How MerryGoRound Toys works

Do I have to subscribe to your box service? Do you offer anything else?

Our Toybox Plans are the essence of our service. You receive a MerryGoRound Toybox every four weeks for as long as you hold an account.

We are planning to introduce one-off packages as soon as possible, many of which you will be able to buy whether or not you have a subscription. Check back regularly!

Do I have to subscribe for three boxes?

Our standard minimum subscription is for just three boxes, although you still only pay one box at a time. This allows you to get a real feel for the service without tying you into a long-term contract. After that, you can cancel whenever you like, as long as it is at least seven days before the delivery of your next box. (After the first month, we take payment on the day that we deliver.)

What if I want to cancel my subscription?

If you wish to cancel within the first seven days after subscribing, please call us. We will try to solve any problems you might have had, but if you still want to cancel, we will arrange collection of your Toybox if you have received it. You will receive a full refund of any monies you have paid.

After the first seven days, your standard minimum subscription is for three Toyboxes, although you still only pay one Toybox at a time. After that, you can cancel whenever you like, as long as it is at least seven days before the delivery of your next Toybox. (After the first month, we take payment on the day that we deliver.) Just call us to cancel: we prefer this to email as you can be sure that your call has been taken. We don’t want a lost email to result in you being billed incorrectly. 

What if I want to cancel after the first month?

We hope you will enjoy our service, but if you do wish to cancel before your minimum contract ends, you will be charged for the remaining months on your contract.

How do I know my toys are clean?

All toys are cleaned by MerryGoRound Toys staff when they arrive back after every hire. We have a strict process which all staff cleaning toys must follow to ensure toys are rigorously cleaned. We use a 100% natural, organic and hypoallergenic disinfectant to clean all wooden, metal and plastic toys; fabric toys are surface or machine washed with an environmentally-friendly, non-biological detergent. If we cannot get a toy clean to the highest standards, we no longer hire it. If you ever have concerns about the cleanliness of a toy you receive, please call us immediately so that we can replace it.

How do I know my toys are safe?

Every toy is checked for safety against a stringent list of criteria before being packed into your toybox. Our safety checks are based on the list of tests that are carried out on all toys before they are approved for sale in the UK. Any cracked toys are immediately discarded, as are any that fail any other safety check. It is natural for toys to show wear and tear; we will not take a toy out of our stock because of a bit of chipped paint, but we do not take any chances with the safety of our toys. If you ever receive a toy you think is damaged or unsafe, please contact us immediately in case it has been damaged in transit.

What is the Toys I’d Like list?

The Toy I’d Like list allows you to request toys that you and your child would like to receive in your Toybox. We will endeavour to fill your box with toys from your List, but we cannot guarantee this, as some toys are particularly popular and we may not have enough stock available. Where we cannot fill your Toybox from your List, we will add other toys suitable for your child’s age.
If you would like to have a lot of control over what goes into your box, please add as many toys as you can to your List; if you are happy to trust our Play Experts to choose your toys – or you enjoy the surprise of opening your box and not knowing what’s inside – just add a few, or even none at all! You can add any of our toys to your List, regardless of your child’s age, and we will supply them. However, where we are selecting toys on your behalf, we will not choose a toy unsuitable for a child under 36 months unless your child is over this age.
We always recommend that toys unsuitable for children under 36 months are not played with by children below this age, so if you do choose these toys for a younger child, please remember that it is your responsibility to fully supervise all children coming into contact with them.

When is the deadline for changing anything about my Toybox?

If you want to cancel your Toybox Plan, please let us know at least seven days before your next delivery is due; so, for example, if your delivery is due on Thursday, please let us know by the preceding Thursday at the latest. Email us on .
If you want to change your level of subscription, add extras to your order, keep a toy, or make any other changes, please let us know at least 48 hours before your delivery is due (so on Tuesday by 5pm if your delivery is due on Thursday evening).

Can I choose toys that are listed as “not suitable for under 36 months” for my two-year-old?

You can add any of our toys to your list, regardless of your child’s age, and we will supply them. However, where we are selecting toys on your behalf, we will not choose a toy unsuitable for a child under 36 months unless your child is over this age.
We always recommend that a toy unsuitable for under 36 months is not given to a child under that age.

How do you choose your toys?

Our toys are initially shortlisted by the MerryGoRound Toys team, who are all mums to under-fives. We then ask another group of real-life mums for their opinions and ask them to roadtest the toys with their children. Finally, we take all their opinions and consult our Play experts to ensure that all the toys have good quality play value and will support children’s development, and to create ideas for how they can be enjoyed by all the family.

How many boxes do I get?

MerryGoRound Toyboxes are delivered every four weeks. Our minimum initial subscription is for three boxes and your subscription then renews every month. You can also subscribe for one year at a discounted rate, in which case you will receive thirteen boxes at a discounted rate.

Can I choose the toys that go into my box?

All our toys are selected by a panel of real families, with the added expertise of our Play experts, experienced in the toy and play needs of the under fives. We try our best to give you a variety of toys in every box, all appropriate to your child’s development needs, with as many toys as possible from your Toys I’d Like list. The more toys you add to your List, the more likely you are that all your toys will be ones you chose.

How do I know the toys are suitable for my child?

In addition to our selection process outlined above, we consult an external Play expert, who is extremely experienced with Early Years play, to ensure that toys are suitable for your child’s age. If you ever feel that a toy is not suitable for your child, please let us know.

How do I know toys will be appropriate to my child when every child is different?

We know that every child develops skills at a different rate, but children do tend to enjoy similar toys at similar times. Moreover, many of our toys can be played with in multiple ways as your child develops: for example, our teaching and sorting clock can be enjoyed by 12-18 month-old toddlers who are learning to match the shapes to the holes, but it can also be used to teach numbers to older pre-schoolers and even to begin teaching children to tell the time as they start school.

Why can’t I hire individual toys rather than a whole box?

We feel it is important to hand-deliver our toys and offer a personal service to ensure you and your children enjoy a high-quality play experience. The costs associated with delivering your toys in this way mean that it is simply not possible to deliver single items. In the near future, we plan to offer some larger items as individual additions to your Toybox, so do check regularly.

What if I go on holiday?

If you are planning to go on holiday, you are welcome to take your current hired toys with you, providing you will continue to treat them with care (e.g. not damaging them due to inappropriate use in sea or sand). If you will be away when we are due to deliver, you can keep the same toys for an additional four weeks at 25% off your normal Toybox fee; we let you do this once in every 12 month period.

Alternatively, you can suspend your subscription for a month. We will collect your toys on your collection date, but not drop off your new MerryGoRound Toybox. Four weeks later, we’ll deliver your new Toybox and your subscription will continue as before. We charge a nominal fee of £2 for this suspended month to keep your account active and cover the delivery and collection costs which we still incur.

To keep your current Toybox or to suspend your Toybox Plan for four weeks, give us a call or drop us an email at least 48 hours before your next delivery.

What is your refund policy?

If you cancel your account within seven days of signing up, we will give you a full refund unless charges need to be made for damaged or excessively dirty toys. Where you are entitled to a refund, you will receive this within three weeks of your cancellation.

Normally, refunds will not otherwise be given. See our terms and conditions for full details.

How much do you charge for delivery?

Delivery on all our MerryGoRound Toyboxes is free. If you buy a toy, we may charge for delivery if you require the toy separately from your regular delivery. We will always let you know what delivery charges apply and how long your delivery should take.

How do I pay for my Toyboxes?

When you subscribe to the MerryGoRound service, we set up an agreement with WorldPay, who manage our credit and debit card payments. Your agreement is called a FuturePay agreement; an account is set up for you with WorldPay and, every time we deliver your Toybox, we will charge the card that you first registered with. When you subscribe, we take your first Toybox payment only; after that, we only take payment on the day of delivery.

WorldPay will send you your account details when you subscribe. If you need to change your card details or any other information, you can log directly into your WorldPay account to do so. If you cancel your subscription, we cancel this FuturePay agreement with WorldPay.

If you have any questions about your billing or WorldPay account, please email .

How do I get Large Toys in my Toybox?

The toys we classify as Large Toys include ride-ons, play shops and so on, which are significantly larger than will fit in your four-weekly Toybox! To make it as simple as possible for you to enjoy these oversized items, we simply replace a number of your regular toys with a Large Toy. You can see how many toys each Large Toy counts as in its description - most count as two or three. Just add any Large Toy to your Toys I’d Like list and we will deliver them as soon as they are available.
An example: you are subscribed to our Standard Toybox Plan (6 toys at a time) and add the Ride-On Fire Engine to your list. This toy counts as 3 toys in your Toybox. As soon as it becomes available, we will deliver the Ride-On Fire Engine to you, along with three other regular toys.

Do you remind me my delivery and collection is due?

Yes: 48 hours before your collection, we send you an email reminder. If you sign up to our free text alert service, we will also send you two SMS texts - one 24 hours before collection/delivery, and another around an hour before we arrive. We won’t use your mobile phone number for any other purpose, except if we need to contact you, for example, about your account. If you would like to subscribe, please email us with your name and mobile phone number on . Soon you’ll be able to sign up when you subscribe.