Just as with the evaluation process for the "Good Housekeeping Seal", which was so popular and trusted for many years in the past, a product must include excellent production values, universal ethical values, appeal to children, be consistent with age appropriateness, and innovative value in order to be considered for acceptance for The Toy Man® Product Guide.

The Toy Man® Product Guide staff look for products that not only entertain, but also teach simultaneously with an added edge. The products must actively stimulate a child's imagination, and contribute to further creative skill development in the age group for which they are designed. A product must be easy for them to use, consistent with current safety standards, as well as interesting. Products should contribute to the child’s development, mentally, physically, socially, and emotionally, while also being something they can have fun playing with.

The product should have a strong durability level for extensive periods of play time and not break in the child's hands with reasonable use in their active play. A very vital part of the scenario is that the company which produces the toy should be dependable and stand behind its product. It should have tested it with children to validate age appropriateness and match descriptive information, age guidelines, and suggestions for use. It should also be independent lab tested if applicable.

PLEASE NOTE:  Results of product evaluations which fail to meet our guidelines will NOT be released, except to the manufacturer who submitted the product for review.  We do NOT return products which are submitted, (unless arrangements have been made PRIOR to start of product evaluation.) Products are generally donated with all appropriate manuals, etc. to children's wards at hospitals, schools, off-continent urgent concerns, special needs children, or charities for disadvantaged children for most beneficial use from the contribution of the product.

ADDENDUM: The Toy Man® Product Guide started with toys in 1971 but has since then expanded into a number of other lines of products with credentialed professionals from each of these new product and service lines performing the evaluations.

Basis Of Our Product Evaluation Guidelines

All products are evaluated based upon strict guidelines originally established by International Parenting Institute™, ( hereafter referred to as IPI™), which are quite detailed and have been carefully developed. Top credentialed professionals in multiple fields have either donated their time or been paid to help establish these guidelines and updating of same. These guidelines are periodically updated to remain consistent with current trends of the industry regulations and consumer market. The Toy Man® Product Guide is now a division of GreyWolf Corporation™ yet all guidelines updates are still made in association with IPI™.

An important point to consider which makes The Toy Man® Product Guide more unique is that the evaluation guidelines we use for a bicycle are far different than the guidelines for a plush toy. Professionals from each class of products have been used to carefully define evaluation guidelines specific to each product type.

Each individual product evaluation/review is performed by a group of our staff members in addition to credentialed professional(s) who specializes in the same category as the product being tested who volunteer their time. In addition, every product is submitted to spontaneous hands-on consumer evaluation. No prior announcement is made to our staff arriving at a public location with groups of products for hands-on consumer evaluation.  The product evaluation summaries which are derived from a combination of the scoring from the product evaluation reports and the hands-on consumer feedback forms for all inductees, are written in style to reach the specific target market for which the product is intended. This adds a unique style to each review and makes each one special with added value.

A basic breakdown of our guidelines which we use to evaluate and rate products submitted for product evaluation is listed below. Please note that this is only a "brief" outline of our entire product evaluation guidelines. Each section is evaluated on a 1 to 5 scale with the larger number being positive and the lower number being negative. We do not share our entire group of guidelines to maintain a unique proprietary evaluation procedure.

Sec. #0318 - PRIMARY BEHAVIOR

Eligible Products
The Toy Man® accepts all juvenile products designed for infants through young adult. Prototypes are also eligible for submission, but they are only given article recognition, no awards; as are Beta versions of software.

Number Of Product Required For Submission
The Toy Man® requires only one sample product for evaluation.  It should be noted though that the more samples provided for evaluation, the greater number of evaluators that can participate and the number of hands-on consumers in that portion of the evaluation will be impacted dramatically.

Resubmission
Products that are NOT approved for The Toy Man® Seal of Approval are eligible to be resubmitted.  Upon re-submission the product or toy, must have had made the changes specified in first submission denial for approval. There is no limit to the number of re-submissions.

Entry Fees
There are no submission fees of ANY kind.  It is the desire of The Toy Man® Product Guide staff to keep a level playing field for all products and toys submitted for approval.

Licensing Fees
All products submitted for evaluation are analyzed and tested under our strict evaluation guidelines. There is NO FEE of any kind for any portion of the product evaluation and/or publishing of reviews/articles on The Toy Man® Product Guide web site.

If a product is inducted, the product evaluation summary and any awards, (if applicable) are published 24 hours before recipient is notified.  If the company submitting the product(s) desires to use The Toy Man® Seal of Approval or awards in any manner other than The Toy Man® Product Guide web site, a "first year" licensing fee of $125 per product which has been inducted will be incurred, with a non-mandatory annual $25 licensing renewal fee.  Each seal and/or award is specific to the year it was given. The licensing fees and usage are an option, NOT mandatory.

( The OPTIONAL $125 USD licensing fee is in place in order to help create a greater "perceived value" of the Seal and/or Award when used for promotional purposes outside of The Toy Man® Product Guide web site. The fee is used as part of funding base to produce Award Certificates and other materials delivered to the manufacturers of products which have been inducted or selected for The Toy Man® Favorites Award. )

Shipping and Delivery
The Toy Man® upholds a policy of no acceptance of COD or postage due packages. If your package is considered to be oversized or overweight by the US Postal Service, Fed Ex, UPS, DHL, or Airborne Express, you will need to contact our office to specify how the products or toys will be submitted.

Please ship your products to the following offices for review upon completion of this form.
All products with their corresponding applications, press kits, etc. should be included.

( Evaluation and analysis generally is completed within a MINIMUM of 30 business days following reception of product, pending on complexity of design of product. )  Prior to a major trade show product evaluations can be expedited upon request and approval.

Digital Images Used On Our Web Site

It is requested that companies submit digital images of their products. Images of products which meet The Toy Man® Seal of Approval will be used for individual "Innovative New Products" description pages and the actual formal review pages on The Toy Man® Product Guide web site (http://www.thetoyman.com).

Images must be either .png, .jpg or .gif files, no smaller than 72 dpi. Images may be delivered on CD-ROMs, or ZIP disks. No images sent to us or the medium on which they are delivered will be returned.

PLEASE NOTE:  To ensure 100% understanding of our product return policy, we are re-affirming it here.  Results of product evaluations which fail to meet our guidelines will NOT be released, except to the manufacturer who submitted the product for review.  We do NOT return products which are submitted, (unless arrangements have been made PRIOR to start of product evaluation.) Products are generally donated with all appropriate manuals, etc. to children's wards at hospitals, schools, off-continent urgent concerns, special needs children, or charities for disadvantaged children for most beneficial use from the contribution of the product.

Seals and Awards

The Toy Man® Product Guide gives awards for products that rise to the challenge and meet the challenge to earn a "5 Star Rating" or earn recognition to bear the highly coveted eChoice™ Award. There are two seals and seven awards currently available. The Toy Man® Seal of Approval™ is for all products which rate "3" or higher in their overall scores and have been inducted into The Toy Man® Product Guide. The The Toy Man® Award of Excellence™ is given for all products that meet a "5" rating. The Toy Man® eChoice™ Award is more than just an award, this is the "brass ring" so to speak; the award that serves as an emblem of recognition for products / services which contribute substantially to positive skill growth and productivity. This productivity is measured in the value of potential cognitive/critical skill growth and/or overall level of improvement in an individual or group from the use of a product or service.

Examples of the Seal and awards with a description of the evaluation and recognition criteria follows;