Ebay…it’s known for being the place where you can get things quickly, cheaply, fast…and it’s also known for providing sellers with an opportunity to charge amounts well in excess of the products’ original RRP due to limited supply.

So we were astounded to hear the news in the Daily Mail last week that varioust ‘touts’ are ‘cashing in’ on toys which have limited availability but are priceless to those parents desperate to please their kids come this Sunday.

Here’s a snapshot of Lou Ellerton, who heads up our TVE Kids practice, being quoted in this article – and then in this one on the Financial News website - on her opinion on such high prices for kids’ toys:

“ ‘This is a very cynical manoeuvre by touts to exploit parents at Christmas’….She said that parents should try to be ‘realistic’ and assess how long a child will actually use the toy for when considering paying over the odds for it. ”

So…just how much do you want to give your kids that Sylvanian Families set for more than double its original price?

For more information on TVE Kids and our expertise in kids marketing and strategy, please don’t hesitate to get in touch!

Lou Ellerton, senior consultant at The Value Engineers, comments in pitchcreative on pitch’s top ten royal wedding campaigns.

Lou thinks that John Smith’s royal wedding commemorative paper plate is a great little way of gently poking fun at the wedding.

She has a more critical view on Tate & Lyle Royal Icing Sugar though: “It’s a sweet thought, but it doesn’t achieve anything. It seems to be piggybacking on the spirit of things without reasserting its values.”