TDmonthly is a division of ToyDirectory.com Inc.
TDMONTHLY NEW TOYS
Notable and New Toys by Category
Start your Christmas orders by browsing through the more than 650 toys TDmonthly Magazine uploaded since last month...READ MORE
Last chance for Holiday orders! If your catalogs are so dog-eared you can't read the fine print, take a look at this list...
The 2007 TDmonthly Specialty Toys Report will be offered to the general public, retailers and the press in mid-October 2007. Its mission is to help consumers make informed buying decisions for the holidays and to introduce them to companies and products they will not find in mass-market outlets....
TDMONTHLY MUST READS
This Issue's Highlights
Really don't have time to read? Now you don't have to! TDmonthly Magazine's ToyTV brings you a monthly newscast...READ MORE
It's no surprise that Webkinz is the hottest selling line in specialty stores across the country...
TDMONTHLY TOY VIDEOS
TDmonthly's Toy Videos
TDmonthly Magazine's Toy Videos give you instant access to toy demos so you can evaluate a product before you buy it....READ MORE
TDMONTHLY - GET READY TO ORDER!
Toys, Games and Gifts for $10 and Under
Need last-minute gifts, stocking stuffers and things that kids can buy with their holiday money? TDmonthly Magazine picked out 30 new toy and gift items for you...READ MORE
If your customers are looking for affordable gifts for their nieces, nephews and kids, here's a list of toys and games from $10.00 to $20.00 that will still impress the little ones...
The holidays are the time to splurge, so be sure to provide your customers with plenty of pricier, though still reasonable, new toys and games. Here are some that TDmonthly found for you...
Frugal parents and grandparents may be enticed to blow their budgets when they see these instant child-pleasers...
Need free shipping to make your budget work? These specialty toy companies may give you a break if you mention ToyDirectory or TDmonthly Magazine...
SCHOOL SUPPLIES
Education in a Flash
Sixty-six percent of the 48 specialty retailers recently surveyed by TDmonthly Magazine said they don’t carry traditional school supplies...READ MORE
GIFTS
Buying for Birthday Babes
If customers are searching for the perfect gift, make a boy happy by giving him a bullet-proof car from Automoblox, box up a Schleich Elf or Ty Girlz for a girl, and swaddle a babe in a plush animal blanket...READ MORE
If you're shopping for unusual gifts for unusual shoppers, TDmonthly Magazine has found a few for you...
MUSICAL TOYS & CDS
Music With a Message
There’s a lot more to a children's CD than just the music itself. As several musicians recently told TDmonthly Magazine, it’s also about having a story and a cause, and getting kids involved....READ MORE
Of the 32 specialty toy-store owners recently surveyed by TDmonthly Magazine in an effort to gauge musical toy sales, 25 cited plain musical instruments with little to no electronic pizzazz...
TDMONTHLY SHOP TALK
Retailer Spotlight: Boing! JP's Toy Shop
Before Elaine Hackney plunged into opening her own toy store, she tested the waters by asking nearby storeowners to talk about their businesses...READ MORE
Since her store opened in Jamaica Plain, Mass., six years ago, Owner Elaine Hackney of Boing! JP’s Toy Shop has learned lots of lessons about inventory...
Lynn Robillard knew from 16 years of running a custom jewelry store in Manchester, Vt., that in retail, it’s crucial to “always to look for quality, and to have unique things that you don’t find everywhere else”...
Although Owner Lynn Robillard of Toys in the Attic in Manchester, Vt., had a hard time pinning down individual best-selling items, there’s no shortage of customer excitement for many of the brands in her store...
Preparing for the holidays requires a lot of work, so start early! Whether it’s hiring additional staff, ordering or organizing holiday events...
Becoming “the place to be” takes more than cool products and good customer service....
TDMONTHLY MANUFACTURER'S CORNER
Pitch Your Product to the Biz
Quality, not quantity, is the golden rule when pitching products. Equally important are research and preparation...READ MORE
TDMONTHLY TOY ROUNDTABLES
Homeschoolers Go Loco
This month, our Homeschool Roundtable participants found that the way to win is to prevent others from getting ahead in Buffalo Games’ Nacho Loco...READ MORE
This month, TDmonthly Magazine’s Dolls Roundtable participants reviewed three age-specific dolls by Lee Middleton...
This month, TDmonthly Magazine’s Infant/Toddler Roundtable participants evaluated SCHOENHUT PIANO CO.’s My First Piano II, which received glowing reviews....
For this month’s Preschooler Roundtable, colorful toys and resusable packaging won praises from parents, but uninspiring peripheral materials brought disappointment...
TDMONTHLY TOY REVIEWS
TDmonthly's Expert Kid
TDmonthly Magazine uses experts from all facets of the toy business to review the products that come our way every month. With this guest reviewer, we go straight to the horse’s mouth, or, in this case, the kid’s mouth....READ MORE
If you want to know which books to sell in your toy store, find out what the kids have to say....
Signing, animals, hip hop and Internet safety. Varied themes this month?...
Dr. Wright doesn’t just look at toys; she analyzes them. In and out of the box, she scrutinizes them for playability, appropriateness and educational value....
Each month, Sibylla Nash shares her views on the latest toys with TDmonthly Magazine readers,...
TDMONTHLY BRASS RING
Woodstock Chimes Rings True
In 1979, Garry Kvistad was teaching music at a Midwestern university when he decided to make his first instrument — a xylophone constructed of aluminum lawn-chair tubes that he hung to be played by the wind...READ MORE
TDMONTHLY COOL COMPANY
Keep the Lead Out
Millions of children exposed to hazardous substances. Millions of toys recalled. What, exactly, is sitting on your shelves?...READ MORE
When Frank Trinca bought the Schoenhut Piano Company in 1984, he invited his brother Len and sister-in-law Renee aboard as silent partners...
TDMONTHLY TOY BUZZ
Lyn Dillies Makes Real Magic
Lyn Dillies, a professional magician, recently took her own money and time and "allakhazam’d" a beginner’s magic DVD from thin air...READ MORE
TDMONTHLY POPULAR STORIES
Specialty Stores Stock Up on Sharing
Mary Horne made a drastic career change when she purchased J. Christopher Toys in Jonesboro, Ark., in March 2007...READ MORE
“Going green” is the catchphrase of the new millennium, and more than the auto industry is finding it profitable to “save” our planet....
My ol’ pappy used to say, “Nothing creative ever comes out of a committee.” And since Hollywood is one big committee ... where does that leave everyone who depends on its toys?...
TDmonthly Magazine’s September Toy Sleuth looks high, low and even under rocks this month, gathering glimpses of toys and games that will call up fond memories and watery Armageddon in a single bound....
TDMONTHLY TOP-10 MOST-WANTED LISTS
TDmonthly's Top-10 Most-Wanted Gifts
Specialty retailers are selling a wide and eclectic array of gift items to their customers...READ MORE
Kids are hitting and banging their way to musical joy...
School supplies bring special challenges to specialty retail...
TDMONTHLY UPCOMING ISSUES
If you have a scintillating character you know would be a great licensed product, how do you go from idea to reality?...
Water construction toys, charitable dolls, flying disks that talk, and MP3s for infants...