eToys

Full review
Early last week, I began doing some of my Christmas shopping a bit early online. I had received a promotional email from www.etoys.com which advertised free shipping for any order over $99. And to top that off, if I purchased $100 worth of Little Tykes toys, I'd get a $40 set of Little Tykes table and chairs for FREE! This sounded like a deal worth checking into, so I began browsing their website and making my selections. What I ended up with was five high quality Little Tykes toys for my 2 year old, whose grand total was $108. So I qualified both for the free shipping AND the free table and chair set. Great deal, I thought! So I placed my order with eToys and received a confirmation email soon after. And then in a few more days, I received yet another email letting me know that my order had been shipped. About five days later, my order finally arrived. It was all in super condition, but I was amazed at just HOW it had been shipped. Read on to find out more.


~~~The Website~~~

Browsing the eToys website is simple and quick. Shoppers can browse by age or by other categories, such as learning toys, collectible toys, and video games, just to name a few. Lots of name brand toys can be found here, including Little Tykes, Fisher Price, Barbie, Tonka, Lego, Leap Frog, Playstation, and Nintendo. Prices are average and are comparable to those found at other online stores. Checkout only takes a few moments, especially if you are already registered at the site. Just fill in your credit card information, shipping and billing address, and you are ready to go. Accepted methods of payment include Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, and KB Toys Gift Cards. They do NOT, however, accept checks, money orders, or COD's. Returns or exchanges can be made at over 1,300 KB Toys stores nationwide if needed. So the basics here while shopping at eToys online are pretty much standard when compared to other shopping sites.


~~~Shipping Costs~~~

Currently, standard shipping at eToys is free on any order greater than $99. Unfortunately, video game consoles and gift cards are NOT included in this offer. Be aware though that even with this free shipping offer, many larger items charge an additional shipping surcharge, so even if you qualify for free shipping, you still may have to pay extra, depending on what you order. Many of the larger Little Tykes toys have surcharges of $15 to $20 on average, so ordering these big items online may not be worth the trouble. In more ways than one!! (I'll cover the rest in the next paragraph, never fear) Standard shipping is either $3.99 per shipment, or sometimes they charge by the pound (see the website for more details). Items sent standard shipping should arrive anywhere from 5 to 10 days after placing your order, and it took about 7 days for mine to arrive. Premium and Express shipping methods are also available when shopping online at eToys, but be prepared to pay alot extra for these.


~~~My Experience~~~

Now I am finally ready to discuss just how my eToys order of three rather large boxes arrived at my door. Several hours after my mail carrier left my mail inside my mailbox at the usual time, she apparently made a special trip back to my home with my shipment! Here she was in a small station wagon, and had three large boxes stuffed in the back. The table and chairs was shipped in its original box, so at least she came to my door first to let me know as she figured it was a gift and I wouldn't want my 2 year old son to see the box. I helped her carry the stuff in and thanked her for coming back out at the end of her route. She COULD have just left me a note stating I needed to come and pick my order up at the post office, but she didn't. If any of the boxes had been any larger though, that's exactly what I would have ended up doing. So be aware that standard shipping from eToys is via USPS (free or not!), so buyer beware just in case you decide to order any of the big toys from them. Perhaps you don't mind picking your stuff up at the post office if need be when ordering from this cyber toy store, but the main reason why I prefer to order things online is the convenience of home delivery, especially if I have to pay shipping costs!


~~~Overall Recommendation~~~

Order large items from eToys with caution as your mail carrier may not be as helpful and nice as mine was. I had no idea that USPS shipping is standard with this company, but once I went back to the website and dug a bit deeper, I did in fact find this piece of information posted with their shipping information. So I can imagine very large orders would have to be picked up at your local post office if they will not fit inside your mail carrier's vehicle. Other than the shipping issue, I'd recommend this online merchant to others as browsing the website and then ordering was a breeze. Prices were average and I did save money as no taxes were charged to my Tennessee address and I did not have to pay any standard shipping charges as well. So order with care and be sure to read EVERYTHING before ordering! This will certainly save you a potentially frustrating pick-up experience when ordering large items from eToys. Good luck and happy shopping!!

www.etoys.com


To find out more about the Little Tikes Studio Design Table and Chairs Set I purchased from www.etoys.com, please check out the following review:

http://www.epinions.com/content_86027308676