards, iParenting Media Awards, as well as the list of top ten "Toy of the Year Awards" from the American Toy Industry Association, I found far more than 20 toys priced under $20.

So, in the interest of time (which is another thing parents don't have enough of), I used my status as a veteran mother of two to highlight a cool list of toys representing a variety of age ranges, interests and prices (not the old, $19.99 trick every time).

Zhu Zhu Pets have been this year's Beanie Babies: toys that are so ridiculous in concept, so cheap and simple in execution that you knew they were going to cause long lines and incredible prices on the Black Friday back-alley aftermarket. This year being as it was, retailers were accused of under-ordering the furry robotic hamsters to either reduce inventory expense and financial exposure to slack demand, or to artificially create a consumer frenzy, depending on how jaded the retail analyst. WalletPop interviews with buyers and analysts tended to agree that the Chinese-manufactured toy was simply a surprise hit, and demand was high for no other reason than lots of kids wanted them under their trees.

Just after Walmart announced a price cut on video games, aimed at stealing shoppers away from GameStop and other stores; Toys R Us has upped the ante with month-long discounts on video games, toys and more. The new deals are part of the Toys R Us "Biggest December Sale Ever," which includes Buy-One-Get-One 50% off on all video games, with more than 800 to choose from.

The "Biggest December Sale Ever" also includes two days of bonus savings, an un-advertised in-store deal of the day, free shipping of orders over $49 and extended hours.

If you don't want to go into the store every day to find out if the deal of the days is right for you, stop by the Toys R Us Deal of the Day Web site to see today's special, get a look at tomorrow's deal and get printable coupons.

Over the Thanksgiving weekend, I swiped my debit card to get on the light rail and was billed for a bus ticket the machine wouldn't give me. I had to pay $1.50 again to get my oldest son onto our next connection. I know! Frustrating.

As someone who's always living on the very edge of black in her checking account, I know too well the dangers of unexpected transactions, and for me they come in $29 overdraft increments. Customers at Toys R Us this weekend, shopping before regular store opening hours during Black Friday, experienced a similar and far more account-balance-deadly problem: double billing.

Keith Bossey, a marketing and strategy consultant in New York City, may not be at the edge of his bank account, but he just found out today he was double-billed for his purchase.

Seasoned Black Friday shoppers know that the best way to save during this all-important shopping day is to plot out a course of action ahead of time. That means knowing what you want and where to get it -- at the lowest possible price, of course.

Such planning entails scouring the Black Friday ads and comparing prices and selection. To help ease the load, WalletPop has done some of the legwork for you. We've combed through the ads that have been released so far and dug up the best deals on everything from high-definition TVs and Blu-ray players to tools and sweaters.

More Black Friday ads have surfaced, this time for Kohl's and Staples, showing additional deals to be had on clothing and technology.

The Kohl's Black Friday ad weighs in at more than 60 pages of deals and Staples' doorbuster deals include some good computer deals and plenty of digital cameras.

Kohl's kicks off its Black Friday with a collection of bargains on toys and clothing to lure in shoppers when the stores open at 4 a.m. on Black Friday. Many of these deals will also be available online, possibly starting on Thanksgiving.

UPDATED (12/1)
The elusive Zhu Zhu Pets faux hamsters continue to tease those who covet them. They show up at a handful of major retailers and disappear as quickly as they showed up. Most Zhu Zhu hunters didn't even know they were there.

Such is the life of the hot toy of the year -- following the likes of Furby and Tickle Me Elmo in the annals of toys whose scarcity was part of their allure.

Zhu Zhu Pet mania is bordering on the absurd -- creating a secondary market where the tantalizingly inexpensive toys ($8 at Walmart) become, well, expensive toys (about $60 for one on Amazon.com).

Another day, another Black Friday ad leaked and viewable online for your Black Friday planning pleasure.

This time Kmart's 40 page Black Friday ad has leaked, revealing exactly which toys, electronics and other goods will be getting special Black Friday pricing.

Invoking their famous Blue Light Specials, Kmart is celebrating the day of shopping with "Blue Friday" deals from 6-11 a.m.

Big Apple fixture FAO Schwarz, once besieged by financial troubles, is back -- and starting today, its magic is available to kids all across the U.S., thanks to Toys 'R' Us.

The New York Times reports that the toy megachain, which purchased FAO Schwarz earlier this year, is launching Schwarz-branded boutiques within 600 of its stores. The online boutique launches today.

The selection consists of high-end items in classic categories -- collectibles, stuffed dolls and dress-up are all among the categories. So how can Schwarz's somewhat retro -- and pricey -- wares compete in a market that often revolves around the latest Wii game or miniature iPod?

One word: grandparents.

No, seriously. Grandparents, the official sponsors of rocking horses, model cars and American Girl dolls (the historical ones, mind you!) are the last sales stronghold for timeless toys. They appreciate the Schwarz brand, love helping their grandkids build collections and believe that toddlers don't need their own mp3 players (they're onto something there).

So note to Toys 'R' Us: push FAO Schwarz to the senior crowd. They get the magic, and they have the means -- after all, if there's one type of spending the recession can't puncture, it's the kind grandparents do to spoil their grandchildren.

Toys "R" Us and Babies "R" Us are giving Santa (and cash-strapped parents) an early gift this holiday season: Layaway.

Monday the toy store chain announced the introduction of in-store layaways as a means to help customers spread out payments on some holiday purchases.

But, don't rush out to stash Barbie on a back room shelf just yet. Not all items in the stores qualify . "Big gifts" like cribs, car seats, bikes, TVs, dollhouses, karaoke machines and wagons -- those not often stocked -- are a sampling of the things that are eligible. Shoppers wanting to get a jump on summertime can also layaway kiddie pools and water slides to give as holiday gifts.

Anyone longing for simpler times when toys were handmade or came without a lot of bells and whistles (and the accompanying high price tag) can rejoice. Retailers are promising big selections of toys priced within reach.

Walmart plans to offer 100 such items, all for $10, according to the LA Times. Walmart says it's been hard at work all year, getting suppliers to meet this price on popular toys like Barbies and action figures. It's a real win for toy-buying consumers, but for competitors, it presents another obstacle to survival.

Last year, Walmart featured 10 toys for $10. KB Toys took this as a challenge and slashed prices at its own stores. KB Toys didn't even make it to Christmas. It filed for bankruptcy and abruptly closed all stores on December 12, 2008.

This year, Toys R Us is in Walmart's sights. That retailer has already opened additional toy departments inside Babies R Us stores and stand-alone locations in malls. The Toys R Us hot toy list prominently features inexpensive items, and its in much stronger position to weather this storm.

But it's not even October. Imagine how intense this price war might get. Not a very playful thought.

Given the current economy, there's a high value placed on toys that last a long time. One of those products is my personal favorite: Legos. That's why I'm particularly excited for this month. To celebrate the "dynamic" nature of the toy bricks, Toys R Us is partnering with Lego to kick off Bricktober -- a month-long celebration of Lego bricks.

Bricktober starts this Sunday, with savings of 30% on select Lego kits and offers shoppers who make any Lego purchase a commemorative brick each week of October. The collectible Lego bricks piece together at the end of the month to become a Bricktober skeleton that is part of the Lego Castle series.

Toys R Us stores will be sprouting up all over this fall, kind of like tulips in spring. The toy retailer is opening 350 "pop up" or temporary stores for the holidays beginning this October.

Seems one store's failure is Toys R Us' gain. With so many retailers closing, there's some prime real estate available and landlords are amenable to negotiating short term leases. Toys R Us isn't giving away any details, but a spokeswoman tells Walletpop, "We are pleased with the economic terms for these locations. That being said, we focused on securing locations in the best malls nationwide."

Close to 80 stand-alone locations will open in malls around the country including Woodbury Commons, NY and the Deer Park Town Center in Ill. These "Holiday Express" shops will have a tailored assortment of the toys and games normally found at regular Toys R Us stores, and will average 4,000 sq. ft., about the size of a RadioShack.

Even smaller Toys R Us stores will open as Holiday Express departments within 260 Babies R Us stores. Toys R Us CEO Jerry Storch says the goal is to be more conveniently located during the holidays. Now that KB Toys is no longer, there's an opportunity for a mall-based toy store to capture incremental sales. Since most Toys R Us locations are big boxes in strip malls, the chain stand to get both driving and foot traffic.

Toys R Us gave up its title of largest toy retailer to Walmart years ago and specialty stores have had a difficult time competing with discount and club stores. In 2005, Toys R Us was struggling and a private equity firm took over, hired Storch and has since benefited from reduced overhead and cost cutting.

Toy sales are shrinking at all retailers, but not as much as other product categories such as apparel. According to market research firm The NPD Group, toys sales this year so far are down around 2%, With less to go around, Toys "R" Us has to do something to grab a bigger share of the toy-buying public.

But will more doors ring up more sales? That remains to be seen.

For more Black Friday coverage, check out our Black Friday Deals and other Black Friday 2009 news today.

Little Tikes is recalling about 1.6 million toys toddlers have been playing with for the past 15 years after a boy choked on one of the small parts, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said.

At issue are the plastic toy nails that are in Little Tikes workbench and truck sets.

Although the only report of a problem with the sets involved the one boy -- who has since recovered -- CPSC spokesman Scott Wolfson told WalletPop the incident led to the massive recall because of its similarity to a recall of Playskool workbenches in 2006 prompted by the deaths of two children.

"The scenario is one that is very frightening," Wolfson said.

In the two deaths and the third incident, the toy nails -- which measure about 1 inch by 3 inches, are blue or red -- got stuck in the children's throats.

Parents are asked to take the nails away from children and request a free replacement nail from Little Tikes. Wolfson said the new nail was made with a larger head determined to be safe for children.

The Little Tikes recall involves a variety of different products sold since March 1994. A full list of the products along with photos is available here.

For more information, call Little Tikes at (800) 791-2737 weekdays between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m. Eastern times or between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturdays, or visit www.littletikes.com.