[HN Gopher] Loved Before - Recycled soft toy store
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       Loved Before - Recycled soft toy store
        
       Author : keiferski
       Score  : 40 points
       Date   : 2023-02-17 21:01 UTC (1 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.lovedbefore.london)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.lovedbefore.london)
        
       | shmatt wrote:
       | "Donation" when half of the profit stays as private profits. This
       | would be illegal in the U.S and immoral everywhere else
       | 
       | Plenty of real not-for-profits sell stuffed animals for $1, no
       | need for this rubbish
        
         | swatcoder wrote:
         | > This would be illegal in the U.S
         | 
         | Confidently incorrect! It's common. In fact, you've personally
         | probably even seen countless for-profit drop boxes in parking
         | lots.
         | 
         | > and immoral everywhere else
         | 
         | Misrepresentation might be, but it doesn't seem like it took
         | you long to see how they work so they're probably not working
         | very hard to misrepresent anything.
        
       | awinter-py wrote:
       | while I doubt these can be effectively cleaned, I _may_ believe
       | that a random teddy bear on the sidewalk has the equivalent
       | microflora of any toy that 's been handled by any child for more
       | than 12 hours
       | 
       | soft things generally are an interesting recycling problem
       | (couches, mattresses). I'd happily buy a couch frame used, or use
       | the one from previous tenants at a place. More concerned about
       | mattresses and cushions
        
         | detritus wrote:
         | I think you just unlocked another revenue angle - indirect
         | innoculation.
        
       | [deleted]
        
       | keiferski wrote:
       | I like how each of the toys has a name and a backstory. It's a
       | nice little touch that makes this a lot more interesting than
       | just a used toy shop.
        
         | hui-zheng wrote:
         | but I think we could use our energy better somewhere else than
         | writing backstory for used stuff toys.
         | 
         | How about writing backstory for poor kids in Africa and Asia
         | who need some donation to flourish?
        
           | keiferski wrote:
           | The stories are submitted by people donating the toys.
           | 
           | And contrary to cynical online commenter belief, it is
           | possible to do multiple "good" things for the world at the
           | same time.
        
       | myrloc wrote:
       | Is this level of attachment good for mental health?
        
       | [deleted]
        
       | squokko wrote:
       | [flagged]
        
         | hgsgm wrote:
         | [flagged]
        
         | dang wrote:
         | Can you please not post in the flamewar style to HN? We're
         | trying for something different here, and you can make any of
         | your substantive points without that.
         | 
         | https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
        
         | cscurmudgeon wrote:
         | Would love to see the responses here vs the top comments
         | justifying private jet use:
         | https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34795609
         | 
         | I guess your children should use used toys so Bill Gates and
         | friends can fly private.
        
           | hgsgm wrote:
           | Please explain how these two things are related in the
           | slightest.
        
           | Spooky23 wrote:
           | I get the snark, but I'll say that my kids really loved their
           | little pals, but they are hard toys to donate.
           | 
           | My son did a service project with some and it was really
           | rewarding. But the hardest part was finding an org willing to
           | accept them.
        
       | tpmx wrote:
       | They _really_ should take care in destroying bacteria
       | /virii/(bed) bugs before giving away the toys to kids.
       | 
       | They don't seem to care about this aspect at all.
        
       | hui-zheng wrote:
       | This site seems started in London, I don't know if anyone in big
       | city with a strong and active community such as London would buy
       | from there.
       | 
       | It's better to use local free toy exchange/give-away group on
       | facebook or something. I have kids and we almost never buy new
       | toys. if we do have to buy, the used toys on facebook marketplace
       | are often very good and much cheaper than what shown on this
       | website.
        
       | KaiserPro wrote:
       | This really tugs at my heart.
       | 
       | Now obviously I am a gruff, cynical sysadmin/devop/SRE/$next.
       | However, I have soft toys from my childhood that I cannot bear to
       | part with.
       | 
       | My children also have their toys, which at least one of them
       | loves dearly.
       | 
       | However, for my toys, I do worry about what will happen to them
       | when I am dead. Will someone love them as much as me? will they
       | cherish them and look after them? or will they rot, and be
       | destroyed alone?
       | 
       | _obviously_ I am projecting. But its something that has eaten at
       | me.
        
         | voz_ wrote:
         | Yes, this is a strangely painful thought for me.
        
         | keiferski wrote:
         | I think most people have had similar feelings, and there's
         | nothing weird or strange about it. The modern world is just a
         | very disenchanted [1] place, where we are expected to treat
         | physical objects purely as dead pieces of matter. Previous
         | human civilizations did a better job of recognizing that we
         | enjoy imbuing objects in the world with meaning, I think.
         | 
         | 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disenchantment
        
       | rollcat wrote:
       | I have a soft spot for plushies, and these are all so adorable!
       | Loved before and definitely lovable again.
        
       | melx wrote:
       | As a young parent (of 2 year old who loves soft toys), these used
       | toys here are quite expensive IMHO. Not that I always buy new
       | toys because my kid is "the special one". In fact, we found a
       | very good condition large tractor at charity shop at 50p.
        
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       (page generated 2023-02-17 23:00 UTC)