Twilight Barbie Dolls Set to Explode on Scene at Retailers

There is nothing like that "must-have" item to boost sales at major retailers around the country. Despite the fact that U.S. consumer spending is down, here's betting that one small segment - the doll segment - will see a huge surge over the next two months. What better gift to give your Twilight-obsessed tween, girlfriend, or wife than Barbie Dolls that look just like Edward Cullen and Bella. I mean, come on!

The dolls are the first true must-have items of the Twilight franchise and one would have to assume that these are going to be the most talked about gift items over the next several weeks. All of the major retailers and e-tailers are already taking orders for the dolls, although many are doing so without any actual inventory. Backlogs for shipping are currently at only 2 to 4 weeks, but that's likely to increase as word spreads that the dolls are out there.

The retail price floats around $25 for the standard dolls, with even fancier dolls available for upwards of $50. Of course, these are "retail" prices. As soon as stocks get depleted, these dolls will be all over eBay, Craigslist and every other direct sale website at many times those prices. This trend is likely to spike in the weeks just before Christmas.

If you're on the fence with your holiday shopping, you'd probably be well served to pick up a few Edward Cullen dolls at your local retailer and just hang onto them until two weeks before Christmas. At that point, you could probably sell them and recoup most of your holiday gift expenditures in short order.