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- Verified Buyer
The outer box it was shipped in was undamaged . The product box had been opened and ripped and one ball was punctured. This left a mess of blue jelly inside.My son is autistic and absolutely loved this toy! So greatful it came in a pack of 12 because he broke his first one he got from his theropist at school and got it everyehere. The inside not only stained his clothes but was this ooze that got everywhere so I learned my lesson to have him play at the table and keep an eye on him to not squeeze to tight.However, we received the new ones in the mail and even though I did keep my eyes on him and did this game so he pushed the balls back in the mesh as to not pop it he did suceed in breaking it within 5 min. I am gunna take the mesh off the next one to see if it lasts longer. At least he was at the table and I was close enough this time it didn't get all over his clothes ;)My suggestion would be to possibly use a higher density plastic so it doesn't "break under the pressure", lol. Kids who have sensory issues tend to push the threshold of bending and squeezing things just to figure out how it works. They enjoy seeing things pop out and retracting such as how this toy works. It just doesn't crack up to the durability needed for the wear and tear of this toy.I would love to see some changes and I would recommend these to everyone! Great concept!(FYI) I am adding my review because after this time I have made some changes to the item and it has not only aloud for my son to enjoy it without having it brake but again get the enjoyment free of having to worry about making a huge mess.I ended up cutting the mesh off the outside of the ball and it made it wonderful!!! No more braking issues!! The mesh idea was fun but impractical. Now with the changes its again a great toy/sensory item for my son!There little squishy balls are great. That being said, they will break at some point and when they do the goo inside is like slime or Gak (for those of you who remember that remember that goop) but that is why we ordered 12. We knew there would be casualties so we planned ahead. As for the zip tie that holds the mesh on, yeah it's a little sharp. It's a cut end of a zip tie (or wire tie, which ever you prefer) you can cut them shorter or find a nail file and take off the sharp edge. Really a non-issue for me but I know some people were appalled so I thought it worth bringing up. The only reason I am not giving 5 stars is the mesh constantly comes off. There was no cap or glue holding it together, just the zip tie so the mesh just slips out. Luckily I have zip ties all over my garage so it was an easy fix but it was really annoying that I had to keep fixing them.I bought a box of 12 - 3 of them broke in the first day. The mesh bags come off right away - they are basically a big piece of mesh fabric gathered around the gel ball, and held shut by a plastic zip-tie. They were very abused when they broke, I basically gave everyone in the office one and some of the guys were pretty rough on theirs, so by the end of the day they were leaking and broken. The mesh fabric sheds a lot too, I had all sorts of black lint on my hands and desk after using it for a while. But, they were $10 for 12 of these, so I wasn't expecting them to last a really long time. For the price, they are OK, but I probably won't buy them again. It was fun for a day or 2, and we're in the middle of a big project so everyone needed some stress relief.These are really cool and so colorful, plus the price is low per ball. We've had trouble with the mesh coming off though. For us that's a minor irritant, to. I just used one of the plastic strip lock thingies to reattach the mesh, then I cut off the excess mesh at the top and put a great big glob of Goop over the stump of the mesh and the locking plastic strip. Holds great - better than new. Of course, the covering isn't real thick and two of the twelve have broken open so far. Cant fix that, and it's pretty messy. I give it three stars since while it does work, the squishy ball is really cool. If they'd upgrade it so the mesh doesn't come off and make the skin so it's still cool with the colors but tough enough that it lasts a long time, I'd pay more for each one.I bought these as stress balls for my co-workers and within just a few days one of my co-workers had said she popped hers and thought it was because of her nails.Over the course of the next week almost everyone that I'd given one too had said theirs had also either started leaking or popped as well.I hadn't used mine as often as they had, but sure enough mine popped today too. The inside was the consistency of slime, but it stuck to everything.They were definitely fun while they lasted and weren't really expensive. I wouldn't buy them for kids, and because of the short term durability, I wouldn't buy them again for my co-workers. They are fun though.I got these as appreciation gifts for staff members I include them with a card that says something cheesy like..."Thanks for the great Catch", "Way to be on the Ball", "Thanks for getting the ball rolling" etc. These are fun and everyone likes the color change from when they are a ball to when squeezed. The only issue is that the mess has started to come off a few of the ones I gave out after a short period of time. It is just zip tied on and so we were able to fix one of them.It is a fun idea but I would have liked the mess to be more secure.I am a special education teacher and found these to be AWESOME as a fidget toy across all ages. I also gave one to my 3 year old grand daughter and while it was hard for her to squeeze with one hand, she was delighted to use it with two - thinking it may strengthen her little fingers for fine motor activities. It is just fun! NOW, I will say, it is not to be put in the mouth or chewed. There is a liquid inside. But the cause and effect is worth the price of admission. I did not smell anything funky and added a rubberband to the zip tie holding the mess together around the ball for extra security. I've given these to other teachers and behavior analysts who work with children with autism and under watch, they have really made a difference in behavior!
