BabyPlays: A Netflix for childrens toys

Toys are an important part of being a child. When we get older they become shinier and more expensive, but for many, they're fun to play with for a short time and we lose interest.

To help curb the potential costs and storage required, there's BabyPlays, a service that approaches toy enjoyment in a similar fashion to Netflix. BabyPlays is a subscription service that lets you pick what toys you want delivered to your house each month. Each of the plans lets you receive a different amount of toys. There are no late fees, and when you want a new ones shipped out you simply pack up the old ones and send them in.

In case you were wondering, the toys are sterilized between rentals. Also, if your little one is in love with the toy and you feel like buying it permanently you can do so for 20 percent of its cost.

See also: Swaggle, which lets parents swap and loan out used toys to one another.

If you've used Netflix before, BabyPlays.com's system is no different.

(Credit: BabyPlays.com)

[morph247]

This seems like a good idea at first, but what happens when a toy get broken or if a toy has multiple pieces and some get lost? These two scenarios seem very likely, just think back to when you were a kid... What little boy hasn't tried to rip the head off a barbie-doll or tried to stretch Gumbie to it max?

[Josh.Lowensohn]

If a toy is broken you have 3 days from when you get it to report it. I'm unsure about the breakage policy (it's not on the FAQ), but like any other rental service, I'm assuming there's a "you break it, you buy it" clause.

My tip if you're thinking about it is to get toys you don't think are going to break ;)

[thateasy]

"If the BabyPlays staff is unable to get any toy returned by a member clean enough to remain in the program, the toy will be shipped back to the customer and the customer will be billed for the wholesale cost of the toy plus the cost of shipping."

This is kind of rude (stupid etc) ........ specially when they want you to enroll and pay in next few minutes. They should offer customer a choice rather then shipping spoiled toys back to customer. Why not offer free recycling / pay 10 -20% of toys value.

[StephanieDev]

The only time a customer is ever expected to pay for a "spoiled toy" is if it is absolutely broken, unable to be repaired, or soiled beyond cleaning capabilities. It's the same as any business selling/renting goods: "If you break it, you buy it." Saying it is "kind of rude (stupid etc)...." is a bit much. If a customer rents a DVD from Netflix online, snaps it in half, and returns it, they must pay for the DVD. The same rule applies.