In a scene that played out across the nation Sunday morning, parents lined up outside of Toys "R" Us locations with the hope of bringing home one of America's top gifts this year.
Earlier in the week, Toys "R" Us announced it would have a limited release on Sunday of Hatchimals and Nintendo Entertainment Systems. By all accounts, supplies did not last long.
At one Toys "R" Us location near Buffalo, NY, hundreds lined up before the store opened at 8 a.m. for a chance at one of the 70 Hatchimals and 30 Nintendo systems.
This is the line outside the Sheridan Dr. @ToysRUs . Shoppers anxious to get their #Hatchimals and #Nintendo @WKBW pic.twitter.com/EsmWac2w6w
— Paola Suro (@PaolaSNews) December 4, 2016
Because Toys "R" Us and other retailers have extremely limited quantities of the toys, eBay sellers are scooping up the toy and reselling at 2 to 3 times the retail value. While the typical retail price for a Hatchimal is between $60 and $70, auctions on eBay are going for more than $150. For instance, one Illinois seller sold one such Hatchimals toy at auction for $164.50 on Thursday. Moments later, another Hatchimals toy went at auction for $173.
What are Hatchimals? It starts as an egg that needs to be nurtured. Once the egg hatches, kids can teach Hatchimals how to talk, walk and dance. You can also unlock games on Hatchimals.
Because of the limited availability of Hatchimals, a number of buy and sell groups have been created on Facebook for consumers.
The company that makes Hatchimals released a statement telling customers that it does not support the resale of marked up products. The company said it is working to increase production, and should have plenty of Hatchimals on shelves by January.
But for parents hoping to have a Hatchimal under the Christmas tree, Sunday might have been one final chance for parents to fulfill their children's holiday wish list.
Stood in line @ToysRUs - store only had 30 #Hatchimals - no ticket for me pic.twitter.com/oS6HzgJBoi
— Charon Porter (@CharonPorter) December 4, 2016
The scene at the Dublin @ToysRUs waiting for the NES classic and Hatchimals pic.twitter.com/Ti3QuJ0T95
— Michael Morgan (@mikedmorgan) December 4, 2016
