Am I the only one???

Conversations of the last 3 weeks have made me feel like I am the only person that still tests products. I even have a few really good friends who tell me that they have been doing this "long enough" to know if their things are going to be safe or stay together.
Really?

Maybe I am just not as secure as others. ????

Do you guys still test your products?

I test in several ways:

1) I not only test them on the gliders here, every single new thing that I make gets sent out to at least two other homes for testing and feedback. Even new little toys - I get feedback on whether or not the gliders play with them, do they look nice?, etc. And for sewn items, I get feedback on whether or not the gliders sleep in it, etc. I want to know that my items will be used by gliders (and therefore desired by owners) before I invest time in making a ton of them. I also want to know if someone else perceives a safety issue that I did not think of so that I can address it with a statement when I start selling or with a modification before I start selling.

2) I test products for safety here before I ever make any to send out to other homes for testing. I test the size of openings with a tennis ball, I test the strength of construction by hanging things with weights in them and I test how things will hold up to cleaning by running them through every wash and dry cycle I do here for 1-2 weeks (which is 10+ loads).


Am I wasting my time? Does it even matter to you guys as customers if items are tested in this manner? Do you, as vendors, bother with this type of testing when you have been at it for a bit?

I don't make that many new items but when I do I still test them. I try them out on my gliders and I have a few people that I send them to to try out. I would never start selling something with out getting the opinions of others.
Every glider is different so I am like you I need to know if it is safe or a glider will actually stay in it.
1.Make sure they can not escape one of my bonding pouches and if they do how did they so I can fix the problem.
2.How does the product hold up to washing and abuse by gliders. I have gentle gliders that do not chew or tear up things so I need know from people that have chewers and rough gliders that like to tear apart things.

I don't think it's wasting time testing stuff. maybe if more vendors would let people test stuff we wouldn't have so many problems with stuff. Plus I think if vendors with talk to some of us that have had gliders forever they might get some helpful hints as well as find out if they have copied a existing product out there.

I only sell 3 things but if I ever come up with another good idea it would defiantly be tested. There is nothing worst then the thought of a glider getting hurt on something that can be prevented, and testing is the only way to do that.

Please, please, please continue to test your items, guys! I know I can trust your products because I know you care enough to test.

I agree....I feel much more secure about a product if I know the vendor cares enough to take the time and test their designs. It would definitely be a deal breaker in terms of purchasing.

I know that I am very new to the community. And, I don't know a lot of vendors or people in the community yet. But, I am learning fast. I have to say that long before I created any of my toys, I learned how to make safe toys first. I've asked people I trust to provide me with honest feedback when testing my toys. I ask them to put them in a variety of cages for testing too. I test my toys with our gliders as well. I believe to be a responsible vendor you should test to ensure that you are creating a safe and enjoyable product for the gliders as well as the owners.
Karen