Having worked in the indoor play, soft contained playground business for seven years, I get a lot of questions about what makes a great indoor playground and how to chose the right one for a family entertainment center.

 

If you have been looking for an indoor playground, chances are you have come across a lot of different manufacturers, activities and themeing.  Make no mistake, the business of indoor play is hyper-competitive!  But that’s one of the plus’ on the buyers side... as healthy competition can help keep excessive margins under control, however, not all playgrounds are created equal.

 

As with anything, you really do get what you pay for.  And from my experience, there are a lot of areas where corners can get cut, and manufacturers can save money to “pass those savings on to you...”  yea, right.  Don’t be fooled.  Factory Direct and slogans like Open to the Public, Complimentary Designs, Dealer Prices, are just that, slogans.  Every manufacturer has the same cost of doing business - the manufacturing process, like sales and everything else in business has associated costs.  Whether you are a smaller boutique doing 10 or 12 jobs a year, or a large company with 40 staff doing 25 - 50 jobs a year, each share the same raw material costs and the effects of cost to sales ratio are equal for everyone.

 

If an indoor play company offers you dramatic price differences, you need to look seriously at the kind of materials used, the construction process and the safety of the activities.  From my experience, these are the only areas where cost savings, and therefore corners can be cut.  If asked, companies should be eager to share with you swatches of their vinyl, foam, padding, netting and plastic.  Additionally, you MUST get a copy of their insurance certificate for your files.  If a company hesitates or makes excuses on the validity or ability to provide such a document,... run!   In this day and age of multi-million dollar law suits, who wants to work with a company that can not back-up their product with basic insurance?