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Posts Tagged ‘Shopping’

American Girl dolls – the icon of overspending for our kids – tries to get a reality check this Christmas season, but is it too little too late? I think so. Gwen can’t change the fact that American Girl dolls are out of reach for most American families.

This morning I was watching the morning news and both CNN and my local news channel ran a story about American Girl creating a homeless doll for this Christmas season. Gwen, the new doll, is hitting Michigan Avenue, although she will not be out shopping and having tea.

At first, I admit, I thought it was a good thing. But then I thought about it a bit more. This is a company that has fostered overspending on our kids for years. It has created a product that few American families can actually purchase. It has helped to create very unrealistic expectations for our children and made it difficult for parents to explain the financial restrictions many of us face.

So why change now? Because America has gone through the worst economic period since the great depression and spending is on the decrease. Because parents are tired of spending more then they are actually making. Because credit card debit is no longer acceptable and consumers are starting to revolt. Because we have wised up and frugal is now “in”. Because not every family can take a trip to Chicago and have tea on Michigan Avenue with their child.

As we have experienced our own personal financial struggles, the American Girl brand has too. Their web traffic is down and their sales are flat. Mattel is trying to balance the changing consumer views on spending with their overpriced and utterly unrealistic priced dolls. Good luck with that.

We Americans have changed or at least many of us have altered our spending habits and they will most likely not return to the levels once seen in years past. Gwen may be giving you media buzz, but I doubt she will turn American Girl sales around.

This whole story leaves me wondering one thing. Did Mattel include instructions for turning Gwen’s product box into a house for her to sleep or did they include directions to the nearest shelter? That is the reality of the real homeless this holiday season. I wish Mattel had saved the money spent on developing and marketing Gwen and instead, given it to a homeless shelter to feed and cloth those who are struggling this Christmas season. That would have given our children a much better message than an overpriced doll that comes with only one dress.

I recently read a story on CNN.com about a mini-website gone viral. The “People of Wal-Mart” was highlighted for being the little website that could. In actuality, this little website went so crazy with buzz, it brought in visitors by the drove and eventually crashed their servers. While I love any story that showcases the power of the Internet, I wasn’t overly thrilled with the idea of one that made fun of other people.

I’ve been to Wal-Mart and I’ve witnessed some of the oddest people in my local area shopping for food, clothes, and toiletries. My Wal-Mart does offer some entertainment, but I try not to notice and feed off of it. I even scold my kids for pointing it out. Not everyone is graced with high levels of intelligence or just good old fashion common sense. You take what you’re given and you work with it.

That being said, it was like a car crash, I had to review the website. If CNN reported on it, it had to be good. I tried to peek at the website, but again, the server was overloaded and no more visitors could gain access. I forgot about it until this morning when I checked CNN for the news of the day and saw the article again.

I admit I went and I laughed. Not necessarily at the people, but at the goat and the monkey who apparently also like to shop for low cost goods. I recently saw a woman at my grocery store with a dog in her purse. Obviously, this occurs not just at a Meijer store in Michigan, but also at Wal-Mart stores across the country. The best part of this morning’s entertainment was the fact that these young men are making money on this website through ads and they are giving back to charity. One idea that took off and most likely happened in an instant is now an income and a service to the community.

While the website does feature overweight people in skimpy clothes, I’m trying to look past this and focus on the positive aspects of the charity they are passing on through their visitors and advertisements. After all, these two young men are living the American dream of get rich quick! Our parents always told us “get rich quick schemes” didn’t happen, but this was well before the days of social media, Facebook, and MySpace.