Online shopping could be less painful… Perhaps, we all asked ourselves before at least once: who is supposed to regulate online shopping and better structure the product search through guidelines or something similar, in order to help facilitate it for the final consumer – the buyer?! Actually, there are several organisations trying to do that, but it looks like none of them are being very strict in a way that could transform the market through innovation.

Final Consumer

So far, products are being tested and validated for safety and further reasons via certification. Typically, the responsibility of finding the quality has always ended up at the side of the final consumer or buyer. But, there are so many brands, certificates, shops and even more products purchasable not only locally but worldwide. Shouldn’t this be better supported? Is this really something to be individual dependent? We probably can all agree that taste and quality are not exactly the same thing. Still you may not know what to buy.

Businesses

Looking around, not only in Germany itself, one may perceive that the innovations are being brought up mainly due to massive corporation activities, which are purely based on self profit – the very company’s own interests, nothing else. Entering as many markets as possible through stakeholder networking, as aggressively as possible. However, where do the local market and economic interests stay in front of that? One word: forgotten.

Digital transformation, innovation or marketing?

Some may not know it, but digital transformation is a term with roots in the 1940s and yet… Wait, why isn’t it “done” already? That’s a good question with so many possible reasons, better to dig it another time. Understanding the market is such a huge expertise, especially considering the effects of globalisation everywhere. Some countries or even systems do require more resources and will need more time than others. It’s definitely dependent not only on one person, but culture and local politics do influence a huge piece of that.

A Robust Path to Fulfilment

Given all players involved in the market, Product Cluster offers a free portal, where the product search is neither underestimated nor overcomplicated. Quality is not synonymous with price, if all toys have so many possibilities, why should the joy they bring be based and defined exclusively on that? Some people call the product quest actually as product research, due to how expensive and costly it can get and not that seldom! However, the word search itself suggests: it shouldn’t be like that, but way more easier.

Collecting and aligning so many different interests of multiple parties is surely not a simple task. Networking is a solution for that, whether it happens at fairs, streets or at Product Cluster.

Go check on us right away to start supporting and improving your experience with online shopping, the local market and everybody’s daily routines.

The post Another Minute Goes By first appeared on Product Cluster Blog.

International SPIEL statistics

From ’21 to ’22, there was indeed an increase in visitors of around 75%, as was highlighted at the press conference. In fact, the number of visitors only reached the level of 2011. If it were possible to predict the number of visitors for 2022 from a trend based on history, one should have expected around a quarter of a million. The reason for this could be the increased number of private gaming events during the pandemic, so that people are currently catching up on other needs. Travel may also have been an issue shortly before the autumn holidays. The extent to which the economic situation has already made itself felt in the private and business sectors can only be seen in retrospect, which also applies to the slump in the number of exhibitors. The presentation of new games has maintained its trend, which is optimistic. But focus on today:

1800 new games or world premieres were presented at SPIEL ’22. Games dealing with nature, the environment and animals had a remarkable share at this game fair. But so-called expert games also made an appearance.
The trend is towards diversity, according to a brief summary. There was the main share of games worth between 15 and 150 EUR, but there was also a game valued at 400 EUR. Children’s games and card games are gaining a higher share again, as are party games. One-person games as well as logic games are strongly represented in customer demand. Thus, a variety of games could be played during the four days of the fair and there were platforms for diverse gaming communities, two of which will be highlighted later.
In the area of puzzles, innovations are also emerging. While many puzzles remained on the shelves at the time of the lockdown, the motifs are changing to modern art, game graphics, photos and generally variations in the design of the puzzle itself. Thus, the age distribution of the puzzlers is 60 % adults, consequently 40 % children. The environmental aspect is also evident, as sustainable or recycled materials are used. Multiple outer packaging made of foils and plastics is increasingly being dispensed with. Durable materials and the aspect that games are used for decades generally make it a sustainable product.
Gaming continues to be at a high level. Games are one of the two strongest product groups in the toy market, which itself, due to the pandemic, lost seven percentage points in 2022. There was growth in the plush product groups, while outdoor and dolls were less strong. Kidults still have a strong interest in games. Customers are asking for meaningful, creative and challenging playful leisure activities. We found it remarkable that Pokemon-Go and Pokemon collectible card games, a perennial favourite since 2016 and 2000 respectively, presented themselves with their own trade fair stand.

At the press conference for SPIEL ’22, there was also information about growth on the games market. The following diagram was shown, which we do not want to leave entirely uncommented. As a reminder, the chart shows the worldwide sales figures in the pandemic period for board games and puzzles. Strikingly, the growth at the beginning of the global lockdown in 2020 by about 30 percentage points. In the follow-up year 2021, however, sales grew by only 2 percentage points. In Germany, the figures are somewhat more slippery, 23 percentage points in 2020 and 3 percentage points increase in sales in 2021, which may be acknowledged as such given the intercepted inflation in Germany.

Turnover Board Games and Puzzles

The toy market, like many other retail sectors, finds itself in transition. Digitalization and e-commerce are forcing even the last to act. The stationary business in the dying inner cities suffers from this and other as well as widely spread problems. The pandemic drove up the share of fixed costs, the subsequent crisis the share, driven by raw material prices, energy, required decarbonization and delivery times / supply chains. Those who had to calculate sharply before now find their profitability even more threatened. As with other product sectors, Germany has so far managed to keep prices low compared to other EU countries, certainly due to the high and good domestic sales market. It is already noticeable how strongly prices have risen for many products. This will also happen with a delay in others and in the toy industry. Personnel is a sensitive issue, there is a lack of skilled workers plus a demographic change. Retailers no longer face competition from their local competitors, but from globalization, which has already moved many shops to open online shops or to offer products on electronic marketplaces. The demands in production, game development and distribution are growing, as is the request for government subsidies to mitigate the financial consequences. For some time now, attempts have been made to offer the games in bookshops, concept stores and the small shops of museums. These were the painful issues that were also addressed at Spiel’22.
There was the Educator’s Day on the first day of the fair with tailored information for educators and other teachers. Games for teaching, community work and work with seniors were presented here. The Research Day on the following day focused on board game research in Germany. An important support for educational toys and a look into the future.

In order to find their way around the large exhibition site, visitors were provided with an app to help them navigate. Our team from Product Cluster probably felt the same way as many other participants, due to a lack of information on site or in advance, we did not have this useful tool at the start, especially since all the hall flyers were already sold out by noon on the first visitor day. Nevertheless, we find this app very useful.

Navigation App at SPIEL ’22

Map of fair SPIEL ’22

The industry is expecting growth in Europe again in the next few years, argued by cocooning and the increased stay in family surroundings during times of crisis. According to economic research, Christmas business is not influenced by the current economic situation, so that economic effects wear off. It is important to know that Christmas business accounts for about 40 to 50% of annual turnover.

If you are interested into more affordable fairs in Germany, please refer to our special post All toy fairs in Germany 2022.

The post International SPIEL ’22, A Success Story first appeared on Product Cluster Blog.

For a long time now, online retailing has been an integral part of the shopping behaviour of shoppers. It covers all areas of consumer goods such as fashion, cosmetics, household goods, electrical goods and furniture. E-commerce in Germany makes it easy for shoppers to have a collection of goods sent to their homes, to let the items work in their own rooms rather than in the shop, and then to return the item to the rack or shelf… pardon, back to the retailer. A partially granted right of return of 100 days lets the customer relax even more when shopping online; return labels are often already temptingly enclosed. This can be viewed critically, especially since ecologically minded customers also suffer.

But not everything may be resold after being returned or is not accepted in its original packaging by the next customer. Some products are also too cheap that it is not economically worthwhile for the retailer to subject them to a procedure for resale. Thus, about 17 million returned items, that is 1.3 % of the returns, end up directly in the rubbish, perhaps only tried on or switched on once, half are declared defective. For about 1 million products, the brand or patent owner prescribes disposal. With 70 % of all returns, clothing and fashion items are at the top of the list. Other categories such as entertainment, leisure, furnishings, household articles and other items are fairly evenly distributed at around 5 %. Not only are the material resources wasted, but we can also see that somewhere far away from us, people are preparing to produce and deliver these articles for little pay. These jobs were pointless. Some of these 17 million returns are donated or, if the profit margins are lucrative, 93 % are sold on as new. Figures show that the disposal of a product costs on average around 85 ct, provided the value of the goods is less than 15 euros. So it becomes obvious why so many returns are thrown away. It is assumed that of the 17 million returns to be disposed of, 40 % would be suitable for donation, which would correspond to almost 7 million products. It should be noted, however, that the legislator requires VAT to be paid, which means that the trader suffers a further financial loss on top of the necessary logistics.

Incentives are being considered to reduce or control returns and the resulting negative consequences, i.e. destruction of resources, CO2 footprint (about 795 thousand tonnes, an equivalent of 340 million litres of petrol or 8530 tanker trucks filled), etc. Statistics show that only 3.5 % of retailers are actually aware of the CO2 consumption of returns. The sensible implementation of such a strategy is difficult, as it must also be verifiable and ultimately affordable. What the customer often doesn’t see is that the return shipment, which is reported to be free of charge, incurs costs of about 7 euros, including postage and handling fees. Since the seller does not pay this sum from his own coffers, these costs are passed on to all customers. In any case, this applies to the 89% of German retailers who offer a cost-neutral return service. The situation is somewhat different abroad, where only 52% of retailers enclose a free returns label, 30% demand that the customer either pay the full cost or 18 % pay a fee. This sum is estimated at 5 billion euros.

The data from 2020/21 used in a study by the University of Bamberg for statistics include a turnover from statistically surveyed online retail of 59 billion euros, of which 1.25 billion packages were sent and returned. According to IFH Cologne and Statista, e-commerce turnover in Germany was 73 billion euros. Thus, the data determined appear to be reliable.

Correct citation of the study Asdecker, B./Felch, V./Karl, D. (2022): “European Return-o-Meter – Ergebnisbericht Teil 1: Deutschland vs. Rest-EU”, Forschungsgruppe Retourenmanagement, Otto-Friedrich-Universität Bamberg, pp. 1-82.

The post Press Release: Disposing of Millions from Goods Returns first appeared on Product Cluster Blog.

left: Events of SpielDoch! 2022; right: AMIGO’s stand of children’s Game of the Year 2022 “Zauberberg”

If you are interested into more affordable fairs in Germany, please refer to our special post All toy fairs in Germany 2022.

The post 3rd SpielDoch!, the board and card games fair 2022 first appeared on Product Cluster Blog.

For the first time in two years, the award ceremony took place in front of an audience, as it did in 2019 in the former main customs office in Hamburg. The award “Kinderspiel des Jahres 2022” goes to “Zauberberg” by Jens-Peter Schliemann and Bernhard Weber from Amigo. The game beat out “Auch schon clever” and “Mit Quacks & Co. nach Quedlinburg” (both by Wolfgang Warsch, Schmidt Spiele), the association announced. In 2021, 70 new children’s games came onto the market.

About the game
The press release of the producer AMIGO:
The magician Balduin lives at the foot of the magic mountain. With the help of his will-o’-the-wisps, he summons the sorcerer’s apprentices from the “Magic Mountain” to teach them the knowledge of magic. The will-o’-the-wisps show the budding magicians the way through the mysterious forest into the valley. But the mean witches also follow the trail of the will-o’-the-wisps and a race begins. Now the magical skills of the players are in demand. Can they manage to guide the “muttering” will-o’-the-wisps as skilfully as possible so that they only show the apprentices, but not the witches, the way to Balduin?

This is how you play “Zauberberg”:
All apprentices and witches are placed on their respective squares on the game board. One after the other, the players randomly draw different coloured balls from the bag and place them in such a way that they hit a sorcerer’s apprentice as they roll down the board. Together, the players discuss which starting point is most suitable for the ball. If the ball hits a figure, whether a witch or a sorcerer’s apprentice, it is moved down the path to the next free square that corresponds to the colour of the ball. Then it is the next person’s turn. The aim of the game is to get 4 sorcerer’s apprentices down the hill to the finish before 3 witches arrive there.

“Zauberberg” by Jens-Peter Schliemann and Bernhard Weber features an unusual 3D game board, a simple game mechanism and elaborately designed game material. This also convinced the expert jury of the “Spiel des Jahres e. V.”, which chose “Zauberberg” as the “Children’s Game of the Year 2022”. The cooperative game objective allows children to gain their first joint experience of strategic and tactical considerations.

So a game for 1-4 persons from 5 years, purchase price something at 36 euros. The jury found that everything was well thought out in this fascinating cooperative game, from the snappy structure to the detailed rules, so that children will want to be enchanted by “Zauberberg” again and again. The game “Zauberberg” is quickly mastered by children without the help of adults and can therefore also be played alone in the children’s room.

“We are delighted that our marble run game has now also been able to inspire the jury after so many children,” explains the Schliemann-Weber team of authors.
“The development really had it in it,” adds editor Holger Grimm. “Yet Corona wasn’t even the biggest hurdle we had to overcome. In cooperation with our producer, we worked on it for a long time until we could guarantee a balanced course of the balls. But as you can see: The work was worth it!”

Jury statement
“In ‘Zauberberg’, the popular marble run is used in a new way: it becomes the setting for magical races: cooperatively, in teams or alone. The attractive game structure draws children to the game table and the innovative marble mechanism won’t let them go in a hurry. Here, animated discussions about the placement of marbles are followed by spellbound glances at the marble run. It’s a total package that never fails to enchant children.”

Not an easy decision
“It was a strong year overall, with some good games not making it onto the list,” said the coordinator of the children’s game jury, Christoph Schlewinski at the awards ceremony.

The game inventors
Schliemann and Weber explained that they came up with the original idea for the game almost 20 years ago and were fortunately able to implement it shortly before the Corona pandemic. This meant that the game could be tested extensively by children before the kindergartens and after-school care centres also had to go into lockdown due to the pandemic. The jury explained that these lockdowns had made the development and testing of children’s games considerably more difficult.

Do you remember your favourite childhood toy when you were a kid? Please feel free to leave a comment!

The post The Children’s Game of the Year 2022 first appeared on Product Cluster Blog.

left: View into 2nd hall with racing course; right: Floor plan with list of participants

The stands at the fair were divided into two large groups. One group consisted of clubs and private individuals who had exhibited their models or model layouts. There were miniature railways in various scales on display. Model ships were also presented, which could sail in a water basin if equipped with remote control. Remote-controlled construction machines and vehicles moved around in a large sandpit and were able to do work there. A separate area was available for aeroplanes, helicopters and drones, which regularly started their shows. A racing course was also set up, and there were award ceremonies.

Rendsburg High Bridge in Fischertechnik

Somewhat nostalgic was the stand of a Fischertechnik association, which we will introduce in a separate post. We had good conversations with some of these clubs. So also with Spielwiese, which had games presented in a large corner. This group was called demonstrators, of which there were 27.

left: RC R2-D2; right: Impression with traders and model railway

The other group consisted of 38 traders, called exhibitors there. Often used items were offered, but new material could also be purchased. A large part consisted of railway articles, car models and flying machines.

As we were already there for the opening on Saturday, we could observe that the exhibition quickly filled up with guests and was already quite empty by the afternoon. We could see that many visitors had either ordered items in advance or had specifically found items at the fair. Of course, the demonstrators were also very busy.

Selection of model ships

If you are interested into more affordable fairs in Germany, please refer to our special post All toy fairs in Germany 2022. More posts about the clubs and associations on this fair will follow.

Entry ticket

The post Lipper Modelling Days of 2022 first appeared on Product Cluster Blog.

After you pick your required tools, get your machine ready! Bruder just launched an utility vehicle, the Bruder MB Sprinter Municipal vehicle. Have you checked it already? You surely have seen it before with your bare eyes.

Source: © Dorotheum

Tracking down the first Mercedes Sprinter launch in Europe, it was around 1995. This model has been brought to replace the TN series; if you’re a more mature reader, probably this is a known reference to be called of. Pioneering, efficient, reliable – as Mercedes itself describes it: you will most certainly be able to fix your model city issues!

Bruder is launching several new products right now and this model presented here is one of the utility/commercial cars models. What do you think about it? It does look very similar. The color looks a bit different but overall, we’d say it surely looks great as a representation! (Yes, we searched for the most similar pictures of the real size car) Please, be aware that this car just like other models do have several accessory options, which would modify the real life size appearance.

Let’s bring out the dimensions to the table now. The Bruder MB Sprinter Municipal vehicle piece has 1:16 ratio, a great size for outdoor playtime and to have a really good grip on the hands. Being more specific, its dimensions are (L/B/H) 50,7/20,3/20,3 cm and its parts are suitable for ages of 4 years or older.

The electrical interface features light and a sound module. The accessories are plug-in ramps, mounting adaptor, a driver and more. All 3-sided load gates can be opened and the chassis has a thread type. (See more details here).

Let us know if you purchased it already and maybe be the first to talk about it in our App! We’d love to hear about it and we bet that everyone would like to see your impressions too in our facebook community.

Others probably would like to know about this post too, so why not share it?

To see our previous posts of this series, click here. You could find other interesting suggestions…

The post Bruder Flatbed Sprinter : Pocket Ratio first appeared on Product Cluster Blog.

The current world event par excellence, the now condemned invasion of Ukraine beginning on 24 February 2022, is writing history. Product Cluster would also like to address the topic of Ukraine, the second largest country on the European continent with almost 42 million inhabitants. While still integrated into the USSR, it suffered the first major nuclear super-GAU (meltdown) of a nuclear power plant in 1986 with European implications, because in the economic system existing at that time, economic plans dictated by the central government were more important than common sense. The incisive event then also heralded the beginning of the end of the Soviet Union experiment.
After all, Ukraine regained its independence in 1991, so that with the help of the EU, the only unit 3 still operating without serious accidents, and thus the entire site, was shut down in 2000. (No. 4 suffered the Super-Gau, No. 2 suffered a hydrogen explosion with total fiscal damage, No. 1 had an incident with an overheated nuclear fuel rod and was shut down in 1996).

So this Ukrainian country, once again breaking free from its grip, then freed itself from the Tsarist Empire during the First World War and soon after brought back into a centrally directed system in the Russian Civil War by Leon Trotsky’s Red Army under Wladimir Iljitsch Lenin. The monarchical tsardom was replaced by the Leninist one, and it is fair to say that the government’s new economic goals could not be implemented so quickly in such a gigantic country. Thus, the great new Soviet Union with mineral resources and agriculture sank into famine, something the so-called West experienced for quite different reasons as a global balance through the Black Friday of 1929. It should be noted that the event has nothing to do with the sales events of large department stores.
The original economic model used by Lenin was then replaced by a centrally planned economy. It is up to everyone to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of the real existing economic systems. In any case, many Soviet republics decided to withdraw from the USSR system as soon as it seemed peacefully possible. Measured by economic indicators, no state was worse off after its independence from the disintegrating Soviet Union, which Mikhail Gorbachev tried to save with his policy of Glasnost und Perestroika .

In the years of Ukrainian independence, a democratic, republican, socially and legally organised unitary state with a presidential system of government established itself as the form of state. There are many examples of the economic lows that have to be overcome before something like a free market economy emerges from a planned economy. Thus, privatisation was handled carefully and attempts were made to avoid chaos. Nevertheless, development suffered from the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation in 2014, suffered from the economic crisis in 2007 and suffers from the inherited burdens of Chernobyl disaster. But all setbacks are being made up well, of course also by the EU’s willingness to support. It is also clear that the EU is the largest trading partner with 40 %, with machinery, chemicals and industrial goods accounting for the largest share of exports to Ukraine. One has to take into account that Ukraine’s energy needs are immense and a large part of its trade goods are in the energy sector, which presumably takes a large share in the total trade with the Russian Federation of 21.1 %. Ukraine exports food (mainly cereals (wheat)), metallurgical products (mainly rolled steel, iron) and chemical products. Thus, many companies have emerged in modern times in Ukraine, including in the field of educational toys.

Current toy manufacturers in Ukraine

The company VEMA KIDS, which produces children’s furniture and furniture for kindergartens, day-care centres and schools, but also products for rehabilitation, is worth mentioning here. Toys are also in the portfolio. In order to export and grow, they are currently looking for distributors in the EU. The manufacturer does not yet have foreign languages on its website, but its portfolio is nevertheless well presented.

The company TIGRES produces toys and games, made of plastic and rubber among other things, as well as soft toys. Have a look…

AVTORSKAYA GALEREYA DIZAYNERA YULII SKARBOVOY, the gallery of designers is known for dolls, also from the area for collectors as well as other toys.

FLAMINGO TOYS PE, CE certified, specialises in games and toys from the musical field, but also produces other games and toys such as toys for the beach or sandbox, tolocars and logical toys.

Then there is the SOFT TOYS FACTORY, as the name suggests, plush toys.

BOMBATGAME LLC builds board games and board games. They have a creative homepage, we think, just click in via the two links.

PRJSC WESTERN INDUSTRIAL GROUP produces watercolour and acrylic paints. Have a look, colourful … Maybe there are also colours for your fingers.

MR.PLAYWOOD is known for wooden toys, maybe you have seen some somewhere, the 3D models for example.

The company Doloni Toys is also active in the market of games and toys, mostly made of plastic. So you can find a lot of things that are suitable for outdoors, and that doesn’t just apply to the playhouses and the garden slides. There are also scooters and toy cars, construction games and board games.

For example, the main services of the company RANOK CREATIVE Ltd. are toys that are mostly electric, sets for girls, creative building sets, science games.

Founded only in 2017, YAROKUZ is a manufacturer of plush toys and stuffed animals. It can also be commissioned for work.

EKOGOODS, found on http://ekogoods-toys.com/ offers very nice 3D models made of wood, some can even be controlled remotely. Their website may be down at the moment due to the political situation, but the Facebook page is very nice.

The toy company LEVENYA was founded in 1996. They make products for children. They are a manufacturer for Cubika, which offers wooden toys, also supply Puzzlika, which sells puzzles.

PARITET-TOYS builds wooden toys, games and playthings.

CADILUCK specialises in model making.

CREATIFWOOD also has a nice website with beautiful products in the field of puzzles made of wood.

PC KAMERTON a supplier of games and toys.

EWT Ltd. is a one-stop shop for second-hand products, including toys and clothes.

It is hoped that the country will be allowed to quickly return to its former glory. We wish it luck, hope and perseverance.

If you are interested into the history of toys, please feel free to find more information here.

The post Toys and Ukraine. first appeared on Product Cluster Blog.

It is assumed that toys have been around since humans existed, made from the materials of the time. We may assume that the first ones were made of straw or wood, which would have been the first materials that could be shaped and worked. This was followed by stone and clay or clay-like materials and certainly also bones. With the refinement of the tools and the technical knowledge, the toys will have been refined continuously, that is how they developed, proven by the finds and the history that we can still reconstruct.
These finds come, for example, from children’s ditches of the Stone Age, where the named stone was worked into a tool, which in turn could work other materials, such as softer rock, wood, and bone. The Stone Age began about 2.5 million years ago. Among these archaeological finds was the recurring doll, so we may assume that this was the first toy, the replica of oneself or even animals, as can be seen in the historical wall paintings. Since the fire had not yet been invented as a controlled element, clay and loam sculptures will have weathered throughout millions of years; at that time, it could only be dried in the sun; naturally occurring fire, still mainly seen as a danger, will probably have been avoided.

Probably 1.8 million years ago, men began to use fire, but he was not yet able to light it himself; instead, natural fire from volcanoes or lightning was used and guarded. So they quickly learned to fire clay and loam, which can be deduced from the findings of food preparation and the physical development of man. By then at the latest, more durable figures and certainly more complex toys were created. Tires, drums, and horse figurines were found. In particular, finds from the advanced civilization of Egypt showed how detailed these toys looked, later also equipped with movable parts. Thus, many games have been handed down to us from the culture that is still played today, including board games and dice, certainly also many games that history has forgotten.

Almost as if it were yesterday, 32000 years ago, man learned how to create fire himself. Probably through try-and-error, he discovered that pyrite and so-called flint produced a spark when struck properly. Both minerals are hard, whereas flint is a little harder, but a class softer than semi-precious stones. In addition, it is piezoelectric, which means that when it is deformed, it can generate a voltage, i.e. a spark. So it was not until 8000 B.C. that the first metals were melted and certainly then metals found their way into toys.

Since not everyone was able to handle metals, it can be assumed that it was no longer a matter of the dexterity of the clan to produce quality toys, but that toys also acquired different values due to the material. This is probably how it started that different social classes or countries also had different toys at their disposal.

An orange and white toothpaste marble by Supportstorm

The first glass finds date back to 3500 BC, when was the first glass marble made?

Since until about 700 B.C. people probably only bartered, we have to assume that toys have also been traded since time immemorial.
Around 200 B.C., the first mass productions took place on a large scale, which is substantiated in the history books by military evidence, but certainly also found its way into other everyday areas. At some point, toys could also be mass-produced and offered.

Since this blog is about educational toys, the question may arise as to when the first educational toy was created. This may have a lot to do with when a person was seen as a resource or was still allowed to develop out of play. What is meant by this? If, as has been documented, a child has to do full-time work by the time he or she is four years old, it can hardly be expected that creative play was possible for this individual. The play was a luxury for some children and young people. But it is conceivable that for many, their own drive to make or refine their own toys could already be seen as learning toys. Be it the doll’s dress, an accessory, learning and developing out of play. The posts about building blocks give a few references to modern educational toys, including the experimental kits of our days.

Do you remember your first or oldest toy? Feel free to leave a comment.

The post Most likely it was the doll. first appeared on Product Cluster Blog.

Whether you’re a native or foreign citizen, a parent, a child or just a single living being… Yes, this series brings facts which interest even you! One may think that all you need to know is: returning. If a purchase is not as expected, the solution would be to just return it. Wrong. Some extreme cases can happen to anybody at any moment. We all don’t need to know more than 80% of everything but being aware of only 8% or less about your rights is actually pretty dangerous.

Today, we start with the simplest. As a matter of fact, toys can be categorized into Spielwaren, Scherzartikel and Spielzeug. Where does your problematic product fit in?

What is Spielzeug?

Spielzeug itself is officially defined as products, which are designed for children under 14 years old to play (see article 2, paragraph 1 of EU-Spielzeugrichtlinie RL 2009/48/EG).

That automatically excludes fashion jewelry for kids, pacifiers, skateboards, scooters, fireworks, etc. But wait, what about collectibles, such as locomotives, car models and hobby articles, which are independent of age?!

What is Spielwaren?

Any products, which are independent of age designed to play. Yes, it includes Spielzeug but also the products which adults play. Some examples: boarding games, cards, complex puzzles with 500 or more pieces, hobby toys, card models, plushies, dolls, etc.

What is Scherzartikel?

The kind of product designed for tricks, pranks or jokes, which fulfil similar goals and do not contain harmful substances or cause any negative body reactions or injuries. Some examples are: stink bombs, fart pillows, squeaky chicken, etc.

Source: Trendaffe DE

Similarities & Association

Both Spielwaren and Scherzartikel are consumer goods which when used as intended or in predictable ways must not damage its user health. If you are wondering which lay book represents it, they find themselves under “Lebensmittel-, Futtelmittel- und Bedarfsgegenstängegesetzbuch” (in short “LFGB”, you can find this book here).

In case you find it a bit confusing, the picture below explains where exactly the Spielzeug, Spielwaren and Scherzartikel are, considering both aspects described in this post and similar products, while specifying borders to either associate or separate them.

Source: BVL Bund DE

Besides the LFGB; in order to assure further requirements for Spielzeug, other special regulations are also applied, such as the EU-Spielzeug-Richtlinie (the same one from the beginning of this text) and certifications… We will keep more detailed info for future posts of this series.

Please share this article with people who need it! We all thank you. Let us know any special situations you had to go through in this topic.

If you liked this, you probably will also enjoy our Toys for Bavaria article.

The post Toys which are not toys: Toys & Rights in Germany I first appeared on Product Cluster Blog.