Because there aren’t enough Lego bricks out there waiting for you to step on them, yesterday the Internet flipped out over news that the toy company wouldn’t have enough of the plastic pieces to meet demand this holiday season. “Nooooooo!” the masses wailed, “How can anyone be expected to take such an injustice?” Settle down, guys. LEGO says there’s no reason to freak out — at least, if you live in the U.S. [More]
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No, Sears Does Not Owe You A $700 Play House For $12
By 10.8.15
Shoppers noticed something amazing on Sears.com yesterday: kids’ accessories, toys, and play sets that cost hundreds of dollars were available for only $11.95 for no obvious reason. Parents, deal-hunters, and people who are both flocked to the website to fill up their carts with deeply discounted goodies. What happened next should be familiar to Consumerist readers: the amazing deal was a website glitch, and the orders were canceled. [More]
Hasbro Goes After Bronies With High-Priced Line Of “My Little Pony” Toys Marketed To Adults
By 9.25.15
Even if you’re not aware of a group of folks called “Bronies” — mostly male* adult fans who really love My Little Pony — Hasbro is totally clued into the potentially lucrative market. As such, it’s releasing a new line of My Little Pony toys designed specifically to appeal to Bronies, with a price to match. [More]
Toys ‘R’ Us Brings Free Shipping Threshold Down To $19
By 9.9.15
Toys ‘R’ Us is planning ahead, and wants you to think of them when you shop for toys this holiday season. Specifically, they want you to think, “Hey, I can get free shipping from Toys ‘R’ Us if I spend more than $19, and I don’t have to buy a membership, unlike at Walmart or Amazon!” [More]
Walmart Opens Holiday Layaway Program Two Weeks Early, Reduces Minimum Cost For Eligible Items
By 8.27.15
Thinking about getting a jump on your holiday shopping? So is Walmart, apparently. The company announced today that it will open its seasonal layaway program early and lower the price for eligible items. [More]
Target Promises To Stop Sorting Kids’ Merchandise By Gender
By 8.7.15
While every kid has preferences, there’s no reason why little boys can’t play with dollhouses or why little girls can’t play with plastic dinosaurs. Some parents, kids, and other activists have started to ask retailers why store sections for anything marketed to kids is always separated into strict “girls” and “boys” sections with signage to match. One retailer announced today that they’ll be changing that. [More]
Now Kids Can Chat With Thomas The Tank Engine, Too
By 7.30.15
You might remember Hello Barbie, a wifi-enabled smart doll that lets children hold conversations with their Barbie dolls…after that speech is recorded, transmitted to product creator ToyTalk, converted to text, and the answer is sent back to Barbie. While the idea of a doll that can hold a conversation is interesting, there are a lot of other products out there that want to chat with your kids. [More]
Bratz Dolls Return With Slightly More Clothing, Selfie Sticks, Still No Noses
By 7.22.15
Bratz, a line of noseless fashion dolls whose owner has spent the last decade in litigation with Barbie-maker Mattel, have returned to store shelves. Is this a good thing? Maybe. The company is certainly making a big deal out of its relaunch, with ad campaigns, a “brand anthem,” and a big event in Times Square. [More]
FAO Schwarz Flagship Closes In NYC, Forcing All Those Giant Stuffed Animals To Find A New Home
By 7.15.15
The doors will close, the giant piano keyboard will fall silent and all those giant stuffed animals will lose the attention of adoring crowds when FAO Schwarz’s New York City flagship closes today. Will there be a clearance sale on ginormous tigers, or an auction of oversized musical instruments? It’s unclear, though Toys “R” Us, the owners of FAO Schwarz, says it’s looking for a new home to sell toys and bring in tourists again. [More]
Appeals Court Upholds Probation Sentence For Beanie Babies’ Creator Convicted Of Tax Evasion
By 7.13.15
Probably the only person to ever have actually gotten rich off Beanie Babies isn’t exactly relaxing on piles of money or swimming in his vault of gold coins anytime soon, but Ty Warner, the billionaire of the plush toys did get to escape jail time after a U.S. Court of Appeals upheld the probation sentence handed down to him after he was convicted of tax evasion. [More]
Dinosaur Experts In Uproar After Hasbro Referred To ‘Jurassic World’ Raptor Toys As Male
By 6.26.15
Anyone who’s familiar with Jurassic Park knows that all the dinosaurs in the park were engineered to be female — this, to control the animals from making their own dino babies and overwhelming the humans. So then why did Hasbro rewrite the Jurassic Park canon by rebranding its Jurassic World dinosaur toys as males in product descriptions for its raptor toys? [More]
LEGO Investing $150M To Develop Sustainable Non-Plastic Materials For Brick-Making
By 6.24.15
Last year, LEGO made 60 million blocks out of the same plastic material the Danish company has been using since 1963. But the bricks of our childhood could one day be of a different substance, as LEGO has plans to spend a bunch of money figuring out how to develop new sustainable materials to replace plastic. [More]
LEGO Apologizes For Describing Toy Character As A “Window-Licker”
By 6.10.15
In yet another example of a company offending a whole lot of people in just a few words, LEGO is apologizing for branding a toy in their online store as a “back-of-the-bus window-licker.” “Window licker” is known as a derogatory term for people diagnosed with learning disabilities. [More]
Barbie’s Feet Finally Get A Break As New Range Of Dolls Can Wear Flats
By 6.5.15
Barbie has spent her entire life standing on her tiptoes and boy, she must be tired. Too long has she toiled for hours in dream mansions and in ice cream shoppes without the benefit of having her feet flat on the ground, encased comfortably in flat shoes. Her time has come: Mattel’s newest line of dolls have adjustable ankles, and a line of flat footwear to go with that new flexibility. [More]
Ad Board Recommends McDonald’s Focus On Actual Meal, Not Just The Cool Toy
By 5.15.15
By now we all know that McDonald’s is trying to appeal to a younger audience, but a commercial the company aired last fall geared toward its youngest customers apparently didn’t sit well with an ad review board. And now that group is warning the fast food giant to stick to its food and not to use toys to appeal to youngsters.
[More]
Toys ‘R’ Us Can’t Beat Discounters On Price, Invites Everyone Over For Play Dates
By 3.24.15
Toys ‘R’ Us has a problem: they’re a specialty store that people love, but they must compete with mega-discounters like Walmart and online vendors like Amazon on price. When they can’t do that and still make money, how are they to survive? The company’s new idea: get kids in the door by creating an experience, not just a place to buy toys. [More]
Report: Injuries Related To Bounce Houses, Other Inflatable Attractions, On The Rise
By 3.6.15
Is it every kid’s dream to go flying through the air, light as a bird, only to land safely on a soft surface? Perhaps. But that doesn’t mean that all of those inflatable bounce houses, castles, slides and other amusements are necessarily safe for children, and a federal agency is pointing to a rise in injuries on such attractions to make sure parents are aware of the risks. [More]
