Are fad gifts really worth the trouble?
By kbkbooks
@kbkbooks (7022)
Canada
December 7, 2006 2:09pm CST
Some people reading this are old enough to remember the madness of lining up to get the first edition Cabbage Patch kids. Year after year, the manufacturers come up with something new to drive kids and parents crazy. People line up in the wee hours of the morning the way that kids have done for decades because of rock concert tickets. There are scalpers who sell the fad toys at way higher than normal prices to desperate purchasers. With the advent of the latest videogame, a high end items now being sold at crazy prices on e-Bay, we have witnessed the crime of those waiting in line being mugged and even murdered in search of their money so the thugs can either buy the item or maybe their latest drug fix.
Are these fad gifts really worth the troubles they cause? Are the manufacturers guilty of hyper marketing or are the consumers overwrought with inappropriate enthusiasm?
4 responses
@gramaj (451)
• United States
8 Dec 06
I remember, when my kids were younger there always seem to be a gift that you had to get.. But there was no internet or ebay. As far as standing in line for hours, no way. If you have to have something special, get it early. I do think the manufactors are taking advantage of the consumers espically with electronics and gaming merchandise. But the general public has taken the bait and let it happen. I saw on the news the stories about the deaths/injuries that occured during the Black Day Sale. Totally unbelievable!
@Idlewild (6090)
• United States
8 Dec 06
Can't figure out why people stand in line for hours, even overnight, to be the first to buy something that they can buy a week later without standing in any line at all. And yes, a lot of these fad gifts are irrelevant after the fad passes, and they end up on eBay.
1 person likes this
@momto2b2g (217)
• United States
8 Dec 06
I think it is the manufacturer making it sound better than it actually is. They make it sound like you HAVE to get one. Remember tickle me elmo? Everyone had to have one of those too. It's just ridiculous. Over priced stuff you don't really need.
1 person likes this
