Basis Of Our Product Evaluation Guidelines
All products are evaluated based upon strict guidelines originally established
by the International
Parenting Institute™, ( hereafter
referred to as IPI™),
and the ChildSafe International Corp., which are quite detailed and have been
carefully developed. Globally recognized credentialed
professionals in multiple fields have either donated their time or been paid
to help establish these guidelines and regular updating of same.
These guidelines are
periodically updated to remain consistent with current trends of the industry
regulations and consumer market. All guidelines updates are made by The Toy Man® Product Guide authorized staff.
An important point to consider which makes The Toy Man® Product
Guide more unique is that the evaluation guidelines we use for a bicycle
are far different than the guidelines for a plush toy. Professionals from
each class of products have been used to carefully define evaluation guidelines
specific to each product type.
Each individual product evaluation/review
is performed by a group of our staff members in addition to independent credentialed
professional(s) who specialize in the same category as the product being
tested. In addition, every product is subjected
to spontaneous hands-on consumer evaluation.
The evaluation report summaries are derived
from a combination of the scoring from the evaluation reports and
the hands-on consumer feedback forms for all inductees. They are written in a style
to reach the specific target market for which the product is intended. This
adds a unique perspective to each evaluation report summary and adds greater value.
A basic breakdown of our guidelines which we use to evaluate and rate products submitted for evaluation is listed below. Please note that this is only a "brief" outline of our entire evaluation guidelines.
Each section is evaluated on a 1 to 5 scale with the larger number being positive and the lower number being negative. We do not share our entire group of guidelines to maintain a unique proprietary evaluation procedure.
Sec. #0318 - PRIMARY BEHAVIOR
- What is the level of "funQuotient™" - How appealing
is the product for use by a child?
- What is the level of "WOW!Factor™" - To what
degree does the product stimulate a strong positive impulsive response?
- What is the level of innovation and creative style that makes the product special or unique with stimulation of new play activity?
- What is the level of positive reaction from playing with a product - Does it cause a short or long term effect?
- What is the level of contribution to encouragement of positive social interaction with repeated use of the product in a home environment?
- What is the level of contribution to encouragement of positive social interaction with repeated use of the product in an educational environment?
- #0318 I/PB(b) Intellectual Thought
- What is the level of creative awareness development by a child's use of the product?
- What is the level of contribution to critical skill development?
- What is the level of contribution to acquisition of new learning skills, practice, and information by using the product?
- What is the level of contribution to long-term retaining
of new learning skills, practice, and information by using
the product?
- What is the level of fit for adaptation for "Special Needs" children?
These children have different levels of development and adaptation with
products.
- #0318 I/PB(c) Safety
- What is the level of contribution to children’s healthy physical
development by using the product?
- What is the level of suitability with the product for use in home, educational environment, or both?
- What is the level of quality in packaging design, safety, and age/gender designation with the product?
- What is the level of unsafe materials percentage in the product - Has it been independent lab tested?
- What is the level of risk related to choking hazard?
- #0318 I/PB(d) Social Responsibility / Ethics
- What is the level of being appropriate for age level or gender specified on packaging for the product?
- What is the level of quality in design and use of the product? Determination needs to be made as to how well the product will hold up to a child's continued use.
- What is the level of educational value and accuracy of meeting specified productive ends with the product?
- What is the level of environmental contribution and social responsibility by the product?
- #0318 I/PB(e)The Five Senses
- What is the level of simplicity of use of product? ( A child should be able to use a product with minimal difficulty.
- What is the level of accuracy/quality in auditory level if applicable?
- What is the level of accuracy/quality in visual appeal for the product?
- What is the level of contribution to children’s healthy physical
development with the product?
- What is the level of visual appeal for marketing value and sales for the product?
Eligible Products
The Toy Man® accepts all juvenile products designed
for infants
through adult.
Prototypes are also eligible for submission, but they
are only given article recognition, no awards; as are Beta versions
of software.
Number Of Product Required For Submission
The Toy Man® requires only two sample products for evaluation. It
should be noted though that the more samples provided for evaluation,
the greater number of evaluators that can participate and the number
of hands-on consumers in that portion of the evaluation will be
impacted dramatically.
Resubmission
Products that are NOT approved for The
Toy Man® Seal of Approval are eligible to be resubmitted. Upon
re-submission the product, it must have the changes made which
were specified in first submission denial for approval. There
is no limit to the number of resubmissions.
Entry Fees
There are no submission fees of ANY kind. It is the desire of The Toy Man® Product
Guide staff to keep a level playing field for all products submitted
for approval.
Licensing Fees
All products submitted for evaluation are analyzed and
tested under our
strict evaluation guidelines. There is NO FEE of any kind
for any portion of the product evaluation and/or publishing of
evaluation report summaries/articles on The Toy Man® Product
Guide web site.
If a product is inducted,
the product induction notification is published 24 hours before recipient is notified. If
the company submitting the product(s) desires to use The Toy
Man® Seal of Approval or awards in any manner other than
The Toy Man® Product Guide web site, a "first year" licensing
fee of $125 per product, (with an additional $15 account setup fee for first year only.) Each
seal and/or award is specific to the year it was given. The licensing
fees and usage are an option, NOT mandatory.
If the licensing option is
selected, an in-depth and highly detailed evaluation
report summary is published and will remain indefinitely for
current and future reference.
( The OPTIONAL $125 USD
licensing fee is in place in order to help create a greater "perceived
value" of the Seal and/or Awards when used for promotional
purposes outside of The Toy Man® Product Guide web site.
The fee is used as part of funding base to produce Award Certificates
and other materials delivered to the manufacturers of products
which have been inducted or selected for The Toy Man® Favorites
Award. ) Renewal is only $25 per year on an annual basis.
Shipping and Delivery
The Toy Man® upholds a policy of no acceptance of
COD or postage due packages. If your package is considered to be
oversized or overweight by the US Postal Service, Fed Ex, UPS,
DHL, or Airborne Express, you will need to contact our office to
specify how the products or toys will be submitted.
Please ship your products to the office specified on the product submission form.
All products with their corresponding applications, press kits, etc. should be included.
Evaluation and analysis is generally completed within
30 business days or less following reception of
product, pending on complexity of design of product. Prior
to a major trade show product evaluations can be expedited upon
request and approval.
PLEASE NOTE: To ensure 100% understanding of our product return
policy, we are re-affirming it here. Results
of product evaluations which fail to meet our guidelines
will NOT be released, except to the manufacturer who submitted
the product for review. We do NOT
return products which are submitted, (unless
arrangements have been made PRIOR to start of product evaluation.) Products
are generally donated with all appropriate manuals, etc.
to children's wards at hospitals, schools, off-continent
urgent concerns, special needs children, or charities for
disadvantaged children for most beneficial use from the contribution of the
product.
Examples of the Seal and awards with a description of the evaluation
and recognition criteria follows;
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