Mother Talkers

Good Business Idea

by Elisa

Thu Mar 20, 2008 at 10:35:02 AM PDT

Newsweek recently profiled the creative home business of a mom in Houston. Lori Pope, mom to 15-month-old twins, rents out toys for kids as old as five years old ala Netflix.

Before you have the same initial reaction I had, which was "eww" to drooled-on, used toys, she sterilizes and shrink-wraps all toys before mailing them out.

Lori Pope pulled some $250,000 out of the oilfield supply business she already owns to launch the Web start-up last fall. With a warehouse of 6,000 toys, BabyPlays.com offers various membership plans that allow parents to rent toys as long as they want, and then send them back for different toys. At $37 a month, the cheapest plan allows families to keep four toys at a time. The most expensive plan is $65 a month for 10 toys.

Pope shops for playthings she thinks are safe, stimulating and sturdy.

Even if she did not have the oilfield business, I would think her idea would not require that much in start-up costs. Lord knows she could have my kids' toys, which are enough to fill an aisle at the toy store! Like the mom who invented the restaurant high chair cover, this story made me think, "Why didn't I think of that?!" Good for her.

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Tags: Netflix, Newsweek, Lori Pope, stay-at-home mom, SAHM, entrepreneur, toy rental (all tags)

Permalink | 34 comments

  • I'm still not hep to this (0 / 0)

    I first learned of Pope's business a few months ago and yes, "Ew" was the first thing that came to mind.  Ignored it, but then it kept chafing at me why something is wrong.  See, my kids get attached to toys.  My son walks around with certain toys for months on end.  Each kid has their own collection of toys they obsess over.  If the other even glances at it, all hell breaks loose.  What does a parent do when they rent a toy like that?  Go out an buy one? Rent it until the kid is over it?  

    And while I get space saving this could give, the costs are pretty astronomical.  $37 for 4 toys at a time, as long as I want...Keeping in my kids' obsessiveness, I could buy those toys for the same price. There's not that big a difference in toys, they just come in different packaging, i.e., a Spongebob cellphone vs. a Cars cellphone or Dora cellphone.  My kids use my castanets as cellphones!  

    Then there's the impact on the environment, shrink-wrapping each toy every time seems a bit much.  Then there's the energy expended just getting the toy to and from Pope's wherehouse.  A popular toy could quite possibly impact the environment more than a shipload of toys from China.  Okay, that maybe stretching it, but you get my point.  I'd much prefer to see something like Baby's Away with nationwide locations.

    Blogging While Brown Convention Atlanta, GA July 25-27, 2008

    by fabooj on Thu Mar 20, 2008 at 11:03:24 AM PDT

    • I wonder, though (0 / 0)

      if this would lead to people buying less toys?  In that case, I wonder if it would be more or less environmentally sound?  

      Just musing, I have no idea.

      by Erin on Thu Mar 20, 2008 at 12:25:01 PM PDT

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      • My experience in today's middle class america (0 / 0)

        is that need is totally disconnected from toy buying. That is, toys are relatively cheap compared to our income, and there are really cool ones that adults wish they had. Therefore, they see it in a store, and buy it, or if kid is with them in a store and expresses an interest, it gets bought. Or maybe it's a present - and with 2 obvious present-buying occasions a year, times N friends and relatives.. the toys add up. It's like buying the toy is a bigger part of the need than having the toy.

        by shenanigans on Thu Mar 20, 2008 at 02:57:45 PM PDT

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    • To me this (0 / 0)

      would mainly be appealing to Grandparents,Aunts,Uncles,friends,etc. with small children visiting using the service like one uses Baby's Away. Rent the toys,be a hero to the visiting kids,and thenship them back where they came from.Perhaps that's because,like yours,my kids get fixated on a toy and there's no getting in the car to go to the grocery store without it let alone shipping it back to the toy warehouse after a few weeks.

      by kwetsel on Thu Mar 20, 2008 at 12:55:18 PM PDT

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    • I'm with you (0 / 0)

      There are a lot of items that you would purchase anyway, not rent:  bikes and scooters, legos, art supplies, etc.  Tools and building toys for my mechanically inclined child.  Matchbox cars, army guys, and dinosaurs are needed in bulk quantities.  When you exclude this stuff, $444 is way more than my annual toy budget.  

      For infants and young toddlers passing quickly through developmental stages it might make more sense, but infants really don't need very many toys, and toddlers get attached to things.  A better strategy might be to just make friends with someone whose youngest kid is a year older than yours.  :-)

      by lyn on Thu Mar 20, 2008 at 02:00:57 PM PDT

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  • What about a toy library? (0 / 0)

    A few weeks ago, as my oldest and I pulled into the local library to return some books, he asked, "Why isn't there a library for toys?"  He thought about it some more and described a toy lending library that would stock toys on its shelves.  Kids could come, check out a toy, and return it after three weeks.  He liked the idea because it would get him access to ALL the Transformers--not just the ones he owns.

    by mkkendrick on Thu Mar 20, 2008 at 11:58:14 AM PDT

    • I like that idea (0 / 0)

      It works well for kids that have to see and touch the toys to know if they like them.  Plus, I have kids that lose interest in stuff quickly so trading out every week would work really well.

      Our library is stocked with great games and toys, but to my knowledge, they have to stay there.  Good motivation for us to visit, though.

      Jen

      by MrsPastor on Thu Mar 20, 2008 at 12:36:11 PM PDT

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    • Our county has one (0 / 0)

      I haven't ever used it but I know there is one.

      Katherine

      by pat of butter in a sea of grits on Thu Mar 20, 2008 at 01:34:40 PM PDT

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    • toy libraries (0 / 0)

      are really popular in Australia - there's a really good one in our council district. Aussieyank has also written about one in her neighborhood as well. They're free, and ours stock really good toys - like kitchen sets, etc. The really large items that you'd love to have your kids use but don't want to buy.

      I like the idea of the toy library because I find that if I have too many toys for Jess, she can't focus on them and gets easily distracted. About a year ago, I thinned her collection down to about a third, donated some toys and keep the rest in a few closets around the place; every few weeks, I switch some things in and some things out. Works really well.

      by Rachel on Fri Mar 21, 2008 at 04:17:13 PM PDT

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    • i like this idea too (0 / 0)

      I wish we had that here in Seattle. I would use it and I bet a lot of other people here would too.

      by Stacey on Fri Mar 21, 2008 at 06:55:44 PM PDT

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  • If only (0 / 0)

    the start up cost for my Casa Siesta idea could be this low.  I've mentioned it here before, but it was the idea of a tanning salon where people could rent a clean and luxurious bed for a few hours.  

    The animal cruelty issues make this 100% impossible, but my dh has always talked about a netflix-esque kitten subscription service.

    by Erin on Thu Mar 20, 2008 at 12:28:05 PM PDT

  • I like toy rental or libraries (0 / 0)

    rent with option to buy, I hope.  Some toys are treasured, others definitely not.  

    by lonespark on Thu Mar 20, 2008 at 01:34:57 PM PDT

  • An alternative (0 / 0)

    If you don't have a toy library, take the child to Goodwill and let him pick out some toys there.  You'll get out for less than $37 and you get what he wants, not what you think he wants.  The money you spend goes to charity.  When he's done with the toy, donate it back and get another.  No environmental cost beyond the drive to the store, but it's a fun (for him) destination for a rainy day.  And finally, you have the guarantee that cleanliness is up to your high standards - because you're the one who does the cleaning. :-)

    by lyn on Thu Mar 20, 2008 at 02:13:14 PM PDT

    • yeah (0 / 0)

      thrift all the way. not only with toys, but clothes for both of us as well.

      i am so used to it that target pricing seems out of the ball field to me. the things people will give away are amazing, if you take the time to find them.

      We cannot defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home. - E.R. Murrow

      by lorin on Fri Mar 21, 2008 at 01:22:19 AM PDT

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  • She's doing great with her marketing (0 / 0)

    since I'm hearing about this in a lot of different places.

    But $37 a month is a lot more than I spend on toys. Indeed, I hardly spend anything - other people bought most of our toys. And further, the Used Baby Store is a terrific source for pre-owned, inexpensive playthings.

    Netflix works because movies are cheap and easy to ship. Toys are unwieldy to ship, and there are always those small pieces that wander off.

    by shenanigans on Thu Mar 20, 2008 at 02:53:35 PM PDT

  • I Don't See it Working (0 / 0)

    $37 is probably way  more than middle class familes spend per month on toys.

    This is a cute idea but not a practical one.

    by Uhura on Fri Mar 21, 2008 at 06:25:07 AM PDT

Permalink | 34 comments