You’re considering buying a push-toy for your 11-month-old who is almost walking, but you know it will only be used for a couple of months and then tossed aside… and that $60 price tag is cringe-worthy. The solution? Rent it!
Why you should rent some toys, rather than buy them
We could probably go on for days about why you should give a toy rental service a try, but we don’t want to keep you from getting started, so let’s just hit the highlights, shall we?
Cost
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How it works…
Each toy rental service offers a slightly different program, but in general, you visit their website, choose the toys you’d like to rent and either pay-as-you-go for individual toys, or sign up for an automatic monthly rental service. Each service allows you to customize the way you rent toys based on what you’re looking for — as a way to add a new toy to the mix every now and again or for families who need a constant rotation of new things to play with.
Germ-a-phobe moms, never fear. Toy rental companies are hyper-aware of the fact that toys are being passed from family to family and they all have strict sanitation standards. Most toy rental companies even list the cleaning products they use on their toys on their websites so you can check out their process.
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Online toy rental companies you should try
BabyPlays
Ages available: Newborn to over four years old
Cost: Choose from a pay-as-you-go program where toys range from $3 to $11 per month, plus a $10 shipping fee. Or, pick the monthly subscription service — the Basic Membership is $25 per month to borrow four toys for 60 days.
Ages available: Newborn to over eight years old
Cost: There are two options available. Rent-as-you-go allows you to pick and choose the individual toys you’d like to rent and keep them for 30 days before you leave them on your front porch for FedEx to pick up. There is a $9 shipping fee. Or, upgrade to the TOYmembership, which is $1 for your first month and $10 for additional months and gives you 50 percent off all toy rental prices, free shipping and no rental return dates.
Tell us
Have you ever tried a toy rental service? Tell us about it in the comments section below!
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