Christmas shortage warning? Many toys are out of stock

Christmas is approaching, but many sellers are facing a situation where they have no goods to sell due to port congestion. The situation is even more serious in the UK due to Brexit. The congestion and the shortage of truck drivers have caused goods to pile up at the port but cannot be shipped out. According to Felixstowe, the largest commercial port in the UK, there are currently 50,000 containers waiting to be received due to a shortage of HGV truck drivers.

This situation has led to a shortage in the domestic toy market, with Harry Potter being a representative example. As a classic film and television IP, Harry Potter-related products have always had a broad market. According to local retailers, Harry Potter products are currently out of stock across the country, and Amazon sellers are also waiting for the arrival of goods.

Among the peripheral products, the wand is the most popular. The Harry Potter wand used to be 20 pounds, but now it costs 35 to 40 pounds. All sellers are out of stock. Usually each wand will make a 20-30% profit, but now sellers must pay an additional 25-30% container shipping cost and up to 30% customs fees.

London Toy Company said their container prices had increased by 900% and that there were now 35,000 toys worth £250,000 sitting at the port and had to redirect around 10,000 toy containers, but that would add around 3 weeks to the time frame.

Some sellers also said that the Christmas products that were originally expected to arrive next week have now been delayed by three weeks. Coupled with the shortage of drivers, the time to actually start selling will be delayed even longer. If the situation cannot be alleviated, it is still a question whether they can catch up with Christmas.

Other popular toys, such as Barbie dolls and various plush toys, are out of stock. Although there are other types of toys available for sale, this has affected the sellers' original sales plans.

The situation in the United States is also not optimistic. After Biden proposed that the port operate 24 hours a day, local workers went on strike and the arrival time of goods will be delayed. Some domestic sellers said that in order to avoid unnecessary trouble, they had already shipped Christmas products in August.

Although delays during the peak season are normal, the situation seems to be more serious this year. Just in case, sellers should ship as early as possible to avoid affecting normal sales.

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