Hallmark Flowers

Full review

I have used the Hallmark online site many times. I have bought things, sent flowers and sent their eCards With so many other sites now charging for their ecards, it is nice to have this site with their large selection of FREE cards.


FINDING WHAT YOU NEED

To send a card, you first go to Hallmark.com and then click on the e-cards & cards link located on the left side under SHOP. Once there, you can find what you need 2 ways ~

1. The Search option which works by keyword.

2. The bar on the side of the page with 13 categories ~

• Paper Cards
You have a choice to have them personalized or not.

• Free E-Cards
Cards sent to the receivers email address

• Holidays & Celebrations
Read about different holidays

• Paper Stationary & Invitations
Paper invitations to order as well as templets to download.

• About Our Card Selections
Read about the different card they carry

• Card Creation Software
Order computer stationary or download free templets


SHOPPING

Although there are multiple choices, since this is the place for eCards that is what I will review.

The first thing you do is click on the Free eCards link. Next you can browse through the 4 main categories ~

• Upcoming Holidays
Self explanatory

• Milestones
Graduation, Birthday, wedding etc.

• Just a Note
Congratulations, Friendship, Sorry, etc.

• Hallmark Exclusives
Maxine, Shoebox, Nature's Sketchbook, etc.

You can also click on pick up a card and/or send a Gift Wish Certificate from the front page.

When you find a card you think you may like, you simply click on picture. You will then see the card ~ either a postcard or a flash card and hear the music that will be playing. You will also see where your message will go.

If you want to send the card you first click on the personalize button. You can then put in your own message of up to 500 characters. You also put in your name and email as well as those of the recipient's. You then put in when you want to the greeting sent. This is a great feature as you can send a month or more of cards in one sitting which is a GREAT time saver!

You can also click to be notified when the card is viewed. This USE TO BE a wonderful feature which let you know that your card was viewed and the recipient doesn't feel forgotten. Well, of the last four cards I have sent, I only received 1 email saying it had been viewed which is very frustrating. I am hoping this will get back to working as well as it once did.

After placing your order you will get a confirmation number. If you asked to be notified, hopefully you will get another email once your card is viewed.


GIFT WISH CERTIFICATE

This is what separates Hallmark eCards from the other sites.

A gift wish certificate is a gift certificate that you choose the amount of and the recipient chooses where they want it from. This is one of my kids favorite gift ~ they LOVE getting to first pick the store and then what they buy there.

There are over 300 merchants to choose from ~ there are restaurants, toy stores, clothing stores, charitable donations, travel choices and even some zoos ~ something for everybody!

Before they choose the merchant it will show where the certificate can be redeemed be it the retail store, the catalog and/or their web site.


ALL orders are charged an $2.95 Service Charge.



~~ ** ~~ ** ~~ 2BUZY'S FINAL THOUGHTS ON THIS SITE ~~ ** ~~ ** ~~

There are some things about the Hallmark eCards that I really like and then there are others that I don't like at all.

I like ~

• The LARGE selection of cards and the MANY different occasions to choose from that are still FREE.

• That I can have a card sent months down the road or on that same day.

• When I send a card, I can send it to one person or up to 50 at the same time.

• That I can choose to have an email sent when the card is viewed.

• And my favorite thing, that I can send a gift wish certificate


I dislike ~

• The fact that I am not getting notified when my cards are viewed.

• That I have NEVER made it through a session without without getting the "sorry" screen and having to start over

• The way I now have to leave the site to send a gift wish certificate and it has to be linked to one of their few choices of cards instead of one of their large selection.


All in all I would give Hallmark eCards four stars ~ they have a very large selection of wide variety of cards and I can add a gift wish certificate if I wish. I only hope they will get their notification system up and working as well as it did before :-)