The product must be able to be manufactured at a reasonable to cost to allow a competitive retail proce within its category and to ensure a profit. Your initial research at toy outlets should provide a good idea of price range within the product's category and a rough prototype is important, too, for presentation purposes if you are trying to sell your item to a toy manufacturer.

If you are trying to sell your invention, you may think cost-effectiveness is not a concern for financially sound toy manufacturers. However British toy manufacturers also use production facilities outside the UK extensively; as labour is often less expensive.

They must weigh the risk to gearing up overseas factory production for an item that ultimately may prove unsuccessful.

Some prototypes, such as one for a board game, can usually be made at home, but some toys, such as those requiring custom-made moulds or pattern designing, may require professional input. To detemine the manufacturing cost, you will have to research suppliers and contractors for production cost estimates. For example, if you want to produce a board game, you will need to price printing, spinners, timers, tokens, boxes, assembly, shrink wrap, and so on. For a stuffed animal you need fabric, stuffing, accessories: eyes, nose, mouth, voices, squeakers, musical movements, assembly, stitching etc. Most plastic toys are even compression, extrusion, injection, rotational or blow moulded, which usually requires a custom made mould. Wooden toys, because they usually require a great deal of custom handwork and high-priced raw materials, can be quite expensive to produce.