At Books From the Hearth you get the BEST personalized service!
Written: Feb 04 '08
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My first experience with Books From the Hearth was when I ordered a personalized Disney book through another website. I had no idea at the time that they were a third-party and that the book would actually be coming from Books From the Hearth. When I received the book, it was the wrong book and had incorrect personalization. This was about a week before Christmas, so I was disappointed thinking that I wouldn’t have my gift to give. I got no response to e-mails or calls to the website that I originally ordered it from. Then I noticed a small bookmark noting that it was a Books From the Hearth product. After leaving a message, the owner of the online store called me back promptly the next day. She was incredibly friendly, explained that the books I had requested had been damaged but that the third-party dealer had said I had ok’d the change – not so! But I told her I would accept the different book so long as the personalization was corrected. She corrected the personalization and shipped me the book priority – I had it in 3 days and in plenty of time for Christmas! She also took care of billing the third-party for the changes, so I paid no additional shipping or anything! I was impressed.
So impressed, in fact, that I decided to take a look directly at the Books From the Hearth store online. They have a great selection of personalized children’s products, including toddler, Disney, adventure and pop-up books, journals, CDs, stickers, bookmarks, handprint poems, DVDs, tote bags and even Santa letters! The website is very easy to navigate because there is a product bar along the left side of the screen. Simply click on the link for the product you’re interested in and you’ll be brought to a screen where all variations of that product available are listed with pictures, features, any required personalization wait times and prices.
Prices vary widely according to the product and whether or not it has licensing (i.e. Disney or other) involved. I paid $15.95 for a 101 Dalmatians personalized book on my first order. When I went back, I paid $15.95 for a Power Rangers personalized book and $29.95 for a Disney Princess Music CD. I thought they were all reasonable, especially for the special gift you receive. I watched my niece as she was read her 101 Dalmatians book on Christmas and she was absolutely mesmerized by the fact that her name and the names of some of her friends were in the story! The look on her face was priceless, as was my other niece’s joy at hearing her name many times throughout the Disney Princess CD. She talks to me about it all the time and wonders “how I did that?” I anticipate the same sort of reaction for my nephew’s Power Ranger book, but it has not yet been gifted.
The quality of the books I ordered is good – not the best, but still good. They are sturdy hardcover with paper pages, much like Dr. Seuss books. My niece is not the most gentle little girl and she hasn’t yet managed to rip hers, although they don’t let her have it by herself all the time either. The CD, although I only heard 1 song off of it, sounded just like other children’s CDs that I’ve heard. It does come in an extremely thin jewel case which is not the best for little hands, but it could be easily transferred to another case. My other niece and her mom have certainly had no complaints.
You have the option of paying via a secure credit card checkout or Paypal once you’ve selected your items. You also have various shipping options – Media, First Class, Priority, Express. Unless stated otherwise or if you choose to pay for a “Rush,” most items are stated as being processed and ready to ship within 2-5 business days. I received the book and CD from my order in less than 2 weeks using Media Mail. I was very pleased with the quick response because you often can wait much longer for personalized gifts unless you do Rush orders.
There are a few other cute things on the site: printable alphabet coloring pages, articles on reading, a link to the owner’s blog. A few others, such as links to promotions by Scholastic books, seem to be in need of updating, but it’s really the products you’re there for anyway.
I love that the owner has chosen to be very up front about the business, there are easy links to find contact information (mailing, phone and email), and a helpful FAQ containing shipping costs, information about mistakes in printing (they’ll fix their mistakes for free and yours for minimal cost) and how to order via mail. But most of all, I love how I was treated when I ran into the snag before Christmas. You can’t beat good customer service, especially these days. I highly recommend Books From the Hearth for your personalized children’s gift needs.
Books From the Hearth
www.booksfromthehearth.com
P.O. Box 2233
Flagstaff, AZ 86003
Phone: (928)607-1808 or Toll Free: (888) 228-3046
Recommended:
Yes
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mjtriplett
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Member: Mel
Location: Minnesota
Reviews written: 291
Trusted by: 93 members
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