Zhu Zhu Pets Are Hot Hot Holiday Sales

Call it a sign of the times. The hottest toy this holiday season is a $9.99 hamster.

But they’re not just any hamster. Zhu Zhu Pets are artificially intelligent hamsters, made by Cepia.

The battery-powered plush hamsters respond to touch and environment with 40 different sounds and roam freely, or rather, “Zhu-oom, zhu-oom, zhu-oom” on wheels.

Zhu Zhu Pets' popularity has caused them to become nearly extinct from store shelves, available from price-gougers on Amazon and eBay. Naturally, and sold separately, the hamsters come accompanied with life’s necessities: an Adventure Ball, Fun House, Wheel and Tunnel and Car and Garage, all ranging in price from 11.99 to 21.99; they have sold as swiftly as the hamsters.

Cepia has had to jostle to meet the unexpected demand. CEO Russell Hornsby flew to China in November to personally appeal to the factories contracted to produce the toys to increase productivity from 70,000 pieces to 120,000 pieces per day, according to BusinessWeek.

The hamsters have been good for retailers. According to Toys "R" Us spokeswoman Kathleen Waugh, the toy retailer is using Zhu Zhu Pets as a lure to increase store traffic by rationing the hamsters one per customer, for sale in-store only.