Brighten Up Your Day The Crayola Way! The Crayola Online Store
Written: Apr 03 '03 (Updated Nov 09 '04)
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The Crayola online store is a place that I try to visit at least once a week to see what items are on sale, new products added to the site and to check up on the seasonal items that they sell. I’ve placed more orders with them than I care to recall and have never had any trouble placing, confirming, paying for or receiving my order. The customer service is well above average however getting a reply via email is almost impossible. As a whole the Crayola Store is easy to navigate, offers you the ability to purchase items that aren’t available in your area and deliver them right to your doorstep. If you are into seasonal items you won’t be let down with the number of Christmas, Halloween, Easter and Valentines Day items that they sell as well as the projects that they have available to create using their products.
Shopping Up A Storm!
The Crayola Store and website are sort of intertwined and often times I start out looking for bargain and end up printing up cool things for the boys to do. You can bounce back and forth between them without much trouble but if you are like me you’ll find that you get sucked into looking at tons of different items, products and projects so make sure you give yourself enough time to check out all the aspects of the site. I’ve never come across a dead link but the search engine does seem to have a mind of its own. No matter how you choose to cruise around the site, one thing is for sure – you’ll have a blast checking out all the new products and projects that are available. Be sure to look for the various promotions that the site offers – anything from 15% off your first purchase from the online store to free shipping for orders over $35.00. Keep your eyes peeled and you’ll be able to stretch your art budget a little further.
Products
At the site you’ll be able to check out almost all of the Crayola products that are on the market, the exceptions are some of the learning books and tablets that are still being sold at stores but are no where to be found at the site. The front page gives you the newest additions to the Crayola family as well as the hot sellers. The only pop up you’ll get is when you hit the main page which lets you know about current sales and promotions as well as signing up for an account. The site is broke up into easy to navigate sections that are located to the left side inside small crayon shaped links. If you know the product number or exact name, the search engine is a good place to start but sometimes it can be a little fickle with the information that you enter.
If you are looking to pick up some good deals, be sure to check out the Markdown Madness section for reduced items and things that are being discontinued. There is also a separate section for the Hallmark items however I’ve never seen anything there other than assorted paper products that never really appealed to me. Please keep in mind that just because something is marked down or selling at a reduced price doesn’t necessarily mean that it is being discontinued … but I wouldn’t take any chances and pass on the opportunity to pick up a good deal if you see one of your favorites listed there. If you are a registered user of the site you can also check out the Crayola.com Outlet Store for additional savings.
Starting An Account
In order to take advantage of all that the site has to offer you should sign up for a free account. It isn’t necessary to sign up for an account, but it does make the shopping experience a lot nicer. If your child is signing up you will get an email saying that he or she signed up for the site as well as a way to cancel the subscription if you don’t want them to have access to the site. This is a 100% kid friendly site with absolutely no questionable material. The worst thing that can happen is that you log in and see a wish list a mile long or get sent an email of the wish list. When you sign up for a newsletter you can expect to get an email about every ten days letting you know about new products, sales, projects and holiday suggestions. The emails are available in HTML or basic text and you can unsubscribe with the click of a link [provided in all the emails from Crayola].
My Shopping Experiences
I hate to come off sounding like this is the best website and internet store out there – but it is pretty darn close. I’ve purchased many items from Crayola and never had any trouble with the ordering process, payment processing, delivery or quality of goods. My purchases have been both large and small and regardless of the dollar amount, my orders were all processed in a quick and speedy manner. The items have all come nicely packed with no broken items or damaged goods. I was a little concerned when I ordered some of the individual crayon packs like the Crayola Halloween Treat Packs but they arrived safety and undamaged. Other items that I’ve ordered include general markers and crayons, the Crayola Spinning Desk Top Organizer and various glue and paint assortments. I’ve also started to pick up some of the educational books for my neighbor’s daughter as well as some of the Color Wonder products that I can’t seem to locate at a retail store.
Other Areas To Explore
Sure you can come to the site to shop but there are also great projects and colorful adventures that kids can take enjoy in a completely safe environment. The pages in the Activity Book can be printed up for smaller kids to color and decorate while the older kids will definitely benefit from the hundreds of Print & Learn Print & Craft pages that are available. In order to get to most of these pages you will need to sign up for a free account, but as mentioned above, it is a quick process and your privacy is guaranteed.
Be sure to check out the Inspiring Ideas section of the site for tons of great activities for kids [and adults] of all ages. You get to pick from the type of activity, medium you wish to use and a central theme. Using the drop down boxes you’ll get suggestions and instructions on how to go about making a one of a kind gift, activity book or project. This section also works well with the Lesson Plan part of the site that allows teachers and homeschoolers the ability to incorporate art, history, culture and fun into an educational and entertaining project. One of the best parts of these is that you can also pick the time length of the project – anywhere from less than a half an hour to several classroom periods.
Shipping
Currently Crayola can only ship to addresses within the United States. Shipping fees are calculated according to the total amount of your order and orders are shipping using Federal Express Ground Delivery. There isn’t a minimum amount to order however the base shipping fee is $3.95 for orders up to $10.00. The current promotion at the site gives you free shipping within the continental United States for orders over $35.00, which is a good deal and can save you a nice chunk of change. Deliveries to Alaska, Hawaii, Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico cost a little more and are not included in the current free shipping promotion. Express shipping is available however you will have to pay the full cost and the free shipping promotion does not cover expedited shipments. You can view the shipping chart at the site or if more information or help is needed, feel free to call the toll free customer service number for more assistance.
Payment Options
You can pay for your order with your MasterCard, Visa, Discover or American Express. If you want to pay with a check you can do so using the TeleCheck system where funds are drawn from your account electronically. I’ve used both my MasterCard and Visa at the site with no trouble at all. When the bill arrived there weren’t any hidden fees, duplicate billings or extra costs. If you charge an item using your credit card and need to make a return to Crayola, your credit card will be credited within 7 – 14 days and you will receive an email letting you know that the transaction has been completed.
Gift Certificates
You can send someone a cyber gift certificate for the Crayola online store that can be used to purchase anything at the site. These are only sent by email so you will have to make sure that the person has access to the internet to receive and redeem it. To order a gift certificate please call the toll free customer service number. Any unused portion of the gift certificate will be carried over and kept in a gift certificate account that can be used at a later date. These make great gifts for teachers that often times have to supplement their classroom supply stock with their own funds.
Return Policy
Crayola offers you a pretty straightforward return policy for items purchased through the website. You have thirty days from the date your shipment is received to return it for credit. If you received the wrong product, it was damaged or defective you will receive a refund for the shipping fees associated with returning the product as well as the cost for the initial shipment to you. If you aren’t satisfied with your purchase, please follow the instructions that are provided on the customer service form [link provided below] to expedite your refund.
Returns should be sent to:
Genco Distribution System
CrayolaStore.com – Location 92
221 South 10th Street
Lemoyne, PA 17043
All returns must include a customer service form that can be obtained at this URL: http://www.crayola.com/crayolastore/Crayola_Store_form.pdf. To access this form you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you don’t have the Adobe Acrobat Reader you can download it for free here: www.adobe.com
Contact Information
[800] CRAYOLA – toll free customer service is available from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm EST Monday through Friday.
If calling between these hours isn’t a convenient option for you, there are online forms where you can post a question or send an email directly to the customer service team for more help. http://www.crayola.com/canwehelp/contact/index2.cfm?param=CrayolaStore.com&type=search. When you arrive at this page you can read through the board or click the “Ask A Question” tab to send an email. I’ve never had much luck getting replies to these types of email and have opted to use the toll free phone number for questions.
The Bottom Line
When I can’t find a product at Wal-Mart, Target or Office Depot, the first place I turn to is the Crayola website. I’ve never had any trouble ordering or receiving my shipments and consider this to be one of the best sites on the internet. Even if you are completely skeptical about online shopping, I highly suggest this site for all your Crayola product needs. The site is 100% kid friendly so you can lit the younger crowd check out the products and projects without having to worry about what they might see.
To visit the shopping portion of the site directly, go to this URL: www.crayola.com/store
As always, thanks for the visit!
^V^ Freak ^V^
© 2003 Freak369
Crayola product reviews...
• Big MiniStampers • Doodle Pad • Watercolor Pencils • Art & Craft Brushes – 8 Count • Create-A-Kid • Collecting Keepsakes • Halloween Treat Pack • Halloween Boo Bucket • Washable Water Colors – 8 Color • Pencil Pouch • Crayola Crayons – 24 Count • Metallic Crayons • Superfine Markers – 5 Count • Gel FX Washable Markers • Tub of Fun • Crayola Sketch Pad • Point Tip Scissors • Sidewalk Chalk – Chicks & Eggs • Art & Craft Brushes – 4 Count • Twistables – 16 Count • Stack-N-Store Art Tower • Washable Water Colors – 24 Color • Sidewalk Chalk – Animal Assortment • Crayola Lap Desk • Click ‘Em On Washable Markers • Washable Markers – 16 Count • Alphabet & Number Pad • Blunt Tip Scissors • Spinning Desk Top Organizer •
Recommended:
Yes
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