SANDY -- She wasn't even born when Disney released The Lion King. But she's watched the video every day for months. Now it's her birthday, and that's what she wants for her party. Lion King stuff.
The problem is, there's no Lion King merchandise to be found: no paper plates, pointed hats or party favors.Sandy entrepreneur Tom Spangler wants to help. He's been there.
"My daughter was turning 4 and she wanted a Winnie the Pooh party," he said. "My wife and I drove all over. It took all week, buying one thing here, another there. We asked ourselves, 'What if there were one place for everything?' "
Especially the tough to find, discontinued things.
That's how ezParties, Spangler's online business (www.ezParties.com), came to be.
He buys products from party supply and novelty item wholesalers, then packages everything for his customers -- napkins, streamers, personalized buttons, balloons and more, all color-coordinated.
"We had in mind working parents as our target market," Spangler said. "This was all about making children's parties easy."
But he has found the most common characteristic of his clientele is geographic location.
"I'd say most of our customers live in rural areas, places where there are no party supply stores, or even a Wal-Mart," he said.
Like Elkhart, Kan.
"Right in the middle of nowhere," Spangler said, chuckling as he points to the town on a big map above his computer. "We get so many orders from there."
He's shipped to as far away as Australia and Puerto Rico.
Despite advertising locally, Spangler's customers are overwhelmingly out-of-staters.
"I guess all they need is Internet access," he said. "But building a stronger local presence is a major goal."
Spangler fills orders out of his home, but he has not ruled out a bricks-and-mortar business at some point in the future.
Although he hasn't recouped all his original start-up expenses, the business is in the black each month.
"We ship probably an average of 10 packages a week," he said. "And our average order is $68."
Spangler admits he's a softy when it comes to children. But his business caters to all kinds of theme parties.
"We have missionary homecoming kits and Dec-A-Door packages with holiday decorating supplies," he said.
But what's the most frequently requested party theme?
"Batman," Spangler said. Even though there hasn't been a new movie in several years, "little boys still love Batman. So I've got lots of Batman. I hate to see a kid disappointed."