Kabloom!

Tell me the last thing you'd expect to happen when your child started playing with their Aromatherapy Fountain or Bath Benefits sets from toymaker Jakks Pacific?

If it was me, the last thing I'd expect is for the bottles to spontaneously explode. Well, not so surprisingly 88 customers found out they sometimes do explode. And 13 people were injured by flying caps blown off by pressure.

YoYo Joe's did not sell this product, it's more likely found in big box stores. Jakks Pacific has determined that simply drilling a couple small holes in the caps to the bottles is enough to release the pressure. You can read the recall info at the CPSC web site here:

Twilight Trouble

The Twilight Ladybug looks innocent enough, doesn't it? Just dozing there, projecting a sky full of stars onto your darkened room. What could possibly be wrong with this picture?
I'll tell you what, under that shell lurks an evil, plotting toy. A toy that clearly is planning on worldwide domination.
Want proof?
Consider this story we heard from one of our customers. They purchased the Twilight Ladybug during the holiday season for their young daughter. She loved it. She turns it on each night and falls to sleep under a ceiling of stars. Seeing how much she enjoyed it, her 12-year old brother has started sneaking into her room after she falls asleep and snags the ladybug for his own room, falling victim to it's addictive mood relaxing images. And even their high school-aged brother got in the act, taking it from his younger brothers room after HE falls asleep. Not to be outdone, one morning found the ladybug in the hallway, next to the family's cat - who was powerless to the serenity projected from the ladybugs shell.
What's next, Ladybug? First this one house, then the neighborhood, then the world?
I better reorder!

'Wimpy' is the new 'Cool'

Diary of a Wimpy Kid #3, The Last Straw is out!
The latest in the wildly popular series of books about a middle school 'wimp.'

Greg Heffley is a middle school student who 'writes' and 'illustrates' these wildly popular books about his life. I learned about the 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid' series of books while helping out at the Harlan Elementary School Book Fair over the past two years. They were the first books to sell out, and we'd reorder more of them than any other book. Emily, Ethan and I even headed up to the Free Library of Philadelphia last year to see the author of the series - Jeff Kinney. It was really fun, Jeff is a cool dude. The books are perfect for boys and girls from around fourth grade up.

We just got the latest book in the series - 'The Last Straw' and it's available starting today at YoYo Joe's. We also have copies of the December release 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid Do It Yourself Book' in stock. For more information on the books, check out the new website - wimpykid.com

Check out this awesome video of the actual making of 'The Last Straw'

Blast from the past!

One of the nice things about the first couple months of our store is the people who walk in and reminisce about Mitchell's. It's kinda bittersweet, as we're very happy to have opened our own store, but we - like most of our customers - miss Mitchell's very much. 

On Saturday, a former Mitchell's customer named Morris Freschman stopped in. Morris had with him a toy he had purchased at Mitchell's back in 1963. It was in wonderful condition, still in it's original box. It was a 'Child Guidance Musical Railroad' toy - a battery-powered toy train that ran on its own track. The track had 'ties' that were made of little metal pieces - the kind you see in a xylophone. Each piece was color coded with a musical note. When you arranged the 'ties' on the track, they would play a song when the train ran over the 'ties.' There was an instructional booklet that showed the different ways of arranging the track to play different songs. It actually looked pretty neat! I wonder when they stopped making it...

We took a picture of Morris with the toy for the blog. Thanks for bringing it in, Morris!

YoYo Joe's 1st Yo-Yo Club Meets on Saturday

We're thrilled to host our first yo-yo club at YoYo Joe's on Saturday, January 10th 4 pm to 5 pm. Yo-Yo Club will meet each week at 4 pm on Saturdays. Yo-Yo Club is free, just show bring your yo-yo. Try your hand at the YoYo Joe's Yo-Yo Club Advancement Chart - starting with the basic tricks and moving onto advanced tricks. All ages & skill levels are welcome. 

We started yo-yo club at Mitchell's almost ten years ago. In that time, we've had many club members go on to compete and place in US Regional, National and World Yo-Yo Championship contests. We even had one Mitchell's Yo-Yo Club member go on to win the 2007 US National and World Championship! 

Top 10 Best Selling Toys for 2008 at YoYo Joe's - #1

As we look forward to 2009, I'll take a look back at the hectic two and a half months that made up 2008 at YoYo Joe's and review each of the top 10 best selling items at YoYo Joe's for 2008. Check back each day for the next of our top ten items

Today, I'll take a look at #1 - (drum roll please?)

It's 'Elf on a Shelf!'

'Elf on a Shelf' is a book and elf combo kit that I learned about last year as a member of the American Specialty Toy Retailers Association (ASTRA), so I ordered two dozen of them when we opened, which I thought would last the holiday season. Then I reordered them. Then I reordered them again. Then again, then again....it became a daily mantra, "How many Elf's do we have?" "Should I order more?" The answers were inevitably "not enough," and "yes, you doof!" They took on a life of their own. It took me a little time to understand the concept (I'm kinda think), so I could explain it to customers. Turns out, I didn't need to do any explaining, as almost every customer knew all about it. It's one of those things that spread like wildfire though the recess ground. One kid's talking about his elf and the other five go home telling mom or dad. Word of mouth was awesome on this. We had people sent to us from Barnes & Noble (heck, we had customers who worked at Barnes & Noble!) Suffice it to say, we'll be stocking it again next season and we've put in for an author appearance next year.

For those uninitiated, the idea is this - you purchase the Elf on a Shelf book and elf kit. The elf doesn't come to life until he is brought home, and then you can name your elf. The elf reports back to Santa each night - on the wishes of the kids he stays with as well as the behavior of the kids. The kids cannot touch the elf and each morning after he returns from his visit to Santa, he plops up in a different place, so part of the fun is the kids searching for the elf in the morning.

Top 10 Best Selling Toys for 2008 at YoYo Joe's - #2

As we look forward to 2009, I'll take a look back at the hectic two and a half months that made up 2008 at YoYo Joe's and review each of the top 10 best selling items at YoYo Joe's for 2008. Check back each day for the next of our top ten items

Today, I'll take a look at #2 - Kids Watches

These cuter than cute kids watches are the perfect accessory for the child who's just starting to learn how to tell time. They're analog (I know, right?) watches that tell time the old fashioned way, with a big hand and a little hand. Some are waterproof, some are not. Featuring dozens of designs for both boys and girls at a great price point. We have the spinner rack at the counter (Joe once knocked the empty display off the counter while yo-yoing - don't tell Emily!) and it's a great pick-up item.

Top 10 Best Selling Toys for 2008 at YoYo Joe's - #3

As we look forward to 2009, I'll take a look back at the hectic two and a half months that made up 2008 at YoYo Joe's and review each of the top 10 best selling items at YoYo Joe's for 2008. Check back each day for the next of our top ten items

Today, I'll take a look at #3 - Profly Yo-Yo

This is the other of the two yo-yos in our top ten toys of '08. (Now that we're nearing the end of the decade, what will this decade be known as? We had the 70's, the 80's, the 90's - will it be the 00's? Doesn't roll off the tongue, does it? How about the 'ohs?' The 'aughts?' How about my favorite, Grampa Simpson's 'dicketies,' as in 'back in dickety eight, we sold us some yo-yos?')

It's a Duncan Profly. People come in all the time and say, 'Do you sell the Duncan Butterfly' or the 'Duncan Imperial?' Nope, we sure don't. Why, you ask? They are classics. Yep, they sure are. They've been around for something like 40 years now without changing at all. That's the key right there, they haven't changed at all. We sell the Profly instead. The Profly has a take-apart design, whereas if the Butterfly or Imperial come apart, they're broken. The take-apart design makes it oh so much easier to clear out the inevitable string knots or tangles that occur all the time in yo-yoing. Plus, it's our opinion that it's much more difficult to yo-yo on a Butterfly or Imperial than it is on a Profly. The Profly has a real wooden axle. The Butterfly and Imperial have a metal rod as an axle. Sure, it costs a bit more, but it's a much, much better yo-yo. And it comes with a CD you can put in your computer to learn some tricks. It's the only yo-yo we sell that doesn't have a ball-bearing axle and it was our best selling yo-yo of dickety eight. 

Top 10 Best Selling Toys for 2008 at YoYo Joe's - #4

As we look forward to 2009, I'll take a look back at the hectic two and a half months that made up 2008 at YoYo Joe's and review each of the top 10 best selling items at YoYo Joe's for 2008. Check back each day for the next of our top ten items

Today, I'll take a look at #4 - Doinkit Darts

We sold piles of these at Mitchell's over the past couple of years. So, we got piles of them in for our opening in November. We vastly underestimated how many we'd need. 

One of our goals in our store was to make it as interactive as possible. Lots of stuff to try and do. Cripes, we put in a pirate ship, for the love of Mike! We also have a fun marble run and the Plasmacars that offer a whole different perspective on our store. But, of all the try-it stuff, the Doink-It Dart Board might be the most popular. 

This magnetic dart board works awesome. The magnets stick to the board well, with little slipping. Plus, the magnets do not stick in your little brother or sister as easily as those pointy versions. It's probably our most popular gift for the 8-10 year old crowd (both boys & girls). 

Top 10 Best Selling Toys for 2008 at YoYo Joe's - #5

As we look forward to 2009, I'll take a look back at the hectic two and a half months that made up 2008 at YoYo Joe's and review each of the top 10 best selling items at YoYo Joe's for 2008. Check back each day for the next of our top ten items

Today, I'll take a look at #5- Christmas Puzzleball

The Puzzleball came out a little over a year ago. Most of them are pretty big, but the Christmas Puzzleball is an ornament for your Christmas tree. It's about the size of a baseball. We also had a Snowman puzzleball, which was somewhere in the top 20 items as well. 

Here's a quick FAQ for you on this

Q - Is it really a puzzle?

A - Yes, it's a puzzle. That's why they call it a 'Puzzle' Ball. Geez. 

Q - How do they make the curved pieces?

A - How the heck should know? I didn't design it, we just sell them. 

Q - Aren't you a bit snarky in your responses to questions?

A - Shut up, you jerk. 

On that note, we look forward to getting these back in stock when we start merchandising for Christmas 2009 after Thanksgiving. (Or, if you're going to a big box store, should be in a little over a month)

Top 10 Best Selling Toys for 2008 at YoYo Joe's - #6

As we look forward to 2009, I'll take a look back at the hectic two and a half months that made up 2008 at YoYo Joe's and review each of the top 10 best selling items at YoYo Joe's for 2008. Check back each day for the next of our top ten items

Today, I'll take a look at #6 - Gamma Brain Wing Yo-Yo

You know how the yo-yo business is, right? Up and down. Get it? Up and down? 

I know, ugh. 

Anyhoo, here's a shocker, two (count 'em), two of our best selling 10 items were yo-yo's. Three in the top 20! This here yo-yo, it's a Gamma Brain from Yomega. A Gamma what? Gamma Brain, silly! I have no idea what the Gamma means, but the Brain part of the title means this is a 'smart' yo-yo. A yo-yo that automatically returns to your hand. It's got a little clutch in it, which allows the yo-yo to 'sleep' or spin at the end of the string. Depending on how hard  you throw it, it will sleep for an amount of time, then come back to your hand without you having to do anything at all. Really! How? Don't question the magic! If you must know, it has a clutch in it that opens by the centrifugal force of the yo-yo spinning. Once the yo-yo slows down, the clutch grabs the axle and the yo-yo goes back up to your hand. 

How much would you pay for such a wonder?

But wait, there's more! The yo-yo has a switch on it. I think they call it a 'smart switch' (which seems kinda redundant thanks to the 'Brain' in the title), which allows you to turn off the auto-return clutch and forces you to bring it back the old fashioned way, with a jerk. 

Now how much would you pay for this yo-yo?

No, there's more! The Gamma Brain comes with a DVD of 150 tricks on it! The DVD alone a couple years ago sold for $20! Now it comes with the yo-yo. 

It's a wonderful package for a beginner yo-yoer. It's the one we recommend to most people getting started, as the number one problem we have noticed with beginning yo-yoers is the inability to get the yo-yo to return to their hand. And with the Gamma Brain, it returns quite well, thank you. 

Happy National Bankruptcy Day!

If you're a fan of toys, or have read my blog for a while, you'll be aware of the whole brouhaha that erupted last year for toy safety. Millions of toys were recalled due to a variety of safety isses - most famously due to lead content. People were rightfully outraged that toys were available in the US with two, three and even four times the legal limit of lead in them. This lead to the passage of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) in August, 2008. Among other things, the CPSIA bans lead and phthalates in toys, mandates third-party testing and certification for all toys and requires toy makers to permanently label each toy with a date and batch number.
There seems be some unintended (well, at least I'd like to say they were unintended) consequences to this act. The cost to test toys to comply with the CPSIA has been reported at $4,000 per toy, with toy manufacturer Learning Resources has been quoted a fee of over $24,000 to test one of their children's telescopes. Check out the quote here.
For toy giants like Mattel and Hasbro, this represents a relatively small amount per toy imported. It seems to reason that if you make a million of one Barbie doll, dividing $4,000 by a million will lead to a small incremental cost. But, what about small companies? What about people who still make toys by hand by the dozens, not the millions? $4,000 divided by 100 is $40 per toy. Dolls that are handmade to sell at $30 each can now over double to $70.
These small companies will face a decision, in a little over a month, of whether to increase their prices drastically, cease operations or operate illegally. Just to make toys in the US.
A group has popped up to try to save these handmade toys, it's the Handmade Toy Alliance. You can check out their website here. Or their facebook page here.
In this Wall Street Journal article about the pending law, Learning Resources chairman Rick Woldenberg has dubbed the day the CPSIA takes effect as "National Bankruptcy Day" due to the number of handmade toy makers, toy retailers and other companies that may be forced to close their doors due to the new laws. A website has popped up with that name that urges changes to the act. You can also click the cute image above to see what you can do to help.
I've been vocal about the need to increase toy safety, and I recognize that something had to be done, but it feels like in the rush to get something done, the US Congress has overlooked some significant details. The huge concern over foreign made toys last year has led to legislation that could all but eliminate small companies that want to make toys in the United States.

Top 10 Best Selling Toys for 2008 at YoYo Joe's - #7

As we look forward to 2009, I'll take a look back at the hectic two and a half months that made up 2008 at YoYo Joe's and review each of the top 10 best selling items at YoYo Joe's for 2008. Check back each day for the next of our top ten items

Today, I'll take a look at #7 - Playfoam

These little $1.99 bricks of Playfoam flew out the door during the Holiday season. What is Playfoam? Well, they look like Rice Krispies treats. Little foam beads that are kinda sticky, but not too sticky. You use them to make stuff, sorta like clay, but with a whole different feel to them. It never dries out, and comes in lots of colors - sparkly colors, glow-in-the-dark colors and more. It's made for kids 3 & up and is non-toxic (always a good thing). YoYo Joe's also has 6-packs and 12-packs of the stuff.

Top 10 Best Selling Toys for 2008 at YoYo Joe's - #8

As we look forward to 2009, I'll take a look back at the hectic two and a half months that made up 2008 at YoYo Joe's and review each of the top 10 best selling items at YoYo Joe's for 2008. Check back each day for the next of our top ten items

Today, I'll take a look at #8 - Bananagrams

Perhaps you'll recall my action packed post back in September about placing our initial order with Bananagrams. If not, step into my time machine. Since that order, we reordered, reordered again, then placed a big honkin' reorder that caused the folks at Bananagrams to call us to make sure we hadn't made a mistake in our quantity. Nope, sure didn't. Bananagrams was our best-selling game at YoYo Joe's.
If you're not familiar with Bananagrams, it seems obvious to me that it was invented by someone who got tired of playing Scrabble the right way, and just made up his own rules. The game features tiles that look almost exactly like Scrabble tiles (except no points). Anyhoo, you turn all 144 tiles upside down, each player picks a number of tiles (depending on how many players are in the game). The game starts when one player calls out 'Split' (get it? Bananas? Split? Banana Split!) and the players turn over the tiles. Each player works on his own crossword puzzle-like arrangement of tiles. If a player runs out of tiles, they call out 'peel' (get it? Bananas HAVE a peel!) and takes a tile from the remaining 'Bunch' (get it? Bunch of Bananas? As in "A Beautiful Bunch of Ripe Banana - Daylight Come and Me want to go home") and each other player also has to take a tile. If you wanna trade in a tile you cannot use, you can call out 'dump' (get it? Banana dump? wait....that doesn't make any sense...it should be some banana-ey word!) your tile and get three others in trade. The winner is the person who has no remaining tiles in their hand after the number of tiles in the bunch is less than the number of players playing. If it sounds confusing, that's because I am really really fond of run-on sentences.
It's an awesome game, and comes in a nifty banana pouch that is easily transportable.