Oriental Trading Company: A Super Shopper's Dream Come True
Written: Dec 8, 2007
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When we lived in San Diego and had birthday parties, piñatas were almost always involved. Sure, you could go to Smart & Final and drop ten dollars on one but if you really wanted a cool one you had to go south of the border to Mexico and get one that actually looked like the cartoon character you wanted. They do come in a variety of shapes and sizes and aren't limited to cartoon characters but that is usually what was picked out. I don't regret saying this; I did take a little too much joy in seeing certain characters getting beat to death by little blindfolded kids.
With the piñata came the task of filling it. Candy is a no-brainer but its always fun to fill it with toys and other goodies. That's where Oriental Trading Company comes into the picture. Chances are if you want something 'fun related', they have it and if they don't they will surely have something that can be used as a suitable substitute. A lot of people get hooked on the site after receiving a catalog; that wasn't the case for me. A neighbor was a certified OTC junkie and would always rave about the site. I resisted as long as I could until I saw some of the very cool Halloween things that she ordered. No matter what the season, holiday or celebration, Oriental Trading Company will have something for it.
Christmas: This is one of the best sites to shop at to stretch your money out and stuff those stockings with something cool. My personal favorites are the Flying Frogs, puzzles, Bendies, bouncy balls but they have a lot of Christmas themed things that you can toss in stockings or gift baskets.
Easter: Everyone loves an Easter basket but it does get hard to fill them with candy and stuffed animals year after year. The site sells a lot of cool things that you can add to baskets and there is no shortage of variety. Plastic eggs, activity sets, games and religious items are all available, most of them year round.
Halloween: Ahh, Halloween! There is so much stuff at the site that it will take you hours to go through all the listings. Over the years I have purchased a lot of items from OTC for trick-or-treaters as well as for the brood. Erasers, beads, stickers, toys, decorations and more. My personal favorites are the Grow-A-Head Halloween Vampire and Grow-A-Head Halloween Head Bat but there are thousands of items to choose from.
They also have items for Hanukkah, Valentine's Day, Mardi Gras, Independence Day, New Years Eve, birthday celebrations, St. Patrick's Day and more. The beauty of some of them items is that they are slightly generic so they can be substituted for other holidays like the Day of The Dead.
Reward Items: If you are a teacher and want to give kids some incentive to work a little harder or reward those who have excelled, the site offers a lot of really cool things. Stickers are always a great way to say 'great job' but you can also get pencils, rubber stamps, bookmarkers and certificates at the site. If you are paying for things out of your own pocket then OTC can help you get more for your money.
If you think the site is just about party accessories and 'junk' thinks, take a closer look. They have some very cool educational things as well. One of my all time favorites is the Cement Coliseum Building Set; no, it isn't like Lego but it is a lot of fun and can be highly educational. Another fun thing is the Build A Volcano set; most stores sell these for $14.99 but you can get it for less than ten dollars at OTC. Is it a cheap piece of junk that won't work? Nope; the one we ordered and built was cool and served as a really nice afternoon project for the brood.
Getting around the site isn’t hard at all; everything is listed with a color photograph and text description but there have been times that items have arrived and have looked a little different from the things listed at the site. The pages are quick loading and I love the fact that I can pick the number of items to be listed on each page. This makes getting through huge sections like Halloween a little quicker.
Shipping isn’t all that bad but if you are planning an event you may want to consolidate orders with other people to save on the shipping fees. The most you will ever spend is 10% of the total order and that is if you go over $200.00 in merchandise. The base price starts at $6.95 for orders up to $30.00 and everything is calculated by the dollar amount so be sure to hit the sale section of the site to save even more money.
You can use MasterCard, Visa, American Express or Discover to pay for orders but if you want to pay with a check or money order you will need to print out an order form at the site, fill it out, calculate the shipping and mail it to them. This could increase the amount of time to process and deliver items since the check [and in some cases money orders] need to clear through banks. I've only had one thing on back order from them and later in the day I got an email saying that the bat garland was in stock and the order would be shipping out the next day.
If you are looking for a site that sells a lot of interesting things but doesn’t rake you over the coals then Oriental Trading Company is definitely a site to check out. In some cases you will have to buy multiples of something; like you can't go and buy one single bouncy ball, you have to buy six or twelve. That's about the only con to the site. Customer service is helpful when you email them but during busy times of the year getting someone on the phone might take a little longer than usual. Think of it as a dollar store that sells a lot of different things; things aren't always a dollar but there are a lot of bargains to be found. Be sure to signup for a free catalog too, you never know what goodies will be listed in it and you can use the code on the back of it to enter into the order form when placing an order online.
As always, thanks for the visit…
~^V^~ Freak ~^V^~
© 2007 Freak369
What On Earth
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Recommended:
Yes
What product did you purchase or try to purchase? toys, craft items, decorations
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