Etch-A-Sketch Sales

[thevoiceofreason]

One probable outcome about the best label of 2012 - Romney as the Etch-A-Sketch Candidate - is that sales for the privately-held maker of Etch-A-Sketch toy, The Ohio Art Company, are likely to soar. The downside is that Ohio Art Company outsourced the manufacture of the Etch-A Sketch to China in 2000-2001 (according to fundinguniverse.com), so higher sales won't directly translate to more jobs for Ohio.

I contacted the Customer Service representative of the company, wondering if there was stock available to the public. I was told that the company went private a couple of years ago. Before that, it was listed on the American Stock Exchange under the symbol AMEX:OAR. I have been unable to find which private equity company (as there probably was one) facilitated that move.

If you want to visit with the Ohio Art Company, their folks are quite pleasant:

The Ohio Art Company
1 Toy Street
Bryan, Ohio 43506

Customer Service: 1-800-800-3141

[Richardo]

1. Wouldn't be ironic if it were Bain Capital?

I have been unable to find which private equity company (as there probably was one) facilitated that move.

Oh pleaseohpleaseohpleaseohplease

[thevoiceofreason]

2. You read my mind!

[madinmaryland]

4. The would be so rich! (pardon the pun)

[grantcart]

17. sorry no

http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/22/another-gaffe-at-etch-a-sketch/

The largest institutional owner of the stock, with 93,673 shares, or more than 10 percent of the shares outstanding, is a Chicago-based money management firm, North Star Investment Management Fund. It appears to have owned the stock for more than a decade.

[auburngrad82]

3. Why not?

It's the new laptop for lamebrains.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

5. Smart idea. It creates jobs while poking fun at R-Money...

ETA: If Democrats were smart, they'd invest in etch-n-sketches and carry them around at the Democratic National Convention, much like Republicans wearing flip flops in 2004, mocking John Kerry and wearing purple-colored band-aids.

Yes, it's childish, but it's TRUE!! (What they did to John Kerry wasn't true!)

[thevoiceofreason]

6. It is the perfect symbol

Familiar, low-tech, and soon everyone will know what it stands for.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

9. When you shake it, what do you get?

A blank slate!!!!!

It's a great idea!

[grantcart]

7. Good to see that the VOR is back!!

[grantcart]

8. kick

[denem]

10. Ohio Art Customer Service lied to you.

The company was delisted in 2004, according the SEC,

That's more than 'a couple of years' ago. All manufacturing was in China by 2003.

[LiberalFighter]

11. If it is made in China

I would not want to buy it for any reason. You can't be sure what they use for materials.

[thevoiceofreason]

14. What I like best!?!

The president (at least at the time they delisted) blamed the high cost of compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley on why they delisted.

I call bull. I bet it's one of those "go public, get a bunch of money, go private, and load it up with debt" situations.

[ellisonz]

12. Love me an etch-a-sketch.

(FUN)

[davidpdx]

13. Maddow said they are paying workers 29 cents and hour

Compared to $9 an hour in the US. I'm surprised they didn't try for prison labor (that would still be more expensive).

[crazylikafox]

15. I think it's now owned by Bain Capital.

I heard that last nite on TV. Can't remember where. Was it Rachael? The company said that it was forced to outsource to China because of demands by it's new owners to reduce costs. That new owner was Bain. Don't know if they still own it. Did anyone else hear that?

[grantcart]

16. Share prices going through the roof

http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/22/another-gaffe-at-etch-a-sketch/

Ohio Art, the maker of Etch A Sketch, used to be a public company, but it took advantage of a provision in the law to force most public shareholders to go away. Now it rarely trades on the over-the-counter market, and it no longer files public disclosures with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

On Thursday, the day after an aide to Mitt Romney referred to Etch A Sketch in what was widely viewed as a gaffe, the stock traded for its highest price in eight years. It is at least possible that the buyer did not understand how rare that was — or what a high price he or she was paying.

The bid-asked spread on Ohio Art on Thursday morning was $4-$12.50, meaning that a market maker stood ready to buy shares at $4 or sell them at $12.50, more than three times as much. An investor placing a market order to buy shares would have to pay the $12.50. And someone did. A sale of 500 shares at $12.50 crossed the tape at 9:30 a.m., as the market opened.

[thevoiceofreason]

19. Pink sheet stock gambling - not just for breakfast anymore!

[mackattack]

18. An Awesome wind farm

Right by Byran Ohio. Check it out if you go up there.