Pure Imagination was one of the first stores in our area to get Webkinz back in the Spring of 2005. I tried a Webkinz out with one of my employees and we both thought the website was really fun and educational. There were lots of fun games to play and I personally liked the site as it taught kids how to earn and save money. They retailed for about $10 at the time which I thought was a great price for a plush animal and access to such a neat interactive website.
Webkinz did not fly off the shelves at first. In fact, they did not fly at all for quite some time. I was not in any position to sit around and wait for this line to "take off" so I decided to try them out on our website,
www.PureImaginationToys.com. The response was pretty good but we were one of the very first stores to sell Webkinz online at that time. Within 5 months I sold my entire stock along with another nearby store who was fed up with them also. I was ready to count my profits and run but the sales were pretty good online. I re-ordered a few more times over the next year and just sold them on our website.
In December of 2006 I did start getting some requests for Webkinz in the store finally. We started doing a brisk business with them and then I sold out. I placed some orders and then the craziest thing happened. Webkinz seemed to vanish off the face of the earth! Our rep told us several times, "I don't know why you are not getting them. They should be there soon". We called the GANZ company directly and started getting different stories depending on who we talked with. My rep had the best stories though. There were so many fibs told I can not even recollect them all.
It took us almost 4 months before we received our next shipment of Webkinz. Two major holidays had passed without Webkinz and hysteria had been created. Mission Accomplished! GANZ finally got their wish and we were selling Webkinz like crazy. "Crazy" being the greatest understatement of the year. What followed was one of the most horrific displays of company integrity I had ever seen.
GANZ, from the beginning, had promised that no "Big Box" stores would get the Webkinz. We started to notice larger chain stores selling Webkinz as soon as they got popular. When I confronted my GANZ rep with this information she would make up more excuses. She went as far as to tell us that Target had gotten them on the black market and that GANZ was going to sue them.
GANZ raised the price on Webkinz eventually and started coming out with trading cards, clothing, body sprays, jewelry and other crazy stuff that kids didn't really need. They also created a "Contract" for Webkinz retailers. GANZ wanted us to sign this "contract" stating we would sell so much "Everyday" product in order to get our Webkinz orders in. "Everyday" product is what GANZ calls their very large catalog of candles, plush, bath products, home decor, toys and about anything else they could push on retailers. This contract was sent out to every shop in the nation that carried Webkinz except for the bigger chain stores. The contract also had all kinds of stipulations, incentives and strange requests for Webkinz retailers. We did not sign the contract. In fact, we decided to go in a totally different direction with the GANZ company.
In the Fall of 2007 we canceled all of our Webkinz orders along with any other orders we had pending with GANZ. On November 21st we sold our last Webkinz. At that time, there were over 20 stores (big and small) in our area alone. As a result of GANZ's business practices, many retailers have since phased out of the Webkinz. Unfortunately, kids don't understand these things, nor should they.
The GANZ company has been under harsh criticism from parents and retailers in the last year. There are a number of pending lawsuits being filed against the company. The overall popularity of Webkinz seems to be waining also. It's a shame because the Webkinz should have been a positive experience for everyone involved. It's just another example of what happens when companies get too big, too fast and way too greedy.
--Rhett
Webkinz get a 7 out of 10 star rating from the Toy Guyz. GANZ gets a 0 out of 10 star rating from the Toy Guyz.
