If this latest e-tailing IPO is any indication, toy shopping online makes sense to a lot of folks. The company sees a market opportunity in what it delicately calls the “challenges of shopping with children” in traditional bricks-and-mortar stores. eToys itself slyly describes the experience in its prospectus, with references to changing diapers and returning chocolate bars to candy racks. The eToys pitch: now you can shop when the kids are asleep. The Web site includes helpful product reviews and recommendations, and even sends birthday reminders by e-mail. It’s also an unusual Internet start-up in that its revenue in the most recent fiscal year of almost $30 million was actually larger than its losses, though not by much (it’s still unprofitable). By comparison, Toys “R” Us had sales of $11.2 billion and profits of $376 million.
