unique selection and prompt order fulfillment
Written: Dec 20 '04
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Onestepahead.com is a website that sells baby gear for babies aged 0 to 3. What originally drew me to this store is that they feature items that you won't find in big box stores for the most part. The site also has a tab for Leapsandbounds.com so you can easily switch over to that store (same company) and buy gifts for children ages 3 and older.
The site is very well organized in my opinion. If you have an item number from the catalog you can look that up by number. They have tabs along the top so you can start shopping by type of item you are looking for. The tabs are...
APPAREL
BATH AND HEALTH
FEEDING
GEAR NURSERY
PARENTING
TOYS
SAFETY SPECIALTY
OULTLET
HOLIDAY (during the holidays anyway)
Now I think that is pretty standard and a good way to get you started finding what you are after. However, what I really like are the alternative means of searching for products. I had to buy Christmas gifts for 3 babies and one toddler this year and I bought for each of them from this onestepahead.com. You can click links to shop by age, price, or category. Age and price are self explanatory, but category takes you to toys that are organized under different sub headings like, ride on, wooden, big, etc. I bought 4 gifts for 4 different little ones in a short amount of time just by selecting their age ranges.
The selection is the biggest draw to the site in my opinion. This isn't a site that just features the same selection as ToysRUs with free shipping or a small discount. You are getting things that are, if not unique then, not the kind of thing you are likely to come across. I love the idea that when I give a gift from here I won't see them open the same one at the same party. They are so dedicated to keeping a fresh and innovative selection that they offer a bounty if you can find good items that they don't know about yet. The Finder's Keeper's program as summarized from the website is as follows...
"Play Finder's Keepers...One Step Ahead/Leaps and Bounds is always on the lookout for new and innovative products...and sometimes you find them before we do! Be the first to tip us off - and if we add your suggested product to our catalog, you'll win a $250 One Step Ahead or Leaps and Bounds Gift Certificate."
In addition to the "Finder's Keeper's" bounty you can also join the affiliate program. The affiliate program allows you to earn money by placing an advertising banner for onestepahead.com or leapsandbounds.com on your website. You earn an 8% commission on products that you sell.
Onestepahead.com has an additional feature that I find very helpful. The have an entire section on how to shop smarter. This section features a new parent checklist and buying guides for a lot of items. Now I know people whose research consisted of going to BabiesRUs. I have heard, "I figure if they carry it then it is good." I guess that is OK for some people but I wanted good stuff and I wanted my money to be well spent. So if you are feeling a little overwhelmed why not check out guides like "How To Make Baby's Crib Safe & Secure", "How to Buy a High Chair", or "How To Choose the Best Toys for Your Baby." There are 37 different guides to choose from.
Ordering works the same as pretty much every website. As you shop you load up a virtual cart. When you are ready, choose to check out. You have a chance to review the items in your cart, pay, select mailing address and so on. I did find a bug related to this though. They advertise on the site that you an jump from onestepahead.com to leapsandbounds.com and back again, using the same cart. I wanted items from both sites and I wanted them in the same order since there was a free shipping offer on orders over $75. I found that when I loaded the cart from onesteapahead.com and then went to leapsandbounds.com all the items would still be there. So far so good. When I added an items from leapsandbounds.com it would wipe out the other items. I jumped back and forth adding items and removing duplicates and getting frustrated before I finally found a work around. I got the item # from leapsandbounds.com went over to onestepahead.com and searched for it there. The search engine found it and I was able to add it to my cart without wiping out the rest of my items.
The shipping from this site is based on the price of the order. My order was filled quickly and I had my packages in less than 7 days. The shipping costs schedule from the website is below...
Order Amt Standard Express
Up to $20.00 $5.20 $15.20
$20.01-$45.00 $7.30 $17.30
$45.01-$70.00 $9.40 $19.40
$70.01-$100.00 $11.50 $21.50
$100.01-$150.00 $13.60 $23.60
$150.01-$200.00 $15.70 $25.70
$200.01-$250.00 $17.80 $27.80
$250.01 and up $19.90 $29.90
This website has a few other miscellaneous functions. If you prefer paper, you can order a catalog. If you would like to be solicited from the site you can be added to the mailing list where you will get info on sales and highlighted products.
The customer service tab just says how important you are to them and offers a guarantee on all items that they sell. There return policy is full refund or exchange. Whatever you prefer. The one onestepahead.com customer service department can be reached by phone Monday through Friday from 7am to 7pm Central time at 1-800-950-5120. The technical support e-mail address is techspt@onestepahead.com. The customer service e-mail address is questions@onestepahead.com. You can also e-mail suggestions to feedback@onestepahead.com.
Overall I am big fan of this site and I highly recommend it. I like that I can give something a little more special and not the same thing that everyone else is giving, or that all the other kids already have. I also happen to think the items from this company are high quality. There is one drawback to this unique selection. If you have done a lot of research, on say a big tickets item, and now you want to buy it, chances are you won't find it here. I think this is great for toys and things but when I want highest rated, safest, and so on I usually have to go elsewhere.
Recommended:
Yes
What product did you purchase or try to purchase? school set, picnic set, teething toy, etc.
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some_guy5
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