Parents fight back against unscrupulous “vendors” price gouging Zhu Zhu Pets
There is a move on auction sites such as Amazon and eBay calling for buyers to boycott any vendor who is price gouging the public on the much wanted Zhu Zhu Pets
But stealing the Christmas out from under children this year is not the only offense these bedroom entrepreneurs are guilty of. Many, making profits of 300 to 400% do not report those sales and profits to their local state’s division of taxation or report the sales tax which is supposed to be collected. Some go even further by charging sales tax, but never handing that collected money over to their state’s sales tax collection agencies.
Zhu Zhu Pets can be found on Amazon.Com, but they are usually going for outrageous prices. There are currently dozens of auctions selling Zhu Zhu Pets for far above their retail values. See a current listing of Amazon’s Zhu Zhu Pets In Stock.
The move to boycott these vendors however has more to do with holiday morals than tax code however as many buyers have embarked on a crusade for parents and children to have these vendors stop cleaning the shelves out of Zhu Zhu Pets
D.J. Hoppe of Taylor Lake Village, Texas wrote “After much hype and anticipation, we finally got mr squiggles today. The kids played with him for about 30 secs. and he was put down. I think this product was a little oversold. As far as I can tell, it does nothing but run though its toys making farm animal sounds. It also has a function where it doesn’t run, it just makes cooing noises. I really don’t see the “personality” on display. If you buy this for your child for christmas, make sure you have a back up gift. This will probably not be a big hit by christmas afternoon.” of the toys’ lack of long term appeal for children.
Gina from Pennsylvania said “I so often hear people call anyone who makes a little money “greedy.” Making money is not “greedy,” but what is going on with the sellers here is. This sort of thing is the very definition of greed. These sellers are scooping up inventories then selling the items at 7-10 times the normal rate.”
While greed has driven these people to useZhu Zhu Pets as an additional source of income, many are driven by need. In a very tight economy, it has been hard for many people to make an honest living which has driven them to using the Christmas rush and the desires of children around the country to make some extra income over the holidays.
Patricia Oquin, from Max Meadows, Virginia writes about vendors on Amazon.com ”Do not do business with these people that are ruining Christmas for our children. I think this outrageous price gouging should be illegal, These pets sell for $8.00 at Walmart (if you can find them). This particular “Mr. Squiggles is selling here today for $52.99! Wonder why you can’t find them at retail? Because of greedy people like this! Don’t play into these deceptive practices, you will just encourage more of this greed.”
Many parents say they just don’t think the little critters are worth it. “I bought this toy off of a friend who happened to buy a few in Walmart for 10 bucks each. They are barely worth that price and MOST definitely not worth 40 dollars. I got them for my daughter, and would have hurt someone if they sent this to me in the mail for 40 dollars. Cute, yes, fun, probably, just not for that much money.” said one parent.
Yet some say the Zhu Zhu pet is no substitute for the real thing.” I know you want to satisfy your kids’ cravings for this little hamster, but he is totally NOT WORTH the money. I bought one, and threw it out. It worked for a short time, I changed the batteries, then it worked a bit again. It is very cheaply made, and people are selling them for exhorbitant prices, ripping off those who really can’t afford to pay these high prices for something that is worth less than what I paid for it. Get a real one instead. They are more cuddly. Sorry to spoil the party, but I would not buy this again. And shame on the people who are selling them for so much money. Sad world, isn’t it” said R. Zimmerman from New York.
I seriously just spend $129.00 on amazon.com for those stupid things. Makes me want to scream.
It was for the 3 pack though! =s
And the 3 pack goes for 23.99 at Target. That sucks.
You’ve got to be kidding me. This article is the worst piece of liberal trash I’ve seen in a long time.
Greedy and “guilty” of making a profit?! It’s called the free market system. When the demand outweighs the supply the price goes up. The customer determines the price by how much they’re willing to pay. How else do we determin who gets a share of the limited supply? A lottery? Maybe the federal government could step in and distribute them “fairly”.
The supply isn’t running short because resellers bought them up. Resellers bought them up because they knew the supply was shorter than demand. If not, the AUCTIONS on eBay wouldn’t be run up so high. I can promise you that if I put 1000 hamsters up on eBay today the prices would drop heavily.
It’s this basic lack of knowledge about the free market that has this country in such a mess now. If not for the free market and companies/people wanting to make a profit we’de still be giving wooden blocks as presents.
And “stealing Christmas” from our kids? If not having this toy means Christmas is ruined then you’ve already stolen the meaning of Christmas from your kids.
I’m one of the greedy people who bought some (not all) off the shelf and I’m guilty of making a nice profit on eBay. I’ve gotten lots of nice e-mails thanking me for getting people these toys and making their kids happy. All of these toys are eventually going to end up in the hands of a child. Would you tell those kids they can’t have a toy because you want to buy it cheaper?
Your exactly right. Some of the geniuses running this country might think different and want to destroy the free market system to make it “fair” for all. Nobody is twisting the arms of the parents to keep running up the bidding on these toys. I agree, this is a big piece of liberal trash!!
Apparantly neither of you have kids.
As someone who has two children, K, let me just reiterate that Derrick and LLB are right on. Having kids didn’t cause my brains to fall out. I choose not to buy into the economic fallacies which are leading us all into a totalitarian nightmare in a misguided attempt at “fairness”.
Actually I do have a kid. Does having a kid give someone the right to live outside the real world? So many people these days think that just because they managed to reproduce that the rules don’t apply to them.
I actually used this as a lesson in the free market with my 13 year old. I just hope it’s still around when he’s old enough to participate. If not he’ll probably be standing in the bread line with your kid waiting for his government rations to be fairly issued.
Yes.
This always happens when new toys come out, but if people just waited, in about a month or even a couple weeks, there will be plenty of them at the stores. Same thing happened to me with the new Elmo last year, but I waited and finally got him 2 weeks before X-mas at Target for retail price. People just need to be patient. I think parents make a bigger deal about the toys than the kids. Any gift will do for children.
Two more points:
The author wrote “people are selling them for exhorbitant prices, ripping off those who really can’t afford to pay these high prices”
Who’s getting ripped off here? The customer chooses to buy the toy and pay the price. Does she think the American people are so stupid that they can’t even handle a simple purchase on their own? And, if they can’t afford it they don’t need to buy it. Is it my job as a seller to make sure the customer can afford to make a purchase? Does the consumer have ANY responsability??
Also, sales taxes are paid when the product is purchased off the shelf. As a “bedroom entrepreneur” operating without a business tax ID I have to pay sales tax when I buy them. I’m not required to collect sales tax when I sell them. If I were to buy them as a business they would be tax free and I would have to collect and forward the taxes if I sold them in my state. Only about 2% of eBay sales will be to the same state anyway. Even the issue of wrongly collecting sales tax is bogus because the customer will look at the bottom line. Price + shipping + Taxes. If I’m the only one charging $10.00 in taxes the product price will have to drop by $10.00 because the consumers in this country can still do basic math. If I charge $30.00 shipping on one of these I better be selling it for $5.00. Again, this is the author believing the American consumer is so dumb they can’t open their wallet without being ripped off.
I sure hope no one was paid for writing this trash article because that would be a real ripoff.
You know, that is called free-enterprise. If someone is willing to get out of bed and get in line and get the toys to re-sell to the people who are willing to pay for that service then so be it. What is next? Boycotting apple or blackberry because they snapped up the parts to make you stupid computers from china for $4? once you do that, then maybe you can validate your bitching about this. It’s called the real world, get used to it.
I am glad to be one of these people who finally made money like other people do on stuff. Sorry you had to spend that money but it is what it is. Your childs christmas will be ruined if they don’t get these?? Who thats sad!!! Teach your children better values then, or join in be like everyone else..
I bought 2 zhu zhus from amazon for a hiiiiiiiigh price. My decision! It’s fun. It’s like a game. You can’t find them anywhere so I was glad to get a couple. I couldn’t afford to play this game with the wii a couple years ago, but these are still affordable for a laugh. I’m going to bring them to a rob your neighbor gift exchange with my extended family. We’re each supposed to bring a ten dollar gift so these will fit right in and I’m curious to see if anyone will want to steal them.
I saw them at Target in September. Plentyful! The thought crossed my mind that they may be the “it” toy this year but I didn’t know so I didn’t buy. Dang it! Surely in the spring the stores will be stocked with them and nobody will want them anymore. It’s only fun to GET EM WHILE THEY’RE HOT! When your friends can’t get em.
The writer of this article, this “journalist”, clearly has no care for the truth; or for that matter, the responsibility of being a media (medium) outlet.
“Price gouging the public”.
At least 90% of the listings on ebay are auction style, witch means the bidding starts low (usually at retail price if not less), and then the bidders each bid for there maximum price. If anything this is allowing consumers to choose there own price, this is not “price gouging the public”.
“These ‘retailers’ purchase entire inventories of the toys when they arrive on store shelves ”
There is a strict limit of 1-2 pets per person or household, depending on the store. If someone chooses to go through what it takes to get a Zhu Zhu while another person chooses to sleep in, not wait in a line outside, and stay out of the freezing rain, how could anybody with the least bit of common sense say that the Zhu Zhu owner is “greedy” for offering HIS Zhu Zhu at a higher price. Furthermore, If the first Zhu Zhu buyer waits in a line for 3 hours, shouldnt he/she be paid for those long hours when re-selling? When you buy a Zhu Zhu pet or any other wanted item off ebay, you are not only bidding on the item itself, but also to not have to go through the trouble it takes to find it in stores. However much you think those hours are worth, add that to the retail price and place your bid.
“Stealing the Christmas out from under children”
How could a person re-selling a “Zhu Zhu Pet” be “stealing the Christmas out from under children”? If the author of this article believes that Christmas is all about getting a fake hamster toy, or any other toy, mabey that would answere the question of why his mind is so distorted. Even Christmas celebrating atheist do not celebrate the holiday in a “materiel positions rule all” way. If your kid is screaming and demanding a Christmas toy, then mabey they need to learn about the real Christmas. Of course not everybody buying a Zhu Zhu on ebay has a bratty child, most just want to make sure there kids are rewarded for not being naughty. Remember we are also in the middle of a bad recession; many of the re-sellers are underemployed and just trying to make some extra money for their own kids.
If ebay never existed Zhu Zhu Pets would still be out everywhere anyway, the only difference is that major retailers would be raising prices. Lets not forget People started selling them on ebay once they started selling out. They did not CAUSE them to.
In closing, it doesnt matter if you believe re-selling is wrong or right, it is a questionable subject. One thing we can all agree on, is that flat out lying is wrong witch is exactly what this author has done. Forget about boycotting ebay, PEOPLE NEED TO BOYCOTT MEDIA OUTLETS LIKE THIS ONE.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everybody!
P.S. “These sellers are scooping up inventories then selling the items at 7-10 times the normal rate.”
This is just funny, they go for more like $30. Iv never even seen them that high. They might have been but they sure arnt now.
Yes, good point about the eBay pricing. I’ve sold almost 30 of these things and I started every auction at $.99 with very reasonable shipping. I let the customer decide what this toy is worth.
My issue isn’t with “auction ” style pricing. My issue IS with amazon.com as a storefront for resellers retailing these $8 toys for $30-$50. Many people have no idea what the original retail price is – If you do a simple search for Zhu Zhu on Amazon there is nothing that apparently differentiates Marked Up vs. what the original pricing was. The toy is priced at $8-$10 for a reason – it’s a lower quality toy!
I think it’s lame that you can clean out the shelves through electronic means and other ways and resell for 3 to 4 times the original cost. In my opinion, I feel sorry for those parents who arent’ buying the toy for their kids because they are too expensive through these resellers, but it’s something that the kids REALLY want for Christmas. It’s just BS
Here’s where I disagree. I believe everyone who buys one of these knows what the retail price is and doesn’t care. You can do a simple google search and find these toys listed at retail price but they’re all sold out. It’s no secret that the retail price is $10.00. I don’t think people go to eBay or Amazon until they’ve looked at the mainstream retailers and found them all sold out.
Here’s where the split is in this issue and I think the split in most of the issues in this country as well. There are people who think the average American is unable to make simple desisions and handle simple transactions on their own. We, as Americans, shouldn’t be allowed to have any dealings with each other that aren’t supervised and approved by someone in the government. We’re just not smart enough to handle it. The current administration and most of the media have been pushing this idea hard so it’s easy to understand why people feel that way.
There are others, myself included, who think people can make their own decisions. If someone wants to pay three times the retail price for a product it’s their right. It doesn’t matter what you or I think about their decision. If they want the product it should be between the buyer and seller to decide a price. We’re not talking about selling water and food in a disaster area. We’re talking about a kids toy that no one NEEDS.
Just remember, When anyone says: “they shouldn’t be allowed to…” or ” it should be illegal for…” or “someone should stop them from…” what they’re reallt saying is “the government should regulate our private lives more than they already do”. That’s a very slippery slope.
I agree and did just what Tracy said – didn’t realize what the real prices were and searched Amazon as I do most my Christmas shopping and ended up paying $125 for a funhouse and one hamster.
So you made a purchase with no research or comparison shopping even though a simple search would reveal the retail price. Now you’re complaining that you overpaid.
Yeah, you’re not to responsable at all are you. It’s everybody elses fault.
Im sure there are some people that are scandalously buying Zhu Zhu Pets, but lets not forget the makers of zhu zhu pets are trying to make a profit as well. The reason why Cepia doesnt like people reselling is because they cant raise the prices up themselves. They are not making a profit off of the re-selling.
Take the Mindflex game for example; the so called ’sleeper hit of the season’ started out at about $50 bucks in November. Now that they are selling out you cant find one for less then $79 in stores. Theres no telling how high they would be in stores if it wasnt for people selling them on ebay. After all, why go through the work of buying a Mindflex at $140 when you could just get it on ebay for the same price? If the Zhu Zhu Pets were still selling out and the price was $30 at the retailers, wouldnt you just buy it on ebay for that price?
The good side of people selling zhu zhus on ebay at a higher price is that its keeping major retailers and Cepia form raising the prices themselves. Now if your luckly enough to find a Zhu Zhu Pet or a Mindflex in store, you will still be paying the origonal price…well with the Zhu Zhu Pets at least.
The ebay sellers, weather they know it or not, are causing a counter action; they are keeping the major retailers from jacking the prices up. Its giving the consumers a choice.
Think about it this way. A family working several jobs just to afford basic needs and a mortagage find a bunch of these in a toy store. They think wow I could sell these to help pay for Christmas presents for others this year. Someone much wealtheir than them either bids or buys them online. The wealthy person gets the toy and the not so wealthy person gets a few extra bucks for the holiday’s. Its a win-win for both.
Its America the richest nation on the planet. If you cant afford to fork over twenty extra bucks for your kids Christmas present.. then you may want to think about not buying a 50 inch tv or the queso and chips at applebee’s. You get the point.
And for those not so wealthy and still need a toy.. stand in line. I’ve done it and accumulated nearly thirdy of the them.
Merry Christmas.
i was going to by one but i saw the news they r a recall.did you see it i almosted spent $150.00 i was crazy
Cepia is saying that that recall is false…who knows but I sure hope a bunch of kids arnt going to get sick or something.
Better sell off that inventory before the recall. I’d hate to see these people lose money.
Just for the sake of accuracy. A “recall” means the manufacturer buys the product back.
I just saw these zhu zhu pets o Ellen.. What’s the deal.. They don’t even work right!!~ Piece of expensive trash. Parents, are the real idiots here who think their children’s christmas would be ruined if they didn’t get one of these idiotic toys.
get a grip.
charge what you like, no on in my circle is interested.
I’ve been looking everywhere for those toys and most places had their prices extremely high. I searched online and I found a site that lets you track when they come back in stock in Amazon.com so you dont have to pay the high prices Amazon’s partners are selling them for.
What a bunch of cry babies! Always taking it out on eBay sellers! I guarantee you most eBay sellers are not “fat cats” with cigars, most are making a couple bucks here and there. Why don’t you get angry at manufacturers when they purposely hold back inventory, ie. PlayStation ,Elmo, etc. over the past years. Don’t you think if WalMart or Target can get 30 bucks for a stupid little zhu zhu pets hamster they would do it? eBay provides a service, there are many people that live in small communities, or rural communities, that don’t have hundreds of stores or choices that rely on eBay and other online retail sources to purchase their items rather than driving to a larger metropolitan area. Also it’s a great convenience for elderly people, disabled people, that can’t get around as easy or don’t have transportation. I don’t know about you but I will gladly pay more for an item to avoid people like some of these writing on this post, avoid long lines, parking lots with no where to park, and yes the SWINE FLU! Get a grip, eBay is not going away, free market is not going away. LIBERALS LIBERALS LIBERALS!
I’m reminded of a Christmas back in the early 1980s. The hot toy for the year was a creepy looking thing called the “cabbage patch kids”. Sort of a crappy toy but it had a great add campaign.
If you were around back then you would have seen news reports of shortages of this toy. People were pushing and shoving each other to get at these things in the toy stores. Adults were snatching them away from kids right in front of their parents. Customers who couldn’t find them on the shelves were offering $100.00 or more to people in line or leaving the store with one. There were even a few fights.
What caused these shortages and the bad behavior that resulted? Was it eBay and “unscrupulous” resellers on the internet? Obviously not. It was the same forces that are at work now. The shortage was caused by supply and demand. The bad behavior resulted from people knowing that if they didn’t get one off the shelf they werent getting one.
The only difference is that now there’s no fighting or snatching toys away from crying children. We handle it in a more civilized manner. People know that if they need one bad enough to hit someone they don’t have to. They can just pay a little more and get whatever they want on eBay. What an interresting concept. The free market and choices making things better for people.
If this article was well researched and intelligently written it would be titled “Holiday behavior greatley improved thanks to small entrepreneurs”. That wouldn’t fit the agenda though would it?
ALL THESE PEOPLE COMPLAINING OF HOW HIGH THE PRICES ARE FOR A ZHU ZHU PET SHOULD WAKE UP EARLY AND I MEAN EARLY WAIT IN LONG LINES FOR HOURS IN THE COLD AND GET ONE FOR $10.00 2 DAYS AGO I HAD NONE DID THE ABOVE BECAUSE I WAS NOT WILLING TO PAY HIGH PRICES AND ASKED WHEN THEY WERE GOING TO RECIEVE A SHIPMENT AND JUST LIKE MAGIC AFTER WAITING IN LINE FOR 4 HOURS IN THE COLD GOT MY HANDS ON 6 ZHU ZHU PETS ALONG WITH ALL THE EXTRAS!DO IT YORSELF AND YOU WILL NOT PAY HIGH PRICES GET INFORMED!