Every year, America anoints a “must-have” toy item, which parents must dutifully acquire or accept that they are basically a villain in their child’s own personal fairy tale. Last year, it was the “Hatchimal.” This year, it looks to be something called a “Fingerling.”
“Retailers are gearing up for Fingerling fever as a $15 robot monkey toy flies off shelves,” reported Business Insider earlier this week. “Fingerlings have been hot and remain hot,” they quoted Steve Bratspies, merch head at Walmart US, who also called inventory “tight.” Bloomberg Businessweek spotted a comment on a Reddit board for WalMart employees, claiming that, “It’s Hatchimals all over again,” and, “We get four cases at a time, they’re gone by the next day.”
What is a Fingerling, you ask? CNBC describes them in more detail as “plastic monkeys that hang on fingers, blink and respond to touch and sound.” Here is a commercial that demonstrates:
If you are confused, makers WowWee have put out a video explaining how to play with your Fingerling.
According to CNBC, with WalMart already calling inventory “tight,” the toys are beginning to pop up online:
The toy, which typically retails for about $14.99, is being marketed on eBay for upwards of $20 to $70 for a single Fingerling and up to $799 for a full set. Holiday exclusives like Gigi the Unicorn and Kingsley the Sloth are being marketed at a slightly higher price than the traditional monkeys.
If you see an opportunity and choose to engage in a little pre-Christmas speculation, please do be careful that the Fingerling bubble doesn’t burst, leaving you with a garage full of singing robot monkeys that you can’t unload for love or money.