This party is well and truly over

Fidget spinners at Dollarama (December 23, 2017)

The fidget spinner was a fad. It was the quintessential fad. It came out of nowhere, grew in popularity very quickly, and then died even faster. 

One way to extend the duration of the product life cycle is to offer an upgraded version, add features, improve the quality, reduce the price, or license a desirable brand.

But in the case of the the fidget spinner licensing was too little too late. And so I find these licensed "Transformers" fidget spinners on sale for $2.00 at Dollarama.  Not even a brand as popular as "Transformers", or a toy company as powerful as Hasbro, could continue to make these desirable. My daughter, who has a dozen fidget spinners and was a huge fan, didn't even ask for one of these.

I hear a landfill calling for these.

Someone has lost the plot

Display of fidget spinners, Staples, Vancouver, BC (December 4, 2017)

Price sign for "Fidget spinner, assorted", Staples, Vancouver, BC (December 4, 2017)

Price signs for "LED Fidget Spinner" at Staples, Vancouver, BC (December 4, 2017)

The party is well and truly over. The fidget spinner fad is long since over. By the time kids went back to school in September none of them wanted a fidget spinner anymore. But Staples is filled with fidget spinners at prices that appear to be unchanged since the summer.

Date on "fidget spinner, assorted" price sign, Staples, Vancouver, BC (December 4, 2017)

These signs either went up on August 7, 2017, or July 8, 2017, but since Staples is an American firm I assume that the signs are dated August 7, 2017.

The peak time for fidget spinners was April through June, 2017. Anyone thinking that they can get the full retail price for this fad product six months after the peak is deluding themselves.

They used to be $16.00, then they were $5.00. I wonder how much they sell for now?

Indigo Fidget Spinner package (Obverse)

Indigo Fidget Spinner package (Obverse)

I found this at an Indigo store in August 2017. Everyone could see that the party was over. One day someone will write their thesis on the growth and decline of these toys, but until them they are an object lesson in the fickleness of children's tastes.

Form their start in February 2017, by the beginning of summer interest in the fidget spinner was  fading fast, and by November interest in the fidget spinner seems to have completely died. I can only assume that the buyers at Indigo thought that that the spinner was here to stay. No such luck.

The party is truly over

New sales price sign for Fidget Spinners, Vancouver, BC

I knew this day was coming. The fidget spinner is the classic toy fad. And like all products, fads go through the stages of the product life cycle; introduction, growth, maturity, and decline. But with fads the maturity phase is very short, so the growth is very fast the decline is similarly rapid. (In this case the start of the introduction was February 2017 and the depths of the decline have been reached in October 2017.)

The prices started high, went up, and have now crashed. The fidget spiders at this store used to to $10.00 each, but given the complete collapse of the market, the price has been slashed to $1.00 and the retailer could not be bothered to print up a new sign. They just got out a black marker and changed the selling price form $10.00 to $1.00.

And to further confirm the demise of the fidget spinner, I've started to see them turn up in thrift stores.