Yes, friends, “change” is in the air. It seems everywhere you go, someone's talking about change, whether it's the presidential candidates—as I write this, Election Day was still rapidly approaching—or it was the toymakers assembled at last month's Fall Toy Preview in Dallas. The difference, though, between McCain and Obama's visions of change and the pending changes barrelling towards the toy business couldn't be more different. The toy industry's changes, unfortunately, will be much more difficult an adjustment; no one in the toy industry actually asked for the changes it will need to grapple with going forward. Some of those changes are warranted—stronger safety standards and their stricter enforcement, for example—but others, largely self-inflicted, will only make everyone's life worse, including those of consumers.

If you're a reader of our email newsletter, Playthings Extra, you'll already have read our coverage of the Dallas show. But by some odd chance you missed our show reports, here's the main take-away: Prices are going up. Manufacturers we spoke to were consistently saying their costs have risen by double digits, largely due to expenses incurred for separate, mostly redundant, rounds of testing for individual major retailers for each one of their products in order to maintain each retailers' individual stamp of approval. To overcome those costs, manufacturers told us they were planning a variety of steps, including smaller versions of previously larger toys, the jettisoning of any extra features deemed expendable, and fewer or cheaper licenses wherever possible. Some traditionally mass market-oriented manufacturers were even contemplating efforts to build up sales in the specialty toy market. But almost unanimously, toymakers said their higher costs would be passed along to consumers. And that's the most troubling change coming your way, particularly in today's economy.

It's for that reason that the toy industry needs to rapidly re-establish a unified testing protocol that meets the demands of all the major retailers. Separate tests for separate retailers won't make toys any safer, it'll just make them more expensive—and less likely to sell. When it comes to selling toys, you're all on the same team. It's time everyone acted like it.