The Washington herald., 1907-02-24
TOY TRADE Is TICKLE
Dealer Says 1t Is as Specu-
latiye as Stock Market.
FADs SPRING UP SUDDENLY
StOreI.ceper Never Knows when lie
Buys His Goods whether lie VIII
Seasons Trying Problem 40 Com
tend WIth-Demand for Marbles.

Speculation in the toy trade" re-
marked The proprietor Of a welI-known
toy store IN the Northwest section Of
the city, the Other day. is almost IS uu-
certain business as speculation 10 the
stock market. OF course. there are some
toys. which. Ike certain reliable shares
Of stock. are always in demand. and viii
sell but for the greater part, the store
keeper never knows when he purchases
his biz Of goods whether he vii! lose or
gain by the transaction.
when ] place my order with the toy
jobbers in the spring and fall. it is al
most impossible for me to determine just
what kind Of toys to order Although
always keep a list OF my previous in
voices and make note Of just what toys
sold well, it is still uncertain business.
The popularity Of toys is so changeable
that the storekeeDer is always at a loss
to know just how many Of each kind TO
purchase. Then there is also the change
Of seasons in toys. which is a very trying
problem to contend. with. for games which
were formerly played in the spring are
now played IN the fan, and vice versa.
DGfHGud BGF IAEbtE~s
THE demand for marbles. which was
formerly one Of the best selling articles
IN the trade. is now less than Oue-ffth OF
what it was. and happens at a different
season OF the year. The boy Of several
years ago played marbles or allies in the
fall and continued 10 do 50 until the
cold weather prevented him from enjoy
ing the sport. To-day. if the game is en-
gagged in ~ all, it is only during the
spring months and early summer. I can
remember the time when I used to buy
5o,C2o marbles, all Of which / sold with
out any difficulty. whereas, now I only
buy about I0,o00, and often have good
many left On my hands.
1t is the same way with many other
toys which only few years ago were
staple articles of the business. Tops,
which formerly We're an article which al
ways sold wei in the spring of the year,
are nov seldom in demand. Because OF
the restrictions made by the police Tcsu-
iatioHs, which prohibits one from flying
kites within the city limits, they have
completely disappeared from the trade.
Jacks. which was once one of the most
popular OF all the games. is another
which is gradually disappearing. 'DeeaI-
cOmanias' is still another seldom sold in
this day
"On the other hand. paper dolls and
soldiers are becoming more and more
popular Il is surprising how many hun
dred sheets OF them I manage TO sell in
the course \of a year. Paper faIselaces
stjlI sell well, but the demand for them
IS not constant and occurs only at inter
walls
Roller skates Lead.
"Of all the toys which are sold at the
present time. roller skates easily hold the
lead as to popularity. Now that it has
become fad among both the youug and
the old 10 engage in this sport, the sale
of this article has increased 20 over three
times, what it used 20 be- Roller skating
has also increased the demand for Skinny
or hockey sticks
The average boy Of to-day" continued
the stCrekeepey, has greatly advanced
above him OF a few years ago. and now
demands a toy which represents some
thing more than pleasure. II must rep
resent some principal in mechanics in
order TO please him. Miniature steam en-
gines. electric motors. submarine, and
seif-propelIed boats are the kind Of ar
ticies which are IN demand at present.
With these he can experiment at little
expense. and 90 the same time Is always
learning something Of practical value.
When he outgrows the simpler TOYS Of
this nature ne takes TO telegraph and
telephone Instruments, but these are
little out of my line at present, although
l prOphesy that within a few years OF
so. the up-to-date toy store viii have to
carry fun stock Of such articles.
Fads Spring Up Suddenly.
"A question which has always pre-
scented itself to me during my thirty years
experience as keeper OF toy store is
just how a fad or season for a certain
TOY or game is started. Things viii go
along very smoothly for several weeks.
until, all OF -Tdden, there IS a great de-
mand for one certain toy. The toy stores
are crowded in an instant with children
Who al want a top, ball, or whatever
the fad is at the time.
How this happens I have never been
able TO tell. although there are several
plausible reasons for il. Occasionally
some boy, who is considered a leader
among his companions in a neighboThood,
appears on the street with last years
top. or some other toy, and Immediately
all the other boys feel that in order 10
be popular and Up-to-d8te, they too,
must have this toy. Then, too. 1 have
known the fad for flying kites TO be
started by a spell of windy weather,
which Is tie best time for this sport
Il remember one instance which oc-
CURED over twenty years ago, when
managed myself to start a fad or season
which Was very. beneficial TO my interests.
v-oS N Tho ererf1cr tf fI41 var vs-lrr,
the hot days were just beginning to be
felt, that 1 discovered that I still had
in stock about ten gross Of rubber bal
looms. OF the squawking variety, which
had been unable to dispose Of during the
winter. 7 knew that unless these were
sold within a short time, the rubber
would harden from The effect Of the heat
and be a complete loss to me. so there
fore, ] tried novel way by which to dis
pose of them.
Doomed Rubber Balloons,
1T happened that on the following day
a small boy called at my store and pre-
senting a penny, asked for one Of my
balloons, L complied with his Request.
and at the same time told him THAI if
he broke it, I would gladly give him an
other The only requirement that 1
asked, was JLIL ne SHOULD 90 his blow
ing i'll the neighbOrhOod Of the store The
boy, naturally delighted with the idea.
agreed to the proposition, and, with
twinkle in his eye. bTavely took his po-
sition. fully impressed with the thought
that he would make me regret what I
had said. In a short time he had man
aged 10 break over thirty of the balloons,
but l made no complaint and continued
70 hand them out to him. School children
on their way to their homes. stopped and
chatted with him for little while. ami
several asked him 10 allow them to blow
tIe leTIoo.. ruoa o7- 4v-ioc