10 Fad Toys That Caused Black Friday Riots
Every Black Friday, there seems to be one item in particular that has people busting down the doors as soon as they unlock. While more of the focus has been online for retailers and selling televisions in-store on Black Friday, there are still some toys that a lot of people want. Over the history of Black Friday, these 10 toys in particular, though, drove people to near madness and caused a lot of fighting in the aisles.
1. Tickle Me Elmo
Who can forget the Tickle Me Elmo craze in 1996 when people were piling on top of each other to grab the “Sesame Street” character plush doll that giggled and vibrated? Scalpers that could grab one were selling them online for over $1,000 as there was a shortage of supplies in the stores.
2. Furby
Two years after the Tickle Me Elmo craze, a similar toy came around that was smaller and more intuitive called the Furby. Furby would talk to you, answering questions and speaking in its own cute little language. Furby sold hand over fist upon its release in 1998, with new editions being made in the following years.
3. Nintendo Wii
Nintendo products are always hot commodities around the holiday time, but the Nintendo Wii was on another level. Released just in time for Christmas in 2006, the Nintendo Wii was the first motion control console to be available, and everybody wanted one. Another aspect that made it so popular was the price, as it was only $249.99 upon release.
4. Beanie Babies
Anybody that was around in the 1990s remembers just how popular Beanie Babies were throughout a chunk of the decade. The small little plushies were collector’s items that we all thought were going to be worth something in the future. However, Beanie Babies proved to ultimately be worth next to nothing just a few years after their debut.
5. Tamagotchi
Every child in the 1990s wanted a handheld device where you took care of a little creature called a Tamagotchi. Essentially a virtual pet on a keychain, the Tamagotchi was a great gift for parents since it was affordable, but they were extremely hard to find at the height of their popularity in 1997.
6. Razor Scooters
In the early 2000s, just about everyone between the ages of 8 and 15 years old wanted a scooter because of how cool the commercials made them look. The top brand was Razor, a company that started in California in 2000. Razor scooters were in almost every household, and were known to bruise a lot of ankles.
7. PlayStation 2
Just like the Nintendo Wii, there was another level of hype for this video game console that was released in the 2000 holiday season. The Sony PlayStation was successful, but the buildup to the follow-up console was unparalleled at the time. The console would also end up being the longest-lasting, was affordable for its time, and was the first console to have a DVD player.
8. Teddy Ruxpin
Before Tickle Me Elmo and Furby came around, Teddy Ruxpin was the toy that every child wanted that could talk back to its owner. Teddy Ruxpin was the best-selling toy for two years in a row in the mid-1980s, featuring a cassette tape slot so that the cute little bear could read stories to children.
9. ZhuZhu Pets
It’s hard to really tell why ZhuZhu pets were so popular in 2009 when they were first released. After all, they seemed to be standard plush toys that didn’t really do anything. They were also cheap at under $10, which made demand far outweigh the supply. ZhuZhu Pets went on the secondary market, selling for $100 each in some circles.
10. iPod
Apple products seem to be a little watered down now since they’re so numerous and come out every year, but who can forget the craze of the first iPod when it was released just before Black Friday in 2001? The music player was the top of the line, selling millions of units in its first holiday season and becoming a staple of MP3 players before the iPhone came around.