By Jim Silver (Follow me on twitter)

You’re looking for a Zhu Zhu pet or a Mindflex and you can’t find one anywhere. It’s at the top of your child’s wish list, and you need to come up with this toy(this is where we need to define “need vs. want”). What should you do?

1. Bounce from store to store until you find it. This usually ends up in failure. If you’re going to try this method, go to the stores that carry the most toys. You can try calling ahead, but that doesn’t usually work, especially for large stores. Then try some smaller local toy stores, as sometimes you get lucky.
2. Get to know the sales help. They often know when the next shipments are arriving. And be nice! Acting crazy, rude or demanding won’t get you any good tips or information. The next NICE customer will get the tip – Always be nice!
3. Buy a different toy and a small gift card. Gift cards extend the holiday season, and allow a child to spend fun time walking through a toy store. For a child, visiting a toy store with a small gift card is an outing; they can spend hours there.
4. Go online. You’re already online reading this, start hitting the web sites that sell toys. A search for a specific toy will usually bring up several different sites. You could always go to eBay and see if you want to buy and pay now at a premium, or wait till later.