Should You Buy Your Child a Webkinz Doll?

I have heard about Webkinz before, though I was not very familiar with the website or the stuffed animals that come with the Webkinz codes. Then a few weeks before Christmas I spotted a bin full of Webkinz dolls at my local Walgreen's selling for $20.00 a piece. The size was not much larger than the typical Ty Beanie Baby animals and had me doubting that the Webkinz dolls were really worth the money. Then one day at a Christmas Party one of my daughters received a Webkinz doll, the beagle, and I was finally able to see just what all of the hype was about. Here is my experience with the Webkinz line of dolls and why I feel they aren't worth the trouble or the price.

Not Cuddle Friendly

I was surprised to find that many of the Webkinz dolls are not very soft and cuddly. In fact the material that make up most of the Webkinz dolls looks just like the material you find on cheap stuffed animals you win from a crane machine. The Webkinz beagle that my daughter received is an exception, however many other Webkinz dolls such as the elephant and tiger are composed mostly of the stringy material. The only plus is that the Webkinz dolls seem to be well made and you most likely will not experience any shedding. However stuffed animals should be soft and cuddly, not stringy, which makes most of the Webkinz dolls non-cuddle friendly.

New Year New Doll

Another problem I see with the Webkinz dolls is that the code entitles the user just one year of use on the Webkinz website. If your child wants to continue to play on the Webkinz website they must buy a new Webkinz doll to get a new Webkinz code and repeat every year they wish to play on the Webkinz website. While I can understand that the Webkinz website must cost the company a pretty penny to keep it in running order I feel that they shouldn't put the burden on their customers. Webkinz should consider running a few ads on their website to help shoulder the cost of running the Webkinz website. There are many FREE websites on the internet that feature games for children besides the Webkinz website which are equally as fun and doesn't cost the child or his/her parents any money to play. Why not just buy your child a cuddly stuffed animal and find a few gaming websites that are safe for your kids to play on?

Collectors Ruin Everything

After finding the Webkinz dolls at my local Walgreens before Christmas, I have yet to see any more Webkinz dolls on the shelves at my local drug or retail store. It seems that all of the Webkinz dolls are up for auction on eBay. The price of a few specific Webkinz dolls found on eBay is appalling. The reason for the steep prices of these Webkinz dolls can only be blamed upon the avid collectors of the Webkinz dolls. I found a very cute puppy with red heart spots that I knew my daughter would love that was part of the Webkinz line on eBay and was interested in purchasing one. Unfortunately this heart spotted Webkinz puppy is often sold for nearly $100 each. No thank you. I am sure that I could find a heart spotted dog besides the Webkinz dog for much less cost.

Website Doesn't Impress

The Webkinz website is fun but did not hold the attention of my daughters for long. The Webkinz website features arcade games, your own room to decorate, a store to buy items for your Webkinz doll, as well as a few other activities. While you may not find the same exact arcade games on other websites for children you are sure to find games of a similar nature to the ones featured on the Webkinz site. The most exciting part of acquiring a Webkinz doll for my daughter was the ability to go online and interact with her new "pet". I was disappointed to see the limited interaction available for the owner and his/her Webkinz "pet". When you feed your Webkinz pet food for instance you simply drag the food over their face and wait for them to reply. There is no petting of your Webkinz doll nor can you take your Webkinz doll out for a walk. If you really want to play a fun game that is full of interaction with a pet you should buy your child Nintendogs for their Nintendo DS instead of a Webkinz doll.

While it appears that many people love the Webkinz dolls I am not one of them. Don't waste your money on the Webkinz dolls use it to have some real fun instead.