TheCrayolaStore.com
Written: Jul 16 '02 (Updated Jul 16 '02)
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Yes, I am Crayola obsessed at times. I have loved them since I was a child and still have the collector's boxes sealed so that the crayons inside don't go bad. No wonder I think that this store is so cute and fun. I seriously can spend a long time just looking around at what they have to offer. They have such a selection and it's designed so well and made so simple that seriously even a child could order from this store (if they had a way to pay for their order that is).
The LayOut
This site is bright! Well what did you expect something boring from Crayola? I hope not, because they won't give you anything boring at all. The site is bright and really looks like a professional crayon user drew the whole thing on a computer with crayons and then added links and other fun things. But it's not just the look that is impressive here. Everything is outlined so nicely so you can find anything that you want instantly.
Featured Products
Yes, they always have a couple Featured Products that are very interesting, right now they have
Custom Crayola 64 Box Crayons - who wouldn't want to make their own box of crayons, and this is something that you can't do in stores so this is a great feature here.
Crayola Crayon Maker - another thing I can't picture people not wanting to do, make your own crayons, how fun is that?
Crayola Store Categories
I think they have every category here that you can imagine. This makes it simple to find anything that you are looking for.
The categories are:
Crayola Shop
Crayola Activities
Artist
Crayola Closet
Room and Desk Decor
Electronics
Gifts and Collectibles
Dream-Makes Catalog
Gift Certificates
These are there main categories but they also have other ways that you can find your products that make this site even easier to use.
Search
If you know what your looking for and want to get it fast and not get distracted by all their other great products (and if you like Crayola you will get very distracted with their site and find yourself probably buying a lot more than you had planned on) you can also search for the item that you're looking for. This search is very fast and you will see what you want in a few seconds. Their search is not Google but what do you expect, it is very good.
Crayola Outlet
To use their outlet - they have great prices here and discontinued items you will have to be a registered user of the site. Since the prices are so good in this section (because they are discontinued items) they do need to get some information from you. But don't worry the first time you order from them you become a registered member and can use that section. Great place to look around for deals and the selection in here does change from time to time so keep going back and checking.
Silly Putty
Ok, as we know Crayola does also own Silly Putty so it makes sense that they have a section for this also. Personally I don't like Silly Putty that much. I did when I was younger because it made me laugh, but you can also order almost any Silly Putty item from here as well. It's a small section but there are not that many Silly Putty items out there.
Favorites, By Age, By Art Products, and Shop By Category
Crayola has set up these 4 different ways to classify items which makes it very simple for you to find what you're looking for on their site. Each of these has many many sub-categories for you to go through so that you can make your purchase - more on this under finding your item below.
Crayola.com
Well now you are going to have all these great Crayola products sent to your house but what can you do with them. Don't worry Crayola thinks of everything here and they have a section with great ideas and of course company information. Best part of this is "Inspiring Ideas", this might help any parent come up with new things to do with these crayons. This is a good section to wander through as well and might give you some great ideas.
Finding Your Item
Well enough looking around (not as though there is ever enough looking around on this site) but eventually this review has to get to buying something.
There are so many ways to find a product that you can search for it by name with their search box, this is for people who know what they are looking for before they come to this page. Otherwise, it's best to find the best category first and then look for the right sub-category. For example, under "By Age" you can search for products by:
3 and up
4 and up
5 and up
6 and up
7 and up
8 and up
So if you're a parent and worried about what products would be safe for your child Crayola will help you out a little with this guide.
So now after all your looking what do you do know, you have that perfect item in front of you and you want this now in your hands, well it's not that fast but it is fast. All you need to do is click on "Add to Cart". Simple right. If you want more just simple click on "Continue Shopping" and your back where you were to continue on your way.
Crayola has done an excellent job in designing their site so it's fast and simple to find anything that you're looking for and you're able to add it to your cart very quickly and then move on with your shopping.
Prices
Their prices do seem lower than buying in local stores, but remember here you are buying directly from Crayola so they will have better prices than your local store as long as you are willing to wait a few days for them to arrive at your house.
Checkout
Just like the rest of the site, the checkout is simple. Even if you are still shopping and decide that you have probably already spent too much money you can go to checkout from any page. Just look at the top of the screen and click on "Checkout".
How simple can this part be. Just fill out basic name and address information and make sure that your cart is correct, you can still change it at this point so double check that. Select shipping options and billing options (you can use Visa, MasterCard, AmericanExpress and Discover, and if you are in the US you can also pay by check) and then click continue.
Shipping and Delivery
They offer two basic shipping options for your products:
Standard Ground Shipping for $5.95
Two Business Days for $17.95
Right now though they are having a special for anyone who buys things over $35.00 and you get free Standard Ground Shipping. Sounds like a good deal to me because even with Standard Ground Shipping I have never failed to get anything really late - usually comes within the week for me at least. Although sometimes, my mail does seem fast compared to other people so hopefully this is not just me.
Everything is always packaged very well, they don't want the crayons broken when they get to you so everything is sealed and packed very tightly so nothing can slide around and get broken. Great delivery of products here!
Returns
They do offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee, which means if you are not happy they will let you return it to them. Make sure that you keep all the original packaging because you need that to send back to them. Also make sure to include a completely Customer Assistance Form which just says what is wrong with it and why you are returning it. I have never had to return anything but I'm sure Crayola does work with their customers to help in this process because they are a good company to deal with.
Customer Service
I have been so lucky not to ever need any help from them - guess that's a good thing but they do list a phone number and an e-mail address on their site. They ask that you allow between 24 and 48 hours for an e-mail reply so they probably do get a good amount of mail and want to make sure that everyone is answered.
Conclusion
Overall, this is a great shopping experience. I have always seen so many things that I would love to get on this site - and no for those people that know me I have not gone that insane here although that would be simple to do. Everything from ordering to delivery is simple and fast. So if you need any kind of Crayola or art related items for children (hey adults can play too so don't worry) then you might try here first and see what happens. You might surprise yourself and find a lot more than what you're looking for here.
Recommended:
Yes
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About the Author
Location: Indiana
Reviews written: 230
Trusted by: 200 members
About Me: Well life has been insane but trying to write more again.
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