Bewildered by the cost of these toys - what's the point

If I am ever fortunate to become a grandmother to a granddaughter she will be gifted a dolls house, a beautiful one. I will make it my life's mission 😂

Well I agree toys should be looked after.

But I'd rather see them defaced and used than see them never used in case they get damaged.

I find it extremely sad that some people buy toys and have them sat in their boxes just so they can sell them at some inflated price at a later date. Similar to the idea that some wines and whiskys etc are bought as an investment rather than to actually drink. Totally warped.

My father made me a dolls’ house, around 1975.

I have no idea what it cost him to make, but the current generation of small kids in our family still enjoy playing with it.

I always wanted one of these when I was a child too. Back then they were rare and few and far between. I see them everywhere now I used to just make dolls houses with empty cardboard boxes!

Yup sure, you have your red lines and I have mine. It just doesn't come across as a nice thing to do to a friend.

Having an opinion about something doesn't mean I'm not already calm, but thanks for your concern

I would love to know if this is true but if you have a huge amount of money does £100 become like a tenner to most normal wage earners ? So everything you buy is reasonable while everyone else would be open-mouthed. If you only shop at high end shops like harrods does it just become normal to spend £700 on a box of crackers ?

I cannot imagine asking someone what their child's toy cost. That's very odd behaviour.

@DreamW3aver Would you start a detailed thread on here though, having poked around their house and asked nosy questions?

I don't have the kind of disposable income that would allow for a 5k rocking horse. I don't think I'd get one, even if I did, because I wouldn't want to be annoyed if it got trashed or broken by a toddler!

Having said that, what dos it matter? If it makes them happy (as a family, because this kind of purchasing is definitely about one or both parents' enjoyment) and they can afford it, it doesn't really matter what Joe Bloggs thinks.

Id ask a close friend this if I was thinking of buying it. Fgs it’s a toy it’s not like she was asking how much her house cost. It’s only a thread calm down .

We have a Stevenson rocking horse, I have no idea how much it cost as my husbands grandma bought it about 20 years ago. Its huge, its also very strong as it can take my weight. As its made from wood you have to make sure the room its in remains at a steady temperature and humidity so it doesn’t crack. While it was a lovely gesture to give it to us, it just gets in the way.

I think most things are normal prices, our play kitchen was about £80 second hand, it had been looked after so no drawing on it etc. Destroying toys is a no no in our family, you can still have fun with and enjoy a toy without breaking it, scribbling on it etc.

Spending a visit to a friends house and focusing on the toys enough to successfully find them online is both very weird, and not the actions of an actual friend.

I agree with you op. What a total waste of money. And even if they are sold on second hand I’m sure there will be a massive reduction in price. Small children tend to lose interest in toys very quickly. I don’t think I’d spend that much even if I were rich..

I had a lovely wooden play kitchen. It cost quite a lot (nowhere near £500) but it was
Over £100 it soon looked battered and grubby

I sold it for £40

@YesExactlyYes I also asked for one too as a child but never ever got one.

I can’t get over asking someone how much something cost, I was always raised in the belief that a question like that is really rude!

Anyway, my answer to your OP is that these things are all relative. To a person surviving on £15 of disposable income every month it probably seems ludicrous that you spent £160 on a play kitchen. Taylor Swift recently gave a child she visited in hospital her own set of the outfit Taylor was wearing, at a cost of £4,500. That’s a huge sum for most people but literally not even pocket change to a billionaire like Swift. There’s no point in fretting about what other people spend on these things because there is no objectively reasonable sum to spend on anything; it all depends entirely on the buyer’s personal circumstances.

Is the Dolls House from Harrods?

Why does wondering about the price of something suggest a person is jealous?

Ive googled the price of things I've seen in other peoples houses before out of interest, I have absolutely no desire to have those things myself but that doesn't mean I'm not curious about the price. Why would that be your conclusion?

Sorry OP your thread comes across as socially inept and clueless when you consider there are a shit ton of people struggling to heat their house let alone buy a £5K rocking horse.

As for you asking how much your friend paid for it, really? When you were in her house ... And then coming on here to discuss it.

All kinds of wrong.

I pined for a proper, old-fashioned dolls' house when I was a child and never got one because they were too expensive (no internet in those days so no chance of buying a cheap one to restore). I'd have treasured it and it would have been 100% worth it if my parents had been able and willing to buy me one.

I'd have googled you prices too in that situation! I don't think they're doing anything wrong if they can afford it, but I don't really get it. Those things will be grown out of quickly, and probably damaged in the course of playing. I also feel incredibly sad that some children get £5000 toys and others don't have enough food to eat, but that's the reality of the UK.

Waste of money

The rocking horse will not be passed down. They will want it out of the way once the kids get bigger

Second hand toys do not fetch much money

I presume the idea is that they get passed down.

We have a £90 IKEA toy kitchen. We’ve had it for two years and it’s in pristine condition, my son loves it and it gets played with daily. I’d have the same reaction to your £160-odd kitchen having stickers all over it 😅

I mean; they are ludicrous prices, but I know someone who goes on four or five £6k holidays a year to lob her kids in childcare and “relax”, so I guess everyone spends their moment differently, and toys seems a nice way to do it at least!

Our toys are well used and well loved, but I wouldn’t allow them to be defaced with crayons or stickers 🤷‍♀️

I thought this was going to be a thread on Jellycats