Looks like Mattel is in Trouble......

Uh oh!! I love toys but I never knew they'd be in the news like this. Mattel has once again had another recall. Now when someone says " Mattel", I hope you aren't just thinking about Barbie. When someone says Mattel, you should also think about the View Master, Fisher-Price (all those infant toys you have around your house and buy for baby showers), Sesame Street Toys (all those Tickle Me Elmos), Dora, Uno, Hot Wheels, and See n Say, because they all fall under the Mattel Brand.

Yep, how many of you have Mattel toys in your home?? I have a bunch. I have a bunch of Dora items, have the latest View Masters (yes, that's plural), have the Elmo Says your Name toy, and I have some Hot Wheels. So what's a girl like me to do??

Mattel has recalled more than 10 million toys during the past 1-2 months. 10 million. Do you know how much 10 million is?? Its a lot. I don't get it, if you're making toys for babies and kids, wouldn't you always take the extra precaution to ensure that your products were safe?? Why is it that now they are taking the precautions to ensure that their products are safe?? Isn't that backwards thinking?? Isn't that what they should have always been doing all along????

Can you imagine taking a vaccination, and then 20 yrs later, the manufacturers tell you that the vaccination was altered . Well, I personally think that some vaccinations lead to autism, but that's another story for another time. I'm talking about toys.

Ok, let's look at the problem: Mattel makes their toys in China because its cheap to do so. Now they have had to recall 10 million toys. Is it good that Mattel did another recall after the first one? Yes.

Did the president, Bob Eckert, know another recall was coming? OF COURSE HE DID. But he covered himself after the first recall by saying , "Parents, if I come across any other problems with our toys, I will make sure we let you know." Then what happened- there was another recall soon after. Its all politics. That's all the President of Mattel is doing. This way he can say, " yes, we had another recall, but its okay because I promised all the parents in the world that I would inform them." So he comes across looking like a good guy even though any recall in any industry is not good. Its reverse psychology. Plain and simple. And I'm sure other toy companies, such as Hasbro and MGA Entertainment are probably going through their inventory to double check their supplies. I wouldn't be surprised if toy companies stop shipping toys out to retailers such as Wal-Mart and Toys R US until they are 100% sure that the toy is safe.

What do I think about the recall.? I think its awful for toy companies in general because now NO ONE will buy a toy that was made in China. When I buy a toy, I always look at the back of the box, to see who the company is and to check out their products online because I'm a toy geek. No one else ever did that. But now, everyone is turning that box over, to see where the toys are made. If they are made in China, the items goes back on the shelf and the parent continues to look for a toy that is made in the U.S. Lets just say that a lot of kids are going to be receiving books and clothing this holiday season. I expect Scholastic Books to do quite well this holiday season.

I think that the toy company that makes most of their products in non-Asian countries will make the most money this holiday season. Trust me. No parent will buy a Made in China toy for their child and noone will accept Made in China items as gifts for their children. First it was food, and now its toys. What next- medication, bottled water containers, contact lenses, what???

Does any one know what kind of paint is used for Etch A Sketch? Because that big red toy is either painted or a chunk of big red plastic. Who's going to check???

Look at this site: http://www.mattel.com/safety/us/

Competitor: Easy Bake Oven's Cold Competition

Oh my goodness !!! You are never going to believe what I saw in the toy store the other day. Last week, I went to KB Toy Stores because I was strolling through the Mall. As I approached KB toy stores, I saw a new gadget through the window. “ Hmm, whats this”, I asked myself. I approached this “ thing” and upon closer inspection I discovered what it was: An Oven.

Its an Oven little kids can use to bake goods. And its Pink. Hmm, doesn’t this sound familiar?? Doesn’t this sound like the Easy Bake Oven??

Here’s the difference : This oven , the Disney Princess Cool Bake Magic Oven, uses COOL air to bake the goods. That’s right, its not a misprint, it uses COOL air , ice cubes to be exact, to cook the goods. So you mix the baking mix, put it in a tray, put your ice cube in the tray below and wait for the cold air to cook your cookie. So instead of getting a hot pie, you get a cool pie. Isn’t this interesting?? I wonder what the pie / cookie tastes like. I’m going to try it. How many of you really think that the cool air cookie will taste better than the hot air cookie??? I don’t think it will taste good, do you??

Do you think Hasbro knows about this copycat invention?? Well, I guess its not really copycat because the technology is different: cool air versus hot air.

The good thing about this Disney Princess Cool Bake Magic Oven is that no one will be able to say that they burned themselves. But yet, can’t a kid choke on an ice cube. Cant a kid get ice burn? Can’t a kid mistakenly smash their finger in the tray that holds the ice? Seems like this toy can be as equally dangerous as Hasbro’s Easy Bake Oven that uses heat, right???

At the end of the day, parents are responsible for the toys they buy. Any thing can be dangerous, that’s why supervision is needed. Don’t buy a toy for your kids if you don’t have time to supervise them. If you want to buy your kid a toy that does not require supervision, buy them one of those big plastic balls, and hopefully it wont have lead paint on it.

Easy Bake Oven

Hi Guys!! I hope I didn’t keep you waiting too long for a new update. Wow, toys are in the spotlight this month!!! What is going on !!!Everyone always thought I was wasting my time being a toy fanatic, but now it is evident how important toys are in our society.

Let’s talk about the Easy Bake Oven.

Who reading this does not have an Easy Bake overn? If you have never owned one, shame on you. The Easy Bake oven is a miniature oven that was created to occupy the time of young girls. It allows girls to “bake” cakes and oven like creations. Its great at a sleep over, birthday party. There is even a boys version of the EASY BAKE OVEN because boys don’t like pink. The Boy Version is called the “Creepy Crawler Oven” something like that, it allows guys to make creepy crawly baked goods.

Over the years, the Easy Bake oven has become iconic. I don’t know if its because of its “Barbie Pink” color or because of its use. I think its both. Hasbro has witnessed the popularity of this oven, and has adapted it over time. The Easy Bake oven, which looks like a microwave, has been adapted to look like a little stove top oven. It has four burners on the top and has a slot where you, the consumer, can stick your pies into and wait for them to bake.

The new stovetop Easy Bake oven was recalled this year because kids were sticking their fingers into the slots and getting burned/injured. My question is: What adult lets their kid play with a “toy” oven unsupervised? Would you let your kids play with scissors unsupervised?? No, and that’s exactly why scissors have not been recalled. Do you let your kids play with your pointy keys unsupervised? No, and that’s why keys have not been recalled.

So why are parents letting their kids play with Easy Bake Ovens unsupervised? I’m assuming that the kids are playing unsupervised. If they were supervised, the adult would have helped the child stick the pie in the oven and I do believe that there would have been less injuries.

So my friends, HASBRO is NOT a dangerous company. The Easy Bake oven is a great product. Maybe, in some cases, the parents should have been recalled, for not supervising their offspring.

BARBIE PINK AND MCD'S

Barbie is known for being packaged in a PINK Box. When I am looking for a Barbie, I'm not looking for a Barbie, I am looking for the pink box and then I know where to go.

Its all about Packaging. I'm looking for the pink box.

So why doesn't Hasbro start packaging its dolls in PINK boxes? Theres no law saying that you cant use Pink packaging just because Mattel uses it. If Hasbro was smart, they would start using pink packaging for their dolls, in order to get more attention.

Did anyone see the report on packaging last week. Kids were tested. Food was put in a McD's packaging and the same food was put in a plain brown wrapper. The kids swore that the food in the brown wrapper was not as good as the food in the McDonald's wrapper. But guess what? The food in both wrappers was exactly the same. So are taste buds affected by the way food is prepared or by our minds perception of how it should be??

Back to Barbie: So if kids were walking down and aisle and saw dolls in a pink box, they would associate it with Barbie and like it. Its common sense. Packaging is all psychological. Its the same reason why we'd rather buy cereal thats in a Kellogg's box than in a plain box with no wording, even though its the same cereal. Little 3 year old girls can not read, but they do know their colors. So I advise HASBRO to match their packaging to Mattel and see what happens.

DORA IS HOT

Did anyone see the article on CNN about Dora and how she is the hot money maker in toy stores? Now was it a coincidence that that article came out AFTER my article about Dora or did someone read my article, edit it to their liking, and publish it on CNN?
Either way, this just shows that I know what Im talking about when it comes to toys. I knew I knew what I was talking about , but now you know that I know what Im talking about.
Am I a Toy expert = CONFIRMED!!!

CNN Article: Dora and the Doll Revolution - Multicultarlism
http://www.cnn.com/2007/LIVING/personal/08/13/dolls.ap/index.html?iref=newssearch

The Future of Mattel

By now, I am sure many of you have heard about the million of toys that Mattel has had to recall. The first recall was due to lead paint. The second recall was due to the magnets that were in the toys, together with more lead paint recalls. All of these toys were produced in China.

Let us look into this:
1) China: Is there a law stating that all toys have to be made in China? No, people get goods made in China because its cheaper, and then the company sells the toys for 4X the price and makes a significant profit. All companies do this. Is it smart? Only, if you have Quality control and you are truly testing the batches to test for safety and quality.

2) Lead Paint: Ok, so the toys had lead paint. Has anyone asked China where the lead paint came from? Is it a paint that Mattel gave to their manufacturers? Everyone is talking about how the toys are bad because they had lead paint. BUt doesnt anyone want to know where that lead paint came from, and what other items it is being used on? I know I want to know.

3) How many other toy companies around the world do you think have used the same Chinese company? I bet you there are a bunch. Mattel and HAsbro are the biggest toy companies, but you have other companies like MGA Entertainment and other brands, like the people who make the Wal-Mart toys, KIds something, I cant recall the name. HAs anyone checked to see if those toys were made in China too? They probably were. Who was the Chinese manufacturer? You dont know ? I dont know either, but dont you think that is something that we should know?? Lead paint can be found on jewerly as well: Claires hada recall a year ago due to lead paint. No one walks around with a lead paint detector, so its hard for us to know whats contaminated and whats not.

4) WIll this recall hurt Mattel? ABSOLUTELY!! I went to the store the other day to buy a toy. And then I put it back on the shelf because I saw that it was made by Mattel and it had a surface that was painted. Yes , toy stores are supposed to take all of the contaminated toys off of the shelves, but who is really checking to make sure that the toys get removed? Its probably the law to remove recalled items, but who is checking to ensure that the law is followed?

5) Mattel and their behavior: Speaking from personal experience, the people at Mattel can be mean. Whenever I send letters to them, they always send the letters back to me unread and in the original envelope. I guess Mattel thinks they are too good to read outside letters. Thats a shame because I have seen the toys with the magnets and I knew they could be dangerous but I didnt bother to write to Mattel because I knew that they would send the letter back to me unread. You be the judge and tell me whats easier: reading a letter from a toy lover about a potentially dangerous toy ORRRRR refusing to read letters and having to deal with a world wide recall????? Maybe Mattel needs to start reading their letters.

I think Mattel is in for a shaky ride. I wont be surprised if Mr. Eckert resigns.
Should he resign? No. But will he be forced to resign? Probably.

DORA THE EXPLORER

Im back. This past weekend I went to Toys R Us. I usually buy my toys from WalMart, but I went to TRU instead. I was waltzing thru the aisles and i came across a whole aisle of Dora the Explorer toys. Dora now has about 1.5 walls to show off her stuff. DOra is a cash cow for Mattel, simply put. Who cares about Barbie when you have Dora, or when you have both. Now who is buying these dolls?
1. People who have little kids
2. Latinos,illegal and legal

Has anyone stopped and thought about the link between Dora and illegal immigrants?? Many of the country's illegal immigrants are of Hispanic descent, based on statistics. What will happen to Dora's popularity if and when there is a crack down on illegal immigration? Many " illegals" are going into the toy stores and buying toys for their kids. Whether u are legal or illegal, you have to eat,buy food, get gas, and entertain your children, through the purchase of toys.
So what will happen to the market for Dora in the US if illegals are forced to go back to their country? Sure Walmart is in Mexico and Central America. But if Latinos are forced to go back to their countries, then they will have to give up the good money they were making here in the US. They will have to return to their families and work for lower salaries. After all, everyone comes to America because they are looking for greener pastures and higher pay. If a Latino is forced to return home amd face lower pay, do u really think they will have the disposable income to buy Dora dolls for their children? The answer is no. Hard earned money will be spent on paying for the house and providing food for the table. Toys are not a necessity, they are a want. No body needs a DOra toy, but everyone needs food. Economically speaking. toys are not a complimentary good, like peanut butter and jelly.
POINT: The case of illegal immigration in the US has to be looked at seriously, especially among the toy industry. I'm not saying immigratrion is bad or good, you be the judge. What I am saying, is that DORA the Explorer toys, the mass sale of the products will definitely be affected by illegal immigration laws. Perhaps toy companies should start lobbying Congress, in order to protect their sales, if they feel it is worth fighting for.Considering the fact that DORA takes up nearly 2 aisles, I think its safe to assume that she's worth fighting for.
Prince William County is trying to toughen up on illegal immigration and other counties are soon to follow. I bet you that the sale of Dora dolls will slowly start to decrease as immigrants start to feel scared and worried about their immigration status. I simply want you to think about the Economy and how everything is related,including Dora the Explorer.