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http://www.openforum.com/articles/5-marketing-lessons-from-the-craziest-holiday-fad-of-all-time
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This year the LeapPad is the hot toy. It is almost impossible to find one and they are selling on ebay for more than double the price. I wonder how much "exclusivity" actually helps in marketing and selling these products. I wonder if Tyco had made more than enough Tickle Me Elmos for every toddler in America if they would have been as successful?
You pose an interesting question - does exclusivity help in marketing/selling a product. I say yes, absolutely. Exclusivity and scarcity is a marketing tactic playing to a consumers' psyche without these tactics urgency is removed from the equation. Consumers, knowing a product will always be available, may decide to just pick up the product the “next time they are at the store”. The problem becomes when is the “next time”? This could be a week or a month and in that time a new product from a different company could have already hit the shelves and your item is no longer the “it” thing to own.
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Tickle Me Elmo was a benchmark product that brought in hundreds of millions of dollars for its company, Tyco.