Hatchimal mania has taken North America by storm, with the coveted birdlike toy selling out in toy stores and online retailers across the continent.
The excitement took hold in Kitchener, Ont., on Friday, when parents lined up outside a Toys “R” Us store starting at 4 a.m. -- five hours before it opened -- in hopes of getting their hands on the season’s hottest toy.
“It was literally the only thing on my daughter’s Christmas list that was over $10,” Courtney Chartrand, who arrived at the store around 4:30 a.m., told CTV Kitchener.
Hatchimals come in a large egg and “hatch” out after the owner holds it for several minutes. Once the doll chips its way out, it can be taught to walk, dance, play games and repeat words.
“My son wants it so bad,” said Cheri Doherty.
The Kitchener store’s 70 Hatchimals were purchased, one per customer, and were sold out within an hour.
Last week, the toys – which retail for $59.99 -- were sold out in nearly every retailer in Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. The toy’s elusive nature has spawned a quasi-black market online, with Hatchimals selling for steep mark-ups of $200 to $500 on online resale sites.
At least two opportunistic buyers made their way to the Kitchener toy store Friday morning.
“They said that these things go for about $300 online, so we can get them for $50 – so we decided to come down here,” said Jesse Kethros, who stood in line with a friend.
Kethros was one of the 70 lucky customers to get his hands on the toy.
“She said it was the most popular, so it’ll fetch me the biggest price,” he said.
In the Waterloo region, two new Kijiji listings for Hatchimals were listed Friday morning, with one seeking $180 for one toy and the other offering two for $500.
With files from CTV Kitchener
