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Loved Before – Recycled soft toy store
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- squokko 4y ago[flagged]
- cscurmudgeon 4y agoWould love to see the responses here vs the top comments justifying private jet use: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34795609 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34795609 I guess your children should use used toys so Bill Gates and friends can fly private.
- Spooky23 4y agoI get the snark, but I’ll say that my kids really loved their little pals, but they are hard toys to donate. My son did a service project with some and it was really rewarding. But the hardest part was finding an org willing to accept them.
- hgsgm 4y agoPlease explain how these two things are related in the slightest.
- cscurmudgeon 4y agoIs this a question in good faith? You really can't see the connection?
- hgsgm 4y ago[flagged]
- dang 4y agoCan you please not post in the flamewar style to HN? We're trying for something different here, and you can make any of your substantive points without that. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
- rollcat 4y agoI have a soft spot for plushies, and these are all so adorable! Loved before and definitely lovable again.
- melx 4y agoAs a young parent (of 2 year old who loves soft toys), these used toys here are quite expensive IMHO. Not that I always buy new toys because my kid is "the special one". In fact, we found a very good condition large tractor at charity shop at 50p.
- shmatt 4y ago"Donation" when half of the profit stays as private profits. This would be illegal in the U.S and immoral everywhere else Plenty of real not-for-profits sell stuffed animals for $1, no need for this rubbish
- swatcoder 4y ago> This would be illegal in the U.S Confidently incorrect! It’s common. In fact, you’ve personally probably even seen countless for-profit drop boxes in parking lots. > and immoral everywhere else Misrepresentation might be, but it doesn’t seem like it took you long to see how they work so they’re probably not working very hard to misrepresent anything.
- klyrs 4y agoLook no further than your local Value Village for a counterexample.
- awinter-py 4y agowhile I doubt these can be effectively cleaned, I may believe that a random teddy bear on the sidewalk has the equivalent microflora of any toy that's been handled by any child for more than 12 hours soft things generally are an interesting recycling problem (couches, mattresses). I'd happily buy a couch frame used, or use the one from previous tenants at a place. More concerned about mattresses and cushions
- detritus 4y agoI think you just unlocked another revenue angle - indirect innoculation.
- unxdfa 4y agoThis was my first thought. Being a parent is like playing Plague Inc. My youngest's soft toy collection is probably going to cause her to be patient zero of the next pandemic.
- mortenjorck 4y agoHygiene was the first place my mind went, and while they reference a “spa” part of their process, I kind of feel like that should be front and center in their value proposition. I might be slightly less grossed out if they went in-depth about some eight-step antimicrobial deep-clean, but the cutesy language and lack of detail doesn’t really sell it.
- nly 4y agoOr maybe we just need to be less fucking prissy about it? As long as they are lice free, bug free, stain free and smell ok, are you that worried?
- flangola7 4y agoFood is often sterilized by rolling it on a conveyor belt next to a very powerful gamma radiation source (Cobalt-60). Someone should set up a service like that for sterilizing used items.
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- keiferski 4y agoI like how each of the toys has a name and a backstory. It’s a nice little touch that makes this a lot more interesting than just a used toy shop.
- hui-zheng 4y agobut I think we could use our energy better somewhere else than writing backstory for used stuff toys. How about writing backstory for poor kids in Africa and Asia who need some donation to flourish?
- keiferski 4y agoThe stories are submitted by people donating the toys. And contrary to cynical online commenter belief, it is possible to do multiple “good” things for the world at the same time.
- OkayPhysicist 4y agoComplaining that things that are utility positive could be more utility positive is an all-too-common criticism, and it's a really lousy one. For one, it's internally inconsistent: if the goal is maximize the utility of one's actions, then rather than spending energy criticizing a positive action for not being more positive, you'd be better off criticizing something negative for being negative. For another: there are heaps of people on Earth. Humanity can, and does, do many things at the same time. If you've got some idea to make the world a better place, go do it. Or don't, it's your life. But criticizing people trying to do a good thing for not doing a better thing is just spreading negativity.
- BizarreByte 4y agoFallacy of relative privation does not a good argument make.
- nikau 4y agoIts how you bump the price up when selling to rich people, they love the talking point backstory of a toys recent history vs just buying a new one direct from a sweatshop.
- hui-zheng 4y agoThis site seems started in London, I don't know if anyone in big city with a strong and active community such as London would buy from there. It's better to use local free toy exchange/give-away group on facebook or something. I have kids and we almost never buy new toys. if we do have to buy, the used toys on facebook marketplace are often very good and much cheaper than what shown on this website.
- tpmx 4y agoThey really should take care in destroying bacteria/virii/(bed) bugs before giving away the toys to kids. They don't seem to care about this aspect at all.
- bluepuma77 4y agoWhy do you think so? „they are given a thorough clean and refresh in our spa“
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- KaiserPro 4y agoThis really tugs at my heart. Now obviously I am a gruff, cynical sysadmin/devop/SRE/$next. However, I have soft toys from my childhood that I cannot bear to part with. My children also have their toys, which at least one of them loves dearly. However, for my toys, I do worry about what will happen to them when I am dead. Will someone love them as much as me? will they cherish them and look after them? or will they rot, and be destroyed alone? _obviously_ I am projecting. But its something that has eaten at me.
- keiferski 4y agoI think most people have had similar feelings, and there’s nothing weird or strange about it. The modern world is just a very disenchanted [1] place, where we are expected to treat physical objects purely as dead pieces of matter. Previous human civilizations did a better job of recognizing that we enjoy imbuing objects in the world with meaning, I think. 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disenchantment https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disenchantment
- agentwiggles 4y agoIt's funny, because I am not a religious person, but I still strongly believe in the power of symbols. Recently, at a concert my brother handed me a container of Tic tacs, which he told me were given to him by our mom. Mom always has gum or mints around, just one of her little things. I was, shall we say, chemically inclined towards spiritual moments at the time, and so got a pretty big kick out of the "power" of being handed one of Mom's little magic mints. But there really is _something_ very real to that feeling (despite the fact that it doesn't come through as strongly on the usual blend of neurotransmitters). It connects to a deep vein of experience between my brother, mom, and me. I can't count the number of times mom handed out a tic tac or a piece of gum during a car ride when I was growing up. It triggers memories, it puts one in a certain state of mind, to have that little talisman that represents in abstract some huge, irreducible set of experiences. Symbols have power, and it can be a sort of fun and pleasing experience to contemplate the states of mind that a simple tic tac can induce. Another little connection to Mom recently was the two Valentine's day cards she sent to my kids - which each had a little smiley face drawn inside. And again, I was kinda struck by the depth of that association, because I've seen the little smilies she draws on countless notes and cards throughout my life. So instead of just tossing those cards after the week is over as per usual, this time I'm going to cut out that little smile and put it on my bulletin board. A little token of Mom's love, worth way more than the ink and paper it's made of. Also, while I'm in this state of mind, guess I better go give the old lady a call, so I'll stop rambling here.
- myrloc 4y agoIs this level of attachment good for mental health?
- fragmede 4y agoIs being a soulless robot masquerading as a human being good for mental health?
- A4ET8a8uTh0 4y agoParent has a point. We accept this level of attachment in children, but do not encourage it, because, well, it is not really necessary, and could be detrimental, to daily survival. This level of attachment may be helpful to the original poster, but it is a valid question as to whether it is actually good for them in the long run.
- geraldwhen 4y agoI suspect not. I find that “soft toys” wind up on floors and shelves and are largely trash, but the kids get a kind of hoarder mentality about them. Storage container facilities are a blight. I suspect many are filled with rotting toys with similar sentimental value.
- cobertos 4y agoI imagine the only con is extra spent brain-CPU cycles? Balance that against the benefit of a self-induced feeling of loving and the mental benefits that come with that like stability and stillness. I think it'd be great for mental health
- annoyingnoob 4y agoGetting rid of my favorite stuffy was part of growing. The love and memories are not lost even though the physical object moved on.
- pluijzer 4y agoNot afraid to admit I never got rid of mine. Doing so would feel like throwing out a part of my soul. To me they are rich characters with inner lives.
- softskunk 4y agoi still have mine, and he’s going to be with me until i die. either he gets passed on to a different family member or i want to be buried with him.
- A4ET8a8uTh0 4y agoIt is an interesting idea and I wonder to what extent it could be transplanted to US. In a sense, we already have some charities working in similar way ( Goodwill comes to mind ), but none as far I know that focus exclusively on plush toys.
- hyperific 4y agoThe Toy Story fan in me loves this. The microbiologist in me is wondering how thoroughly they clean the toys...
- xwdv 4y agoFor some toys like Lego people seem to get particularly rabid if you suggest they give them away.
- Xylakant 4y agoAt the current prices, giving a away your Lego is like handing your 401k to a stranger in the street.
- worldofmatthew 4y agoVery overpriced. I have often seen the same types of teddies for less brand new........
- mouse_ 4y agothis is the best thing I've seen all day, what a wonderful service. Thanks!
- abeppu 4y ago> PLEASE NOTE THAT DUE TO A CYBER ATTACK ON THE ROYAL MAIL, WE ARE UNABLE TO SHIP INTERNATIONALLY Is this still from the attack a month ago? I have not followed this story but is it surprising that their shipping ability would still be impacted this far after the attack?
- neilv 4y agoDoes that photo reference The Velveteen Rabbit? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Velveteen_Rabbit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Velveteen_Rabbit A key event in the story is relevant to the concern about how to clean used stuffed toys.
- benjaminwootton 4y agoOur kids have never really been interested in soft toys apart from a favoured few, but we still seem to have accumulated more than 100 when you add up gifts, prizes and whatnot. It's terribly wasteful.
- tacocataco 4y agoI wonder if there ever will be a good neighborhood tool swap app. How many lawnmowers does one block REALLY need?
- andyonthewings 4y agoThere are libraries of things. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_of_Things https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_of_Things