Ha! I Own The Kwik-E Mart Thanks To USAopoly!
Written: Feb 24 '05
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When I set out looking for The Simpsons Monopoly game I had no idea that there were so many version of this classic board game. What I really wanted was "The Family Guy" game but as of yet they don't make one [but I am waiting patiently] so I settled for The Simpsons; I am a huge fan of the early episodes and wanted to see if this type of game would be something that the kids would get into when they were home. I found the game listed at a few sites but since I wasn't familiar with them and there weren't any reviews of them, I opted to go straight to the manufacturers site - USAopoly. From what I read about the company they have the exclusive marketing rights of the Monopoly game, simply put, they are the only ones authorized to use the Monopoly setup with other types of themes. I knew that there were Disney type Monopoly games and a few others but until I hit the site and saw all the different ones that they sell, I was clueless that there were so many variations of it.
Site & Selection
The site carries a lot of different types of Monopoly themed games [Muppets, Looney Tunes, Spider-Man etc] in addition to collectors items, sports related paraphernalia [team Monopoly games], checkers [have you ever seen an Elvis set of checkers?] and other items. Getting around the site is fairly easy from the main page but if you are on a dial up connection some of the pages take a while to load. The bad thing about the site is that they offer you a photo of the various game boards but you can’t enlarge them to see any type of detail. Another downside is that most of the site details such as shipping fees, return policy and payment options aren’t listed; you have to go through the ordering process to find out these items and if you don’t like what you see, it basically means you wasted a lot of time. You can subscribe to their newsletter so you can stay on top of their new releases, sales and site additions. So far this has been a spam free type of newsletter so if this is something that you worry about, I’ve been getting it for a while now with no trouble.
Purchases
I've made many purchases through the site but only one for myself; all the others were for gifts and the site handled the orders perfectly. It took about a week from the time that I ordered it for it to be delivered which seemed a little slow considering that I lived in San Diego at the time and the company was in Encinitas. I chalk this up to me putting the order in late in the day and that they ship almost everything UPS Ground. I was really pleased with the game that I ordered and when others saw it, they all said “You know, this is a game I’d play all that time”, so when it came time to get them a gift, I kept those words in mind! Some of the games I had shipped directly to the recipient and some I had shipped to my address so I could wrap them; either way I had them in my possession or the person that they were ordered for had them in about a week.
Customer Service
USAopoly.
5607 Palmer Way
Carlsbad, CA 92008
[760] 431-5910 - customer service
[760] 431-5880 – fax
www.usaopoly.com
customersupport@usaopoly.com
Please note: The Westlake Street / Encinitas address listed at Epinions is the old address, they moved in late 2004.
Shipping Fees
The shipping fees really aren't bad and are figured out by the number of items that you order and where you are located. One thing that you have to know is that it automatically defaults to two day shipping when you are placing and order so unless you want to pay almost double; make sure you check the ground shipping option. When I order from the site it costs me $695 for the first item and $2.00 for each additional item, that's for UPS Ground service but you can have it shipped 2nd Day [$13.00, $5.00 each additional item] or Next Day [$30.00, $10.00 each additional item] for an extra fee.
Payment Options
The site accepts MasterCard, Visa, American Express and The Discover Card for purchases. If you want to pay by an alternate means, contact customer service [customersupport@usaopoly.com] to see if there is another option that they can offer you. I’ve used my MasterCard and Visa Check Card for purchases at the site and have never had any problems with the orders being processed, approval, billing or being quoted an amount that was different from the price shown at the time of check out. Adding things to your shopping cart is easy however the shipping amount isn’t shown until the time you decide to check out and choose which way you want your items shipped [ground, second or next day].
Return Policy
This is something that isn’t shown at the site and to me, that’s not good business. Since I’d already placed several orders with the company and saw the high level of quality, I was never concerned with what the return policy was. When I started writing this I decided to give them a call to see what the deal was in case anyone else was a little leery about ordering something, better to know ahead of time what the policy is than after you place an order. According to the person that answered the phone, they will accept returns on items if they are still sealed within a thirty day timeframe. Defective items should be reported as soon as possible and shipped back to them for an exchange or refund. If you are going to place an order, please, call and verify this yourself so that you can know, without a doubt, that your satisfaction is guaranteed. Since this information isn’t disclosed at the site they could turn around and say that there is no return policy. Better to spend a couple of cents calling them than to have to eat a $30.00 board game.
The Bottom Line
So far my orders have all been shipping out in a timely manner, the quality is awesome and the site is fairly easy to navigate with no pop ups or outside marketing. This is a safe site for kids to check out since there’s no adult type items or links to other sites. This is a nice site to get games at, especially if you are looking for Monopoly type games that are hard to find in retail stores. I really wish that they offered gift certificates because I know a lot of people that would love to order things from the site but their tastes are so varied that I’d want them to make their own selection. USAopoly does have an affiliate program in place so if you have a website that gets a lot of traffic, check out their offer to make some money!
As always, thanks for the read!
~^V^~ Freak ~^V^~
© 2005 Freak369
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Recommended:
Yes
What product did you purchase or try to purchase? Monopoly themed games
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