My good friend brought my attention to a company called BabyPlays, which has started a toy rental service that works pretty much like Netflix does for movies: You choose a plan (starting at $26.99) which includes from 4-10 toys per month, play, and return the box to a FedEx location when you are ready. There are a lot of things I like about this plan, but there are several major drawbacks.
The Good
- It would be perfect for rotating toys and reducing clutter in your house!
- They have a “vacation” service, where they send your toys to your vacation spot so you don’t have to schlep your own toys around – I assume it’s for the US only, but they don’t specify on their website.
- BabyPlays tests every single toy they offer. Here is the explanation of their toy testing, taken from their website:
BabyPlays toys undergo testing by Essco Safety Check. They use laboratory-grade, handheld, X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) analyzers to detect the presence of a variety of toxic substances. Our toys are tested for potential toxins such as lead, cadmium, arsenic, mercury, chlorine, bromine, antimony, phthalates, PVC (polyvinyl chloride) and other elements.
- Every toy is sanitized prior to shipping, using an effective natural cleaning product, which I like so much better than harsh chemicals.
The Bad
- As I browsed their site, I had trouble finding any toys not made of plastic.
- They do offer some of the Melissa & Doug toys (like the pirate puppet & cutting fruit set pictured above), which I have always liked…however, when I did a bit of research I found this article which revealed that Melissa & Doug toys are now made in China! Ugh.
- Also, taking a giant box of toys to FedEx once a month does not sound like a lot of fun.
The Bottom Line
I can’t wholeheartedly support this business. I really like the concept, but the plastic toys really turn me off. On the other hand, if you have older children (who will not be chewing on said plastic toys), and you are going to buy them anyway, renting is a great option. Can’t somebody take this concept and apply it to really high quality natural toys? I would love that. Hm…business idea! 
*UPDATE*
I just received a very nice message from Nikki Seago at BabyPlays (you can read the entire message in the comments section of this post), and she said:
We are looking for more natural toys like the Earthentree toys we carry, and will be adding a line of natural products this year. Hopefully our selection will be big enough that anyone can join and fill their Wishlist with natural toys.
I will be very excited to see the new line of natural products, and will make sure to update all of you when it’s ready to go!
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Thank you so much for taking time to blog about BabyPlays. We really appreciate your review of our site and loved reading your constructive ideas. At BabyPlays we are constantly striving to meet the needs of parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, etc. as we choose the toys in our program. We do carry a lot of plastic toys for a couple of reasons. The first is because the majority of moms who join not only look for new toys that may not be easily found at Toys R Us, but also for the hottest toys on the market…and most of them are plastic and electronic. The second reason is because of cleanliness. Cloth toys really hang onto stains and dirt, which keeps the toys from looking new. We love wooden toys. Melissa and Doug have such amazing wooden toys, and their toys pass every test with flying colors. They do the most extensive research and testing on all their toys than any company we work with.
We are looking for more natural toys like the Earthentree toys we carry, and will be adding a line of natural products this year. Hopefully our selection will be big enough that anyone can join and fill their Wishlist with natural toys.
I would love to talk with you further, and maybe give you a chance to receive a shipment of BabyPlays toys and write a review of your experience. Thanks again for taking time to write about us.
Nikki: Thank you so much for taking the time to write to me. I have just added an update to the post about the natural products line – very exciting! I was a preschool teacher for years, and I completely understand that soft toys would be impossible to keep sanitary. I also understand that many people are looking for plastic toys; it’s just not my focus here at Global Mama. I am really looking forward to watching BabyPlays as it gains more natural toys, and I will definitely keep the readers here updated with any new developments. Thank you again for writing,
- Laura