Buzzabasket

Although the Zhu Zhu pets were only released in August of this year, they have become a runaway success already. Children nationwide have gone crazy for the cute little motorized hamsters that incorporate artificial intelligence which lets them interact with their environment, the other Zhu Zhu hamsters and the kids who are playing with them.

Over and above the fact that these robotic hamsters are small, furry and cute, children really love the interactivity. The five hamsters – Mr. Squiggles, Pipsqueak, Chunk, Patches and Num Nums – have a grand total of forty different sounds which they produce when given the correct external stimulus. If they enter into the bathroom of their hamster habitat for example, they make tooth brushing noises. If they enter their hamster bedroom then they make snoring sounds.

However, many retailers have quite deliberately set stock levels of toys in general at relatively low volumes this year. This is partly due to the current economic climate and partly due to the fact that stock levels were too high last year. Many retailers had to offer large discounts just to clear their shelves.

It’s easy to see why this has been done – but based upon the evidence to date, the retailers may have misguessed the mood of customers. The most popular toys like the Zhu Zhu pets and Mattel’s Mindflex game are flying off the shelves. Demand is way higher than supply and it’s becoming very hard to find these toys in the shops. This problem is only going to get worse in the run up to Christmas.

Having realised their misjudgement, lots of retailers are now desperately seeking new stock. However, most toys are manufactured in Asia these days. That means that delivery will generally include a sea voyage of about four weeks. Increasing stock levels before Christmas may prove to be difficult.

As a consequence of the imbalance between supply and demand, it is now possible to find Zhu Zhu hamsters on eBay for over $ 150. That’s way above the recommended retail price – and these prices could rise even further as we approach Christmas. It does seem like a high price to pay for a toy which, although it is the latest craze, is quite likely to be out of fashion in just a few short months.

If you don’t feel that the high prices for the latest trend are value for money, then you might want to think about some more traditional gifts this year. Classic traditional toys such as Lego, Scrabble, Monopoly and Hornby Dublo train sets are classics for a reason. They are an ever popular addition to any kid’s toy box and they will still be in use and giving pleasure long after this year’s fad is forgotten.

Ever since men started getting some free time from their working life, boys toys took off like never before. They say the devil makes work for idle thumbs, and gadgets and technology have (arguably) kept males out of mischief better than anything else you can buy. Here are 3 of the latest and greatest boys toys to hit the market, and any men reading will likely want to get their hands on them straight away.

Utility Phone. Cell (mobile) phones have evolved beyond recognition of the last 10 years and boast some pretty impressive features these days. However, Korea have announced the release of a new phone that doubles and survival kit and everyday super-tool. According to the makers it will include a knife, bottle opener, pen, compass, scissors and even an electric razor, making them ideal gifts for men.

Window Cleaning Bot. Men don’t like doing house work, its as simple as that. This gadget thorough makes part of it as easy as pie. This gravity defying robot secures itself to glass via vacuum suckers and has sensors on it that make it change direction when it runs out of glass. This means that you can leave it alone and it will clean the whole piece of glass using rotating cleaning brushes. The robot is only about the size of a computer mouse, so it’s a perfectly portable little thing. These gadgets also make great gifts for her, because let’s face it, women like to be lazy sometimes as well.

Double Video Shades. Sun glasses that have video screens on the inside have been on the market for a while and people have enjoyed a bit of up close entertainment. However the latest glasses invention has screens on both sides of the lens, meaning you can project images outwards as well. This comes in very handy when in a class room or a meeting when you want to watch a bit of TV without anyone knowing. You can watch The Simpsons on the screens pointing inwards and project a video of your eyes, alert and blinking to everyone on the outside world. Genius!

Organising a quiz evening can be a great and fairly easy to raise money. This article will talk about how to get punters, how to get a great quiz and how much you can make.

Advertising is key

There are two things youll definitely need for a successful quiz. Once is great quiz. The other is punters! To make sure you have enough people to make it worth your while you will need to advertise. Where and how will depend on who your target audience is. If you are planning on running the quiz in a pub, ask the landlords permission and put up some posters.

An excellent method of collecting email addresses of potential quiz participants is to put a large jar or some other container on the bar with a sign telling people to drop their business cards in for the chance to win some great prizes. This can quickly allow you to get a good number of email addresses so you could email them details of you quiz night.

If you are trying to raise money for a school then send letters to the parents of the school telling them about the quiz evening and prizes (which I’ll talk about a bit later…)

The All Important Quiz

Hopefully you have generated enough interest with your advertising to ensure that you’ll have more than a few people turning up. Next on the list of things to do is buy or create a fantastic quiz!

Quiz packs can be bought online and downloaded at very reasonable prices and include the questions and answers, picture rounds, answer sheets and tiebreakers. This could be the answer for people who dont have time or inclination to create their own. Choose a reputable supplier though, to project a professional image.

If you do want to write your own quiz pack then you must keep to these rules: Include questions from different generations so as not to exclude people. Don’t make the questions too hard or too easy. Make the questions interesting. If someone doesn’t know the answer to the question but wants to know, this is a sign of a good question.

Prizes

Some people will come along just for the challenge of the quiz, but good prizes will only help the popularity of the quiz night. If you are holding the quiz in a pub you may be able to pursuade the landlord to give the winners some free drinks (after all, your quiz is bringing him a lot of extra trade!). If the quiz is to raise money for a school or charity try to get prizes donated. If all else fails, you could give a cash prize, but this will probably come out of the profits

How much can you make?

Not rocket science – the more people you have the more you make. Let’s assume you have 50 people in the quiz, each paying a 3 entrance fee. That’s 150 straight away. If you are the owner of the pub you may also get twice the normal takings behind the bar.

If you are able to sell additional snacks, chocolates bars and drinks you may be able to raise another 2-5 per person. This adds up to another 100-250 for the night.

To conclude, if you got 50 people to take part you could make between 150 and 400 in a single evening. And this is only for 50 people. Get the number to 100 and you could be taking home 800! Not too bad for a night’s work and some basic advertising.

Quiz nights can be a great way of making some extra money. Whether you want to increase the takings behind a bar (if you’re a landlord) or want to raise some money for your children’s school quiz nights are fairly simply to organise and can make a decent amount of money.

Advertising is key

There are two things youll definitely need for a successful quiz. Once is great quiz. The other is punters! To make sure you have enough people to make it worth your while you will need to advertise. Where and how will depend on who your target audience is. If you are planning on running the quiz in a pub, ask the landlords permission and put up some posters.

Another great way is to get contacts is put a large jar on the bar with a sign saying Drop your business card in for your chance to win BIG prizes. This should get a number of email addresses so you can then email them with the details of your quiz.

If you are trying to raise money for a school then send letters to the parents of the school telling them about the quiz evening and prizes (which I’ll talk about a bit later…)

The Quiz

Hopefully you have generated enough interest with your advertising to ensure that you’ll have more than a few people turning up. Next on the list of things to do is buy or create a fantastic quiz!

If you have the time you could create your own quiz, but a lot of people don’t have the time for this so the other option is to buy a professional quiz pack online. There are plenty to choose from and can be of a much higher quality than if you tried to create your own.

If you want to create your own quiz pack then remember these simple rules… don’t make the questions too difficult or too easy. You want to separate out the winners, but you want most people to be able to answer around 40-50% of the questions. Try to be inclusive, so in a music round don’t just ask about recent music that the older generation won’t know. But above all – keep the questions interesting!

Prize

To entice people to come along, the prizes should be half decent. If you are in a pub you may be able to convince the landlord to give up some free drinks for the winners on account of the extra trade you will have generated. If the quiz night is for a charity event you may be able to get some prizes donated, or if the worst comes to the worst you could offer cash prizes from the entrance fees, although this will affect your margin.

How much profit can you make?

Not rocket science – the more people you have the more you make. Let’s assume you have 50 people in the quiz, each paying a 3 entrance fee. That’s 150 straight away. If you are the owner of the pub you may also get twice the normal takings behind the bar.

If you are able to sell additional snacks, chocolates bars and drinks you may be able to raise another 2-5 per person. This adds up to another 100-250 for the night.

Bottom line, you could make 400 from a single night, and thats only for 50 people. Double that and double the takings. Not bad for a couple of hours work and some advertising.