An Online Store That Actually Cares About Customer Satisfaction!
PresentsForYou
I like to shop at smaller websites because they often have unique items but more so because I love to support the "little guy" over the big corporations. If I can get the same thing from a smaller website that I can from a huge chain store site, I will go to the smaller site if the price isn't much different.
Customer Service, to me, is a huge part of online shopping. After all, we are blindly trusting people online with our personal details and our money. I always hope those people realize that and treat each customer as a valuable asset to them. Unfortunately, that doesn't happen as often as it should but it does happen with PresentsForYou, a small website that caters to the "As Seen on TV" and household appliance and gifts consumer.
What the Site sells
The site sells a variety of items for the home, garden, exercise, some beauty items, and several "As Seen on TV" type items. There is no theme to the site, hence the name "Presents for You". I suppose anything on the site could be a present for you or someone else.
Navigation
The set is very simple but not amateurish. There is a list of categories down the left hand side of the page and other important links are across the top a well as on the bottom of the page. There is also a search box for those who are looking for something specific. A click on the category link will take you to thumbnail photos of everything in that category with the name and price of the item underneath. If you're interested, click on the thumbnail and a larger photo and more details appear. Click to add items to your cart.
When you have finished shopping, checkout is simple too. You will be taken to a checkout page where you will chose the type of shipping you want from a drop down box and fill in your zip code. Your shipping charges will be displayed. If you want to see what shipping is with other methods, you can do that until you are satisfied and ready to make the purchase.
The next form asks for your personal details. You can choose from Paypal or a major credit card to pay for your purchase. Input the data and pay and immediately you will get a confirmation number.
You then get an email confirming the order and one when the order is shipped. My items have always arrived within a week or so and packed very well.
My Experience
My first experience with PresentsForYou was when I was looking for a Six Second Ab Machine. I had read a review about it and I was curious. A search revealed that this site was selling the product for quite a bit less than others so I went ahead and got the item there.
Everything went great and the ab machine was fine for a few days but then I noticed it stopped "clicking" when I was using it. Clicking is very important when using this exercise device. This, of course, was not the fault of the website. It was the makers of this doodad's problem. Still, I wrote to PresentsForYou to let them know that that machine stopped clicking and, to my surprise, customer service wrote back and said they would ship me out a new one! I asked how to send the defective one back and they said to toss it out and to enjoy my new Six Second Ab Machine. Tell me, how often does THAT happen in a lifetime?
I did get the new one and I do enjoy it and I will have to write a review about it soon.
A few orders after the above incident (They all went fine), I ordered an "As Seen on TV" cosmetic kit for about $16.00. When it arrived, it was on perfect condition but had a sticker on it that said $14.99. For some reason that irked me (It was a green price sticker, not imprinted on the box) and I wrote a rather huffy letter to the site to tell them that next time, they might want to remove the price stickers so customers don't feel ripped off.
What did they do? They wrote me back and told me they were refunding the difference and immediately, they refunded the difference between what I paid and what the sticker said. Granted it wasn't much but that's how you run a website that makes people come back!
I am very impressed with the customer service aspect of this site and I will go out of my way to shop there because they deserve it. They care about me and my satisfaction and it shows. That caring leads me to feel loyal to them and I am willing to spend a little more at times for a product because I know they won't give me a run around if there is a problem with my order.
Shipping and Returns
Shipping is dependent on the price and weight of the product. There is no chart; you have to input your zip code to find out what that shipping is. Usually that would bug me, but I found shipping to be quite reasonable and it's not a real inconvenience to input my zip code and see what I will be paying for shipping.
They accept returns for up to 30 days after purchase, minus shipping charges (unless they sent the wrong item to you). If the product is defective, they will either replace it or credit you the full price with shipping.
And, check this one out. If they cannot replace a defective item with the same item, they will credit you for your entire order! Wow.
Contact Info
5-05 Saddle River Rd.
FairLawn, NJ 07410
USA
Customer Service: 1-201-475-7800
Email: sales@presentsforyou.com
Conclusion
This is neither the best site on the net nor the biggest, but I am loyal to them because they truly care about my satisfaction. They have a nice variety of items and their prices are reasonable, often lower than most sites. They stand by their returns policy and they go out of their way to make sure you are happy. Not many websites, large or small, do that these days. I have had battles with sites that front multi-million dollar companies and I have had battles with little sites that should be trying hard to keep me as a customer. At PresentsForYou, I never had a battle. Even when I was a bit snippy, they weren't. They were gracious and accommodating.
I recommend shopping at this site for the items but more, because they're a small site that cares and they should be recognized for their business ethics by patronizing them over the huge sites that think of you as a number.
I give this site 5 stars. Nothing beats the personal touch they give and, to me, that is the key to a great online experience.
Recommended:
Yes
