Parents' fury as 'Frozen Elsa' dolls advertised for €500 online

Elsa from Frozen - toys based on the Disney hit are the must-have toys this Christmas

Elsa from Frozen - toys based on the Disney hit are the must-have toys this Christmas

Anita McSorley

November 23 2014 12:29 PM

A shortage of Frozen merchandise has led to parents shelling out sky-high prices to get their children the must-have gift this Christmas.

Online bidding wars have forced parents to fork out for items selling at more than ten times their retail price.

One greedy Done Deal user sparked outrage when they advertised the coveted Elsa Snow Glow Doll worth around €45 on the site for €500.

The 18” doll sings and lights up and has proven to be a top seller for Christmas gifts in Ireland and worldwide.

The advert, which was posted yesterday, has since been removed from the site.

On Ebay, many of the standard Elsa dolls worth €15 are selling for more than €50 - over three times their recommended retail price.

Some 211 Elsa dolls are advertised on Ebay.ie, where even a box that the much sought-after doll came in has been listed for sale.

Demand for Frozen dolls is intensifying across the country, with many stores sold out of the popular Snow Glow Elsa model.

On Friday Gardai were called to a toy store in Dublin after a fight broke out between customers desperate to get their hands on the doll.

The incident happened at Smyths outlet, in Airside Retail Park, in Swords, Co Dublin.

A spokesperson said they were carrying out an investigation into the matter following several complaints but declined to comment further.

However, sources told the Irish Independent that a number of people had been "fighting" over 'Frozen' Elsa dolls.

No arrests had been made, but gardai took details of those present and were examining CCTV footage.

Social media reports suggest that at least one person required medical treatment but a spokesperson for nearby Beaumont Hospital said staff there were not aware of any incident.

Frozen, based on Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale The Snow Queen, is the highest grossing animated film of all time.

It was in the UK box office top 10 for more than three months and now ranks as the 10th highest grossing film in cinema history.

Meanwhile, toy hunters have the chance to get their hands on one of the rare Frozen Snow Glow Elsa dolls for free at this week’s Christmas Toy Show at the RDS.

The Show, which opened this weekend and runs until Sunday November 30, will be getting new stocks of this year’s Christmas rarity from tomorrow.

And in the interests of fairness, the organisers have decided to give the dolls away in a series of constant rolling raffles.

“Snow Glow Elsas will not be for sale. Instead we are giving them away for free each day this week until Friday," said organiser Patrick O’Sullivan.

“We will be giving patrons special raffle tickets as they enter the Show and at the end of every hour between 12-5pm we will be picking a lucky winner's ticket out of the hat who will get a free Snow Glow Elsa with compliments of the Christmas Toy Show.”