The price of Lego's 'Women of NASA' toy set is skyrocketing online under crushing demand
- Lego released a new all-female "Women of NASA" toy set on Wednesday for $24.99.
- Amazon reportedly sold out of the product, which had become its best-selling toy.
- Third-party shops are now selling the in-demand kit for about $100 more through popular online retailers.
Lego's highly anticipated "Women of NASA" toy set went on sale Wednesday for a suggested retail price of $24.99.
But if online price surges are any indication, the kit of all-female mini-figurines is shaping up to be one of the hottest toys of the holiday shopping season. Amazon, arguably the world's largest online store, has already sold out, according to CNN - and now prices offered by partner retailers are skyrocketing.
Twitter users expressed dismay at the situation on Friday afternoon. One said the price had jumped $100 overnight.
The instant popularity of "Women of NASA" is not a shock to those who've followed Lego's commendable trend of selling more female-inclusive products- they're in high demand because consumers want more representation in toys they gift to kids.
On Thursday, "Women of NASA" became the best-selling toy on Amazon.
By Friday morning, however, the toy's price on popular online retail sites had skyrocketed four- to six-fold, or by roughly $100. The product was listed for $125.99 on Amazon as a Prime-eligible item. An even higher price of $149.99 appeared on the website of Wal-Mart, another online-retailing giant, with only about five items left.
Prices on eBay ranged between about $55 and $170, including the cost of shipping.
Lego is selling the set for $24.99 on its own site, plus about $4.95 in shipping, and the site does not appear to be out of stock - yet.
These days, big online retailers carry their own stock of products that sell for close to or at a manufacturer's suggested retail price. When those stocks sell out, however, many sites automatically include options from approved third-party sellers.
This may have fueled the skyrocketing prices for Lego's "Women of NASA" set, a scenario similar to what happened during Hurricane Irma, when "life-sustaining necessities" were sold on Amazon at inflated prices. The same was the case with the popular Hatchimals toys in November 2016.
An Amazon representative told Business Insider that the company was looking into the matter, but did not provide any details or statement in time for publication. Wal-Mart did not immediately respond to our questions.
We'll update this story if we hear back from those retailers about why prices for Lego's "Women of NASA" set jumped so quickly and dramatically - and when lower-priced stocks of the toy might return.