Custom Plush Toys 101

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Custom Plush Toys 101

• The US toys game market is a multi-billion
  dollar industry with various products, including
  board games, dolls, educational toys, and plush
  toys. People know plush toys with multiple
  names, such as stuffed toys, stuffed animals,
  soft toys, cuddly toys, or plushies. These toys
  come in many shapes and sizes, often resembling
  bears, elephants, or other animals. Other forms
  include entertainment characters, cartoon
  characters, mascots which are a part of the
  licensed merch industry. Sales of plush toys
  have been on the rise in the past few years,
  about 1.25 billion in 2020. So, this is a
  pretty lucrative market, and many big companies
  are offering a wide range of products such as
  plastic toys and plush toys. You will have stiff
  competition if you want to make some money by
  selling plush toys. But, there is one solution -
  custom plush toys you can start small and then
  grow. This article will show you how to create
  your custom plush toy business.
• Reasons to start a custom plush toy business
• You can find plush toys in most children's
  bedrooms worldwide. There is a massive demand
  for these traditional toys even today, where
  people are leaning towards smartphones and
  iPads. The sale of plush toys was on an all-time
  high with the onset of the pandemic. There are
  several reasons to start your custom plush toys
  business
• Universal appeal Plush toys are cute and cuddly,
  it makes us happy, and everyone loves them. They
  make a perfect gift for every occasion, whether
  it's a

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• birthday, Christmas, or office event. Children
  love these and take them even on vacations.
• High retention rate People don't throw custom
  plush toys like other gifts in trash cans. They
  give it to their nieces, nephews, or
  less-privileged children when they don't want to
  keep it for themselves when someone gave them.
• Customizable Custom plush toys give you the
  ability to customize in any shape, size, or
  color. They are ideal for organization branding
  and corporate gifting - you can draw in the form
  of their beloved character. With accessories like
  t-shirts or beanies, you can dress them up to
  make them even more appealing.
• Mascots Most sports teams, schools,
  universities, and organizations have a mascot.
  You can create custom plushies for them.
• Promotional products Custom plush toys are
  fantastic items for promotional purposes people
  mostly get custom logo t-shirts, hoodies, and on
  some occasions custom socks, but rarely toys.
  They are pretty helpful in grabbing people's
  attention.
• Fundraiser items Plush toys are not only about
  fun they are also helpful in raising funds for
  critical issues. Handing out these as an
  appreciation gesture makes donors feel special.
  Selling these is another way to raise money for
  causes.
• Now that you know the benefits of entering the
  custom toy business, you must know the complete
  process. Let us remind you, plush toy making is a
  complex process, and you would need a network of
  highly-trained professionals. You also need some
  working knowledge to get started.

Idea
Toy business is highly-competitive you need to
test your idea. In the annual New York toy fair,
over 7,000 ideas come every year. To get into the
plush toys business, you would require extensive
research to turn your idea into a successful
product. Start with conducting research both
formally and informally. You will get an idea by
reading industry trade magazines, online
journals, and news. Nobody knows the future
trends, but you can make an educated guess with
the data. Visit various stores, including local,
large chain, and online stores most new launches
occur during holidays. Take a note of packaging,
the quality, price range, and marketing
techniques.
Sellability
After developing your product idea, check its
sellability. When purchasing a toy, people look
for specific things you need to meet them to
make sales. Asking yourself these questions will
help you weigh your idea
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• Will children/ people enjoy the toy People buy
  products emotionally and then rationalize
  backward to justify their purchases. If the toy
  is appealing to their senses, they will buy it.
• Value for money There is a price point after
  which any product does not provide any value to
  people's lives. It would help if you were careful
  while pricing your toys.
• Durability Children will test the durability of
  their toys while playing if the toy tears
  easily, then no parent will repurchase your toys.
• Growth potential One of the crucial aspects of
  any business is growth potential if your
  business model is not growth-friendly, it won't
  survive long.
• Cost
• To test the cost model of your plan, you would
  need a prototype. You can calculate your profit
  considering the manufacturing, shipping,
  marketing, and other charges. Your cost can't be
  huge compared to other products otherwise, few
  will buy, no matter their quality. You need to
  contact different manufacturers to know more
  about the cost. Manufacturers like EverLighten
  will provide you with every detail to sell
  custom toys at the most competitive prices for
  making sustainable profits.
• Safety standards
• Toys' safety standards are updated often you
  need to check with the association and local
  authorities regularly. Guidelines also vary
  according to the age group you need to follow
  every safety rule and regulation.
• Legal protection
• Protect your designs and ideas with patent,
  trademark, and copyright. It is a time-
  consuming process you are better off contacting
  a professional.
• Identify your target audience
• Be it selling custom plush toys or any other
  business, everything starts with understanding
  your target audience. Determine the age group for
  which you are going to market your toys. For
  example, if you sell superhero custom plush toys,
  your target audience will be mostly boys.
  Keeping the audience in mind will help you with
  the aesthetic of toys.
• Design and sample
• After determining your target market, you can
  create the design with a brainstorming session.
  It is where your creativity, research, and data
  will be helpful. Start preparing

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• sketches of the toy you can do it yourself or
  hire professional designers. There are several
  online websites where you can find help quickly.
  You can also crowdsource the idea or start a
  competition on social media sites, but do let the
  designers know you would be keeping the
  copyrights of the designs. Experiment with
  various colors, sizes, and other possibilities
  let your creative juices flow until you find the
  perfect sketch.
• Find a manufacturer
• Now, you can contact a manufacturer or create a
  3D model of toys with computer software. It will
  give you an idea of what your toy will look like
  in reality.
• You need to find a manufacturer for producing
  your custom toy designs. With several
  manufacturers in the industry, it can be
  confusing keep these points in your mind while
  researching
• Experience Find out how much experience they
  have in producing custom toys. It would help if
  you also considered whether they have the
  experience of creating custom toys with the same
  materials you want.
• Delivery Ask them their delivery time some
  manufacturers take a lot of time, especially
  with rare materials and during holidays. You need
  to factor in all the possibilities and contact
  them at least two months in advance.
• Shipping Consider the factory and the delivery
  location, custom duties, shipping costs, etc.
  Some custom plush toy manufacturers provide free
  shipping worldwide.
• Records You want a reliable manufacturer. How
  will you find it? By looking at the testimonials
  on their website, social media sites, and, most
  importantly, third- party apps like Trustpilot.
• Extra help Ask whether they provide some
  additional resources like help with the designs,
  order tracking tools, after-sales services,
  guidelines for marketing, etc. You want as much
  help as possible to become successful.
• Make a physical sample
• Sometimes what we envision might look completely
  different in real life. A physical sample will
  help determine the viability of your design and
  make changes to make it look better. It will
  also help you with appropriate fabrics and
  stuffing. Some manufacturers like EverLighten
  help you with creating free physical samples.
• Additionally, they also provide help with designs
  with their in-house designers.
• Custom plush toy manufacturing is both lucrative
  and daunting, but it is slightly more manageable
  with the right partner by your side. EverLighten
  has over eighteen years

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of custom plush toys manufacturing experience and
has helped many businesses, teams, colleges,
universities, and social media influencers
manufacture plush toys. Factory pricing They
have their dedicated factory for custom plush
toys removing the middleman makes it possible
for customers to get toys at the factory
price. Fast turnaround with on-time delivery
They complete every order quickly customers
always get their delivery on time. No minimum
order limit The company accepts every order
without restrictions on the minimum order
quantity. Free design help Customers can upload
their design ideas in sketches or images
experts help finish the design for free. Quality
check The manufacturing experts check every
plushie for its quality, ensuring only the items
passing stringent quality standards reach
customers. Guaranteed money back Customers can
return the product with guaranteed money back if
they are unsatisfied with the quality. Free
shipping The company delivers to every part of
the world for free. Dedicated account manager A
dedicated account manager is provided to each
customer to help resolve queries and communicate
between different teams. Real-time supply chain
visibility Customers can track their orders in
real-time with an online order tracking tool. We
hope this blog provided you with all the
knowledge to start with your custom plush toy
business. So, if you have an idea in mind and
need guidance and help, visit EverLighten.com to
turn your vision into reality. This Blog
published first time on Everlighten