Gone for good! Parents paying $90 online for discontinued Tommee Tippee dummies

As parents scramble to snap up the last of the popular Tommee Tippee and Happy Baby Latex Cherry Super Soft Comforters – selling for up to $90 each on eBay right now – the company has issued an apology and explanation for the discontinuation of these products.

Panicked parents

We thought the inflated prices mums and dads were paying for Hatchimals last year took the cake when it came to bonkers eBay buying frenzies, but the latest dummy drama trumps that.

Tommee Tippee and Happy Baby Latex Cherry Super Soft Comforters (aka dummies!), which usually retail for around $5, are unfortunately the current objects of desire for parents.

They’ve been discontinued, propelling parents who need them to ensure the happiness (and sleepfulness) of their babies into full-blown panic mode, as competition on eBay pushes prices up towards the $100 mark.

“So upset!”

Mums and dads are understandably very upset at this turn of events:

“How can anyone live with themselves ripping people off like that?!” one Facebook user posted alongside an image of the very pricey dummies on the Bring Back The Original Cherry Soothers Facebook Page .

“I have paid $80 for two packs, that’s $160 not including postage!!! I have two girls and now I’m down to my last one as my 18 month old is teething and is deflating them by chewing on them!
So upset!,” another wrote, sadly.

“I’ve had to pay upwards of $40 per packet for happy baby dummies 🙁 It’s sad that people are trying to make money selling each packet for as much as they can possibly get when we have babies who are in desperate need of them,” one frustrated mum posted.

Supply and demand?

The turn of events – and creation of the Bring Back The Original Cherry Soothers Page on Facebook, who hope to lobby the dummies back into production – has not gone unnoticed by the company. They say they are “genuinely saddened to know that mums and babies are upset with the change.”

As any parent of a dummy-loving – or even bottle-loving – baby will know, not all teats are created equal and once you find one that suits your baby it can be the difference between calm and chaos. You can’t simply just use another dummy!

The folk at Tommy Tippee, who are obviously at the forefront of making sure babies are comforted and comfortable, know this too.

“We truly understand the attachment a little one can have to a soother and the frustration parents feel when their little one rejects a change in design. We sincerely apologise for the upset these changes have caused,” a spokesperson for Tommee Tippee said in a statement to Babyology.

Change of manufacturer

While it’s obvious they feel parents’ pain when it comes to the change in dummy design, it seems they are unable to roll things back and reintroduce the original teat.

They’re making these dummies at a different facility now, and the inability of the current manufacturer to actually produce the old design with the equipment they have is at the heart of this unfortunate reality.

“The change of design was as a result of a move to the manufacturing facility that produces our range of comforters across the globe. As all other comforters have a vented teat, it has resulted in this design requiring a change, as we do not produce air filled elsewhere,” the company explained.

Definitely discontinued

SO while Tommee Tippee is obviously feeling terrible about the impact the changes have on parents and kids, there is little chance that the old design will be repeated. They simply don’t make the old kind of dummy at the facility they are using now.

The Bring Back The Original Cherry Soothers Page on Facebook are swapping tips on where to find the remaining stock of the discontinued dummies, as well as ideas on alternatives that may have a similar teat.

They suggest some service stations still have the sought-after dummies and urge parents to get in touch with Tommee Tippee to voice their concerns.

Be sure to join their helpful gang, if you are affected. Our hearts go out to parents and babies who are.