eBay provided expected Top 20 toy list to sellers in October
In an effort to help its merchants eBay has been playing a more active role in helping merchantes identify potential big sellers this season according to this Wall Street Journal story (subscription required):
Hunting for a FurReal Friend, the $35 robotic cat from Hasbro Inc. that purrs when you pet it? Forget about trying to find it in a store -- they sold out in most places weeks ago.
But go online to eBay and you'll find more than 5,100 for sale -- selling for as much as $119 each.
How did eBay's sellers, usually mom-and-pop merchants, manage to latch on to one of the hardest-to-find Christmas gifts before it sold out? Credit a combination of advance planning, intuition -- and advice from eBay Inc. itself. In late October the Web site sent its merchants a list of 20 toys it expected to be big sellers, including FurReal Friend, and encouraged them to stock up.