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Product Evaluation Guidelines
Just as with the evaluation process for the "Good
Housekeeping Seal", which has continued to remain so popular
and trusted for many years, a product must include excellent
production values, universal ethical values, appeal to children,
be consistent with age appropriateness, and innovative value in order
to be considered for acceptance by The Toy Man® News & Reviews
to become a recipient of The Toy Man® Seal of Approval.
The Toy Man® News & Reviews staff look for products that not only
entertain, but also teach simultaneously with an added edge. The products
must actively stimulate a child's imagination, and contribute to further
creative skill development in the age group for which they are designed.
A product must be easy for them to use, consistent with current safety
standards, as well as interesting. Products should contribute to a
child’s development, mentally, physically, socially, and emotionally,
while also being something they can have fun playing with. The product should have a strong durability level for extensive periods of play time and not break in the child's hands with reasonable use in their active play.
A very vital part of the scenario is that the company which produces the toy should be dependable and stand behind its product. It should have tested it with children to validate age appropriateness and match descriptive information, age guidelines, and suggestions for use. It should also be independent lab tested if applicable.
PLEASE NOTE: 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 persons in the target market for which the product has been designed, 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. |
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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® News & Reviews authorized staff.
An important point to consider which makes The Toy Man® News & Reviews 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. |
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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® News & Reviews 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® News & Reviews 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® News & Reviews web site, a "first year" licensing fee of $150 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 $150 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® News & Reviews 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.
Lifetime Licensing Fees
For an additional fee of $100 USD, renewals are no longer necessary and the period of active licensing does not need to be beneath each Seal and/or Award. This entitles licensee to unlimited use of Seals and Awards authorized for use. This also entitles licensee to additional benefits that the standard renewal licensee is not eligable for.
Shipping and Delivery The Toy Man® News & Reviews 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. |
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Examples of Seals and Awards
Examples of the Seal and awards with a description of the evaluation
and recognition criteria follows;
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The Toy Man® SEAL OF APPROVAL
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PLEASE NOTE: The image
to the left is the original emblem for The Toy Man® Seal of Approval
which was used since the very inception of The Toy Man® News & Reviews in 1971. This emblem is still valid, but
has been replaced with the new emblem seen above for all new products
inducted after 1 June, 2007 |
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The Toy Man® AWARDS |
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The products and online
services which become recipients of "The Toy Man® Award
of Excellence" acheived an evaluation category rating
average of [5] Stars, the highest level of rating available on
a 1-5 scale evaluation model. The average is based upon the overall average
from all applicable evaluation categories, not just the 6
evaluation categories featured in this summary. |
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 ® Award
of Excellence are those who managed to get a ranking of 5
in our 1-5 overall rating scale."
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PLEASE
NOTE: The
image to the left was the second generation emblem for The Toy Man® Award of Excellence. This
emblem is still
valid, but has been replaced with the new emblem seen above
for all new products inducted after 1 October, 2011
The Toy Man® Award of Excellence first and second
generation images which were used from 1971-2007, 2007-
September 2011 have been retired. Although the former versions of the
Award of Excellence™ images
have been retired, they still remain valid. |
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"The Toy Man®  Award serves as an emblem of recognition for products & online services that contribute substantially to positive skill growth and/or productivity. |
| ( This includes books, CD's, DVD's, consumer electronics & accessories, recreational games and equipment, home furnishings, juvenile, software, toys and specialty. ) |
This distinguished award is exclusive as well as unique, with the editor's signature which represents a product being selected as an  . |
PLEASE NOTE: The eChoice™ Award
images which were used from 1971-1984, 1984-2007, 2007-April 2010 have
been retired. Although the former versions of the eChoice™ Award
have been retired, they still remain valid. |
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"The Toy Man®Award of Recognition
is the very latest award created to give recognition to the products and
online services which The Toy Man personally designates as meeting his own
strict standards of quality and many other factors.
More information will be available soon. |
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| "The Toy Man® Q1-Q4 Top Ten Awards" |
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"The Toy Man® Q1-Q4
Top Ten Awards" - (The
Quarter shown on each "Q* Award" is specific to the quarter
for which it applies.) -
This award is given to the Top Ten Products in any given quarter which
are selected by our staff from our inductees list for that specific
quarter only. The selection process involves a quarterly monitoring
of all products inducted during each quarter which are determined to
qualify for selection. This includes Q1-Q4 award recipients.
On the 27th of each month, all staff are notified to create their
lists for their picks for they deem to be the "Top Ten Products",
On 28th, the results are compiled and published for public view on the
1st day of the following month.
* There are no fees of any kind requested, submitted, or accepted
from any source for a product to be considered for this award. |
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Product Submission These Seals and awards may be quite challenging to acquire yet that only makes themn of so much more value to your product branding. We invite your company to rise to the challenge and submit your
products for
our review and consideration for induction into The Toy Man® News & Reviews. |
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