Toy and Book Swaps in Daycares

[Unregistered]

Does anyone do this?

I would love any providers input on my idea.

I'm thinking of starting a service where daycare providers can offer this service (swap/sell items to be dropped off & picked up at daycare) to the parents of the kids that go to their daycare (private home daycare or larger). All items would be posted online. Parents would need a membership to post/view items. They could see what was posted by parents from the same daycare and all the other daycare centers that also participate in the service.

The only way to become a member would be through a daycare provider.

Members can share photos, etc.. Platform would be similar to Facebook, complete with friend requests & messaging. Forums, too.

Benefit to parents:

1. Could list unlimited items (toys, clothes, DVD's, video games, etc.) for sale/swap.

2. They can drop off items at the daycare to be sent home with new owner's child.

3. They could also search items listed by parents who's kids go to daycare nearby and arrange to swap/sell/buy with them as well.

Benefit to daycare providers:

1. Offering this added service in addition to daycare

2. Can post daycare openings for general public to see

3. Can post help wanted for general public to see


There would be a small membership fee per parent. Providers could offer to pay for it as an added service, split it with parents, or have parents pay for. It would be up to each daycare to decide how it is handled.

How items are paid for would also be decided by each daycare. They can offer to handle the $, or require payment by PayPal, etc..

What do you think? Here's an example of the program that I would use to create the site for listing items. You could even add a YouTube video to the listing

http://network.disabilitysupportnetwork.com/index.php?option=com_jreviews&Itemid=324

Example of listing with YouTube video:

http://network.disabilitysupportnetwork.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&catid=156:toys&id=321:interaction-wall-e&Itemid=324

?? Anybody?

[child care provider]

Personally, I would not use the service.

First with things out there like craigslist, freecycle and yard sales why would I pay to sell/swap my items? Then there is ebay also, which is very inexpensive.

Also, safety concerns. I would not want a stranger coming to my home especially during daycare hours. As a parent I would pull my child out of care for this to be honest. Yes they need a membership but how do you know they are not just signing up to get inside access to all those children. Sorry to sound paranoid but we can not be too careful now days, especially with others children.

[Unregistered]

misunderstood?

I think you may have misunderstood.

It would be a way for the parents of the kids in *your* daycare to swap with one another. They would just bag and tag the items and drop bag off with their child when they go to your house. All you would have to do is send the bag home with the new owner. No strangers in your home, no extra visits. That was actually part of what I would be addressing...the safety end. I know from experience that I don't care to have strangers come to my home when I list things on Craigslist. Not to mention the huge amount of spam that you get from listing anything there now. I joined an online swap yesterday and have two people interested in some kids clothes I've been trying to sell on Craigslist forever now. But finding the time to box things up and ship them is always a pain in the butt for me because I have a 50 lb. boy in a wheelchair who I can't leave in the car. Plus I always seem to get the postage amount wrong when listing on Ebay, even though I weigh the package at the Post Office first. Go figure...

So yes, there's a small fee that you don't pay to list items somewhere else. But I would only charge $1 per parent per month, and that's just to make sure that daycare providers tell me when a parent no longer brings their child there. Otherwise things will get out of control, having members who don't bring their kids to daycare anymore. So for that $1 you get convenience, safety, and free/cheap stuff.

And you make the rules!

If you only want to handle books and DVD's, or even magazines for mom and dad, then that's all the parents are allowed to swap and have you handle. I certainly wouldn't want to be handling large items. And maybe they have some stuff that you'd like to swap with them or buy from them. Plus you don't have to limit it to kids stuff. You can list adult stuff, too. It could be a lot of fun.

And if you want to limit the swapping to once per week, or once per month, you can do that, too. You're completely in control of what goes on in your daycare.

I just figured in this economy, the amount of trash we generate, and with the world being as unsafe as it is, this would be a way to pass things along, and in turn get items for free, with convenience and safety. And don't forget, the parents are saving $, which means perhaps they will have an easier time paying you for your service as well.

What do you get out of it other than the added work of having to handle bags of item, collecting $ and paying me once per month? You get to post daycare openings for free, and help-wanted ads if applicable, which not only members can see, but the general public as well. The owners of a daycare would not have to pay the $1 membership fee for themselves, as a small thank-you for participating.

Oh...

As far as swapping outside your daycare, the parents CAN see listings from parents of other daycares and arrange to meet those parents somewhere else - their own residence, or at the town common, etc.. If I found the $150 baby monitor I'm in such desperate need of but don't have that much money for from someone in the next town over, I'd want to be able to get it

[seashell]

We already do this on our own and have no need to pay a service to do it. My parents also use craigslist and freecycle, which is also free. Sorry

[gbcc]

I use craigslist and love it. I meet in a mutual spot though. I don't think I would want to deal with the hassel of using my home and business to swap things. I see how it could be beneficial to me but I think handling all the parents crap that I do now, I wouldn't want to ad anymore items, issues or stress. Plus, they are not satisfied with the transaction, who gets blamed, the provider. I can see it causing extra drama.

Sorry..

[ConcernedMotherof2]

I'm in agreement with the dc providers responses here. I wouldn't want to take my kids somewhere where random people were coming and going, having arranged over the internet to drop off or pick up items. I think the basis of the idea *sounds* really great, but I also think that it would open the door to much more than should be going on at a daycare while children are there. Sorry... I see where the idea sounded good at first, though.