Australian parents have been showing off their shopping trolleys overflowing with toys worth thousands of dollars from Big W’s annual ‘Toy Mania’ sale.
Eager shoppers were up at the crack of dawn to snap up bargains, which kicked off online midnight Tuesday and in stores on Thursday.
Mums and dads rushed to one of the chain’s 183 stores across Australia to secure their children’s Christmas presents six months early.
Hundreds of shoppers opted to lay-by their thousand-dollar hauls, which means they pay for the toys in installments before taking them home just in time for Christmas.
Many of those shared pictures on social media showing their shopping carts loaded with this year’s hottest toys – with discounts of up to 85 per cent on more than 700 products.
One mother (pictured) revealed she ‘studies the catalogue’ every year so she knows exactly what she’s getting for her kids for Christmas and the best time to arrive at Big W
Many parents opted to lab-by their items, which allows them to buy a product and pay for it in two or more installments before taking it home
Devoted parents have been loading up their shopping trolleys with a mountain of toys worth thousands of dollars at Big W (pictured of a mother with her purchases)
One mother said she was waiting outside her store from 3am on Thursday so she could be the first in line to stock up on toys for her three children for Christmas.
‘This is all for my step kids and my daughter’s Christmas. I’ve been here since 3 o’clock in the morning. I was the first in the plaza but not in the shop,’ she said.
‘It’s just the lay-by going until December, it makes everything so much more convenient to pay it off. Imagine buying all of this at once for Christmas.’
Another shopper revealed she ‘studies the catalogue’ every year so she knows exactly what she’s getting for her kids for Christmas and the best time to arrive.
‘I did it last year so I know the routine,’ she explained.
A father-of-two said he prefers to shop for Christmas presents for his daughters – aged two and seven – this time of year because he has the lay-by option to ‘pay it off as we go’.
‘We look forward to the toy sale every year. Every year my wife gets up early whenever it’s on and goes straight there, and drags me along with her usually,’ he said.
One grandmother who lives across the road from Big W revealed how she knows exactly what’s on her three grandchildren’s Christmas wishlist every year.
‘I give them a catalogue each and they just circle what they like and I just come in and try to find most of it. I definitely save a lot of money,’ she said.
Shoppers lining up at the lap-by counter with their shopping trolleys full of Christmas gifts
Super-organised mothers and fathers rushed to their nearest stores to secure their children’s Christmas presents six months before Santa arrives
Many shoppers shared their experiences on Facebook after braving the cold in the early hours of the morning just to get their hands on the best buys.
‘Braved the Big W Toy Sale this morning, helped my sister out by doing shopping for her two boys’ (10-year-old and near two-year-old) presents for Christmas,’ one said.
Another said she’d managed to buy all the toys on her children’s wish list except for one product that was sold out.
One mum shared a picture of her shopping with a mountain of toys she got for her three boys, saying: ‘I haven’t even done my girl’s yet.’
‘Christmas is finished,’ a shopper boasted, while another mum revealed she has completed her children’s birthday and Christmas shopping for the year.
Many shoppers said they had to wait for hours to be served as the long queues – made worse by the social distancing measures, which include enforced spacing in the lines and customer limits in stores.
Eager shoppers were up at the crack of dawn on Thursday to snap up bargains
This mother (pictured) said she was waiting outside her store from 3am on Thursday so she could be the first in line to stock up on toys for her three children for Christmas
BIG W’s chief toy buyer Christine Faulkner said: ‘At BIG W, we have been humbled by the response to our online Toy Mania sale.
‘Our best sellers during the first 24 hours of the sale have been a real mix, reflecting the current trends kids and families across the country are loving, including nostalgic brands like Care Bear, Aussie pre-schoolers favourite pup, Bluey and pocket-friendly items like Barbie’s latest Colour Reveal Doll.
‘LEGO is consistently a top seller year-round so it’s no surprise families are grabbing the latest releases at these hot prices.’
The toy sale kicked off online at midnight on Tuesday, with thousands of parents snapping up bargains on the store’s website.
‘This is the first time we’ve run an early online only sale and the launch was one of our busiest days of digital trading, with thousands of savvy parents logging on to secure their toy wishlist,’ she said.
Devoted parents have been loading up their shopping trolleys with a mountain of toys worth thousands of dollars at Big W
Many customers shared pictures on social media showing their shopping carts filled to the brim with this year’s hottest toys
The excited shopper waiting in line to pay for the toys she’s getting for her children
While thousands head into stores for their massive shopping hauls, other disgruntled customers said they were left fuming after waiting for up to eight hours during the online toy sale at midnight on Tuesday.
The website crashed shortly after the sale launched due to the thousands of shoppers all trying to pay for their products at checkout.
One unhappy shopper said she waited from midnight until 8am but never got to pay for her items.
‘Biggest waste of time ever. I still can’t get onto the website. Waited since 12am. I haven’t been able to edit cart or check out at all,’ she said on Facebook.
Another shopper said she decided to go to bed after waiting for up to one hour.
‘Nope, I’m out. Sleep is more important. I had been stuck on 45 minutes for the past hour, then it changes to four hours. What a nightmare,’ she said.
Big W has since apologised to its shoppers in a statement on Facebook: ‘Most shoppers checked out without a hitch however we apologise to those of you that were kept up past your bedtime and experienced a few technical glitches.’
Hundreds of shoppers rushed to their nearest stores to stock up on the discounted toys
The retailer said its toy sale is the best time to buy Christmas gifts as staff are anticipating half of its customers will opt for lay-by options
BIG W’s chief toy buyer Christine Faulkner (pictured) said: ‘At BIG W, we have been humbled by the response to our online Toy Mania sale’
The retailer said its toy sale is the best time to buy Christmas gifts as staff are anticipating half of its customers will opt for lay-by options.
According to Big W’s Toy Mania report, LEGO, Barbie and Hot Wheels are the three big brands that will dominate the annual toy celebration.
LEGO topped the best sellers list in every state for the past 12 months.
BIG W is providing shoppers with many ways to shop the sale safely, with contactless pick up and home delivery. The retailer is also offering a ‘Toy Mania Price Match Guarantee’ on identical items, available in store only.
The Toy Mania sale will run until Wednesday, July 15.