Toys and Games – Reviews and News

In the run-up to Christmas, I want to ask the question, do Toy Shops actually care about their customers, or is it simply a numbers game at this time of year. I thought I would have a look at the top listed toy shops in Google for the term and see how many of them offered any form of freephone (0800 number) support.

Thetoyshop.com – 0844 800 5100
Hamleys.com – 0844 855 2424
Toysrus.co.uk – no obvious tel number
Mulberrybush.co.uk – 01403 790796
Hasbrotoyshop.co.uk – 00800 22427276
LambsToys.co.uk – 01325 466042
Cambridgertoyshop.co.uk – 01223 30 90 10
Pollocks-coventgarden.co.uk – 0207 3797 866

Of the sites listed in the top 10 of Google, only one had a freephone 0800 number on offer to potential buyers. I am big on being able to contact businesses for free. If they want my business, they must be willing to do some legwork in obtaining this business.

The thing that surprised me the most was the fact ToysRus had no real visible contact number. I say hats off to Hasbro for offering a free 0800 number to help consumers out in tight times.

It has been statistically proven shoppers are more likely to phone a business which offers a free phone number. Come on you toy shops, Hasbro offer us buyers free phone calls to discuss their products, so why can you not all offer free 0800 numbers for us buyers?

It does strike me the owners of toy shops are not really bothered with offering a quality service to us shoppers. The question is whether this is just arrogance on the part of the toy shops listed, and in harder economical times should they be offering us important buyers additional service – I say yes they should.

A toy shop owner did say to me once why would I bother looking for business during the year when every child has a birthday on December 25th each and every year – literally for toy shops now it is bonanza cash-cow time , and boy they are going to milk it!

Do you have a DVD system in the car to keep the kids entertained? Is the DVD system your sanctuary so you do not have to engage with the children?

Surely kids already watch too much TV? Do you really want to subject their eyesight to a 7″ LCD screen which is bobbing up and down during a typical journey.

Don’t get me wrong, TV is not a total evil for little ones, it’s like anything, all good things in moderation. If I am with children I prefer to sing songs and engage with them. There is always a selection of CD’s available that hold a multitude of children’s songs which if anything are fun to learn.

A few years ago I just happened to be watching bid-up TV when a pack of 10 Childrens CD’s were on – I brought one and they are still in use today. I have never seen the same pack again which is a shame as there are plenty of other children who would enjoy the variety of songs which were recorded.

The closest that I have found to this is a CD on the Mulberry Bush site. The CD features a collection of 18 songs including ‘The wheels on the bus’, ‘Ten green bottles’, ‘If you’re happy and you know it’ and ‘clap your hands’.

Now in fairness I am aware that 18 children songs won’t go a long way if you are on a four hour drive. But there are also other alternatives, there are loads of story books including all the Roald Dahl stories on CD, and these are excellently narrated stories which children and adults alike can enjoy. But don’t segregate your children, enjoy stories with them.

Children love the interaction, and do you know what? Give it a chance and so will you!

Mulberry Bush – Children’s Travel Songs
Amazon – Roald Dahl Story CD’s

Where do you start with buying a learning toy for a child?

Are you the harassed Uncle or Auntie wondering what to buy a niece or nephew? Are you a puzzled Mum or Dad wondering what toy may connect with your child and develop them further?

Truth be told there are simply too many toys for parents to choose from and guess what the parents choice is typically narrowed by advertisers and peer pressure.

Look at every Christmas, there is typically a mad stampede for the en-vogue toy of choice, which inavriably ends-up in the obscure never-never land of the back of the wardrobe once the novelty wears off.

Another factor is are those buying presents actually that bothered whether a toy is going to have the right benefit for the child? My guess and experience is not, but you may disagree.

Do the likes of Argos, Woolworths and Toys R Us and the like actually give people the right choices? Or are mass marketed, mass produced, easy win, easy buy toys with attractive packaging co-ersing people into making an impulse purchase.

Have you ever tried asking a member of staff on whether a specific toy would be good for a childs reading, or writing or arithmitec skills? They haven’t a clue and subsequently a child is then in the hands of the gods.

Unfortunately this is endemic of society and the fast speedy world in which we live in which everything must be done at a pace. Thankfully there are a number of stores which do care about children and that do care about what toys they play with.

Traditional toys, wooden toys, retro toys, learning toys, educational toys call them what you like, they still have a place in homes up and down the UK, it is just a pity that so many people do not get to know about these stores.

I have purchased many of these ‘traditional toys’ but not from the big high street stores, I have always found the time to be purposeful about certain toy purchases. That is not to say that I do not enjoy a visit to Toys R Us? Of course I do, all that fun in one place. All I am saying is don’t expect to find toys that will make use of your child’s imagination and nurture their learning.

My favourite Toy Shops include Mulberry Bush Online Toy Shop which is great for Traditional Toys and Hamleys which is an absolute Aladdins cave!