Fidget spinners are spinning their way to popularity in the Nepali market and have become one of the most trending online items. 

The toy, designed to relieve anxiety, has been gaining rapid popularity in Nepal. It also helps autistic children maintain focus. In the West, many have acclaimed the toy for its soothing ability while others have criticized it for keeping people ‘distracted’. 

The fidget spinner’s more profound effects are yet to be discovered, but it has turned out to be a money spinner for traders. Buyers in Nepal are mainly children and teens, traders said. 

“It helps me to relieve tension and anxiety so much,” said Yash Poddar, an A-level student. “It really helps me to concentrate on studies; and in some circumstances, it helps me to develop much needed patience.”

Youngsters like Poddar have already become glued to the toy, but it has barely been a month since they debuted in the Nepali market. 

“It really did help me concentrate during exam time,” said Sonam Serchan, another A-level student. “I am so passionate about them now. If I don’t have one in my hand, I suddenly tend to become very anxious.”

With the growing craze, the spinners are selling like hot cakes.  

“At first, we did not know what they were, so we only imported a hundred pieces,” said Prajwol Ratna Shakya, owner of Gadgets and Gears Nepal. “But we sold out of the spinners in just three to four days. Since then, sales have gone through the roof.”

Some are not impressed by the spinners even though they have become the rage. “I did not know that people had so much anxiety stored inside them that they only realised it when they bought spinners,” said Priya Rajbhandari, a high school student. “Personally, I find it distracting and annoying.”

Shakya said that it was his highest selling online item, and that demand for them was ever growing. The spinners are selling with a similar intensity on other online stores like Kaymu, Sastodeal and Hamrobazaar, among others. 

The spinners are mainly imported from the West. Plastic spinners cost around Rs300 and metal ones cost Rs900 to Rs1,200. Nowadays, production has shifted to China so models as low priced as Rs150 are entering the market. Spinners worth up to Rs3,000 can be found online, and they come with accessories like lighters and key rings.

While spinners are popular among the youth, adults prefer the more sophisticated ‘fidget cube’, another toy that helps to soothe fidgeting genes. 

“So many of these fidgeting toys are being sold that it is hard for even us to keep track,” said Shakya.