Well, after I explained to them that we “e-tailers” HATE the term “e-tailer”, I finally got them to make an exception and sell me product. Can you believe it?

Once again, we are in the same situation, besides this time there is no one available to beg. We have been purchasing Bakugan (a Spin Masters product) from a distributor in NYC for 1-2 years now. This year Spin Masters has come out with a pretty sweet new product called Liv Dolls.  So, I contacted our supplier, told him to get me some product when he places his next order from the manufacturer.  And, nope, they won’t sell it to him.

That doesn’t stop me.  I call the manufacturer and, nope, they won’t sell to me either.  Only available in “mass” this year.  That’s ‘toy’ for ‘we don’t need your little insignificant store’.  They tell me I can buy them from Wal Mart.

In any event, be careful this Christmas.  If Big Box stores continue to dominate the toy market….  If they kill the category – it is only a matter of time before they select for you what toys you can buy.  If the independents like us go away, there will be no more balance.  Just check out this article in Time.

Amazon owns and buys so much of the online retail traffic these days that you can’t really have an e-commerce site without also selling your products on Amazon.com.  Even Target has an Amazon.com store.  If you google “Gile Toys”, an Amazon listing comes up in the top six results and you will see the adwords “Gile Toys at Amazon”.

Let’s face it.  Amazon allows you to use their brand to move your products.  How can any of us say no?  But my point here is not to discuss the pros and cons of Amazon – or even give an inside look on the entire process.  I don’t even want to discuss their buyer feedback process and system.

I simply want to share some of the feedback we have received lately on Amazon.com.  Not the ones that say we are really great, just the ones that make me smile.

How about this one?

“Subliminal experience. The whole family experienced a life change. I only can kneel in the lotus and pray for future business exchanges. I bid you peace.”

[insert joke here]

Or this?

“Extremely fast shipping and I know my nephew is going to go nuts over these. The only downside is that the box that it arrived in shows pictures of exactly what the item is–we’re lucky that the person it is for wasn’t at the house or he would have known what his Christmas present was. I prefer my packages to look anonymous (typical brown box, please) so I can keep holiday surprises a secret!”

Granted, we are sensitive to this – especially as a toy vendor at Christmas time, but you have to see the size of this product.  To put this box, which is actually full of individual little boxes by the way, inside another bigger box, is a bit impractical to say the least.  Can you say TMI?

Not sure why I think this is funny:

“I ordered these monkeys & they were delivered very quick & exactly what I ordered. I’m always leary about ordering online for the fact of not knowing what I’ll end up with, but was definately pleased!”

I guess anything with the word “monkeys” in it makes me laugh.

And, finally for the minimalist in all of us, how about these three:

“A”

“.”

“X”

Now that’s what I’m talking about!  For more, go to Amazon.com.

Over the past year, manufacturers have seen rising costs due to the increasing prices of raw materials and labor as well as safety concerns.  But don’t feel bad for Mattel and Hasbro, the two largest toy manufacturers in the world.  They just pass the costs onto the retailers.  Normally, I would say don’t feel bad for the retailers, because we’ll just pass the costs onto the consumers.  But, not this time.  Consumers are scared.  The extortion of the American people on Wall Street and the lack of hope relative to the election of either presidential character, I mean candidate, is causing parents to panic and plan to cut back this year for Christmas.

So who really loses?  Again, poor Mattel, in the face of rising costs, “profits grew by a sluggish 1 percent, to $238 million“.  How about Wal-Mart or Toys “R” Us?  They are playing the same game as usual, loss leader items to lure you into the store and then charge more on other products.  This leaves two losers this year, the independent retailer and the consumer.

The independent retailer now has to shrink margins in response to low price demands and the increased costs from manufacturers.  As a result, retailers cannot take as many chances, so they do not buy as many “risky” items from smaller manufacturers.

The consumer loses big because they now have less choices.  Going to Wal-Mart and Target, the consumer is limited to only the toys that these stores carry – the “top sellers”.  In the interest of saving money, they settle for lower priced toys that their kids didn’t want.  Even when the consumer goes to speciality retail stores, there is not as much alternative product because of the risk factor for the retailer this year.  Certainly, this will put some small, independent retailers out of business this year, which will mean even less choice for the consumer in 2009.