With my son, toys are for throwing around, resulting in them breaking. Whether it is a toy car or a doll, all he wants to do is throw them hard. It is always tough to decide what to buy for him, since I could not gauge what he likes. And that is when I saw his fascination for phones. Both the cellphone and the landphone were his favourites. He would play with them and even keep them to his ears and act as if he were talking to someone.
I was glad that I could find something that interests him. Plus, given that real cellphones are not safe for kids (even adults) due to the radiation and giving him the landphone to play with would result in it being not fit for use, I decided to shop for some toy phones for him. Basically something that looked like the original thing, with some lights and sounds to keep him interested.
That is how I decided to check out "Mera Toy Shop", which can be called a scaled-down version (in terms of size and variety) of "Toys R Us" for some toy phones. My plan was to get a cellphone and a landphone toy for him and I was expecting a total damage of max. Rs500 to the wallet.
I walk into the shop, ask the salesgirl where the toy phone section is and check out the models available. First the landphone toys, which are really well made, look bright and basically a good toy for kids. I forget whether it was a Mattel or FunSkool brand. Anyway, I like the toy, but the shocker comes in the form of the price, which is like Rs.1300.
Rs1300 for a toyphone ? The one in my apartment installed by the Telephones Department should be available for less than 1000 bucks!!! I am not sure if it is a good idea to spend so much for a toyphone. So I move to look for cellphones. Again some decent models are available, with the only problem being again the price, which is like Rs.1500. The Motorola cellphone I use cost me only Rs.2700 and it is a real phone, not a toy.
I told this to a friend and she was like, "Why do you count pennies when it comes to toys for your kid ? Those are good toys from renowned companies and will last a lifetime and more. Go get them". Well, I do love my son and while I would spare no expense when it comes to his basic necessities, I cannot bring myself to spend such money for a toy, which he will in all probability outgrow in a few months. Which is if he has already not broken it by throwing it at the wall.
Anyway, I walk out without buying the toys, though I am also feeling guilty that I did not buy the one toy that my son seemed to be interested in. I tell this to my wife and she says that she will try in Kerala at a baby toy shop where she has noticed that stuff (same or similar type) is much cheaper than at Chennai. And true to her word, she goes and gets this toy cellphone for our son.
It plays many of the current favourite Hindi movie songs, some other music, has lights and also has a normal phone ringing sound with a girl saying 'Hello'. Basically my kid just loves the phone. Ofcourse this did not prevent him from throwing it at the wall, breaking a few keys, but still it works.
Any idea how much she paid for this phone, which is made in China (where else) ? See the snap below showing the price tag.
The cellphone cost the princely sum of Rs.15, which at today's currency rates, is less than 1/3rd of a dollar. Assuming, the seller keeps a margin of Rs.3-5 on this phone, and the manufacturer keeps a margin of Rs.1-2, the total manufacturing cost comes to Rs.8-11. Man, how can you make something like this for so low ?
I was discussing this with my Dad and he said, "For Rs.11, you can't get a guy in Kerala to even move the phone physically a few metres." Given the functionality it has, the batteries that came with it, the plastic casing, speaker and other wiring etc, I cannot for the hell of me figure out how someone can make a product so cheap. Agreed that labour is cheap in China. Still how is this possible ?
Is it then any wonder that the world is getting flooded with everything Chinese ? Even during my US trip 3 years ago, most of the products on store shelves had "Made in China" on them. Heck, the ultimate symbol of patriotism which is evident everywhere - the national flag of USA itself is imported from China. Do we need to say anything more ?
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