What's the deal with these Webkinz?

March 14, 2008 2:21 PM

Should I buy a box of Webkinz cards Series 1 or Series 2 for a good kid?

I really feel so outdated with this Webkinz fad. Is Series 2 more worth it to get since it's brand new? or is it TOO new and most kids would rather have a box of Series 1 cards? Is the Webkinz fad still going strong? What's the best Webkinz gift I can get if not a box of cards (36 packs)? What will make this kid the envy of his peers? Thank you!

posted by pinksoftsoap to shopping (12 comments total)

How old is the kid? Boy or girl? What part of the world do they live in? What things are you certain they are interested in? Who are their peers?
posted by The World Famous at 2:46 PM on March 14, 2008

The kids I know who have Webkinz are more about the stuffed animals and the online activities and games. They don't play the card game.

There are clothes now for Webkinz that they may like, a quick google should get you plenty of hits.
posted by NoraCharles at 3:31 PM on March 14, 2008

Seconding the stuffed animals completely eclipsing the cards in my area.
posted by misha at 3:33 PM on March 14, 2008

Webkinz are little stuffed animals like Beanie Babies, but each one has a unique code that lets you join an online flash website. This website has a bunch of flash games, a lot of trivia questions (my favorite), and a Sims-style home that you can furnish with virtual furniture and wallpaper and such paid for with KinzCash, the currency. At no point is "real" money exchangeable for KinzCash. The pet you "adopt" lives in your home, and you can talk to it and bathe it and watch virtual TV with it and garden and whatever.

I do have a little experience with the cards. When you get the cards, you can enter in codes to get virtual items, plus the cards have Webkinz pictures on them. They can be used for a game outside of Webkinz. I don't know of many people in the target demographic of Webkinz who play the game. They still enjoy the cards--but I think they'd like more Webkinz pets rather than a box of cards.

On the other hand, answering your original question, I don't think the Series 1 vs. Series 2 is going to matter a whole lot, but if you are going to get cards, I think Series 2 will be more "Oh! Cool!" due to the whiz-banginess of how new they are.

However, I do have some other suggestions.

Every day, they have a list of things you can do "extra" like perhaps their Asteroids game gives out 45% more cash today, or there is a random drawing if you click a button, or a sale on pink wrapping paper. It seems like most days there are exclusive special offers for "owners of the Pet of the Month."

The Pet of the Month is chosen on the first of the month. If you already own the pet that they choose as the pet of the month, you get to do all the exclusive activities--but to get the goodie bag with exclusive items and a bunch of money and some other cool stuff, you have to adopt the Pet of the Month *during* the month--you can't already be an owner.

Pet of the Month's are better to get towards the beginning of the month rather than the end, because you get access to more exclusive events.

Note: Some pets come in two sizes -- Lilkinz, smaller and cheaper, and the regular size (My little sister calls them Bigkinz, but I'm not sure if that's legitimately used outside of her friend's circle.) The Pet of the Month only counts if you get the correct size. My little sister was burned by this, and it was pretty heartbreaking.

If you have access to find out what Webkinz things he has, you could also find out if he already has any Charms. They're little Charms for something like a charm bracelet, but they allow access to the Magical Charm Forest. Webkinz claims that when you buy a charm, "Most importantly you'll be unlocking access to the Magical Charm Forest where you can search for and collect virtual Magical Forest charms several times a day, earning even more exclusive items, KinzCash bonuses and a super-special grand prize!" I don't know about them firsthand because I don't have any of them. I don't know how much they cost or how cool the Magical Charm Forest is. If he doesn't have any charms now, getting access to the Magical Charm Forest would probably be cool--especially because most adults don't know anything about Webkinz and what does what.

I don't know how much you want to spend, but instead of a box of cards, it might be coolest to get him a Webkinz, a charm, and a pack of cards. Webkinz/Lilkinz are usually in the 12-15 dollar range. I'm not sure about the prices of the other things.

There's more information about Pet of the Month the official site, and more information about Charms here.

It'll be interesting to see the cross-section of "Folks who read the green" and "Folks who know Webkinz."
posted by adamwolf at 3:48 PM on March 14, 2008 [6 favorites has favorites]

Man, there's your best answer right there. adamwolf clearly knows a lot more about Webkinz than I do, but yeah, the kids I know are much more into the stuffed animals and the website than they are the cards or the game.
posted by box at 4:01 PM on March 14, 2008

My Aunt and Uncle curse webkins... the kids are OBSESSED to the point that its a chore to get them to go to bed, get in the car... they fight over who gets the computer to play first. So, beware!
posted by muscat at 4:18 PM on March 14, 2008

Talked with the wifey, got a few corrections and addendums.

They announce the Pet of the Month one month before hand. Next month's is the Lilkinz pet poodle.

If the child only has one Webkinz, they might get confused with how to register the second pet. You do not make a second login and password, you adopt a new pet from inside the Webkinz world while logged in. The Webkinz tech folks can combine accounts within either 30 or 14 days, but its much better to just not make multiple accounts in the first place.

There's also a hot new thing inside of Webkinz, called Wish Coins. There's a lot of mystery around them but everyone wants them--they can be redeemed for exclusive items and "who knows what else." You can get Wish Coins on your birthday, on the anniversary of when you joined Webkinz, from a random drawing, and in your loot bag for the Pet of the Month.
posted by adamwolf at 4:32 PM on March 14, 2008

It'll be interesting to see the cross-section of "Folks who read the green" and "Folks who know Webkinz."

heh. I worked briefly at the company that built WebKinz, during its initial development. I can't comment on the popularity of the product amongst kids or about what's going on with it on the website right now, but I can say that the word "WebKinz" in my mind is permanently associated with "mismanagement and waste". I know I have a biased perspective but if the question is a simple "Should I buy a box of Webkinz cards?" then my answer is: no. Stay away. Give your money to better companies.

But if the kids like it *shrug* go with adamwolf's advice.
posted by mkn at 4:52 PM on March 14, 2008

From my experience with my 8-year-old daughter, adamwolf is spot on.

Level of interest from my daughter, from most to least:
Pet of the month
Standard stuffed Webkinz
Littlekinz stuffed Webkinz
Webkinz charms (just to get into the magic woods on the website)
Webkinz cards (she's not aware of series at all except for "I've got that one already!")

Although she did grow quite fixated on BellaSara cards - but she's in her horse phase so that's to be expected.

I find it's like beanie babies meet Sims meet online gambling. Kid crack. It's pure kid crack.
posted by Gucky at 5:56 PM on March 14, 2008

My first grader is pretty obsessed with the little things, too, but didn't even realize they had cards. Stick with the animals or their crappy little clothes if you want to impress.
posted by Rock Steady at 6:19 PM on March 14, 2008

Are the cards/boxes sealed? If they've been opened there's a good chance their codes have already been used on the website, and that can only be done once. You'll basically be buying some expensive bookmarks.
posted by bizwank at 9:52 PM on March 14, 2008

Yet another followup. Sorry guys. The pet of the month information is posted on the internal newletter.

This month's Pet of the Month is the lil kinz pig, and the next month's pet of the month is the BIG KINZ pink poodle.
posted by adamwolf at 10:34 AM on March 17, 2008