NeeDoh hunting on Long Island has parents lining up outside toy stores
Carolyn Fuchs, a saleperson at Einstein's Attic in Huntington, called the sudden interest in NeeDoh "absolute insanity." Credit: Joseph Sperber
Before a phone balanced on the bumper of a Jeep, two 10-year-old girls looked into the camera as they counted down from 3 in unison.
On one, Riley Labbate and Milania Aurisano each cracked open a plastic replica of a bamboo steamer to reveal a squishy bao bun.
"I got green!" Milania said.
"I got white!" Riley said, squeezing the toy until it oozed between her fingers.
Their Saturday morning visit to Briscoe Giftbox in Deer Park was part of a weekly ritual: Each weekend, Riley's dad takes his daughter on the hunt for NeeDoh stress balls. Excitement aside, the toy dumplings were a consolation prize — NeeDoh fidget toys are drawing lines and selling out across Long Island.
A long-standing product line experiencing "unprecedented worldwide demand," according to the website of manufacturer Schylling, NeeDoh has gone viral on TikTok. School-age children have driven demand that has outpaced the company's supply.
"Demand for NeeDoh and our other products is exceptionally high right now, so we're taking a short pause on new orders," reads a pop-up message on Schylling's website, in part.
Alexandra Bachman, 12, of Cold Spring Harbor, hunted for the toy at Einstein's Attic Saturday. Credit: Joseph Sperber
Local toy stores and boutiques are struggling to stock NeeDoh items, which remain on order and come in sporadically, and have increased their squishy selection as a result.
When Bubble Boutique in Babylon receives a NeeDoh shipment, the store posts about it on social media. Followers line up to wait for the store to open, said Connie Cohen, store manager of Bubble Boutique.
"I'm in the toy business long enough that I've seen things like this in Squishmallows and Beanie Babies," Cohen said. "Every few years, we're due for a hot item."
At Bubble, NeeDohs are priced from $3 to about $12, Cohen said. Bubble has kept its prices the same, but Cohen said she has heard about people paying much more for them.
Riley's father, Jason Labbate, of Great River, said he had purchased some from men selling them from car trunks for up to $25 a piece.
Carolyn Fuchs, who works at Einstein's Attic in Huntington, called the sudden interest in NeeDoh "absolute insanity."
"NeeDohs have been around for a long time. They've been a staple in every toy store, every stationery store, drugstore," Fuchs said. "It's a grab item."
Historically, the toys have been kept near the register, she explained.
At Briscoe, squishies of various makes have overtaken the checkout counter. There are glistening green-glitter aliens, textured teddy bears and sticks of butter that smell like movie theater popcorn.
"Obviously everyone's looking for the NeeDoh," said Summer Eisenberg, 18, who works at the store owned by her mother, Stacey. "But we're carrying every single squishy you could think of."
On Friday, Stacey Eisenberg said the store received a delivery and posted it on TikTok and Instagram. Doors opened at 10 a.m.
"We had people here from 5:45 a.m., camped out, chairs, blankets, tables, lined up down the block," Stacey Eisenberg said.
Once inside, she said, the children were "so happy."
"They were skipping in the store, ‘Oh, this feels like Disney World,’ ” she said.
Arielle Dollinger joined Newsday as a staff reporter in 2022. Previously, she covered local and national news as a freelancer for The New York Times, Newsday and other outlets.