Buyer Frenzy ~ Poppy Parker Giftset

One week ago it was announced to members of the W Club that the Poppy Parker Giftset (described in the preceding post) would go on sale - first come, first served - on November 18 at 10AM CST. Within two minutes the site had slowed to an imperceptible crawl. I logged in at the precise time the link went active and it took a full 20 minutes to get my order confirmed. After I did it three times during the first few minutes, I took the advice of one of the liaisons and did not hit refresh again. I don't think I breathed as my order slowly advanced forward to the end. I have never in my life had such an experience ordering something. It was like walking a tightrope.
At 11:22 AM the link was shut down. An announcement was made that the remaining sets would be distributed via lottery to be held from that time until late that night. People had dolls in their carts when the lights went out on them. The stories some collectors posted about what they did to be able to have computer access at that time approached what many would call "willing to go to any lengths."
There's no blame to be placed here. Collectors are wild about these dolls. It reminded me of the horrific event on Black Friday at a Walmart store last year. A crowd of shoppers whose buying impulses had been fueled by the scent of great sales stormed the doors at the moment of opening and actually killed an employee in the mad rush.