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| Teddy Ruxpin was one of those highly desirable toys in short supply during the 80's |
It started with toys, as I remember. The hot item that was in short supply during peak shopping season, and crazed parents would go to any length to get their kid the product of the year. I recall Cabbage Patch dolls, Furbees, and Teddy Ruxpin - the latter being the one I proudly "scored" for unwrapping under the tree.
Those feeding frenzies were before the widespread adoption of the internet and auction/shopping sites like eBay, which may have even upped the ante. The incursion of tech also played into the equation on the in-demand product side, too. It also became a not-particularly-holiday-driven phenomenon (I'm leaving out those pup-tent dwellers outside Best Buy for days before Black Friday). For a number of years (and mostly missing my demographic) the hot items were mostly things like the latest video game consoles. But I got back into it, at least as a very interested observer, when my Google Glass, purchased from the company as part of the Explorer program for $1500, and seeing those being offered for between $3,000 and $5,000 on eBay during the latter months of 2013. (See my post
http://googleglasshalffull.blogspot.com/2013/10/google-glass-economics-update.html - note that was on another blog, which I had established as my personal contribution to the Glass hype of that year).
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| Snapchat Spectacles have a list price of $129 |
So connecting the dots from those early shopping frenzies leading up to Google Glass, one might conclude that Snapchat Spectacles would be the high-premium item this year. With their
sketchy retail availability and "cool" factor,
that was definitely true, as least a month ago, though eBay prices (bids and offers) have slipped significantly recently, down to a few hundred dollars.
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| HP's Sprocket printer is in high demand this holiday season, as this recent eBay buy-it-now listing shows |
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| HP Shopping and other retailers are sold out! |
And currently up there with the Spectacles' eBay-to-list-price ratio right now? It's the pocket-sized HP Sprocket Photo Printer, introduced early this year. I had posted about its appearance in the HP Q4 Earnings briefing deck in November as an HP Inc. Printing and Imaging highlight, and on further investigation which
I had promised last week, lo and behold, it's a holiday season phenom!
More coming on its speeds and feeds in a future post, when I can get my hands on one!!!
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