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This user has six children, some of which are now well into adulthood. Her children acquire most toys as gifts from relatives or as hand-me-downs from her friends. She didn’t go out of her way to acquire many toys herself because the toys took up a lot of space in her home and she didn’t want her children to be spoiled. If possible, she would keep toys outside in an attempt to conserve space in her home. The user found it unfortunate that many donation centers, like Goodwill, would not take in some used toys because of liabilities liability issues (eg. stuffed animals being a risk for bed bugs).
Working class father
Lessons Learned:
- Would like an alternative for exchanging items that donations centers would not take
- Active in peer-to-peer toy exchanges and enthusiastic about broader opportunities
- Preferred receiving hand-me-downs and passing on used toys over buying and selling in yard sales and similar venues
Daycare director
The user The user is the director of a daycare and does not have the budget to provide enough toys for his children’s enjoyment. He would like a cost-friendly manner in which to acquire toys for his kids. Unfortunately, saving up for each toy for the kids is not a worthwhile investment since kids quickly outgrow or mistreat toys. His biggest problems is finding age-appropriate toys which are in good enough condition in an inexpensive fashion. He mentioned that he had to ensure that it was important to ensure that toys from organizations such as the Salvation Army or Goodwill were clean enough for the kids to play with.
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The giving parent expressed an interest in being able to give lots of toys away at once, without having to sort through them himself. As he was the one giving away stuff for free, he felt the onus for cataloging was not on him. On the other hand, in the interest of the receiving parent, he or she may only wish to accept specific toys rather than the entire set. Ideally, this process would minimize the donation of gifts to receiving parents that would not use or throw away some of the toys.
Anonymity in Exchanges
Interviewees did not necessarily feel comfortable with people they did not know coming to their houses for numerous reasons, including security. They were more comfortable with a shipping system where they got reimbursed for shipping costs or having a way to orchestrate a meetup in a place midway between the two parties involved.
Quality of Goods
A concern arose over ensuring that they toy exchange did not become a means for people to offload junk onto others. While it is understandable that not all toys exchanged would be of "like new" condition, a certain level of cleanliness, aesthetics in appearance, and retained functionality would be necessary for a product to be exchangeable. The donation of poorly maintained items could result in bed bugs or the transmission of diseases, which may make the receiving parent hesitant to partake in a toy donation program.