Toys worth keeping.
SA Toys is a small toy house. We choose a short list of things properly rather than a long list quickly.
01
We carry a deliberately short list
It would be straightforward to carry four thousand. Most shops do, because a bigger catalogue converts better in the short term. We would rather be able to say something true about every single product, which caps the list at roughly what a few people can genuinely know.
02
The fortieth day is the test
Almost any toy is interesting on the first day. We buy for the fortieth — the point where novelty has worn off and what remains is whether the object is actually good. That is a slow, annoying way to choose stock, and it is the only one that works.
03
Repairable beats replaceable
Everything we sell as repairable has spares held for at least ten years. A toy that cannot be fixed has an expiry date whether or not anyone tells you what it is.
04
Safety is not a badge
Every toy is tested to EN 71-1, -2 and -3, and drop-tested past the required height, because the required height is optimistic about how children hold things. We reject batches over rough edges. It is not glamorous and it is most of the job.
05
We would rather sell you less
The evidence on this is fairly consistent: children with fewer toys out at once play longer and more inventively with each. We say so on the journal and we mean it, even though it is a strange thing for a shop to argue.