As many of you are aware, GANZ has not announced any new Webkinz plush pets in the past few months. The last new plush was the beautifully crafted Narwhal. We can now officially state that there will be no new Webkinz plush in 2019 and that the Narwhal will be the final plush toy of the “first generation” of Webkinz plush.
Our reasons for making this decision are three-fold:
- For any toy to be produced at an appropriate price, a minimum number need to be produced. Our retail orders for our new styles, even great ones like the Narwhal, had fallen below this minimum.
- Our attempts to move plush sales online through the eStore and Amazon did not meet our goals.
- After 14 years and over 500 unique pets, this generation of the toy line had run its course.
The reality is that at times every toy brand needs to take a break, evolve and reinvent. Many of the biggest toy brands in the world – My Little Pony, Transformers, Strawberry Shortcake – have had times where there were no toys on retail shelves.
Will this impact Webkinz.com? Not at all. One of the big developments in the past few years is the acceptance of online purchasing. When we launched Ganz eStore in 2008, many players didn’t understand the idea of buying “purely” virtual pets. Now we’re all used to buying virtual items and we’re happy to say eStore use has been going up! Many of our new eStore virtual pets have been well received and are among our best looking pets ever! As we’ve said elsewhere, GANZ is committed to Webkinz.com and with our desktop version coming soon, the future of the game is strong.
Will Webkinz plush be back? Definitely. GANZ was born as a plush toy company and lovable plush will always be near to our hearts. We have had many discussions about future products and how best to bring those products to market. We can’t say anything more about this at this time, but we do hope to have some more announcements later in the year.
In the meantime, you can still find Webkinz plush at Ganz eStore, and through other online retailers. All available plush are “while quantities last,” so if there is a specific pet you’d like, you will want to order it soon.
We’ve all had great experiences with our Webkinz plush and have those favorites that we feel closest to. While we may be taking a break from making new styles, our incredible range of amazing plush toys will forever be a core part of Webkinz World.
GANZ
I feel sad for those who collect the plushies. I bought them and used the code and saved the ones I really really liked and gave the others to little kids I know, who dearly love them. I’m retired and play on WW alot. As long as WW on desktop doesn’t go away, I’m ok. Thanks for all the plushies over the years and at least giving us new virtual ones.
Question: Is there a shipping charge when buying a Plush from estore? I have bought 1 or 2 but was years ago and have forgotten. In fact, I think maybe I bought when it was “no shipping” for a few certain days. Does anyone know?
There was often a free shipping promotion at the beginning of the month that a plush was introduced.
Thanks Sally. What will the shipping charge be to buy the plushies available now? I live in the U.S.
Last I checked, it was $3 per plush to the US.
Cmon Steve! Give us something a bit more concrete. You know there are very many of us who are still worried you are still not telling the truth about the plushies. That webkinz will just devolve downhill. Even a response to this saying ‘Don’t you worry! We’ll be good on our word.’ or something of the similar would be sufficient.
As sad as I am that there will be no more plush for the time being (I live and breathe the plush), I am excited for the new generation, and hopefully they will be a bit cheaper next time around!
Thank you for letting us know what is happening with the plush pets. Sad to hear that they won’t be available any more but your decision is understandable business wise.
Ganz, I am so happy you told us this news! While it is a little sad, I much prefer you letting us know what is going on rather than leaving us hanging. I am very glad to know that Ganz plans to reboot plush for a new generation someday, and I know that my family will certainly be there to support you when that happens! Until then, thank you for all the happy, snuggly, adorable plushie memories so far! ^_^
Does anyone know a physical store that sells them? We have been looking for months for one and haven’t found one. Are they only sold online now?
I haven’t checked in months, but a Five Below and Wegmans near me had Webkinz. Not sure if they still do though..
I know the Hallmark gift stores had them, but last time I went I did not see any there, but it may depend on the area! I hope they don’t take them out, Hallmark is the last store around me that I know still sold them, makes me sad!
If you are lucky you can sometimes find some in the dollar discount stores as clearance items.
I saw some Lil Kinz fish at my local drugstore last week, so you might have some luck at Walgreens, Drug Mart, CVS and such.
I agree, I can’t find any in stores anymore. That is the ONLY way I can get them, I haven’t been able to buy them in years : (
I’ve sometimes found them in craft stores (of course, tags are intact), and I’ve seen em’ in second hand stores too (no tags that I’ve seen).
I recently found a couple in my local Walmart.
I too have not seen Webkinz in stores near me in a long time! The last place i saw them, which was several years ago, was FiveBelow. Tuesday Morning used to carry them, but when they moved to a different part of town, they stopped carrying them. I don’t mind buying on Amazon, but i sometimes would like to see the plush in person before buying it. Perhaps when they come out with a enw line of plush, they’ll release them to stores like they used to.
Thank you for the announcement. While I feel very sad that there won’t be any new plushies for a while, I do look forward to seeing the next generation. I’ve seen the other Ganz plush products, and they are so beautiful!
Thank you for finally addressing this Ganz :) As one door closes another opens :) Can’t wait to see what you have in store for us. I don’t buy plush anymore as they were too darn expensive (18.00 here in Canada) but I would buy them if they went the way of Ty ..at 5.00 per plush :)
I got into webkinz from a friend from church. Her daughter only wanted to plush toy and was too young for the game. I gave it to my son and I have been hooked since. He gave me his account when he went into the Army!!