Webkinz are stuffed animals that were originally released by the Ganz gift company in 2005. The toys are similar to many other small plush toys, however they come with a special code on their labels that allows access to the “Webkinz World” which is a website to “adopt” a virtual version of the pet for virtual interaction. Smaller versions of the toys are called “Lil’ Kinz” which are cheaper than the standard sized toys. Often, children like the codes for their webkinz better than the plush it comes with. This is because the code allows you to gain access to the online game, Webkinz. You must enter a seceret code to access Webkinz. Webkinz is a virtual community, like Disney’s Club Penguin and Neopets.

The toys have been compared to Beanie Babies with some being retired after some time, which encourages high secondary selling prices. Webkinz have been extremely popular, with Ganz claiming more than 2 million units sold to retailers and 1 million registered users of the Webkinz website. At the height of the toys’ popularity, shortages of supply at some stores have been reported. NPD Group reports that the product brought in more than $45 million ( NPD GroupUSD) in United States retail sales in 2006.

Wikipedia contributors, “Webkinz,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Webkinz&oldid=175091817