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Hot Holiday Items Emerging Ahead Of Black Friday

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- It's not even Black Friday yet, but some hot items are already emerging this holiday season. In fact, some gifts are running low already!

L.L. Bean has hired 100 new employees as it scrambles to fill orders for its handmade duck boots! The backlog stands at 100,000 pairs!

At S. W. Randall Toyes and Giftes in downtown Pittsburgh, they say there's a big demand for anything Star Wars, although the newest movie isn't even out yet.

"I've never seen anything like it," said Jack Cohen, the store's owner.

Combine Star Wars with Legos, and they say that's a sure fire hit: Take the Lego Star Wars Advent Calendar. They've sold dozens and only have four left.

"Every day in December, you open up a little panels and there's going to be a Star Wars figure in there," said Maclain Eardley, the buyer for the store.

They expect other Lego Star Wars toys to go fast, too. "That's just guaranteed. Legos in general are just very strong."

Reports of a Lego shortage had shoppers worried, but that's apparently only affecting Europe.

However, good luck finding Skyrocket Toy's Sky Viper Camera Drone. It was unavailable on both Amazon and on the Toy "R" Us website.

And speaking of hard to get, Patti LaBelle's Sweet Potato Pies at Walmart might seem perfect for the holidays! But after a man's review on YouTube went viral, they're selling fast!

The Walmart in North Fayette got a shipment this week and they were all gone in a day!

Point Park University business professor Elaine Luther says sometimes shortages are obviously real. Other times, be suspicious.

"While companies don't like to talk about it very much, they use it when designing their marketing strategies," said Luther. "So making the idea of a shortage or publicizing a shortage will make everyone who's on the fence to run out and buy it."

If you're determined to learn what's hot before supplies run low, there's now an app for that!

The IBM Watson Trend App just launched this week.

It listens to millions of online conversations to find out which products are trending.

When we downloaded it, it showed us Apple watches and Samsung TVs.

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