Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Hot on Facebook
Angry Dad Shoots Daughter's Laptop ... after she criticized her parents on Facebook »

Wal-Mart Black Barbie Price Cut Sparks Uproar

Sends harmful message, say activists

By Mary Papenfuss,  Newser Staff

Posted Mar 10, 2010 4:05 AM CST | Updated Mar 10, 2010 5:34 AM CST

(Newser) – Wal-Mart has dropped the price of a black Barbie doll in a move that's raising a ruckus. "Both are great dolls," carefully emphasized a Wal-Mart spokeswoman. But the price was cut $2 for a black Ballerina Teresa Barbie from the $5.93 for the white version because the black Barbies weren't selling. "Pricing like items differently is a part of inventory management in retailing," said the spokeswoman. But a Harlem activist warned that such a strategy in this case "can have collateral damage."

The "implication of lowering the price is that it's devaluing the black doll," said Thelma Dye, the executive director of the Northside Center for Child Development. Wal-Mart could have decided "that it's important we don't send a message that we value blackness less than whiteness," said Los Angeles sociology professor Lisa Wade. Ironically, Wade pointed out, the black dolls may not be selling as well because white parents are more reluctant than blacks to buy dolls of a different race for their children.

Ballerina Teresa Barbie is selling for $2 less than her white version at Wal-Mart stores.
Ballerina Teresa Barbie is selling for $2 less than her white version at Wal-Mart stores.   (Amazon.com)
Price differentials are part of retailing, says a Wal-Mart spokeswoman.
Price differentials are "part of retailing," says a Wal-Mart spokeswoman.   (AP Photo/Wal-Mart Stores Inc.)
White Barbie doesn't look like she has a care in the world.
White Barbie doesn't look like she has a care in the world.   (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
This photo released by Mattel shows  Barbie So In Style with a fan.
This photo released by Mattel shows "Barbie So In Style" with a fan.   (AP Photo/Mattel)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
My TakeCLICK BELOW TO VOTE
50%
2%
9%
1%
3%
35%
To report an error on this story, notify our editors.
A snapshot of the day's best news stories.
 
COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 70 comments
Count-Spatula
Mar 15, 2010 5:39 AM CDT
Has anyone griping about the price difference ever bought a black Barbie? ...or is everyone bitching in the abstract?
whoucrapn
Mar 12, 2010 1:48 PM CST
White Barbies should be more expensive anyway. They all have breast implants!
CaptainBlueFuzzy
Mar 11, 2010 11:22 PM CST
Stupid people. This isn't a race issue so stop making it one! It's an economics issue! When you have too much supply, you have to lower the price to increase demand. What do they want Walmart to do? Lower the price on both? That would reduce their profits because the white barbie dolls are selling just fine. Lowering the prices on those dolls doesn't make economic sense. Making this a racial issue when it's not is just going to make people reluctant to stock black barbie dolls in their stores out of fear of backlash for trying to make them sell better by lowering the price if they don't sell well in the first place.

More Newser Stories

Go Bald, Barbie

Parents Squawk About Barbie's Tattoos

Mattel Out $310M After Losing Bratz Spat

Greenpeace: Barbie's Killing Rainforests

Court Stunner: Bratz Dolls Beat Barbie


NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS
Other Sites We Like:   24/7 Wall St.   |   Betty Confidential   |   BuzzFeed   |   Cracked   |   Fark   |   Timelines   |   The Frisky   |   Geek Sugar   |   NewsOne