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Dream Toys: Retailer Reaction

We asked the nation's independent toy retailers for their thoughts on the official Dream Toys list. This is what they told us...

I don't know about dream toys - more like nightmare toys! Plastic, tasteless and of little developmental play value. More rubbish for landfill! I can't imagine any one of them ending up in an antique or collectors shop in the future.

This is mostly big companies pushing the stock they have lots of rather than what kids are actually asking for!

A lot of plastic junk.

Usual, hyped up 'flash in the pan' products. We'll happily stay away from every product in the list and stick with what we know sells well, year in, year out!

Electronic toys like these stifle imagination and creativity in children. How much did these companies pay to get their toys in the top ten?

I imagine that all the BIG boys will cut the prices so much that it will not be worth while trying to compete with them.

As with every years list, totally pointless. It's not a dream list as there is not one inspiring or genuinely fun toy on there... just a list of marketing winners.  More landfill fodder but  what's new!

Electronic tat! Sad indictment on how little play value is attached to many toys nowadays and that the "best" toys are reliant on some electronic gizmo!

How very sad, we have more respect for parents and, more importantly, children, than to offer this kind of thing.

Although we look at top ten lists, they tend not to be the kind of toys we stock. A lot of the trends seem to be over quickly and we look for toys which offer long term play value and are worth the money.

I'm gobsmacked. Is this the best we can come up with!? If we are struggling as a nation and yet are willing to pay the prices of some of this plastic tat then really, it's no wonder we're in the state we're in. Bring the panel to my shop and I'll show them some dream toys!

I can understand kids loving the latest fads but I really don't like the cheapness of the plastic in these toys and the price the customer is charged for them.  Most are toys that are fads and will be on the skip next year.  I use the old saying: a good traditional well made toy is not just for Christmas. The list of dream toys definitely are.

I wouldn't buy any of these. Maybe the LEGO but nothing else.

It doesn't have a strong focus on toys that kids have requested in our store. It just seems to represent what the big retailers have stocked up on.  It makes it all the harder to sell the toys that we actually have on the shelf.  Out of the 12 toys announced we only have 1 of them because stocks have been so hard to come by.

It looks good although I would have liked to of seen a Doctor or Transformer in there!

It seems that the top toy predictions have not been affected by the economy! Are there no 'dream' toys for under £20? Money is tight for a lot of people at the moment and Christmas will be a squeeze too far for many. These lists can fuel the fire and I think the industry should have included some more reasonably priced items.

It's a bit 'same old, same old', little imagination required (although I do still like the lightsaber).

It's going to be a late Christmas rush for a very reduced selection of toys...

Luckily we deal with the more traditional end of the market - lovely wooden and education toys. We'll let the 'Big Boys' take this share of the marketplace.

I am deeply disappointed that there are not more original toys from smaller manufacturers. The 'Big Boys' churn out the same things every year and I don't see on that list many toys that spark imaginative play, or many toys that will still be played with in 3 months time.  We need more toys that will be cherished and loved, and that will add something to our children's all too short childhood, rather than another piece of plastic that is thrown onto the rubbish pile at the end of the year.

They all look absolute rubbish and probably won't last five minutes!

They all look so flimsy and breakable. I would love to see some good old fashioned toys in this list, like the wooden ones which will last a long time.

They will probably all be on Amazon and in supermarkets at 1/2 price soon! Great for the indies... not!

We try and stay away from these type of toys. Too many retailers selling them and not much profits. (We're online retailers)

We won't be stocking them!

I wouldn't necessarily agree those are the top toys are the moment.

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