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tonight on 20/20, we have a shark in the house, for your holiday survival guide. before you lose it, meet our cast of characters, confessing their christmas shopping secrets. 20/20, the sales clerk, working in retail hell with piggy customers, and you won't believe what they leave behind. >> dirty underwear, used band aids. >> mark cuban's christmas toy inventor. can his magic turn this bike into the next cabbage patch kid. >> they make me think about my kid so it hit home. >> the fake out artist.

20/20 goes undercover. >> no hitting. >> the mall cop. take a hike. we caught one of them going too far with a taser. and the package people. will they go postal on your christmas present? a 20/20 experiment. shopping confidential. >> oh my gosh! >> here is david muir. >> tonight the countdown to christmas is down, how many will be at the mall this weekend? so this evening a shopper's guide, the secrets revealed. who knew you could go to the big name stores and bargain for a better price. the knockoffs, could you spot a super fake? first tonight the view of the mall you haven't seen from a one time mall cop armed with tiny cameras, matt gutman tonight on the case. it's shopping confidential. reporter: shopping seems like america's real full contact sport, where folks sharpen their

elbows and leave all that holiday spirit in the parking lot before blitzing the mall, like this crazed mob bursting through the doors of a california store. yep, a shopping trip these days can be a downright hazardous activity. this black friday in philadelphia, an all-out brawl erupts out between two couples, with that woman zapping her opponent with a stun gun, again and again. also last month surveillance video caught a dangerous species of shopper, flash robbers who swarm stores making off with racks of loot. another group tramp else an employee in their get away. but what about those people hired to keep shoppers safe? you would expect your mall cop to crack down on out of control shoppers like this crowd, right? wrong. it turns out most mall cops are specifically trained not to intervene.

>> most of the training you'll find with professional security office will be to observe and report and wait for law enforcement or proper authorities to respond. >> reporter: and that brings us to the story of a lone mall cop who apparently didn't get that message. darien long became an internet sensation for what he did to keep the shoppers at his mall safe. last year, long landed a job as a guard here at the metro mall in downtown atlanta, an area surrounded by government buildings. that means the mall should be packed with shoppers, but they've been driven away by the rampant crime in the neighborhood. basically, the clientele of this mall were some of the toughest people in town. >> all kinds of stuff going on down there. when i first got there, it was damn near open air drug market. that's how easy i could spot people doing things. >> reporter: even though the job only paid 500 bucks a week, long came in kitted out more like robo-cop than a mall cop. walk me through the inventory of what you have on you.

>> uh, smith and wesson nine millimeter. this is a 16-inch asp baton, very good thing. this is the taser x-3. >> reporter: and a tactical vest. >> yeah, with a gopro on it, which is probably the most valuable tool in the arsenal. the gopro camera. >> reporter: long wore the camera to document his encounters in the mall. much of his time was spent keeping the peace by breaking up fights, or helping settle customer disputes. >> reporter: but when it came time to busting the illegal activity in the mall, long preferred an iron rod to the golden mean. in this video, he catches a man selling drugs and boots him out of the mall. >> reporter: long's in your face approach clearly rubs people the wrong way. although he's often surrounded by a hostile crowd, he doesn't give an inch --

even when he's menaced by this man holding a brick. there weren't just scuffles. this could be life or death. somebody could get shot and killed. >> yeah, i took it -- sometimes i just took it to that level. this is a very aggressive culture down there. you show any weakness, man, these people will walk all over you. >> reporter: and the confrontations got even more intense. when long tries to boot a man he says was banned from the premises, he finds himself outnumbered four to one. >> you better watch your back, bro! >> reporter: long may be alone, but he's got a friend. he pulls out his trusty taser, and bids good night to his top assailant. when that doesn't pacify the crowd, long has to up the ante. all right, that's -- that's the real thing right there, that's not a taser. >> that's a smith and wesson.

>> reporter: when you watch it now, do you ever think, "was this excessive? maybe i didn't have to tase them? maybe i didn't have to pull out my weapon?" >> oh no, when they started to advance towards me, oh, no, the firearm had to come out. after the taser, there's nothing but bullets. >> that's not anything that i would, uh, allow our security officers, or anyone, to do. >> reporter: direct confrontation is a big no-no for most mall cops, even in deadly cases like this fatal carjacking at a mall earlier this week. when this armed shooter entered a new jersey mall last month and began firing, mall cops scrambled to get customers to safety, instead of going rambo like darien long. >> there is no doubt in my mind that his heart is in the right place and that he is trying to do the right thing, but his tactics are 100% wrong. >> reporter: but long's questionable tactics made him a hero to residents and business owners who had been long frustrated by the city's neglect of the area. >> he brought to the world what we have been talking about for

years to everybody. >> somebody was taking ownership, responsibility and trying to do something. >> we have decorated people like him to do these things. >> reporter: but it was this confrontation that carried long's reputation far beyond downtown atlanta. here, two women turn on him after he tells their kids to quiet down. >> reporter: long calmly retreats back inside the mall, but the woman in the red skirt follows him in and starts swinging at his face. long has had enough, comes out with taser blasting, and the woman goes down like a load of bricks. she goes down. was there perhaps a better, more diplomatic way to deal with this? >> well, after she hit me, no. after i took so much abuse, okay, i'm tired of that, i'm not trying to hear this no more. >> reporter: the mother-tasering clip eventually landed on youtube and went viral. long became an internet

sensation. people had never seen a mall cop act like this before, and one site dubbed him the "kick ass mall cop." you gotta like the name just a little bit. i know part of you likes it. >> yeah, but i'm not kickass. it wasn't about being the biggest badass on the block. i'm the softest guy there. i'm the weakest guy there. i'm just the guy with the most freaking commitment. >> reporter: that's true. but it would cost him. that video was the beginning of the end of the kickass mall cop. this march, the metro mall gave long his walking papers, blaming a slowdown in business. then later that week as he was finishing out his stint at the mall, long tried to tackle a man he says he'd ordered off the premises earlier. this time, police took long away in cuffs and charged him with battery. his career as a mall cop had come to an inglorious end. >> he's being prosecuted for activity that goes on here all the time, and just look the other way. and he is doing this on the

property that he was hired to protect. >> reporter: does it make you angry, though, that you were fired? that you got booted from the job in such a way? >> you know, not at all. it was a job, it was a job. i won while i was standing here, but i did not succeed. >> reporter: with long gone, the drug dealers and loiterers are now back inside the mall. with christmas around the corner, long himself has hit some hard times. with the pending charge, he can't get work as a security guard. still, he has no regrets about his stint as the kickass mall cop. darien, did you ever think, this is just a tiny, little, podunk mall. is this worth dying for? >> it's the job. and i'm going to do the job. i mean, i tried to do what was right. i tried to, you know, help some people. coming up, think it's hard shopping? try being on the other side of the count are, selling. >> i feel like i need a bodyguard. >> announcer: confessions from

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>> announcer: 20/20 shopping confidential continues. with juju chang reporter: ah, the spending spree. some shop till they drop. some shop till they -- well, take a look. >> reporter: what's that like for the person behind the counter. just ask freeman hall what it's like to be behind the counter. you described working in retail like it's hand-to-hand combat. >> it can be a war zone. >> reporter: he should know. he spent nearly 20 years on the floor of big department stores, selling clothes and handbags. >> i have been called every name in the book. i have had somebody spit in my face. i have had people throw handbags at me. >> reporter: that's like hardship duty. >> it is.

>> reporter: instead of hiring a bodyguard, hall started a blog, retailhellunderground.com, spilling the secrets of scorned salespeople. >> i wanted to create a community where people in the service industry could go and support each other, tell their stories, laugh, rant. >> reporter: dish? >> uh, dish, exactly. >> reporter: the customer is always right? not on this site, where salespeople swap horror stories about their customers or "custys." hall has even created "custy" categories. the cranky custy, they're dubbed crusty. >> and if you walk in and you're a crusty, it's like, just, i don't want to deal with you, i'm going to run away and hide in the stock room, you know. >> reporter: category "b" is downright ghoulish. >> there's the bloodsucker, who will not buy anything, and ask you a million questions and want to start talking about their bowel movements and their -- their love affairs. >> reporter: category "c" is meticulous to a fault. >> there's the picky -- the ones that are, uh, taking out their magnifying glasses and analyzing everything, and analyzing

everything you do. >> reporter: category "d" are the customers hall says are downright pigs. >> the piggy shoppers? they're horrible. they go into a store and just ravage it. >> reporter: hall posted this video of a discount store he toured pre- christmas. >> dirty underwear >> reporter: describe the scene for me. >> it was under siege by people who just didn't care. and they were throwing things left and right. stuff on the floor, piles of things everywhere. >> how long will it take to straighten this up? >> four hours. >> making messes. spilling their drinks, throwing things everywhere. kids screaming. >> reporter: ever told a piggy shopper to stop making a mess? >> no, but i want to! >> reporter: hall says it's the piggies who try to return so called "unused" handbags, despite the crazy clutter inside. >> a hair-covered cough drop, and paper clips, and condoms, and wedding rings, and money, and pictures.

uh, a boarding pass to the philippines. >> reporter: there are ways for salespeople to exact revenge. >> a lot of times if i didn't want to help somebody i would send them to customer service, if they are calling on the phone, you hang up. giving false information. like, we sold out of it. but the store at the end of the mall, they have them. go check them out. >> reporter: another secret, be cautious of overly solicited sellers, chances are they are on commission. i find when i go to the fancy stores, people are very eager to help me. >> they are under a huge amount of pressure. whoever doesn't sell enough gets fired. >> reporter: they don't necessarily have your best interest in mind. >> no. >> reporter: he confesses the power of persuasion for some salespeople involves truth twisting and name dropping. >> you know jennifer aniston is wearing that bag on tmz.

then the lies about it's our last one and there is ten in the stockroom. it's the it bag of the season. it's an investment piece you'll have it forever. i had one lady looked at me and said, you can stop talking now, i'll buy the bag. >> reporter: what do you do if you're in the mood for retail therapy but don't want to end up in therapy. he suggests a truce. go for the attitude adjustment. >> when you go to the store, and the person behind the counter, something doesn't go right, take a deep breath. just realize that's a person and you're a person and yelling at them is not going to help. >> reporter: that's in the holiday spirit. >> yes. exactly. >> reporter: i'll show you how being nasty to the sales clerk can cost you money with t minus four days and counting until christmas, still extra savings

to be had, it just takes extra effort. he is a guru author of bargain fever, ready to show me where to start digging. >> you have to think of the mall as a treasure island, where there are buried treasures everywhere. all you need is to unlock some of them. >> reporter: let's go. big chain stores are training their staff to strike a bargain, so it doesn't help to be naughty, be nice to your people. the kmarm discount. >> a smile goes a long way. if you walk up to a salesperson and smile and say good morning, how is your day? you're instantly making a connection. >> reporter: we wanted to put mark's keys to the test. we strapped on hissen cameras to uncover hidden gems. remember, retailers don't advertise discounts. >> here's a mic. here's a mic this button right here. >> reporter: so we set out to a mall just a few random big chain

stores. buy the same items from the same sales associate and see if mark gets a better bargain than me. the first key, good old fashioned haggling. if i just get two, it would be 70. my first purchase two sets of mixing bowls, i barely say a word and pay full price. 74 bucks. now it's mark's turn sweet talking all the way. >> quick question, these are lovely. but they are a little more than i want to pay. >> reporter: he knows to ask for coupons. >> do you guys have coupons behind the counter? >> i don't have one in the store. >> reporter: he doesn't take no for an answer he goes up to another sales clerk. >> you do have one in the drawer. >> reporter: after a few minutes of buttering up the salespeople, she offers him a coupon. >> if i smile more do you take 5% more off? >> a smile is cheap. >> reporter: his price $64, $10

less than i paid on the exact same set of bowls. and his new bffs invited him back in 48 hours for an even bigger discount. >> 25% off. i like you. >> i'll come back. 25% off. >> reporter: buried treasure for a smile. mark's second key to unlocking a treasure trove of savings, buying in bulk turns out the more you spend, the more you save. mark pays $15 for the same pair of jeans, that i the wallflower, paid $25 for. his third key to tapping into a pipeline of savings use the smart phone app. >> 160 coupons in this mall. >> reporter: the app, retail me not. >> what i love about retail me

not, it knows where you are. so when it gives coupons, those are coupons for the mall you're standing in. that's half price, if you buy that. >> reporter: half price? in order to use the app or online coupon you need to work magic on your friendly sales rep. his fourth key to opening up a hidden bounty, loyalty. what retailers call clienteling. you say hi, i'm mark, i like to shop a lot could i make you my sales assistant. >> reporter: he executes his signature move. >> i'm mark. >> reporter: he introduces himself to the salesperson, because preferred customers get advanced notice for sales. and get clued into certain unadvertised sales. >> i want access to the secret sales, the presales. can you give me access to that? if i work just with you?

>> of course. >> reporter: perhaps mark exudes charm. he outshopped me with technology again, and again. >> you get 20% off. >> 40% off plus 25%. >> reporter: i learned the secret keys to discount nirvana. and now it's up to me to follow mark's lead and turn up the charisma. a friend of mine said i could get a discount, if i asked for one. >> there is a 20% code out there. >> reporter: exactly. does this work? >> & this time the protege does it. i think i bested you. i got an additional 15% off. i can be charming, too. >> thanks to juju tonight. what's the best deal you found this shopping season, how did you get it, tweet me use the #abc 20/20 we'll get the

word out. >> coming up, fakes so good they almost fooled the experts. super fake, how have they gotten so good. we're taking it to the streets the secrets they don't want you to know. >> no hitting. >> announcer: still to come, christmas magic from mark cuban, next on shopping confidential. at farmers, we make you smarter about insurance. because what you don't know, can hurt you. what if you didn't know that posting your travel plans online may attract burglars? [woman] off to hawaii! what if you didn't know that as the price of gold rises, so should the coverage on your jewelry? [prospector] ahh! what if you didn't know that kitty litter can help you out of a slippery situation? the more you know, the better you can plan for what's ahead. talk to farmers and get smarter about your insurance. ♪ we are farmers bum - pa - dum, bum - bum - bum - bum♪

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>> announcer: once again, david muir and 20/20. >> we reported on fakes before, fake purses, fake watches, knock-off shoes, have you heard of a super fake, super costly and super close to the real thing. turns out they are fooling even the experts. and our own correspondent, too. reporter: hidden cameras, pushy salespeople. really pushy! knock-off designer handbags for sale on the asphalt aisles of canal street. new york's semi-secret world of counterfeits. >> which one? >> reporter: where fake never goes out of fashion. but grinchy grifters are

everywhere this holiday season. in georgia, just this week police shutting down bad santa retailers saying, "faux, faux, faux." fake pocketbooks in hidden showrooms worth $20 million. if only they were real. on new york's fashionable fifth avenue, the inspiration for all that copycat couture. genuine dior, chanel, coach. like a mantra for people with too much money. gucci, prada, vuitton. the names make you say, oh! the prices make you say no. >> we all want bargains. we want cheaper things, so we turn around and say fine, i'll take a fake. >> reporter: but not just any old fake. our bargain buddy, mark ellwood, is back. this time spotting something new -- the next-generation counterfeit handbag. it's called a superfake. >> a superfake comes from a

factory, either at midnight where it vanished when no one's looking or maybe it was wastage, it was supposed to be damaged and someone can slip it in their bag and take it home. >> reporter: the superfake is better made, more expensive, harder to find. >> the term superfake was invented because essentially this fake is better than you could believe. hand a fake handbag to an expert in bags and say is this real or not. they might not be able to tell. >> reporter: in rare cases experts say some are made with handcrafted leather, genuine handles and hardware. some may even be produced in the same factories by moonlighting workers. >> a superfake bag is simply a great-looking bag that most people would consider to be real. >> reporter: counterfeiting expert valerie salembier gave me a pop quiz with a $900 louis vuitton handbag, and its superfake illegitimate twin. >> which is the real and which is the fake? >> reporter: i look into the

bags, try to sniff out the imposter and take a guess. this is the real? fake, wow. >> here's how you tell. feet. a speedy never has feet. >> reporter: right. >> never has seams. >> reporter: of course, you can't see the seams if you buy online, where many superfakes are sold on fly-by-night websites. >> louis vuitton outlet on clearance. there's no way a vuitton bag would ever be sold on clearance. they don't ever reduce the price if they're real. >> reporter: and so a superfake would cost you what? >> anywhere from $350 to $1,200. and what consumers think is, "gee, that's expensive, so it must be real." >> reporter: time to go shopping. fashion law professor susan scafidi takes us on quest to score a superfake in manhattan's chinatown. and so grand and canal, the epicenter of the fakes trade on the street in new york, is where we are headed. we had a tip this park was a

hotbed of superfake vendors. on this day, though, nothing more exciting than a game of cards. then, a few blocks away, it begins. sketchy salespeople, whispering their pitch. >> purses? yeah. >> handbags? what kind? >> reporter: we literally were just walking down the street, somebody asked us if we wanted to see a bag. i got a bit of a rush and a little scared at the same time. >> well, it is a little frightening because you don't know where you're going. >> reporter: and what shocked me was we didn't have to go looking for them. they found us. like this man who carries a showroom on a smart phone. we order a classic louis vuitton speedy bag, like the superfake we saw earlier. he asks us to wait. >> you don't want us to come with you? >> there's no stores. everything is in the back. it's hidden because it's illegal to sell it. stay here. i'll bring it to you. >> reporter: but then he spots our camera, and he isn't happy. in fairness, we didn't get a much warmer reception when we

were shooting outside the dolce and gabbana store on fifth avenue, and they're not doing anything wrong. >> what are you doing? >> reporter: i'm with abc news "20/20." >> get this thing out of my face. >> reporter: is there some problem? >> no. >> reporter: it's a public street. >> right, but you have to have a permit to be doing that. >> reporter: no, no i don't. >> yes, you do. >> reporter: we returned to chinatown the next weekend, this time with hidden cameras. in five minutes we are offered designer handbags. >> couture gucci, chanel, prada. >> yeah, chanel. yeah, yeah. >> this way right here, please. >> reporter: we choose from a menu with pictures of designer purses. should we ask to look at a couple? >> um, what did you see the most? do you wanna look at chanel? let's see. >> reporter: we reject several garden variety fakes. >> i'm not loving the quality. >> and it doesn't even smell like leather. >> no. >> it smells like a tire. >> it smells like glue. >> reporter: and as you had warned us, they offer the cheaper stuff first and you have to really ask for higher quality. at every turn, we are approached by sellers hawking other dodgy

designer goods. >> watches? >> no, thank you. >> reporter: but we stay focused on finding a superfake. >> feel how soft. >> reporter: finally we are offered something special -- a chanel bag. >> that's beautiful. >> that's nice. >> reporter: the real thing goes for nearly $5,000. a run-of-the-mill fake might cost 30 0r 40 bucks. but this one wasn't nearly so cheap. >> how much is this one? >> $600. >> $600 is the highest price i've ever heard quoted on the street. >> can we give you $200? >> which one? >> for the chanel. >> no! okay, $500 and that's it. >> reporter: we haggled and got the price down to $430. >> all right, we'll do it! >> reporter: they even agree to take a credit card if we throw in a 10% tip of $43. a souvenir shop in the neighborhood runs the charge. we are now the somewhat ashamed owners of a superfake handbag. it has surprisingly authentic

details. down to the card with a serial number which further checking showed was also fake. >> well, we did it! >> congratulations. >> congratulations, i have a superfake! >> superfakes thrive because no one has any sympathy for a big handbag brand. no one thinks, "oh, that poor company, it makes so many millions, i wish they could make a few more million." so, i don't think there's very much guilt associated with buying something that is totally illegal. >> reporter: but a little guilt might be a good thing for shoppers. even if you don't mind the moral equivalent of shoplifting from designers, you may care about how much misery counterfeiters are spreading with your money. >> certainly we have evidence that it's gone to fund organized crime, that it's gone to fund terrorism. if you put your name on the label, you are going to be more concerned about your factory standards than if you are putting somebody else's name on the label and faking it. and that does lead to all kinds of labor abuses, including child labor. >> reporter: that's a lot of bad karma to carry around with your brand-new fake handbag.

and besides, it doesn't go with your shoes. >> announcer: coming up, when it doums delivering presents on time, whose being naughty, and whose being nice? a 20/20 experiment to get this santa statue across country in one piece. can fed ex do it? next, on shopping confidential. ♪ it's the night before christmas, ♪ ♪ our plan is in place. ♪ we've rigged up a trap to catch sight of his face. ♪ ♪ if only we could, just stay awake... ♪ ♪

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>> announcer: 20/20 returns with nick watt. reporter: 1:00 p.m., third street, santa monica, california. and like millions of you out there, i'm holiday shopping and fretting how my chosen gifts will make it cross country in one piece. because, well, there are some horror movies of the hell our packages might go through en route from "a" to "b." all right, these are the gory exceptions. after all these incidents, the companies took action to rectify

the situation. i'm buying a gift for david muir and testing the system. all right, mission accomplished. some kind of weird santa thing that looks very, very breakable. can you really send a plaster santa from l.a. to n.y.c. without it getting broken smashed along the way? 1:30 p.m., fedex, maxella avenue, marina del rey. and we're met by dana alcala. in the parcel packing game, this guy is jordan, elway and ripken all rolled into one. >> whenever a customer asks me, "what happens when i file a claim?" it's kind of hard for me to answer that because i've never experienced that. >> reporter: career breakages -- zero. parcels packed daily -- 30. confidence -- 100%. >> i am confident i can package

anything and it won't get broken along the way. >> reporter: what about santa? >> oh, wow, this looks pretty fragile. >> reporter: dana gets to work, sharing secrets along the way. >> i'm kind of massaging the bubble wrap just to see if i can feel the item. >> reporter: and if you can feel the item? >> it needs more. more bubble wrap. add some filler so it's not moving around. then double box it, too. and when we tape up our box, we always "h" tape it. seal the seams on both sides. >> reporter: he's confident. >> really. nice and safe. >> reporter: i did all i could to break it before it even left the office. >> i'm just going to need that measuring tape again. >> reporter: dana says his packages can survive being dropped four stories. u.p.s., by the way, has a testing lab in illinois where

they simulate truck jiggle, extreme temperatures, and just plain being dropped from a bit of a height. back to david's santa. 5:00 pm. he's on the move. 5:05 arrival at the sorting office, del rey avenue. 7:15. santa arrives at l.a.x. and a half-hour later, he's on the tarmac, bound for memphis. here we see flight 1204, which is departing l.a. in a few minutes. 1:09 a.m. and santa has arrived at the fedex global hub in memphis. 42 miles of conveyor belts, they're sorting half a million parcels an hour. >> yeah, just go faster! go a lot faster and make sure we get the boxes out on time. >> reporter: santa is scanned ten times before finding his way onto an airplane heading east. >> there's a lot of pressure. over 20 million packages moving through the system tonight.

>> reporter: these are massive organizations. and within them, there's bound to be the odd bad apple. i mean, u.p.s. will deliver 130 million packages just in the week before christmas. fedex has 630 airplanes, 90,000 trucks and 300,000 employees worldwide. and here's one of the very rare bad apples. it's just days before christmas 2011 in southern california. that's a computer monitor. unwrapped. so the driver totally knows what it is. whammy. i need to see that again. 9 million people saw this on youtube. that's just bad p.r. fedex posted an apology. i am upset and embarrassed for our customer's poor experience. >> reporter: fedex used this video as a training tool. how not to do it. and the driver? >> i can assure you we are working within our disciplinary policy. and the employee is not working with customers. >> reporter: and how about a u.p.s. bad apple?

how's he going to get an 88-pound marble-topped table to kristina tripp's front door in colorado? oh, he's going to do it like that. roly poly. unsurprisingly, the marble shattered into five pieces. and u.p.s. paid up. 6:05 a.m. santa has landed in jersey, newark airport. and 40 minutes later, he's wheels up for the big apple. 9:15 a.m., manhattan. santa's final sorting office. >> it was offloaded, put on the conveyor belt system, came up and went out the designated route. it's going out and deliver for you. >> reporter: david, i imagine, is getting excited about his delivery. 10:00 a.m. abc news world headquarters, new york city. it's the p.o.d., proof of delivery. and santa's final destination. 17 hours, 30 minutes since he left marina del rey. will he be broken? will i get to file a complaint? all right, here we come.

the moment of truth. 10:34 a.m. david muir's office. intact, tasteful, heartfelt. >> this is a powerful moment between me and nick. >> reporter: the moral of our holiday story -- remember dana's packaging tips. >> you always want to over-pack. >> reporter: and you too can send a fragile santa clean across the country, safe and sound, in time for christmas. >> nick, i didn't know you cared. >> announcer: when we return mark cuban's christmas gift to a toy inventor, could this be the next big idea for under your christmas tree? >> crazy good. >> announcer: next on shopping confidential. , i just can't let my family know... it's my son's christmas gift. well you should give him the chance to play with somebody who actully knows how. you should ask santa for a new face. i'm about to deck your halls. did you get my tank you note? tanks for the memories. whatcha doing? whoa - hey! just, uh...watching the news. a lot of unrest over there in...

this looks like... merry christmas! you should ask santa for a place to hide. rated m for mature. give battlefield 4 and all the hottest ea games with up to $20 bonus in-game content. only at walmart. to share with family. [ woman 2 ] to carry on traditions. [ woman 3 ] to come together even when we're apart. [ male announcer ] in stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy and more, swanson makes holiday dishes delicious. but it doesn't usually work that way with health care. with unitedhealthcare, i get information on quality rated doctors, treatment options and cost estimates, so we can make better health decisions. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare.

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>> announcer: 20/20 shopping confidential returns. here's debra roberts. reporter: when it's the season for buying, buying and more buying, it's the shopper who decides what's hot. and what's not.

and behind all that frenzy -- some entrepreneur who's desperately hoping to win a spot under your christmas tree with the latest big idea. marybeth lugo is one of them. >> if you could check out what colors we're low on. >> reporter: in three tough years she's managed to push her kiddie bike into small toy stores across the country. but now marybeth wants to hit the big time. >> i've been working really hard towards this. this is my one shot. >> reporter: a shot she's hoping to find on "shark tank," where dreamers compete for the cash to bring their ideas to life. just getting on the show is a long shot. yet just four hours after e-mailing her pitch, the phone rings. >> i sent it in at 1:30. i heard from them at 5:30. i was like, "oh, my gosh, it's 'shark tank' calling." >> reporter: before she could get over the shock, marybeth is in the tank talking up her kazam bike. >> kazam is a balance bike that is revolutionizing the way kids learn how to ride. >> reporter: a cool two-wheeler with no pedals. kids learn the balance of bike

riding, no training wheels. >> with the help of kazam, kids are having fun. >> reporter: though she'd practiced back home with friends and neighbors, marybeth is feeling like shark bait. >> we just hit, pepper 'em with questions and questions. there's a lot of pressure when you walk through the door. i think once you get over the initial nervousness of -- of -- and then you're just in the moment, you just talk about -- no? >> that didn't happen for me. >> reporter: soon there is blood in the water. >> i just don't feel that fire in you. >> i'm out. >> reporter: but mark isn't going in for the kill. >> what was it about her presentation that grabbed you? >> what was cool about it, it made me think about my kids, right. i remembered, you know, going through the whole process of teaching them how to ride a bike. and so it really hit home. >> i'm going to give you 24 seconds to convince barbara. so you're going to have to come high and come hard. >> this has become my life. and i am not willing to walk away from it until we become the top leader. >> i wanted to see how well she could deal with pressure.

sometimes you got to put 'em to the test. >> do we have a deal? >> we have a deal. nice! i'm proud of you. >> reporter: once you left the group, what happened? >> walked out, saw my husband, and cried for two hours. >> it's a lesson for entrepreneurs that sometimes entrepreneurs feel like getting an investment is the win. oh, i got an investment. that's just the start. because now the investor wants to make money, right? >> reporter: but that's tough in a business that's not all fun and games. unless, of course, you stumble upon that out of the blue, crazy idea. one suburban dad did with the rainbow loom. who knew that rubber band bracelets could lead to a pot of money? for choon ng it sure did. >> you're going to make $3 million? >> we're going to make about $5 million this year. >> reporter: that's a lot of rubber bands. when breakouts happen, look out. remember the odd looking cabbage patch dolls? people were fighting over them. and the college student who

hatched the idea, xavier roberts, was stunned. billions of dollars later, cabbage patch kids are one of the top selling toys of all time. so what about kazam? we checked in with this toy store in dallas to see if it's making christmas lists. >> so i'm putting you on the spot. how's it doing? >> it's doing really, really well. i put in a big order last week. >> she did. >> reporter: the bike is even popping up on airplanes, in skymall magazine, and will soon land in toys r us. this business mom is now in demand. >> several times i've found myself hiding in the closet on my phone so that the customer can't hear my kids calling my name. "mom, i'm hungry. mom, can you drive me here?" so i've done that on more than one occasion. next shipments, we're pretty much receiving containers every month. >> reporter: every month? >> reporter: since cuban bought in, kazam sales have hit $1.5 million in a few short months. >> when you started out, did you think you would see your bike in

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