Zoobles and The Craze Track Record

We haven't been able to get them for a while. We have people asking for them every day. Demand is out-stripping supply everywhere. Even Amazon don't seem to have them in stock themsleves - all the ones on offer are being sold by third-parties.

I could either be talking about Zoobles right now, or Silly Bandz six months ago. Silly Bandz have meanwhile dropped off the tween radar completely. Very quickly. Two-and-a-half years ago, a product called Gogos Crazy Bones arrived. And they started to sell. And then they sold loads. And kept going and kept going and kept going. OK, so nowadays we only keep a couple of boxes tucked away in a corner, but it would still be a pretty rare day if none sold.

So why did Crazy Bones achieve longevity when Bandz (and quite a few other 'definitely gonna be long term crazes' of last year) failed? Economy? That pretty certainly has something to do with it. Parents are noticeably reticent to allow their children to start a new 'collection' or at best will allow them to buy one or two, but wont allow it to become a bedroom full. The overtly negative comments made by parents about collectibles are rapidly on the rise.

There's also the price point to consider. Back to Zoobles - 150 to collect and £7 a pop. Maybe two years ago, parents didn't do the maths on things like that, but they do now. Zoobles are fantastic. I love them. My kids love them. Will they be still in huge demand this time next year? Not sure.

Crazy Bones at a pound? Yep - that works, and things only went wrong when they lost that price point. For that very reason, if I could take a bet for this year, it'd be on Iwako. If they ever arrive - a whole other story :)

More Toy Fair Highlights

Continuing my run through, next on our list of this year's Toy Fair stars is Spinmaster. Once again, Spinmaster look like having a superb year, and there was plenty to love on their stand at Olympia this time around.

Bakugan continues its march towards global domination with Gundalian Invaders - new in the UK this year is a particularly impressive kit - Dragonoid Colossus - every bit as huge as the name suggests and I'm betting it'll be scarce. Other Spinmaster favourites, Tech Deck and Flick Trix have good offerings too, and Mighty Beanz landing a Cars 2 license looks promising.

Arts & Crafts continue to be a strong area too, but most of all I'm looking out for Zoobles being big. "Bakugan for Girls" is an easy throwaway line, but the pets that 'spring to life' look fantastic. I can see them being this year's biggest craze of all, depsite some tough competition.