Alexander Alusheff

Lansing State Journal

LANSING - If your kid wants a Hatchimal this Christmas, you've got your work cut out for you. Ditto for the Nintendo Entertainment System Classic edition.

Local retailers say the trainable electronic toy and the relaunch of the 1985 game console are the hardest items to keep in stock right now.

Managers at Toys 'R' Us, Walmart and Target said they get dozens of calls about these two items everyday. If the stores get shipments in, they go out of stock as soon as they hit the shelves.

Here's what they are and how to (possibly) find them:

Hatchimals

What it is: This children’s toy starts out as a giant egg with an electronic bird-like animal inside. Kids have to hatch the egg by rubbing and tapping the shell before the toy inside pecks its way out. Once hatched, the owner can train the toy from its infancy until it ‘grows up’ to become a kid, at which point it can move, dance, repeat words and play games.

Maker: Spin Master

Price: $60

Where to buy if in stock: Walmart, Target, Toys 'R' Us, Amazon

“It’s the new hot item of the year,” said Jake Weaver, department supervisor at Toys 'R' Us in Okemos. “We get 50 calls a day for them. People have had the most success waiting in line before the store opens.”

Weaver said the toy's popularity is reminiscent of the Furby and the handheld Tamagotchi game, which were popular in the 1990s.

“We have some right now, but they will be gone soon,” Weaver said on Wednesday morning.

RELATED:List of Lansing stores open Thanksgiving, Black Friday

NES Classic Edition

What it is: A miniaturized version of the popular Nintendo Entertainment System that launched in 1985. The system comes pre-loaded with 30 classic games, including Super Mario Bros., Pac-Man, Galaga, the Legend of Zelda and Donkey Kong.

Maker: Nintendo

Price: $60

Where to buy if in stock: Best Buy, Target, Walmart, Amazon, GameStop

NES went out of stock at all of the local retailers on Nov. 11, the day it launched. Even extra controllers went out of stock. Since then, some stores have gotten small shipments that sell out shortly after hitting the shelves. Most retailers are expecting shipments for the shopping holiday.

“These are very popular,” said Dawn Nowlan, manager at Walmart in Delta Township. “A lot of people are nostalgic and want to play the games they grew up with.”

Walmart has been hosting flash sales online when a few units become available, but they sell out in minutes.

Weaver said that Toys “R” Us stocked 18 units on Nov. 11, but they were gone as soon as the store opened.

“They are harder than Hatchimals to get,” he said. “We haven’t seen them since.”

Advice

You'll want to get in line early on Black Friday. Some retailers will hand out numbers to customers waiting in line if the store only has a limited stock.

If you're not one to get up early, see if you can buy either item online or call the store ahead of time to see what's in stock. If you choose to wait for an online flash sale, create an account on the retailer's website ahead of time so the items are not out of stock before you input you credit card information. Nowinstock.net tracks inventory on both items.

For those who absolutely need it now, both Hatchimals and the NES Classic are being sold by third-party retailers on Amazon and eBay, but the markups are pretty high. The starting price for both on Amazon is over $220. Bids on eBay for Hatchimals start at around $100. Bids for the NES Classic start around $150. Some are as high as $4,000.

Alexander Alusheff is a reporter at the Lansing State Journal. Contact him at (517) 388-5973 or aalusheff@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @alexalusheff.