Discovery Store

Full review
My parents have been big fans of the TLC show "Trading Spaces" for many years now. For their anniversary this year, I decided to purchase for them matching shirts like those worn by the participating families on the show. Fortunately, sites like The Discovery Channel Store cater to people who get addicted to certain television shows...

The Website:

The store site (http://shopping.discovery.com) is the companion to the main site (http://www.discovery.com), the site that accompanies the series of television channels run by Discovery Communications (including the Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, BBC America, The Travel Channel, etc).

The shopping site is quite attractive with a nice layout. It has a very nice, professional-looking design. Links along the top allow quick access to discovery.com, your shopping cart, a store locator, order tracking, and customer service. A key-word search is available and can be narrowed down by category, and a "Catalog Quick Search" is also available if you receive the Discovery Channel Store mail-order catalog.

Colorful tabs along the top allow you to shop by category. The categories are:
DVD, VHS, & Books
Telescopes & Binoculars
Toys & Games
Home & Office
Electronics & Gadgets
Fan Gear & Clothing
Outdoor & Travel
Fitness & Spa

Within each sub-category you can browse by viewing thumbnail images with brief descriptions and prices, and you can click on the item for a full description, availability, options, etc. Depending upon the item, the site includes some nifty features -- such as popups to show what shirts look like in each of the various colors offered. Each sub-category is further divided in a menu that runs down the left side of the screen (for example, the "Toys & Games" category is further broken down by ages as well as toy and game categories).

When shopping by "fan gear", you can select which series you would like to see the merchandise for (such as Trading Spaces, American Chopper, Junkyard Wars, Crocodile Hunter, Dinosaur Planet, Monster Garage, etc), or which network (the site has merchandise for all "discovery" channels, including The Discovery Channel, TLC (The Learning Channel), Animal Planet, Travel Channel, Discovery Health, and Discovery Kids).

The Order Process:

The checkout process is pretty standard online-shopping cart fare. If you haven't already set up a member-account, you will need to fill in the standard shipping/billing information at check-out time. The next step allows you to choose your shipping method, as well as enter any coupon codes, rewards-program points, or gift certificates. Finally, you enter your payment information. There's nothing fancy or wildly different, nor do I have any complaints about the overall process.

A shipping chart is available for you to view at any time. Shipping is based off of the total amount of your order, unless you are buying clothing and/or DVDs/books/videos, which are charged at a cheaper shipping rate (something many other online stores don't bother doing). Your shipping options include Standard (3-5 business days), Express (2 business days), Overnight (1 business day), Super Saver (only available for DVD/video/books, takes 7-10 days). I used Standard shipping, and found the prices to be quite reasonable ($4.95 for orders under $25, $6.95 for orders between $25.01 and $50, etc). Shipping is more expensive outside the continental US.

You can pay for your online purchase via American Express, MasterCard, Discover, or Visa.

Customer Service:

Customer Service is available via phone or e-mail. Every item is backed by a 100% unconditional guarantee. You can return the item (with the original sales receipt) for an exchange or refund within 60 days of purchase (with some minor rules and restrictions). For items with no receipt only exchanges or store credit is allowed. Rather than packing everything up again, you can take your item to the nearest Discovery Channel brick & mortar store for your exchange/refund. Shipping and handling is NOT refunded.

I have not had to deal directly with The Discovery Store's customer service, as I had no problems with my purchase.

Miscellaneous:

They offer a "passport rewards" program. For each purchase you make (online or at a brick-and-mortar store) you accumulate points. As a member, you'll receive a $10-off coupon for every $150 in purchases, notification of members-only offers, a newsletter, etc. You must be 18 or older to join, and it doesn't cost a thing.

Gift Wrapping is available and costs an additional $4.95

The Discovery Channel is required to charge sales tax in every state where they have a brick-and-mortar store (which is most states these days), so you probably will be charged sales tax.

They run special offers from time-to-time. When I placed the order for my parents' shirts they were running a "purchase any fitness or spa product and receive a free Discovery Health Pedometer" special. I was also able to use an online coupon code to get $10 off my order.

You do NOT need to create an account to make online purchases, however if you do create an account you can store your home/billing address information, track your order history, etc.

Our Experiences:

I came to The Discovery Store knowing exactly what I wanted to purchase beforehand, but I must admit that I hung around quite a while to peruse their cool science stuff for kids as well as some nifty gadgets for adults. An admitted science geek, there really is a lot of interesting stuff offered on the site. I will definitely be coming back as my child gets older, because they've got some great educational "toys" that could really help nurture a little one's love of science and discovery.

They do have quite a few "exclusive" items on the site, some of which can be quite pricey, however they also offer some merchandise that you can find at other stores, and I find their prices to be comparable (for example, Discovery offers a particular DVD for $13.96, and currently at Amazon the same DVD is $13.48 - not much of a difference at all). The Trading Spaces smocks were a bit expensive, but they were about $10 cheaper than when I priced them around Christmas-time, and I also had an additional coupon...

We do have a brick & mortar Discovery Store that is fairly close to where I live (although I rarely get out to that part of town these days). I don't recall them ever having the Trading Spaces smocks there though, and I didn't want to waste time going across town only to find that they didn't have the shirts in the sizes or colors I wanted (my mother is very particular about what colors she will wear). I'm glad that there is a brick & mortar version nearby (because it is a cool store to wander through), but I also like having the option to buy online and get the stuff delivered right to my door. The $10-off coupon I used more than covered the cost to ship the items.

Final Thoughts:

I was quite pleased with my Discovery Channel Store shopping experience. I was able to get my parents a gift that they'll really love, in a color that my mother will actually wear, without ever leaving the comfort of my own home. The items arrived quickly and were exactly what I expected.