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Toy Trading- It's All About Giving and Receiving For Michelle Jacobs of Scottsboro, Alabama, the vision of a toy trading website for children first came to mind in the Spring of 2008. As the mother of a 10 ½ year old son, she wanted to find a way to get rid of his unwanted toys in a purposeful manner. Not by having yard sales or donating them to local thrift shops. After reading some statistics on the number of toys and electronics which are purchased each year and the amount of toys that are thrown away, contributing to the country's landfill problem, she came up with the idea of an internet site which would allow children to trade their toys with one another. "My child has been very fortunate. He has had everything a child could want throughout his life. There are a lot of children out there who haven't been so lucky", Michelle says. "If I can provide a less fortunate child the opportunity to have a Playstation 2 or an MP3 player for the first time in his or her life, then this entire journey has been worth it". How many toys can an individual purchase for less than ten bucks? Through , a child can not only trade for a Playstation 2 but also get 9 games to play with on the system. "You can't get a deal like that at any pawn shop, yard sale, or flea market", Michelle claims. And how many parents would love to see their children have the things they want while saving themselves money in the process? So began the journey of a toy trading website. From the moment the website process began, Michelle was determined that it would be among the safest, most secure environment for children on the internet. "I know how much I worry about my son being online', says Michelle, "and I wanted a site that I knew parents would be comfortable allowing their children to use". With all of the pornographic sites and adults seeking to communicate with children, Michelle decided to make the website a members only site which allows no communication of any form in order to use. A child's personal information isnevernecessary in order to navigate through the site. Parental authorization is required in order to set up a member account and add profiles, as well as to authorize any trade activity between profiles. "Security and child safety are my number one concern. I want children to have fun and enjoy using the site, but I also want mom and dad to feel that their child is safe while on our site". By charging a small monthly fee, the company is able to keep up with the latest technology in security. The company takes all necessary actions to ensure that the website is safe and secure for its members and their children. Using the Toy4toyllc website is very simple. The website was designed from a child's perspective in order to be easily understood and navigational. Once a parent signs up on the site and creates his child's profile, the child can upload up to ten items they no longer want and wish to put up for trade. They can then search for toys or games they currently want using the advanced search or by browsing through the items list. Once a child finds an item they would like to have, they simply click on the "trade for this item" button. An email is sent to the parental account holder of the item wanted letting them know that their child has a new trade available. The "View My Trades" bar will also be highlighted in blue any time a child has a request to trade. The other child then has access to the items which the other child has available for trade on the site. The child can choose to trade for an item which the other has, or reject the offer if they are not interested in any of the items. Should the child choose an item to trade, an email is then sent to each parental account member letting them know there is a trade awaiting their approval. Each parent has the option to accept the trade or cancel it. Once a trade is accepted by both parental members, shipping information is exchanged via email through the website. Each party is responsible for the shipping of their item. Once each member has received their item, the company asks that each go to the website and rate the other member. "We are serious about having our users pleased with the items they receive", states Michelle. "We realize that the items are used, but all are ranked on quality by the user posting them and we want to ensure that the receiver feels the item is in the condition expected". Should a member account have three negative ratings, their membership is terminated. The website takes the service of toy trading very seriously and is intent on satisfying its members. Although Toy4toyllc is new to the internet world, its owner has high hopes and plenty of vision for the future. "The website teaches children the valuable lesson of giving and receiving. I want to ensure that as a company, we also represent that. We are looking into partnerships with charities to make monetary donations from memberships. We are looking into toy donations at Christmas time to help the less fortunate. We are seeking to begin our own non-profit organization to help terminally ill children and their families. The vision of Toy4toyllc goes far beyond toy trading-the ultimate goal is to help improve the lives of those less fortunate and those faced with life-threatening illnesses". Toy4toyllc is just the beginning to helping improve the lives of others by allowing parents to save money, keeping toys out of landfills, and providing toys with homes where they are loved and shared with others when outgrown. The website is a stepping stone to greater ways of giving to those in need. "After all, it's better to give than to receive, and I love to give", Michelle shares. "There's a feeling I get from giving that is indescribable and incomparable". For a small town girl from Alabama, Michelle Jacobs' hope for Toy4toyllc is that it will make children, parents, and the world a little happier. "My happiest moments are when I have done something to put a smile on someone else's face. To feel that I have put thousands of smiles on faces around the world would be the greatest accomplishment I could ever imagine". Hopefully, Toy4toyllc will bring this small town girl's dream to life. For more information on Toy4toyllc, visit their website at . Article Written By: Brenda McSheehan
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