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The Street
The Street
Brian O'Connell

Online Scalpers Are Cashing in On Barbie

It’s a Barbie party right now and the admission price for merch-minded toy collectors is getting sky-high.

The new “Barbie” film starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling is the springboard, with the film bringing in an estimated $165 million globally in its first week in theaters.

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In total, online sellers should do better than that, with Barbie collectibles - think dolls, dream houses, watches, and play sets, among other items – selling for up to 325% markups on eBay, according to figures from Forbes.

Take a customized pink Barbie drinking drink cup holder that sold on movie theater chain Cinemark’s website for $19.99 last week. On July 20, that same item is selling on eBay (EBAY) -) for $85 by multiple sellers.

Or how about a three-item Barbie bundle -- a Cinemark logo blanket, cup, and popcorn tin currently selling on resale websites for $500, a 585% markup.

Then there are the Barbie-based Crocs clogs selling on StockX for $185, approximately $100 more than buyers would have paid before the movie was released.

The Barbie phenomenon seems to be unique if recent history is any guide, but it can only be good news for Mattel (MAT) -), the company behind the brand.

However, the recent Indiana Jones film hasn’t translated into an action figure boom for the iconic Hollywood film franchise.

A brand new Hasbro Indiana Jones 6 action figure, for example, is currently selling for $29 on eBay -- right where it was before “Indiana Jones and the Dial Destiny” was released on June 30.

Just like Barbie putting Ken in his place in the new film, collectible sellers are sticking it to Barbie fans on sites like eBay, Amazon (AMZN) -), and StockX and are hitting them hard in the pocketbook in the process.

And a $100 Barbie pocketbook is probably now available on an e-commerce site near you.

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