Walmart: Zhu Zhu Pets™ In-Store Dec. 21, 22, and 23!

Hey Zhu Zhu Fans!

If you are still hunting for the last hamster on your list, Walmart may be where you need to run first thing this morning, or tomorrow or Wednesday mornings. I saw this posted on Walmart.com late last week, and I found a toy associate to ask about it. She said our specific store would have 66 hamsters each day, with a line forming at the "Site to Store" area of the store. She did NOT know if the new colors would be available or not.

I went back into Walmart Sunday evening, and in the area the ZZP used to be (before they filled the empty shelves with dress-up clothing), there was a flier announcing the details of the 66-hamster-a-day blitz. I will not be going since my daughter is now home on Christmas vacation, but I may end up stopping by around 8 a.m. to see what they have left and if there were any newbies. I hope any of you that take a chance will find a bit of luck!

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Two places have been super-hot in new hamster/accessories available in the last few days. First, ToysRUs.com had the 4-pack of new hamsters in stock around the middle of the week. I just couldn't personally justify spending $50 + shipping on them, especially when I already have a Jilly in waiting. However, the single new hamsters did become available on Sunday morning for 9.99, as well as the boat/dock set for 17.99. (I did cave and order the remaining 3 hamsters and the boat while the family waited in the car for me to go to church!).

The new hamsters were in stock several times on Sunday, and the odd thing is now there is a limit of TEN of each, instead of three. Apparently, TRU.com must have got a massive shipment of the new items. Additionally, TRU stores debuted the new hamsters this weekend (4-packs and singles).

Another HOT HOT HOT place to check is definitely CVS pharmacy!!! I cannot stress this enough! Items that were not slated to be released until Spring 2010 have shown up at CVS within the last 2 days, including the red sports car, woody wagon, stroller, and BABY HAMSTERS! I will have a bit more info to share with you later on in the day about these new items...but for now it is after 2:30 a.m. so I must wish you a good-night!

Zhu Zhu Pets™ Showing up Everywhere!

Good Morning, Hamster Homies!

As promised, Zhu Zhu Pets™ are beginning to show up in more places, with some slightly different purchasing options. ToysRUs.com posted this photo of a NEW hamster 4-pack containing Nugget, Scoodles, Jilly, and Winkie. Retailing for 39.99 for the set, it has not been in stock yet at Toysrus.com per the Zoolert tracking system. However.... for a hefty premium, you can currently purchase this 4 pack and an 8-pack of Duracell AAA batteries at ToysRUs-owned eToys.com (79.99) or FAO Schwartz (89.99). Personally, I do not recommend paying an extra $40-50 for a pack of batteries.

On a side note: ToysRUs and their pricing has been a point of contention for several months now. The newest change has been the price for the TRU-exclusive "Giant Hamster City." The original stated price was $84.99 for the first round of presales, which seemed reasonable for the amount of items it contains. This was right around the low-retail price of stores, such as Walmart, and you had the chance to buy a lot of items in a convenient bundle.

When another round of presales began (which had an estimated ship date of 11/23...that didn't happen either), the price was raised to $99.99. The $15 price increase was annoying, but many people still ordered them. Now this week, the "Giant Hamster City" playset was featured in the ToysRUs flier. No price was listed, only "Hot Price" next to the photo. Wonder why? Now that it is available to purchase in stores, the price has raised again to $129.99!!! ToysRUs's own retail price for purchasing the pieces contained in this set individually is only $104. Just another puzzling inconsistency to add to the list.

A regional store that I am very familiar with is Shopko. Now Shopko is selling Zhu Zhu Pets™ products online! They tend toward slightly higher retail price (11.99 per hamster), but still much more reasonable than eToys/FAO Schwartz/eBay. Additionally, they are one of few stores that carries the Starter Set with Patches hamster, which you can also purchase online now! At this moment, "wave 2" new hamsters are not available.

You can become a fan of Shopko on their Facebook page and you will see them post as soon as new Zhu Zhu Pets™ items are added to their website.

Walmart.com has added a few new purchasing options to their Zhu Zhu Pets™ line-up. These include a bundle of the original 4 hamsters ($32); a "choose any 2 hamster" bundle ($16); and "choose any 1 hamster and 1 accessory" bundle ($18). Obviously, these bundles reflect Walmart's individual retail price for the items. Though not in stock yet, these are a low-cost and convenient option for those scrambling to complete an online checkout.

Rumors are that Kmart and Justice girls clothing stores will be carrying Zhu Zhu Pets™ items, though it may not be until after January 1.

So, with so many more online purchasing options, how do you keep track of it all? ZOOLERT! The free Zoolert online tracking service allows up to pull up a tracking screen (or minimize it on your computer) and it does the work for you. For Zhu Zhu Pets™ items, the system checks online retailers every 60 seconds for newly posted merchandise, then alerts you with an animal noise. You can also choose to get email alerts. Additionally, there are special tracking option for Zhu Zhu Pets™ Hunters in Canada and the UK!

Currently there are 4 main tracking options to choose from:

☺ For those of you only looking for the newly released hamsters, GO HERE

☺ For those of you looking for any hamster (old or new), bundle packs, or the "Giant Hamster City" playset, GO HERE

☺For beds, carriers, and playset accessories,GO HERE

☺ If you are really desperate and do not mind paying the highest-of-high "retail" of eToys and FAO Schwartz, you can GO HERE

Happy hunting everyone!!

And she SCORES!!

Good Morning, Zhu Zhu Fanatics!

Yesterday my friend, Joanne in Washington, got lucky!! She was able to nab the 4 new hamsters at retail, and I am so glad for her.

From what she said, apparently Fred Meyer stores had a sale back in October. At that time Zhu Zhu Pets™ were $6.99 and before they realized the mistake, they handed out rainchecks for a day. So at first, they were hustling to fulfill those rainchecks.

Well, yesterday she received a call and was able to purchase some! Fred Meyer retail is $9.99, and they were limiting to 6 hamsters.

Here's hoping that those newbies start leaking their way eastward!

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New Hamsters have ARRIVED in store!

Good Morning, Zhu Zhu Hunters!

I hope everyone had a fun + relaxing Thanksgiving holiday/weekend! Did anyone brave the elements and stand outside of Toys R Us for a hamster? I still haven't seen one single hamster on shelves in about 2 months! I asked our Walmart, and they said they are only putting 3 hamsters on the shelf at a time when they do get stock in.

If you haven't already noticed, the NEW Zhu Zhu Pets™ hamsters have showed up in-hand on eBay. It appears they started making an appearance on Sunday evening. Completed listings for the pink-and-white Jilly, who seems to be the most sought-after of the bunch, range from $40-90.

From the information I have been able to gather, shipments containing the "New Four" arrived in Oregon and Washington at "Fred Meyer" stores. Apparently (as disclosed by a FM employee), the company air-freighted the stock directly in to their stores, which is probably the reason these new characters are showing up a bit ahead of schedule.

In this photo of Nugget, you can see that the back "tattoo" is now covered with a very prominent sticker that states "Please Keep Toy Away From Hair". And they all have a very large name sticker on the front of the box... no confusing Pip Squeak and Nugget now!

If more stores follow suit and begin to air-freight stock directly in, you might have a better chance at catching a newbie or two before Christmas than you originally thought!

Good luck, everyone!! Let the hunt resume!!

Pictures of 2010 "Season 2" Zhu Zhu Pets™ Items!

Good Morning, Zhu Zhu peeps! We are halfway through another week again!

There is a ton of buzz about the sneak-peak of the upcoming Zhu Zhu Pets™ items for 2010. Parents are jokingly saying they wish they hadn't shown the video to their kids...they are already shouting for the new stuff!

My good friend FireMaiden was able to take some still-shots of the items in the video... visit her blog to see the photos! Take your time... they won't move ☺

I am so excited about what is going to be offered. Cepia is taking it to a whole new level! There are definitely parts that girls will like more (such as the beauty salon... or my favorite...the baby carriage! ). Other parts, like the airplane and cars, may appeal more to boys. *Sigh* We better start saving money for it now ☺

AMAZING!! Zhu Zhu Pets™ 2010 Line Sneak-Peak!!!

What an awesome evening, Zhu Zhu Fanatics!!

If you take a look on the Official Zhu Zhu Pets website homepage , you will see that they have given us a sneak peak of what is to come! BUT there is a catch. That sneaky Mr Squiggles played the video clip at lightening-fast speed! My genius web-guru sidekick was able to slow it down for us to enjoy...so... ENJOY!

Who's got Nugget?

Hello, Zhu Zhu Friends!

There is definitely some weird stuff going on out there in cyber-Zhu Zhu-land! Individuals are posting false reports of finding the 4 new hamsters....some going so far as to front as Cepia employees. So bizarre. I don't understand the satisfaction someone would get by doing this. Just don't believe everything you read!

I have been keeping tabs on the online auctions, just in case any newbie would happen slip into the system soon. There was a 1-day listing for Nugget on eBay, in hand. The photo looks like Pip Squeak, don't you think?

I sent the seller a question, asking what the back "tattoo" was. She assured me that it was not the shooting star of Pip Squeak, and though she did not have immediate access to the hamster (?), she thought it was a half-moon shaped "tattoo". (Which, by the way, is NOT Nugget's tattoo shape). It sold for $15.50, and I will be curious to see if the buyer leaves favorable feedback.

This photo of Nugget that was posted on TRU.com a while back makes him look more of an orangeish-yellow color. The bad thing is, of the 4 new hamsters that will be released soon, Nugget will be the hardest to verify. Different camera, lighting, etc. will affect the way the color shows up, obviously. Credible evidence, in my opinion, will be a back shot of the "tattoo"...and it better be something other than a shooting-star!

Here is some interesting info from a poster on the Gottadeal.com forum. I hope she is able to find one of these again, but it is fun to speculate in the meantime!

"I was at TRUS yesterday in Newington CT...They had several hamsters there...they DID have a yellow one...it definitely wasn't the butter yellow one (that's what I'd call Pipsqueak) I had bought several weeks ago...this one was definitely more yellow...brighter. I did look for the name on the box and it didn't have one, as I thought it was a strange color. I didn't think to check on its back, however to see what the tattoo was...maybe it WAS Nugget...I chose not to buy it...thought DH would call me crazy as I already have the 4 original colors... "

And her response to my photo of the alleged Nugget eBay auction:

"LuvMaerz...that picture that you just put in your previous post doesn't look like the one I saw...that looks more like Pipsqueak...But like you said, it could be the angle of the photo. I could just kick myself for not getting it yesterday...the yellow of the one I saw was definitely a BRIGHT yellow, with an orangish undertone..not a flourescent yellow, like a highlighter, but YELLOW. I told my husband about it tonight and he said to go tomorrow to get it...what he fails to understand is that it WON'T be there tomorrow!!! Anyway, sorry I couldn't be of more help but maybe I will shoot up there in the HOPES they will have it. The kicker was that it was about 11:30 am and the shelves were full of about 8 whites and 15 of these yellow ones...and about 5 funhouses...now if I could only find the SLIDE I'd be all set... "

I hope she is able to get back and find one, just to satisfy the curiosity of many of us on that board, if nothing else! The thrill of the chase is most of the fun, isn't it? ☺

"November New Releases"? The truth revealed!

Good Afternoon, Zhu Zhu Maniacs!

For the past month or so, I have seen different toy-related websites (and eBay, to a much smaller extent) doing presales on the unreleased new Zhu Zhu Pets™ hamsters, hamster babies, and clothing. All of them seem to be touting a release/ship date of November. I have continued to wonder where they are getting their information, considering I was told by a Cepia representative that: The new hamsters will not be released before December, and the babies, outfits, and new vehicles will not be released before Spring 2010.

After reading a post this morning from an individual claiming to have found a pink/white Jilly on the shelf at a Walmart today, I decided to reconsult with my Cepia contact. Here is part of her response to me:

"This is highly unlikely. Wal Mart has not even placed their orders for the new hamsters yet and Toys R Us is the ONLY mass retail store that is expected to have the new characters before Christmas. If this woman really did purchase Jilly, the factory made a MAJOR mistake in packing and shipping, but again, it is highly unlikely."

Though I would like to believe that some new releases may have found their way to shelves, I will remain skeptical until I see photographic proof ☺

My real concern in this matter isn't the "he said/she said" of what and when items will be available. It bothers me that individuals may lay out a lot of hard-earned money for these presales in order to get a coveted item before Christmas, and it will be impossible for the seller to deliver on this promise. I suppose I can summarize it in two simple words: "Buyer Beware!".

On a happy note, here is a bit of good news my contact passed along to me today:

" For existing Zhu Zhu Pets goods: They are being shipped. We have over 2 million hamsters on the way that will hit store shelves before Christmas."

Newsflash: 8 NEW hamsters???!!!

Hello again!

As I mentioned earlier today, the sneaky Professor Zhuzeau left a coded message in a podcast yesterday on The Official Hamster Blog . My genius friend Jessica reversed the audio for me so you can hear the hidden message!

The question posed on the Official Blog was this: "Inspector ZhuZeau stopped by to let us know he's looking for a number of hamsters that are on the loose. Can you understand what he's saying?"

To us it sounds like- Rocky, Moon, Spotty, Tex, YoYo, Cappuccino, Jinx, and Peachy

Eeeek! With the other four newbies, that is a total of 12 more hamsters to track down!!

☺☺☺I'm up for the challenge... are you? ☺☺☺