David Hampton and Caleb Chung created the Furby in about nine months (in addition to an additional nine months spent designing the toy). That was the amount of time between Tiger Electronics showing an interest in his interactive creatures, during which Roger Schiffman bought the rights to it, and the time they hit store shelves. Furby's first public appearance was at the International Toy Fair in 1998. Furbys originally retailed for about US$35, and upon release Furbys flew off the shelves in toyshops. The demand for these toys during the 1998 holiday season drove the resale price over US$100 and sometimes as high as several hundred dollars. Furbies sold for over US$300 in newspapers and in auctions. Nicknames were given to them, and sellers gave values to them. Some people continue to call their Furbies by the terms 'wedding Furby', 'tuxedo Furby', 'snowball Furby', 'biker Furby', and others. All, of course, were named rare by sellers, because they were so hard to find at the time. In a sure display of the demand for even one Furby, some sellers at the time scammed people out of a lot of money, without even having first given them a Furby. Parent battles, arguments, and fights grew higher at the popularity of them, and when retail supplies ran out, parents turned to the Internet, where Furbies could be purchased for two, three, or more multiples of their retail price. This action led to many parents ending up on eBay.