My Best Sellers: RoundTable Toys Online Store

Kid Galaxy Bumps Other Sales Aside

By Brenda Ruggiero
February 2010

Although Roundtable Toys just opened its brick-and-mortar store in fall 2009, the company’s been delighting kids via online toy sales for more than 12 years. Owner David Davis shared with TDmonthly Magazine which RC toys, crafts and other items have been dropped into the virtual shopping cart most often:

Interactive R/C Bump N Chuck Space Bumper Cars by KID GALAXY INC.

Each futuristic vehicle is controlled by a simple, two-button control. Upon impact, the cars emit a cool sound and eject the matching space-age driver from the vehicle. The cars come in bright, bold color schemes, such as turquoise and silver. 7/19/2007 (MSRP: $34.99; Age: 6 and Up)

Friendship Wheel by ALEX BRANDS

This kit includes materials to make a friendship bracelet, with a pre-strung wheel, two colors of floss, and string.
— The Friendship Wheel was listed as a top-10 best seller by David Davis, owner of RoundTable Toys in Winterville, N.C., at the end of 2009. 1/25/2010 (MSRP: $5.75; Age: 5 and Up)

Morphibian: Gator by KID GALAXY INC.

Morphibian: Gator by KID GALAXY INC. Created to look like a wild alligator, this radio-controlled vehicle has textured green skin, headlights for eyes, and a grill shaped to look like pointy white teeth. It has large tread tires and four-wheel drive and can be driven in mud, sand or water. Great for a bathtub or swimming pool, the 100% waterproof Gator is fully controllable in the water and will always right itself if it lands off-balance. The full-function remote guides the Gator backward and forward, right and left. 3/15/2005 (MSRP: $25; Age: 5 and Up)

HEXBUG Nano Micro Robotic Creatures by INNOVATION FIRST LABS, INC.

This small, 12-legged microrobotic creature is battery powered and designed to behave just like a real bug. It moves very quickly and can even flip over by itself. Five colors are available in the Newton Gravity Series. Awards: Parent's Choice Award 2010. Launch date: Fall 2009.
— Chris Lowe, owner of Bean Head Toys in Sandy Springs, Ga., told TDmonthly in a Summer 2011 survey that she sells between 20-30 items from the HEXBUGS line each month.
— Christine Osborne, co-owner of Wonder Works in Charleston, S.C., has a Hexbug Nano Habitat set up in the store. They've sold ''thousands,'' she said; she couldn't even guess at an exact number.
― “Hexbugs are doing very well,” said Jenny Bramhall, owner of Dandelion Toys in Fort Collins, Colo., in summer 2010. Fifteen percent of 40 retailers polled in June 2010 said Hexbugs are their best-selling electronic item.
— Hexbugs were great sellers at Figpickels Toy Emporium in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho in Aug. 2010. “They fill the affordable techno/RC need - grab and go,” said owner Brett Sommer.
AWARDS: 2010 TDmonthly Top Seller ( Watch Video) 11/9/2009 (MSRP: $9.99)

The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition™ - With Dark-Skinned Pixie Elf by CCA and B LLC

Santa's biggest secret is revealed in The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition gift set, with a North Pole pixie-elf (available with light skin or dark skin and dark eyes, as pictured), a hardbound children's book and a keepsake box. Launch date: October 15, 2009.
— Owner Diana Nelson of Kazoo & Co. in Denver told TDmonthly in fall 2009 that her store sells about 36 Elf on the Shelf sets per month. 6/3/2009 (MSRP: $29.95; Age: 2 to 12)

Silly Bandz - Pets by BCP IMPORTS LLC

This 24-pack of colorful silicone bands features dogs, cats, ducks, turtles, rabbits and pigs that are die molded. They can be treated as traditional rubber bands and worn as bracelets but spring back into their original pet shape when not in use.
— TDmonthly first reported on the popularity of Animal Rubber Bands in 2005. That product was designed by Yumiko Ohashi and Masonar Haneda of Passkey Design and distributed in the U.S. by Eastern Accent International. Toysmith also has a very similar product that debuted at Toy Fair 2009.
— Marie Yakes, owner of the Papillon, Neb., Sweet & Sassy party and spa shop told TDmonthly in mid-November 2009 that she was eagerly awaiting her first shipment of rubber band animals, scheduled to arrive the next day. She said one of the other franchise owners was "doing $3,000 a weekend in those silly Silly Bandz. And she gets calls about them!" Yakes said the bands have been banned in Tennessee schools, so she's hoping to get some good press out of their Nebraska debut.
— Animal rubber band bracelets were listed as a top-10 best seller online by Owner David Davis of RoundTable Toys in Winterville, N.C., in January 2010. 11/12/2009 (MSRP: $4.95)

Shrinky Dinks Pirates by ALEX BRANDS

This mini kit comes with pre-printed, pre-punched Shrinky Dinks plastic pieces ready to color and shrink. Colored pencils are included for kids to personalize their pirates however they see fit. Once colored, parents just pop them in the oven and watch them shrink to pint-sized versions of their former selves, perfect for embellishments, charms, tiny play figures and more.
— Three of 48 retailers surveyed by TDmonthly in January 2010 listed Shrinky Dinks as their top-selling arts and crafts items. 1/28/2010 (MSRP: $5.10; Age: 5 and Up)

Buckyballs™ by Zoomdoggle by MAXFIELD & OBERTON

Buckyballs™ by Zoomdoggle by MAXFIELD & OBERTON This set includes 216 powerful rare earth magnets that can be molded, shaped and snapped together in an endless variety of configurations. Each Buckyball has two poles — one repels, one attracts. Not intended for children. Watch video
— ''Pun's has sold about four dozen in the last month alone,'' Joe Berardoni, Sr., owner of Pun's Toy Shop in Bryn Mawr, Pa., shared with TDmonthly in the fall of 2010.
—Jeanette Lauture, owner of Aunt Jean's Toys & Treats in Montclair, N.J., sold nine of 24 units in two days after opening a box for display, she told TDmonthly. Two of 39 retailers named Buckyballs as a best-selling travel toy in March 2010.
— Dean Smith, Co-owner of JaZams in Princeton, N.J., told TDmonthly in a Summer 2011 survey that he sells "probably 50" sets of Buckyballs each month.
— May 27, 2010 RECALL of 175,000 sets (prior to March 2010) with 13+ labeling violating a federal standard that powerful magnets not be sold to children under 14. ( Watch Video) 11/25/2009 (MSRP: $29.95; Age: 14 and Up)

BANANAGRAMS® by BANANAGRAMS

The fast-moving word game consists of 144 ivory-like letter tiles in a zippered banana pouch. Players place the tiles face down on the table and randomly select 21 tiles. They turn their letters right-side up simultaneously and proceed to form as many intersecting and interconnecting words as possible, rearranging their own letters as many times as desired throughout the game. Awards: TDmonthly Top Seller 2007; 2009 TOTY Game of the YEAR, 2006 Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Seal; 2007 iParenting; 2007 Parents' Choice Recommended; 2007 Dr. Toy Best Products. (Read Review)
— This product has been making the TDmonthly Best-sellers lists since 2007.
— As of 05/13/2011 this product had 4.8 out of 5 stars from 456 reviews on Amazon.com.
— Eight of 66 retailers vouched for its best-selling status in May 2008; seven of 63 did in Sept. 2008. Shani Watmough of Planet Toys in Rockland, Maine, said her store sells 60 per month. Fifteen of 38 named it a top-selling game in Feb. 2010.
— As of April 5, 2010, Bananagrams had spent 570 days in the top-100 best-selling toys and games on Amazon.com.
— According to owner Brett Sommer of Figpickels Toy Emporium in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, “It was the 2009 game of the year. The brilliant packaging definitely helps this product." ( Watch Video) 6/19/2006 (MSRP: $14.99; Age: 7 and Up)

My Art Pink/Purple Art Storage Case by ALEX BRANDS

This 15” x 9” accordion case provides storage for all kinds of artwork. It has nine expandable pockets, and even a space for a photo.
— The art storage case by Alex Toys was a great seller at RoundTable Toys in Winterville, N.C., at the end of 2009, Owner David Davis told TDmonthly. 1/25/2010 (MSRP: $17.99; Age: All Ages)