ToyWiz.com – Awesome Selection, Great Prices, Knowledgeable Customer Service & Product Authenticity Guaranteed!
Written: Nov 16 '04
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About a month ago I was at my local comic book store and saw the new line of Alien Vs. Predator plushies and fell in love with them. It was just my luck that my dogs shared the same feeling and I came home to see three of them torn up and covered with slobber. I guess that’s what I get for taunting them with them and then leaving them sitting on my desk. I really felt like kicking myself when I ran back to the comic book store to see the empty display box and one very elated person in line holding all of them; as he whipped out his credit card he said “Do you have any idea how much these are selling for on eBay?”. I knew how much they were going for and I wasn’t about to pay almost twice as much to replace them. After scolding my pooches and simmering down over some fresh brewed iced tea, I started to look around to see who was selling them and if it was possible to get the complete set all at once rather than fooling around with multiple orders from different stores. That’s when I came across the ToyWiz online store. Lucky for me they were selling the three plushie set and I almost fell off my chair when I saw the price - $39.99 for all three, [check out the pic of them here -store1.yimg.com/I/dragonballzcentral_1815_2601842]that’s a great deal when you price them out individually. Wasting no time I ordered them and half heartedly expected to get an email saying it was sold out or on back order but no such missive arrived at my over-spammed mailbox.
ToyWiz.Com
After my initial purchase of the Alien Vs. Predator plushies I had to go back and see what other goodies they had in stock. With the holidays fast approaching and my boys coming home for holiday I wanted to make sure they had some extra special gifts under the tree this year. I’d be lying if I said that everything I ordered from the site was for my brood; I’ve recently gotten addicted to “The Family Guy” and when I saw the listing at the site for the figures, let’s just say I went a little insane and bought a lot more than I should have. But come on, could you resist getting one of the ultra cool mutant Stewies [when he was turned into an octopus - store1.yimg.com/I/dragonballzcentral_1817_766730641]? Or how about Death, he even comes with his own death dog! But that’s just the tip of the iceberg – the site carries so much stuff that you can and will get lost when you start exploring it. Trust me, I’ve spent more than a few hours cruising around the site making up my own little wishlist and if no one else is going to fulfill that, then I guess it’s up to me to do so!
One thing that I have to mention about the site is the guarantee of authenticity. They stand behind each and every product they sell and guarantee that it is an original licensed product. To me that is worth it if I have to pay a dollar or two more – at least I know I won’t get ripped off or sold something that “looks” like the original. Now, since I mentioned that I was willing to pay a little more to be guaranteed that they only sell and ship original items I have to add this – the prices are exceptional. Out of the thirty or so odd items I’ve purchased at the site only two or three of them were more than other sites that I checked out. These are items that are considered somewhat rare and could easily be counterfeited goods so I had no qualms paying a little more to purchase them from a site that guarantees that I am getting “the real deal”.
Selection
I honestly think it would be easier for me to list the things that they don’t sell! Everything from Harry Potter toys to collectable cards, plushies, action figures and yes, even Lego sets. The site is easy to navigate and all the items are featured with a full color photo, description and pertinent information [the exception to this are the items in the sale and clearance section]. In some cases, like the Lego Knights Kingdom series, you get specific information about the item and in other cases you get generic details that don’t really tell you a lot about what you are looking at. Some of the things that I’ve purchased through the site include the impressive Alien Vs. Predator plushies, Neopet toys, WWE wrestling figures, Army of Darkness figures, a ton of Mini Mates, a few board games and a ton of gifts for the upcoming holiday season. But that’s only about 1% of what the site sells, to get the full experience you need to sit down and start digging into it. There are some sections, like the Mini Mates that are so big that you could be there for a half hour checking things out. In addition to what I’ve already mentioned – here’s a taste of some of the other things they carry – Teen Titans, Sonic The Hedgehog, Tamagotchi, Star Wars, McFarlane related items, Justice League, Pink Panther products, The Incredibles, Beanie Babies, Power Rangers, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Digimon and a nice selection of comic books and books about comic books [if you are into that scene, you know what I mean].
There are two ways to browse the site – from the main section listing of heavy hitters like Star Wars, Pokemon and Magic The Gathering or from more streamline lists that break down the sections into easier to navigate groupings. One of the nicest things about the site is that no matter where you go or how deep you get into the site, the left side listing is still there so if you do go off the beaten path, you are only a click away from going back to the main section. There are no pop up advertisements and the site is free of anything “adult” however there are some comic book covers and figures that some parents might not want their children to see. Let’s put it this way, little Annabelle cruises through the site looking at Neopets stuff and I’ve never come across anything that I’d personally consider objectionable for a child her age – but that’s just me. Do yourself a favor and check out the site before you let your kids loose at it, this way you won’t have to stand there over their shoulder and try to keep an eye on what they are looking at.
If you are someone that is into deals then set aside about a n hour to go through the ‘clearance’ section – a place that I hit at least twice a week because you never know what you are going to come across. This sort of goes hand in hand with the “toys under five dollar section” – another impressive part of the site that you have to check out. Right now in the clearance section you can find items from Lord of The Rings, Pokemon, Beanie Baby items, Spongebob Square Pants, Beyblade products and Teen Titans. This is one part of the site that is usually without any type of photo or description but you can call the customer service line if you have any questions. Now, if these two sections weren’t enough to entice you into checking out the site – get ready for this – bonus gifts just for making a purchase! Yes, you read that right, when you make a purchase you can select a free gift. Now, don’t think you are going to get this mega huge thing for free but I do have to admit, some of the options are pretty sweet. Current deals include items from Lord of The Rings, Dungeons and Dragons, Dragon Ball Z and Star Wars. You can find the list by clicking the ‘bonus gift’ link at the bottom of the main page.
Payment Options
You can pay for your order using MasterCard, Visa, American Express or The Discover Card as well as sending in a money order or using PayPal. I’ve used both MasterCard and Visa at the site and had no problems with processing, approval or billing. The do not accept checks and on their website it states that any checks received will be destroyed – not returned or processed, so get the point, don’t pay by check. I had no worries about ordering through the site; they have a retail store, the site is huge and the feedback about the company overall is outstanding. Add me to the list of satisfied customers!
Contact Information
ToyWiz.com
253 West Route 59
Nanuet, NY 10954
customercare@toywiz.com
www.toywiz.com
[845] 624-1995 - phone
[845] 624-1220 – fax
If you are in the New York area you can also check out their retail store at the above address. The hours are Monday through Saturday 10:00 am to 8:00 pm and Sunday 11:00 am to 5:00 pm. Given that they have a retail location, this should make those who are leery about ordering from online sites a little more comfortable plunking down hard earned money on items. If they have a huge store, chances are they aren’t going to go out of business any time soon or fold up like some online vendors who like to take your money, stall you on your order saying things are back ordered then “go out of business” only to start up again a month later with a whole new scam.
Shipping Fees
You might think that you would get spanked on shipping when you see the prices on the items that ToyWiz sells, not true, not true at all. Orders are shipped via UPS Ground unless you make other arrangements and the shipping fees are calculated by the dollar amount of your order. The base shipping fee covers orders up to $39.99 and sets you back $5.99 and the most you will ever pay for shipping is $18.99 for orders that are $350.00 and more. Some items will ship via the USPS but these are mostly for military addresses or if specifically requested. Shipping times aren’t the best but I haven’t had any instances where anything was delayed or back ordered. Most of my orders arrived about ten days after placing the order, not the quickest but I’m willing to wait a little longer to get orders from them knowing that I am going to get stuff that is authentic and mint condition.
Return Policy
The return policy isn’t the best but I am willing to cut them some slack since they more than make up for it in other areas. You have seven days from the time of delivery to get in touch with them to start the return process; if you receive something from them that wasn’t what you expected you can return it but it needs to be in the original packaging and able to be resold so make sure what you get is what you want. If it was an error on their part they will pay for all associated shipping fees but if you messed up, you are going to have to pay to get it sent back to them. You will also get zapped with a 10% restocking fee, not exactly a good point but it does pay for the time of the person that’s handling that part of the business and trust me, from what I have heard about this company, the person that is handling the returns makes sure that everything that is sent back is in 100% resellable condition; that means if you buy something that was returned by another customer you aren’t getting something that was opened, played with and reboxed.
Gift Certificates
Any online store that offers gift certificates gets high marks from me, it allows me to purchase a non-specific type of thing for someone so they ultimately have the final say in what they get. ToyWiz offers gift certificates from $25.00 to $200.00 and are sent via email for quick delivery. I’ve sent out several of these to friends and they went insane when they saw the site. Needless to say, this is a great gift for those who collect action figures, anime, video game related items and things of the like. There’s no extra charge to purchase a gift certificate or a fee to have it delivered and the three that I had sent arrived in my friends email boxes within two days.
The Bottom Line
So far I have had nothing but great experiences with the site and my orders arrived a few days before I expected. The site is huge so plan on spending some time looking through all that they have to offer and if you are going there to buy a gift for someone, please keep in mind that you can also opt to send them a gift certificate. Customer service is usually pretty quick to reply to emails and when you call to ask about something you aren’t given the run around and everyone that works the phone knows what they are talking about and if they don’t they know the person that does. If you are someone that collects action figures, trading cards, movie or video game themed items then this is a site that you will most definitely want to check out. On average the prices are great, the selection is impressive and order handing is second to none.
As always, thanks for the visit …
~^V^~ Freak ~^V^~
© 2004 Freak369
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Recommended:
Yes
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