TMX Elmo is in the early lead for this year's hottest toy. TMX Elmo is an extreme tickle toy with three interactive tickle spots on his chin, tummy or toe. He explodes into fits of hysterical laughter when he is tickled. You can see an example of Elmo's laughing fits by watching this video that shows Elmo in action. The dog in the video isn't sure what to think of Elmo's hysterics.
Shoppers are rushing out to buy the hard-to-find toy which quickly disappears from shelves shortly after new shipments arrive. Toledoblade.com reports that experts are saying there has never been a toy this hot so early and that Mattel may sell as many as three million of the super ticklish Elmo dolls.
Mattel produced only 700,000 of the toys, generating speculation that it may have deliberately over-hyped the item and limited the quantity in an effort to create a hot toy. Mattel and Fisher-Price denied such accusations.
Jim Silver, editor and publisher of Toy Wishes magazine, said he accepted Mattel denials. No toy has been this hot this early, he said.
Sales have exceeded expectations by five times and although Mattel projected it could sell 700,000 Elmos, it is on track to sell 3 million, he said.
"In the first 24 hours they sold 250,000. Nobody plans on that. If you sell 400,000 units for a season, it is considered a hit, and 500,000 is a huge hit," Mr. Silver said.
Elmo will have tough competition when the new game consoles from Sony and Nintendo are released in November but for now he is the hottest toy. Many news stories are getting the holiday season off to a hectic and stressful start by warning shoppers to act fast before the must-have items like TMX Elmo are gone.
A warning to procrastinators: Better shop early, especially online, if you want the must-have holiday toys.
Already, toy sellers such as KB Toys Inc., Toys 'R' Us Inc. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. are doing all they can to get their hands on more hot toys, particularly T.M.X. Elmo from Mattel Inc.'s Fisher-Price, whose better-than-expected sales are making it increasingly likely to be the must-have toy for the season.
Consumers don't need this early holiday stress. Unfortunately, TMX Elmo probably won't get any easier to find. According to Jim Silver, editor of Toy Wishes, told CNN/Money that the complex technology means it takes longer to make the dolls.
Jim Silver, editor of Toy Wishes magazine, said Elmo T.M.X. has the potential of being one of the blockbuster toys of the year, especially in the pre-school category.
However, the new Elmo could very well become "extremely" hard to find.
"Because the technology is so complicated, it's taking longer to make the new Elmo. Fisher-Price is only making between 50 to 60 percent of the full-year production of the new Elmo," Silver said, adding that Fisher-Price typically produces a million and a half units of Elmo for the holidays.
"There's going to be a shortage for T.M.X.," he said.
If you can't find TMX Elmo at your local toy store or at one of the online toy retailers (check TMX Elmo's pages at Amazon and Etoys) then you may have to opt for eBay. There are already thousands of TMX Elmo listings appearing on eBay which usually occurs when there is a shortage for a product that is in demand. Our TradersTrade.com sister site reports that there are over 5,000 listings for TMX Elmo on eBay. The prices on eBay are two or three times the toy's list price of $39.99. Many of the entries list multiple Elmos sold in unsealed cases. You probably don't want 5, 10 or 20 TMX Elmos but it might be a way to get TMX Elmo for less if you go in on the order with friends or coworkers.
TMX Elmo is in the early lead for this year's hottest toy. TMX Elmo is an extreme tickle toy with three interactive tickle spots on his chin, tummy or toe. He explodes into fits of hysterical laughter when he is tickled. You can see an example of Elmo's laughing fits by watching 
