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Why splitting blind bags may be bad news for toy retailers


Vivid Imaginations has reacted to reports of retailers breaking open blind bags of Moshi Monsters and selling the fi gures individually by issuing a safety warning. Some toy retailers have realised that because each box of Moshi Monsters from Vivid contains two ‘rare’ Moshlings, plus another two special variants, these fi gures can attract a higher price on sites like ebay. So by breaking open the packs and removing these fi gures, retailers can make more money. However, Vivid has responded with a stark warning that the practice is illegal under the Toy Safety Directive (TSD), which includes the presence of essential warnings on packaging such as the small parts warning on the Moshi Monsters packs. Vivid’s warning said:


“As soon as the blind-bag packaging is removed from the Moshlings collectables by retailers there is no small parts warning for the product and as a result younger siblings could be endangered,” states Neil Bandtock, Vivid Group UK’s managing director. “We have a legal duty to ensure our products are being retailed in a safe and acceptable manner and after consultation with our local Trading Standards Offi cer decided that we needed to issue this warning to prevent a potential tragedy. As long as retailers do not break-up blind bags there is no problem with small parts warnings being separated from product and we thank the 99.9% of our customers who are behaving responsibly.” However, many retailers remain unaware of the issues surrounding the TSD and how it relates to blind bags


of fi gures for the likes of Moshi, LEGO, Playmobil and others. Toy World contacted the lead toy safety testing consultants for the BTHA to see what the legal ramifi cations


are for retailers. Jerry Burnie of IQS said: “It depends on the various retail scenarios involved but when the product is on display, all the product and safety information has to be included. To remove the product from the packaging means these details are no longer present and it is illegal to sell the product without it. “Some warnings have to be present at the point of purchase and by removing the packaging you are


affecting the compliance of the toy. Moreover, restrictions under new toy safety directive mean that you can’t have warnings in a central location like signs on display cabinets and then sell the product loose. It has to be sold with the original packaging. It is a distributors requirement to ensure all the various markings are there, but the retailer has to comply with the TSD too or run the risk of prosecution.” Retailers contacted by Toy World were mixed in their reaction, with most not knowing the legal issues


involved. One toy shop, which asked to remain anonymous suggested that splitting blind bags was “commonplace” in the industry and said that it felt if there as an opportunity to make more money, then they should take it. However, they also confi rmed they had removed loose Moshi fi gures from sale as requested. They also complained that it was the retailer who was once again losing out because ebay sellers and


traders in secondhand goods or even car boot sellers wouldn’t be affected. However, Jerry Burnie confi rmed that this would not be the case saying: “Traders on ebay and at markets


must comply with the relevant requirements of the TSD, jobbers and re-workers also have to be careful about compliance issues with toys.” He also refuted the possibility of retailers splitting open the packs, selling the product loose and then reintroducing it to the packaging before they hand it over. “That’s an unusual scenario,” said Burnie. “The directive


is not specifi cally written to take that scenario into account but even so, the consumer has to be able to see all the relevant information before they purchase the product and that still might not be the case here.” Reaction from the wider toy trade has shown that


irrespective of the safety issues, splitting blind bags for increased profi t is a step too far. A twitter poll conducted by Toy Shop UK found that 70 per cent of its members had little sympathy with the practice and a further 10 per cent were unsure with


words such as ‘dishonest’, ‘unpleasant’, ‘profi teering’ and ‘ashamed’ cropping up frequently in their responses.


Toyworld 13


Importers, Retailers, Manufacturer’s, Suppliers and Distributors


The Association by the Toy Industry for the Toy Industry Contact Alan Milne for further information. Tel: 01580 240819 Fax: 01580 241109 email: info@equitoy.co.uk web:www.equitoy.com


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