Mattel's recall of 9 million toys may seem like a lot, but it won't lead to any shortage of toys on shelves or limit availability over the Internet.

"While this is a big recall, it is important to bear in mind that there are hundreds of thousands of toys out there," New York City-based analyst and writer Chris Byrne, who is known as the "Toy Guy," said on Tuesday.

Also, Mattel will be able to "remanufacture" popular toys recalled for their potential health and safety risks in time for the Christmas season, he said.

Byrne's comments came in the wake of the announcement by Mattel, the nation's largest toy maker, that it was recalling Chinese-made toys including Barbies, Polly Pockets and Cars movie items because of concerns over lead paint and tiny magnets that could be swallowed.

Denver-based eToys.com, which sells toys over the Internet, says it carries only 17 of the toys being recalled, mostly various Polly Pockets and Barbies.

"They have a purchase value of only $22,000," said eToys.com spokeswoman Sheliah Gilliland.

"It's a tiny, tiny fraction of what we ship."

The local firm informed customers by e-mail on Tuesday afternoon that they were not delivering the items and provided instructions on contacting Mattel for a refund.

Independent toy stores in the Denver area said they could benefit from a potential fallout from the recall. This month, Fisher- Price, a division of Mattel, recalled 1.5 million toys for possible lead paint hazards.

"Most independent toy retailers do not carry large brands like Mattel and Fisher-Price, so this will likely increase the sales on a number of our products that are coming from Europe and the U.S.," said Brandie Cardenas, a manager at Timbuk Toys in Lowry.

Rachel Westergaard, a manager at Kazoo Toys in Cherry Creek, agreed.

"Our customer clientele typically is not going to the large places, where they are not going to find the unique products that we carry here," Westergaard said.

The non-chain toy stores probably can expect to bring in new customers because of the recall, said Denver retail consultant Mary Beth Jenkins.

"That would seem logical," said Jenkins, president of the Laramie Co. "Independent stores have to be more nimble to compete with the big boxes. This may give them an advantage. They can't compete on a price point," for mass- produced toys.

Jenkins said it is tougher to tell the impact the recall would have on big national retailers, such as Target and Wal-Mart.

"It would be interesting to know what percentage of shelf space these toys take up and what their alternatives are," Jenkins said.

"At the end of the day, it could be negligible."

Several phone calls to Target were not answered.

Wal-Mart, on its Web site, said that it has placed an electronic block at registers to ensure the recalled toys can't be purchased.

Mattel is working on a plan to dispose of the returned toys "in a responsible way," said Jules Andres, the company's director of corporate communications.

If parents become concerned about toys made in China, they may have trouble finding alternatives, Byrne said.

"Eighty percent of the toys are made in China," he said.

rebchookj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5207