Sold out / impossible to buy toy trends over the years.

[lunaalice]

I'm just trying to to think back.

I know recently it was PS5, Gaby's Doll House, the Guinea Pig.

When my kids were young it was Furby's and Fingerlings.

When I grew up 80/90s I can only remember my dad driving around trying to find me and my siblings a Tamagotchi.

I remember queuing in Hamleys for Teenage mutant hero turtles and cabbage patch babies (not at the same time)

Bloody fingerlings, I struggled so hard to get one for dd and she barely looked at it after Christmas Day!

I got onto Magic Mixies last year before the hype started and got 2 of them no problem. Obviously neither child looked at them past new year 🙄🤣

Oh and Mr Frosty, I think that and the A la Carte Kitchen were both "hype" toys weren't they. And Keypers?

Pound Puppies too.

You can tell I'm an 80s kid 🤣

I remember the a la carte kitchens from the mid 80s ! I didn’t know what they were called but I remember young girls having them! Haven’t seen them since the late 80s !

There was a toy called Teddy Ruxpin (?) aswell , based on a tv show.

Not sure they were hard to buy but anyone remember ‘Monster in my pocket’ from the 90s? I remember them being popular at school..

Scoured everywhere for weeks because grandson wanted the Maui hook from Moana. They were going for crazy prices second hand on eBay. Eventually got one.

I think everyone wanted Mr. frosty but I think most parents didn't buy it... I had one, it was shit.

My DH got a soda stream instead of Mr. Frosty because there parents deemed it more practical etc...

My DH still gets mad because it claimed it could make ANYTHING fizzy but it didn't make milk fizzy lol.

Aw I had that kitchen

A couple of years ago my sister got everyone out searching for a pooping turtle toy, think it was a fur real or something like that, for my niece and it was sold out everywhere! Our mum found one in the end thankfully.

When I was a young child it was buzz light year toys. My dad waited outside an argos in Manchester for the lorry to arrive. It kicked off and they were throwing the toys off the van as parents pulled each other hair and everything. I never got my buzz light year...

Also Nintendo's. Ds lights, Wii etc. High school musical DVDs. I won mine in a sun competition.

I remember mr Frosties which needed the might of Geoff capes to turn the wheel and I had to nag and nag for.

I seem to always be hunting for something for a birthday or Christmas gift, but the only one I can remember is luvabella, 6 years ago. I managed to find one, was a 3 hour round journey but ended up taking 5. I didn't make it back in time for school run so was ringing round trying to find someone available for that. Crazy stressful and the doll was a right anti climax and broke within an hour of opening. When I returned it the store said they had loads of faulty ones, all with the same technical error.

Tamagotchis were probably the one and only time in my life that I have been ahead of a trend! DH and I went on holiday to Hong Kong in early 1997 and saw them in the shops, before they'd taken off here. I bought them for all my nephews and nieces as I wanted to get them something "different" back from my holidays. Not long after we got back they were all the rage here and I was transiently the coolest Auntie on the planet!

I remember not being able to get hold of a ghostbusters backpack for my son, but eventually found one in a little toy shop, also a megazord ( think it was a transformer,) and managed to get the last one in toys r us the day before xmas eve, phew. he was so happy on xmas day.

Not sure if it was a sell out but I also remember when lazer pointers came out. I had one (which projected multiple images) and remember everyone being jealous. My dad worked away and had got it at a market over 200 miles from where we lived.

It got stolen but then a kid who had been at our house saying how they wish they had one just days earlier (when it went missing) suddenly showed up with an identical one at school. They swore down they didn't steal it, their parents where so non-fussed and said their kid must of bought it from the shop because they don't lie (no shops in the area sold it). My mam was furious.

@lunaalice I desperately wanted that kitchen and I never got one, I still moan at my dad about it 30 something years later 🤣

Someone should've sued Mr Frosty's makers for false advertising. Bloody thing never worked 😂

For me personally at was a Furby, I’m told my DM had to drive all over on her lunch breaks trying to get one.

I’ve also been told about the mad demand for Buzz Lightyear (Tour Guide Barbie even makes a joke in TS2 about ‘short sighted Mattel’ not making enough Buzz toys to meet demand). My DF managed to get one for my brother which ended up returned on Boxing Day along with many other people returning theirs because in Mattel’s haste they put out a dodgy batch that didn’t work! Not sure if they were replaced straight away but I know he still has his Buzz & Woody now so he got it at some point.

And yes to the Teletubbies too! My brothers wanted Dipsy and Po, they were impossible to get but my Nana put in a pre-order for any of them with Littlewoods or Kays for when they got stock, she only got charged for one but about a month later all 4 were delivered to her door.

Tellytubbies.

My niece's grandad drove to Toyr R Us in Newcastle *we live in central Scotland) when he knew they were getting a delivery.

I managed to get a talking Po (the red one) by sheer chance when I went into WH Smith one day, 20 odd years later I still can't believe I spent £40 on it!

First toys I ever struggled to get at Christmas were the Super Ninja Hero turtles, which had me queuing outside Toys'r'us at 4am! That was in1990, over the years, Furby, Bratz dolls, a Candy floss maker, Gameboys, Buzz lightyear and more recently Hatchimals, LOL gold ball thing and finally a PS5. Thank god those days are finally over!

Oh my god I've been wracking my brain for years trying to remember what the bonkers noisy toy was that my parents got for me years ago - it was an oogli!! Thank you so much, I knew I wasn't crazy 😂

Just remembered another, the Talkboy recorder from Home Alone 2, out of stock everywhere, finally found one when visiting my mum 200 miles away, walked past her local Argos, just as they were closing and got the last one.

With dd1 it was frozen toys. I eventually got her a blue glittery dress from Ali express as I couldn't find an actual elsa dress anywhere! As a toddler she was really into special agent Oso, couldn't get any merchandise for it, my dad got a friend to make her one. Also I remember certain Peppa pig characters being really hard to get hold of.

Dd2 was really into paw patrol, I was forever checking argos for deliveries to get all the pups. One day they had 3 of the robo pup. I kept 1 for dd and sold the other 2 for 4× the price I paid on ebay. Then used that to import the ones she wanted from America!! The following year I had to import the tracker pup and vehicle as you couldn't get it here!

She also loved lol dolls, really wanted the unicorn one, I remember finding one on facebook marketplace and literally getting straight on a 1.5hr bus journey to collect it!!

I remember getting Buzz Lightyear for DD from the Disney store in Aug.
They'd sold out by November time.
Also when PlayStation 2 came out DH queued at our local Curry's. DD was the only one in her class who got one.
She wasn't spoilt...😂😉

Teletubbies like others have said... i queued outside Woolworths for ages and they had about 3 people get one then said they'd run out! Everyone was accusing staff of keeping them etc madness!

I also one year drove 2 hours to get a Roboraptor 🙄 one left in the store! That was probably the biggest waste of near on £100 absolutely shit and soon left in the toy box.

All they want now is cash so that's easy

Gabby's dollhouse didn't sell out last year did it?