FREEBIES: No-Cost, High-Value Add-Ons

"The vast majority of toy buyers (78 percent) say they prefer to buy in stores versus online because they want the ability to see the products before purchasing them," according to an NPD Group study. But what if you DO sell online and you can actually SHOW your customers the products there?

This month marks TDmonthly's first-ever in-house VIDEO BLITZ! We've filmed more so that you and your customers can watch more to help with those ever-important holiday buying decisions. See something you sell? Copy the code in the video player window to broadcast the demo from your own website. You can freely communicate with vendors, too. See something you like? Just click the "Add to my inquiry basket" link at the bottom of the product description and send a message straight to the manufacturer.

Do you carry ArtiSands? If so, tap into the positive feedback TDmonthly's Roundtable moms and kids gave about these fun and virtually mess-free sand-art projects. Share their enthusiastic comments with shoppers in your store, so they know what to anticipate when they take a kit home with them! If you don't stock the item currently, find out why kids ages 7 to 11 enjoyed working with the sand in "Families Praise ArtiSands for Simplicity and Sharp Designs."

Don't wait any longer to bring your website into the 21st century! You can broadcast TDmonthly's toy videos from your store's site, so your customers can get a better idea of a product before they buy. This month, use the videocode available in each video pop-up window to show shoppers Babalu's Pirates, what Aurora's Learn With Me Ball has to offer, and how Acting Out's skirts for girls get dancin'!

Alert your local media about the virtues of specialty toys during hard economic times by sending them this link* to an article by Susan Ledford, TDmonthly's Roundtable Editor. She explains how children who've been asked to evaluate toys closely begin to look past the hype to recognize the real play value in a toy or game (pictured at right, Khet: A Laser Game). Don't forget to mention that your store carries the kinds of toys she and the other Roundtable participants learned to appreciate!

Browsers on your website can now get insightful answers to the question that's foremost in their minds: "What are the most exciting, highest-value toys I can get this holiday season?" Answer them by posting one of these two videos on your site. And if they want a toy that you don't yet have, you'll know what to order next! Just read the accompanying transcript to learn more about each toy and company featured, check out your Specialty Toys Report, or conduct a PRODUCT SEARCH.

The top video highlights 20 toys and runs approximately 10 minutes. The bottom video concentrates on the top-10 toys and runs about 4 minutes.

To post the link to either video on your site, simply copy the code that appears in a box when you play the video and paste it on your site (see website terms of use). You can then copy the photo, too, so customers will get a hint of what the video looks like before they watch it.

Or, if you don't have time to update your website, just email your customers a link* to the article and transcript.



Have you heard that adding videos to your website can slow it down? That will never be true for a TDmonthly video! The links we give you go straight to a pop-up window that plays the video, so your customer never leaves your site and your site doesn't slow down for an instant. To post a link to a video on your site, simply copy the code that appears in a box when you play the video and paste it on your site (see website terms of use). We'll be adding new videos each month, so check back and scroll down.

* To send a link, simply click to the article, then copy the URL code at the article's address line at the top of the page. It should look something like this: https://www.toydirectory.com/monthly/article.asp?id=3487