"It is hype. It is the fact it's so hard to get," says Laurie Schacht, co-publisher of Toy Insider. "If it was easy to get, would it still be as hot? I don't know."
Then again, price might have something to do with what's driving parents to wait on long lines even though they know that the robotic hamster may be sold out before they get to the front. "It's a toy you can buy without breaking the bank," points out Natalie Hornsby, vp of marketing at toy creator Cepia LLC. Besides TV, Cepia created buzz for product through in-home hamster parties, mom blogs and Twitter giveaways.
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