A while back, somebody told me about Pley, a website that works a lot like Netflix, but instead of shipping movies to your home, they send you LEGO kits.
Awesome idea, right?! Just think of the implications… right now, there are parents spending hundreds of dollars a month on LEGO kits (and countless more parents who can’t afford to spend hundreds of dollars a month on LEGO kits). What if those parents didn’t have to buy LEGO kits to give their children the opportunity to build with them?
It could possibly put an end to mothers complaining about their child’s LEGO models taking up too much room in the house! There may no longer be a need for mothers to mention that previously built models are just sitting around gathering dust! One could almost even imagine a world where mothers never step on LEGOs! Well, maybe not that last one… but if the person who told me about this website was right, it could revolutionize the way parents buy toys!
So as soon as I got home, I was on Pley checking it out. It turns out they have a one-month free trial for the service, so before I knew it I was signed up.
The way the site works is like this: You choose a plan ($15/month will get you smaller sets, $25/month will get you medium size sets, and $39/month will get you the large sets that can retail for as much as $300), and create a “PleyList.” Your “PleyList” is basically a list of LEGO kits that your child wants to build and play with.
Pley.com will send you one kit at a time, so the first kit they send you will be the one that’s closest to the top of your PleyList and available at the time you sign up. That kit will be shipped to your door immediately, and once the kit arrives, you can take as long as you want to build it and play with it. Whenever you’re done with the kit, you put the pieces back in the mesh bag they came in, and return it in the postage paid envelope. Once Pley.com receives the kit you sent back, they send you another kit.
Pley.com seems to have thought of everything for their business: They use an eco- and kid-friendly sterilization solution to keep the sets germ free; if you lose some pieces, they don’t charge you; and you have the option to purchase a set if your child REALLY likes it and doesn’t want to give it up.
Like I said, I did the free trial for a month and was able to build a couple different sets. I didn’t put much in my “PleyList, ” so it took a while before I got the second set in the mail (I would highly recommend filling your “PleyList” with as many kits as possible to avoid any delays in shipments).
Overall, I was very impressed with the service. My son is too young to really take advantage of Pley.com right now (although he enjoyed playing with the models I built), but I will definitely be signing him up when he gets a little older. If you have a child who’s interested in LEGOS, I would highly recommend checking the site out.
[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]http://theomnibuspublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/Michael-Carton.jpg[/author_image] [author_info]Michael Carton is a 1st grade teacher in Rock Island, Illinois. In his free time, he blogs about reading with his son at http://michaelsreadthelibrary.wordpress.com. You can follow him on Twitter, where he is @michaeltcarton. [/author_info] [/author]
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