What's Selling

Mass Market Chain

Kmart

• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles from Playmates Toys ($8.19)
• Bratz Dolls from MGA Entertainment ($16.99 - $45.99)
• Assorted Milton Bradley board games from Hasbro ($8.99-$15.99)
• Power Rangers Dino Thunder from Bandai ($8.19)
• Various Transformers Figures from Hasbro ($8.99 - $45.99)
• Mary Kate & Ashley Dolls from Mattel ($16.99)
• Various Dragon Ball Z Figures from Jakks Pacific (9.99)
• LeapPad from Leap Frog ($39.99)

Competition is so tight among toy retailers that few, if any, are willing to discuss business conditions at all. At least that was the case at the Kmart on W. 34th St. in Manhattan. All PLAYTHINGS could get as a reply in the way of comment while reviewing the store was: "Uh, if you would just finish what you're doing and leave that would be great." It was surprising, uncomfortable and left us feeling unwanted as both a customer and as a business professional.

Drug Chain

Walgreens

• Die-cast cars 1:18 scale from Maisto ($17.99)
• Bratz Dolls from MGA Entertainment ($16.99)
• Assorted Milton Bradley board games from Hasbro ($8.99-$15.99)
• Power Rangers Dino Thunder from Bandai ($7.99)
• Yu-Gi-Oh! Action figures from Mattel ($7.99)
• Domino Doubles from Cardinal ($7.99)
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles from Playmates Toys ($6.99)
• Tiny Dreams Carry Along Pet Shop from Blue Box ($5.99)
• Yo-Yo from Duncan ($2.99)
• Silly Putty ($1.99)

Electronics Chain

Best Buy

• RoboSapien RC Robot from WOW Wee International ($99.99)
• LeapPad Plus Writing from LeapFrog ($54.99)
• 20Q from Radica ($14.99)

Bookstore Chain

Barnes and Noble

• Tea Time Tables and Rhymes ($14.95)
• LeapPad from LeapFrog ($49.99)
• Uncover Shark, 3-D Look Inside a Great White ($18.95)
• Stablemates Collection from Breyer ($2.95-$9.95)
• Assorted Plush Animal and Licensed Characters ($6.95-$9.95)
• Winnie the Pooh Tales ($12.98)
• Battery Science: Make Widgets That Work and Gadgets That Go from Klutz ($19.95)

Video Game Chain

GameStop

• Various Halo figures from Joyride ($14.99)
• Various Spawn Figures from Todd McFarlance ($12.99)
• Various Sports Figures from Todd McFarlance ($12.99)
• .hack//SIGN Action Figures from Toycom ($9.99)
• Silver Age Batman: Classic Penguin and Catwoman from Diamond Comic Distributors ($34.95)
• FLCL Haruhara with Scooter and Guitar from Diamond Comic Distributors ($14.99)

Big Box Toy

Toys R Us

• Various Lord of the Rings figures from ToyBiz ($8.99)
• Various WWE Wrestling figures from Jakks Pacific ($10.99)
• Various Dragon Ball Z 2-Pack figures from Jakks Pacific ($14.99)
• Various Video Games for various systems ($29.99-$49.99)
• Various Barbie Dolls from Mattel ($16.99-$24.99)

Kelly Cullen, a Toys "R" Us spokesperson, says, "Right now Shrek 2 is the hottest item we have. We have three special shops dedicated to it within the store. Some of the other movers are Justice League and Strawberry Shortcake."

Independent Specialty

American Girl (New York)

• Various Collector Dolls ($89.99-$99.99)
• Mama Cat and Kitten ($16.00)
• Various Doll Clothes ($14.00-$18.00)
• Various Doll Furniture ($28.00-$120.00)
• Biddy Babies ($48.00-$50.00)

Space Kiddets

• Groovy Girls from Manhattan Toys ($13.00)
• Various Puppettots Storytime Toys from Manhattan Toys ($23.00)
• Olivia the Pig Musical Jack-in-the-box from Schylling (28.00)
• Gonzo from the Muppets from Sababa Toys ($20.00)

Drug Chain

Walgreens

• My Scene Barbie from Mattel ($17.99)
• Polly Pocket from Mattel ($5.00)
• Strawberry Shortcake's Berry Best Friends from Bandai ($10.00)
• Assorted die-cast cars from Maisto ($1.99-$14.99)
• Yu-Gi-Oh! Action figures from Mattel ($7.99)
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles from Playmates Toys ($4.99)
• Justice League action figures from Mattel ($6.99)
• Star Wars action figures from Hasbro ($6.99 and up)
• Lord of the Rings action figures from Toy Biz ($5.99 and up)
• Assorted Milton Bradley board games from Hasbro ($8.99 $15.99)

Michael Polzin, a Walgreens spokesperson, says, "We do see growth in our toy category each year and during the Christmas season, we do quite well."

Grocery Chain

Albertsons

• Dora the Explorer from Fisher-Price ($12.99-$19.99)
• Yu- Gu -Oh! Trading cards from Vintage Sports Cards ($3.99 and up)
• Lego Sets from Lego ($1.99 and up)

"Albertsons entered into a partnership with Toys R Us last November and we sell their brand, but we've always had a large selection of toys," says an Albertsons spokesperson. "With the Toys R Us partnership, we are able to change our toy items quite frequently and have a lot of clearance items. We are usually in a pretty good state of flux."

Big Box Toy

Toys R Us

• Upper Deck Yu-Gi-Oh! Invasion of Chaos trading cards from Vintage Sports Cards ($3.99)
• Bratz Strut it! Collection from MGA Entertainment ($13.99)

Educational Toy Chain

Learning Express

• The Subskate underwater skateboard from Subskate ($20.99)
• Goblet and Goblet Jr. from Blue Orange Games ($19.99 & $29.99)
• Hover Disc from Overbreak ($14.99)
• Stomp Rockets from Universal Toys ($14.99)
• Kid Knex from Knex ($9.99-$22.99)
• Butterfly Bedroom from Creativity for Kids ($14.99)

"Basically, people are coming in to buy toys that involve creating and construction; anything that challenges the imagination," says Jennifer Pelham, assistant manager, Learning Express.

Independent Specialty

Nooks n' Krannies & Victoria's Doll House

• Nursery Babies from Lee Middleton Dolls ($100)
• Madame Alexander dolls from The Alexander Doll Co. ($49.00-$400.00)
• Plush horses from Douglas Cuddle Toy ($7.95)
• Sassy Pet Saks from Douglas Cuddle Toy ($14.95)
• Easter plush from Mary Meyer ($15.00-$20.00)
• Groovy Girls from Manhattan Toy ($9.99)

"I see more and more items that used to be exclusive to specialty stores going to mass market," explains 15-year veteran specialty store owner, Mary Jo Montgomery, owner of Nooks n' Krannies and Victoria's Doll House. "As a result, specialty stores are going out of business , and that worries me because, in turn, the manufacturers are saying the specialty gift market can not give me enough dollars, so they have to sell to the masses."

Comics & Toys by Space Madness

• Spider-Man and The Punisher action figures from Toy Biz ($10-$20)
• Hellboy action figures from Mezco ($10-$20)
• Lord of the Rings action figures from Toy Biz ($8.00)
• Star Wars action figures from Hasbro ($5)

"The toy industry has just not really been that exciting lately, not like it used to be several years ago," says Rob Lacy, manager of Comics & Toys by Space Madness. "I think the consumers have been overwhelmed by the saturation in the marketplace with so many toys out there."

"What moves for us are action figures that are involved in movie titles like Spider-Man, The Punisher and Hellboy."

Hobbytown USA

• R/C cars from Traxx and HPI ($170 and up)
• Plastic models from assorted manufacturers ($12 and up)
• R/C Firebird Series from Hobbico ($100 and up)
• Electric trains from Athern ($89 and up)

"This is the golden age of plastic modeling," quipped Richard, store manager at Hobbytown. "The reason plastic modeling has become so popular is due to all the after-market items available at this time, items that enhance and accentuate the details to make the model look more realistic. For example, cockpit dials and switches for airplanes from Eduard and spark plug wires, coolant hoses and seat belts from Detail Master."