Three days ago, on December 1, WowWee announced the presale of “Baby Shark” themed toys on social media and on YouTube .
“Meet the famous Shark Family singing plush dolls and cubes, produced by WowWee for Pinkfong, official creator of the global hit song ‘Baby Shark!’ You won’t be able to cuddle them enough! Squeeze them to hear the ‘Baby Shark’ song, the global sensation with over 3.3 billion views,” the toy company penned in the description of their YouTube video.
The original “Baby Shark” video uploaded to YouTube by PinkFong two years ago has since acquired over 2 billion views. Many associate it with songs such as “The Song That Never Ends” and “I Know a Song That Gets on Everybody’s Nerves.”
For parents, it’s hard to browse Facebook without coming across at least one post featuring a meme, video clip, or status related to “Baby Shark” in some fashion.
USA Today reports that parents or grandparents who were hoping to purchase a “Baby Shark” themed toy for a special little one in their life are in for some disappointment as, just three days into the presale, the toys have already sold out.
Many have started to jokingly quote the song saying that they are “safe at last” — as some parents didn’t really like the idea of a shark plush toy floating around their home, particularly one that could play the “Baby Shark” song with a single squeeze to the tummy.
Despite selling out on Amazon, the announcement of the toy on Instagram didn’t net much feedback. Accumulating less than 30 comments and less than 200 likes, the biggest question WowWee’s Instagram followers wanted answered was when Amazon would restock — or where else they could go to buy one.
Unfortunately, it didn’t take long for third party sellers to take advantage of the supply and demand issue, hoping to snag desperate parents and grandparents doing last minute Christmas shopping.
Originally listed for $17, the yellow baby plush is currently available via third party seller for $159.99 on Amazon , as of December 4. While the mommy and daddy versions are also available, third party sellers have them listed between $49 and $69, as they are less popular than the yellow baby.
If you recognize the toy company name WowWee, it is because the company also manufacturers the wildly popular Fingerlings. As many parents and grandparents will recall, Fingerlings were a hot Christmas toy last year that many retailers, including Amazon, struggled to keep in stock.
While it is a little easier to get your hands on a Fingerling this year, you also have a wealth of choices to consider — including items that weren’t available last year — as the toy company has continued to expand on the brand.
Considering that this was a presale release, it is currently unclear whether Amazon will be able to restock in time enough to ship out another batch of the “Baby Shark” toys before Christmas morning.
