Welcome to my new website and blog. In this category I plan on sharing with you various ideas and observations based on my over 30 years experience in the toy biz.

We live in a world of perceptions – which have almost nothing to do with reality. Had customers once who went into one of the specialty stores and looked at a particular toy – she and her friend had evidently seen the same item a few minutes before at a mass market store – the price was the same but they put it down in the specialty store and went back to the mass store to purchase it…. The Perception is that is was cheaper in mass… same goes when a company sells to the big guys and even tho it is retailed at full price, customers perceive that it is cheaper even if it isn’t. Hard for the vendors to keep their prices low without the big hits they get from mass but it does affect the sales and definition in the specialty stores. That said, there are often items which are sold in both markets, perhaps with different packaging, but the education customers get in specialty, plus the gift wrap where available, helps them purchase on our side of the fence. There also exists a certain percentage of customers who never set foot in a mass store – unless forced – but now with the advent of internet sales, when an advertised item is the only thing the kid wants, they can still fulfill the fantasy thru internet shopping. I would guess that that last bit would be another good reason to have a web site.

It’s been rather quiet out there – I keep seeing bad things about our economy but when I speak to customers I hear good news for the most part. It would seem that most were quite busy over the 4th especially up north. These are strange waters we’re navigating – hang in there.

I will be heading to NE soon to visit and will attend the Chicago show toward the end of the month so if you are attending, come by Market Place Gifts and see me.

Maxwell Street days happening in Madison this weekend – there is always something going on worth seeing.

I had my first training session today on how to work this website – have a great teacher (Anthony not only put this site together, but is patiently taking me thru all the steps to make it active). Hopefully I can put in my two cents on a regular basis. Websites are something I’ve been encouraging you all to do as you may as well take advantage of the tourist good will that comes into your stores during vacation time – just having a way to get in touch with that super specialty toy store they found in their local wanderings can mean found dollars to your bottom line. Even if you just have one picture and a phone line along with a note telling customers that you drop ship. You can always contact someone like Anthony to see about having a site put together for your store: www.SweetSiteStudio.com

I attended ASTRA in Providence – great show with some learning as well (hard to believe anyone who’s been in the industry as long as I have can actually learn something new but it’s true!). Busy show with a lot of east coast buyers but we had a few from Wisconsin too! What I heard most from buyers is that it was better than Toy Fair since it sliced thru all the mass market type lines and only showed the lines which were important to specialty. Many said they would come to only this show in the future as it catered specifically to their market. I do, however, think that Toy Fair gives you a pulse on what is coming in the industry and there are many small lines you will see there which won’t be anywhere else.