Hi everyone, Steve Webkinz here. In today’s special report, let’s take a closer look at something I see our players constantly discussing: Webkinz plush.
There’s a lot to unbox here, so let’s split this up into some frequently asked questions, and I’ll try to provide an answer.
Q: Is Ganz ever going to bring back Signatures?
A: Sorry, no. The Webkinz Signature line was not actually designed by Ganz. They were made by a 3rd party company that specialized in more realistic plush designs, and those plush were made under contract to Ganz. Unfortunately, this made them very expensive, and this fact led to them being discontinued. Our in-house plush department has been creating some more realistic looks to some of the recent Webkinz plush, but there are no plans for a new Signature line.
Q: Why are some of the Webkinz plush on sites like eBay so expensive?
A: Ganz is a plush toy wholesaler, which means that we sell our plush toys to store retailers at a specific price. The retailer then decides the price for selling that toy to consumers like you. Ganz doesn’t have any control over that. And if someone buys it from a store and decides to list it on a website like eBay, they can try selling it for whatever they think they can get for it.
Q: I can’t find a certain Webkinz plush toy I want. Can’t you just make more?
A: Our plush toys are manufactured overseas and then shipped to our main warehouse before we send them out to retailers. We have to place the order months in advance, so we request a certain number that we think will sell. Over the years, based on previous experience, we have become better overall at meeting demand. However, there are still some situations where a particular pet sells more than we anticipated. In those situations, it is usually too late to go back and order more. Also, Webkinz plush are meant to be collectible toys, so it’s to be expected that some plush will be harder to find than others.
Q: Why is it that I can find tons of some early Webkinz plush in dollar stores, but never any of the new ones?
A: As mentioned in the answer above, in the earlier years of Webkinz, we tended to order far more plush than we could actually sell. Promotions like the Pet of the Month were designed to help sell off all of those extras. Some of the plush back stock was sold to dollar stores just to clear out space in the warehouse. Our more recent plush are now ordered at much lower levels, so we don’t have such a big problem with overstock. If you buy one of newest plush Webkinz pets, you are actually getting a rare Webkinz toy.
Q: Why do you make so many dogs? Why can’t you make some kind of new animal that you’ve never made before?
A: The simple answer is that as a business, Ganz needs to make plush pets that sell, and over the last 13 years, dogs have outsold every other type of plush pet by a long shot. We also try to make some other varieties of pets, but generally we try to stick to the pet types that people have been buying. On the technical game side, each pet has to work within the skeleton animation system we already have, so if we don’t have an existing skeleton to animate a new type of pet, then we can’t make that pet work in Webkinz World.
Q: Are you ever going to use the string fur again that you used on the first Webkinz plush?
A: The string fur was a way in the early days of Webkinz to make the plush pets distinct from other brands on store shelves. As the Webkinz brand has become more established, our plush department has been able to use better and more realistic plush material to manufacture the toys. While it is unlikely that you’ll ever see any new plush Webkinz made entirely from the original string fur, you may still see a small piece of this material pop up in a plush toy from time to time.
Q: Why can’t I find Webkinz plush in my local store?
A: Unfortunately, fewer retailers are ordering Webkinz plush today than when the toys were at the height of their popularity. The only thing we can suggest is to speak to your local store owner who sells other Ganz merchandise and ask them if they would consider ordering and stocking Webkinz plush toys. If enough people ask, they may just do it.
Q: Where can I find Webkinz plush?
A: Some Hallmark stores are still ordering Webkinz plush, but you should call your local store first to see if they are one of them. You may also be able to find them on Amazon. The best way to get the latest Webkinz plush pets is to order them directly from Ganz through the Ganz eStore.
Webkinz plush toys at the Ganz eStore: https://www.ganzestore.com/estore/catalog/plush
Webkinz plush toys on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/webkinz
This has been Steve Webkinz reporting for Webkinz Newz! Do you have any other questions about Webkinz plush I haven’t answered? What are some other things in Webkinz World you’d like to know more about? Let me know in the comments below.
hi & thanks for all the business talk–very interesting & wise of you to be honest with true webkinz lovers (aren’t you glad we are still here–& likewise!!)…my question, where “overseas?” you should have them manufactured in the U.S., as we appreciate manufacturing & promoting the business model here!! thanks, best, -k.
But I think Ganz is a Canadian company. Just thinking aloud here, but…if they were to bring manufacturing back from overseas, they would probably choose to do so in Canada, which would make sense…My guess is that it’s cost prohibitive to manufacture in both Canada and the U.S., as Ganz tries to keep the price of their product affordable.
Thank you for answering all those questions, Steve. Very informative!
Ah, now I feel bad for complaining about the overabundance of dogs in Webkinz World! Thanks for the explanation!
Thanks Steve! I’ve been wanting the signature ocelot since i first saw it but had no luck finding a CHEAP on with a code. I’ve also been looking for the peacocks for a while also. I saw one once at Cracker Barrel but I couldn’t get it sadly.
Is there any possibility of bringing back a page that has all webkinz plush pets and shows which ones have been officially retired? It would help a lot in knowing which mark ups on pets are unreasonable or if they’re just ridiculously expensive because that pet has been retired.
I never realized signatures were made by a 3rd party company, that makes sense, why they’re retired and were more expensive to begin with. I’m so jealous of people who regularly find webkinz at their dollar stores lol. I’ve only seen them at mine once, years ago, that’s where I got my blue googles and whale.
Isn’t that funny! That’s where I’ve seen the ‘stringy! Pets, too! I’ve found the rooster, seal, Hippo and leopard, there. For a while the Giant Tiger even had them, but they quit selling them, too. Canadians have a really difficult time locating Webkinz of any type. When I do see them, unfortunately, they’re well picked over and the places the Dollar Store/Tree/Rama don’t realize that the codes are an integral part of the plush. I brought a couple of codeless webbies to an associate and she rolled her eyes and put it back in the shelf. I explained to her that it’s just a plush with out the code and any child who knows what a Webkinz is would be bitterly disappointed to spend their allowance on a pet they couldn’t adopt. She gave me that ‘deer in the headlights’ look. So, with a sigh of resignation I apologetically stated, ‘yes, I am all too familiar with this plush.’
Plushies are my favorite part of Webkinz! Thanks for the inside scoop, Steve! I loved reading these answers. I particularly liked being informed that the new plush pets are considered ‘RARE’!
I couldn’t agree more, kandykinz!
I wish the signature German Shorthaired pointer should be in the estore in the signature section of the estore.
Why do you put the retired Pegasus in the Ganz Estore points and not the other retired pets?
I have the Golden Pegasus, her name is Trinity
why can’t you turn the virtual pets into plush ones? you have the models if you didn’t you wouldn’t be able to make the digital version
Not necessarily. A virtual pet is much simpler to design compared to a plush. It’s the difference of a two dimensional object versus a three dimensional object.
i see
Plus, creating a plush “stuffed” animal requires piece patterns, (to cut out the fur), the exact order they’re to be sewn in, the exact type of fabric fur, the pieces for eyes (there are tons on the market), and so on. It’s not as simple as just pulling up the pattern pieces on the computer and sending it to the place to be made. Drawing the webkinz and making of a webkinz are two totally different processes.