Top 3 Toys We Learned About from our Customers

One more thing that differentiates us from the big box stores is that when you walk into our store and talk to us, you're talking to the people who determine what toys appear on our shelves. Try to talk to the toy buyer at Walmart and make a suggestion on what toys they should sell. I dare ya!
Over the 10 months we've been opened, we've had lots of suggestions on things we should sell in our store. In many cases, we ordered the products and in several cases, they've turned out to be great selling items! Here's our choices for the top three items we've been suggested to sell in our store.

3 - Sandy Feet - A customer came in our store in July and said that she would buy several of these if we got them in and raved about how awesome they were. So, we just got these in last month, and they've sold well despite how late in the summer it is. This ingenious kit allows you to create foot castings from footprints in the sand. Use the sand & water from your beach, add their special powder, wait 20 minutes and get a footprint keepsake! $15.99

2 - Kids on Stage - This charades game for kids was suggested to us by a customer as "the best game they ever got." We've sold through on our first order and have placed a reorder for them. The nice thing about this game is that every child acts on every turn, and the game requires no reading! For ages 3-8. $18.99

1 - My Little Sandbox - These 10" x 10" sandboxes come in different themes (Beach Party and Big Builder are the two most popular). Each kit includes a 10" x 10" box, micro-sand, and accessories depending on the theme. The Beach Party set includes a sunbather, towel, beach chair, little dog & mini bucket, shovel and rake. The Big Builder set includes trucks, rocks, mini shovel and rake. It's a little zen garden for kids! A customer came in last November and raved about these, telling us how she would travel 45 minutes away to stock up on them for gifts. We ordered them, and in our first 10 months, they've been one of our top selling items! $27.99. Ages 3 & up.

Elf on the Shelf Author coming to YoYo Joe's

Well, color us pretty darned excited. We just received word from the publishers of 'Elf on the Shelf' that we were selected from over 200 applicants to have an author visit by Carol Aebersold, one of the authors of 'Elf on the Shelf.' She will visit the store on Monday, November 2nd from 5-7 pm.
Now, Elf on the Shelf was our number 1 selling item at YoYo Joe's up until February 19th, 2009 even though the last one we sold was in January. It's still in our top five selling items seven months later!
If you're not familiar with the story behind 'Elf on the Shelf,' the kit comes with a book and elf. The book explains that Santa knows who is naughty and/or nice because he sends a scout elf to every home. The elf watches the children by day and reports to Santa each night. When the children awake, the elf has returned from the North Pole and can be found hiding in a different location each morning. Finding the elf each morning is half the fun. There are rules, such as children are not allowed to touch the elf.
The elf comes alive after the family has named the elf.
We're so excited that Carol Aebersold will be visiting us!

Another Uglydoll article

If you've been following the blog, you know I'm a fan of the Uglydolls. You can read about them in 8 past entries here . If you like Uglydolls, you're in luck - here's another article about them. If you're not a fan, move along - there's nothing more to see here.
This is a nifty little article about the origination of the Uglydoll in the LA Times this week. I know the story, but it never gets old. Read it here