Suppliers for my toy shop?

[PurpleMonkey40]

Hi,
I opened a toy shop in my local town in the middle of November so i know its not been very long but im having trouble finding suppliers. I use NDA toys at the moment which are great but i want to be able to stock toys like Skylanders figures and Littlest Pet Shop items. Preferably want a supplier thats in this country.

Can anyone point me in the right direction?
Thanks in advance.
Sorry if ive posted this in the wrong place, im new here :redface:

 

[LianneF]

Go to the Toy fair in Jan and Spring Fair in Feb.

 

[ScottishSte]

if its figurines your after then good luck with UK supplier, licenced products tend to be very limited to wholesalers so not something you can pick up easily. saying that once you get one then you can be competative with price as so many people have to pay higher prices. We looked into figurines and licenced products for a website and found you could make up to 250% on ebay and we all know ebay is awash with cheap goods thanks to business models like musicmagpie. Inbox me and i can let you know of a good supplier based in london for all NECA licenced items.

 

[OFFWITHHERHEAD]

Orange Tree Toys sells wooden toy and pocket money toy wholesaler and offers some really good quality items.

 

[swankypants69]

I think "The In Thing" supply skylanders and moshi monsters etc

Google them and let us know how you get on, we deal with Gemma there

 

[PurpleMonkey40]

Thanks ever so much for your replies.
I absolutely love the Orange Tree products, just waiting to register with them

 

[OFFWITHHERHEAD]

As a mother of two I can honestly say that I loathe buying all the plastic tat that my kids and their friends seem to love/brainwashed into buying after watching the TV show/advert. On the other hand, I would spend a great deal more on wooden toys. For Christmas this year I bought my two a wooden shop/puppet theatre from GLTC. It is wonderful and a real investment piece. It will last a great deal longer than plastic one hit wonders like the character toys, which I end up throwing out once they have tired of them. Looking around my house now, the only toys that have survived the latest toy 'cull' are the dolls house, train set, shop/puppet theatre - all wooden. Call me old fashioned, but I am more likely to make more of a financial investment in wooden toys than any other - my kids play with the dolls house that I had when I was little which my Mum and Dad kept.

The classics are the best (in so many ways)

 

[JMRidley]

With a physical shop you are in a better position than on-line only as some suppliers will only supply to those with a shop. We love Bigjigs toys and Le Toy Van but can't stock them as we are currently on-line only. Would agree with comment re getting yourself to trade fairs but you can also find out quite a lot by searching on line. If you can find the website of brands that you like they will usually point you to their UK distributor.

 

[Lunazzurra]

Although we do not sell toys ourselves, I'm always seeing Kandy Toys vans delivering in our area so might be worth a try.

 

[OFFWITHHERHEAD]

Have you tried The Wholesaler website? There are loads of toy wholesalers there - one of them stocks in the moshi monsters and skylanders figures - can't find it at the moment, but a bit of a search on the wholesaler website will get you there.

 

[daveymck]

Try Zappies Ltd they have skylander and other similar licensed products and have been round a few years. Not sure how good their margins are when I looked at their stuff in the past.

http://shop.zappies.com/toys/skylanders/

 

[Spotamo]

Big Jigs Toys - Tend to do a lot of wooden toys however their margins and services are great. Might not be the sort of products you're looking to stock but may help others looking at this thread for suppliers.

 

[PurpleMonkey40]

I was looking at big jigs yesterday and i absolutely love all their toys. Just waiting to register so i can see the prices

 

[Dowafoar]

What do you think of these Finger Animal Puppet Toys? It's really cute. You can find it on Amazon and it's not expensive.

 

[DomGuro]

Try Zappies Ltd they have skylander and other similar licensed products and have been round a few years. Not sure how good their margins are when I looked at their stuff in the past.

I know that Zppies Ltd are great for figurines and licensed products, used them before! Hope you have some luck!

 

[Hunnie]

Hello Purple monkey,
I have just been on Big jigs and registered straight away - no waiting invovled.
Maybe you should check back and you should be able to see wholesale prices immediately.
regards
Hunnie

 

[silliker]

Have you look locally first? Before going online,I think it would be better to check locally first.

 

[lww]

There are various options available to you as an independent toy shop - try to get accounts with the big boys direct... they will have huge minimum orders, and/or you'll get screwed on the wholesale price. I've known some who never reply.

You can find a distributor - again they will have minimum order requirements although they won't be as high, but of course they may or may not stock the products you want. I knew one who took months (!) to reply to a firm re-order!

You could use a buying club like ToyMaster or AIS - this can work well as you can get some discounts plus extended settlement times (AFAIA).

Alternatively/additionally, you need to search out and find the small independent suppliers who are in a similar if opposite position to you! We are an independent manufacturer of children's toys and educational products - all our own designs and our own brand. We are always seeking new outlets, I've dropped you a PM with our contact details.

As someone else has mentioned above, it might be worth visiting Toy Fair (next week) as a buyer - tons of companies to look at, when you visit their stands they will be able to tell you their order requirements, etc. We will be there

 

[searchasupplier]

Hello, i have a few toy suppliers listed here

http://www.searchasupplier.com/toys_and_games.html

I have more to be listed later today also. Need any help then feel free to ask