This was my first and last time ordering from this company. I placed an order with no indication that one of the items was on backorder and only found out after receiving a partial shipment. I was charged the full (and very high) shipping cost for the single item that arrived, while the main item I ordered -- the robotic kitty -- will not be back in stock until February. Trying to reach customer service has been extremely frustrating, and the lack of transparency and communication throughout this process has been disappointing. I will be sticking with Fat Brain Toys moving forward, where I have consistently had great experiences and have never encountered issues like this. read more

They cancelled my order THREE TIMES!!!! No explanation as to why and they didn't even tell me it was cancelled. I had to check online when it would be arriving to find out it was canceled. Customer service was no help at all!!! So now my daughter won't have what she wanted from Santa. Terrible company!!! read more

We ordered a few toys in November and they came just fine Paid an arm and a leg on shipping,but that's on us. Thougjt we would support a small business instead of Amazon. We got a notice from Discover that this company charged our account for a "rewards program" for $21.00. We did not sign up for any rewards program. We called the company and they just act like they don't have any idea what's going on Canceled our Discover card, because We don't want this scam company having our credit card info. Do not buy from this joke of a business. Save yourself the trouble. We got this notice from Discover on December 29th. We ordered the toys over a month ago. They tried to pull a fast one read more

I ordered a package Lil wish lanterns on the 10th paid extra for rush delivery, don't know where my package is

Stay away!! Terrible customer service! I ordered toy 7 days ago and it is not here yet... I was just told to be patient and it will come in few more days. shipping cos $14.99 + carrie surgeries $1.99 (standard shipping for eastern time zone is advertised on their website is 3-5 days). I called and asked for reimbursement of shipping fee since item is running late and they offered $3.00. This is insulting! read more

I would not order from here again. Use the catalog and Order elsewhere . Returns cost too much. read more

DO NOT ORDER FROM THIS COMPANY!!!! I ordered three personalized items. The name plate on all three were misspelled, even though the packaging had the correct spelling. Their solution was to refund the items, then re-ship them while recharging my credit card. So, I would have two of each item. I JUST WANT THE CORRECT NAME PLATE. Why would I want them in and out of my credit card when they couldn't get a simple name plates correct. VERY DISAPPOINTING CHRISTMAS!!!@@ read more

Worst company ever. I ordered 3 weeks before Christmas. It said shipping in 3 days. I got a notice in the mail on 12/26 that they were out of stock and sorry they didn't ship the items. I ordered all items on amazon and was able to get them prior yo Christmas. read more

placed a large order back on November 30th. Confirmation email received soon afterwards. When another order l placed with them showed that it was being delivered, I went to the website to question why I had still not received a shipping notification. This was on December 13th. Today I received their reply that the order was cancelled due to a 'billing error'. Fifteen days after | placed that order I am finally told there was a billing error?? So l called their Customer Service number, on my question to find out exactly what the error was - especially since my earlier order went through just fine with the identical info. Spoke to 3 different Customer Service agents (apparently the first 2 didn't want to deal with me so they simply transferred me - I was annoyed yet polite since I knew it wasn't their fault). It seems the company didn't like my billing address being a PO Box - although again, the first order went through just fine. They kept telling me they could reorder the items... no thanks! Especially since my billing info would be the same as I initially gave them. I do not believe they even TRIED to run my credit card - it would have gone through if they did. A VERY unreliable company that I will definitely be avoiding (even with having 8 grandchildren!) in the future. BUYER BEWARE! read more

I placed an order for all of my grandsons Christmas presents and didn't have any updates or shipping confirmation a week later. I checked the order status and it was cancelled. I called and they set up the whole order again and offered free express shipping. I checked 2 days later for status and it was cancelled again. Thank goodness I checked or I wouldn't have had anything. I've never had such a terrible experience with ordering from any company read more

I would not recommend this business. Their customer service is dismal. The return label via email that they said they were going to send never arrived. Hard to return items. As for the toys that I ordered. The charge you for the shipping both ways. There are other vendors, that carry the same items that have the same toys for less with free shipping and free returns. Would not recommend. read more

I am being charged $19.95 a month for something I did not sign up for and unable to get in touch with the company. It says "mailbox full" and gives no alternative. Very, very disappointed and feeling scammed. Kristen Peterson read more

My experience with Young Explorers has been bad on every front. I paid for expedited shipping and, several days later, it still hasn't been shipped. I emailed to cancel my order and they said they couldn't cancel it at that point of the ordering process. Flash forward several weeks and my item finally arrives. There is a return slip inside the package but the instructions are so confusing. No reference to which carrier the return is through, what the price for return shipping is, whether there is a prepaid shipping label option, etc. I called customer service and they said to take it to any carrier and they'd ship it (no payment from me) and then YE would deduct $12.99 from my refund. I still feel like this is incorrect so I emailed customer service also to see if they give me a different answer. All in all, they are difficult to work with and it's been a very frustrating experience. DO NOT RECOMMEND! read more

Like so many other posts... I have repeat of 2 poor experiences Ordered a gift last year, and ended up enrolled in a VIP program that charged my card without me knowing it. Thankfully it wasn't too hard to get that reversed, though still a pain, but I decided to give them another try, reading the fine print better... Ordered my son's most desired Christmas gift from them this year, got a confirmation saying a shipping email would come next.... 5 days later no email... looked up my order and, it says backordered!!! No contact or communication from the company at all and now I can't find the gift (which was previously also on a number of other sites, with $10 price). Communicate with your costumers! You are this years grinch that stole christmas in this household. Will never try to buy anything from here again. read more

Be careful ordering here. You will get enrolled in a discount program automatically charged to your credit card every month until you catch it and then try to get the charges to stop. read more

Wish I could give zero stars. Bad quality - neither of the 2 things I bought didn't do half of what they said they would do like climb walls or fly. Also, time before you had to recharge was repeatedly like maybe 10 minutes - what kid wants to play with a drone or car for 10 minutes and then has to recharge before they can play with it again?!?! I had to pay quite a bit for initial shipping I'll never get back, and it cost me over $30 for return shipping because of the length of the box. Pretty ridiculous for things that just didn't work well and needed returned. And now I wait up to 6 weeks for a refund? Hope it comes or my credit card will remove the charge - I'm not confident! read more

Shipping. They take the order and then don't ship it for a few days and then it takes 2 weeks for fedex to deliver the 3.15 lb package. Ordered in 12/15 and won't deliver until 12/27...after Christmas. Young Explorers prides themselves as educational, so I will use their poor business model as a teaching moment for my grand kids, since they won't be playing with the toys Christmas day. read more

I ordered on December 10th and pd for 2 day express shipping. 7 days later and my order has not even shipped. Horrible experience. Gifts probably won't be here by the 24th at this rate! Still waiting..... save yourself the trouble and don't order from Young Explorers! read more

I purchased two toys for a total of $44.92, with $4.23 in taxes, $12.99 for shipping, and $2.50 for a "carrier imposed surcharge" for a total of $64.64. I was enticed into giving my email address for a 10% discount. (FL 7% taxes should have been $3.14). I was also offered free shipping , but I did not realize it came with a monthly $21.35 membership. Young Explorers has been charging my card that membership for 13 months. I never got the 10% discount nor the free shipping. The company said I did not claim my rewards, and now it is too late since more than 2 months have passed. They only offer a 6 months refund for memberships after speaking to a supervisor. In the end, I have paid a total of $214.09 for two already expensive wooden and foam items costing $44.92. Not fair! Read the fine print. Expensive items, shady practices. read more

I received an order from YE that was canceled by phone with a YE representative. The YE rep was too interested in upselling to get this order and payment information correct. After some frustrating attempts to remedy the problem, I canceled the order. YE sent the package anyway. When investigating how to return the unwanted package, YE's website mentioned a prepaid FedEx return label. No links or directions to the label were provided. I called YE. The CSR advised there was no prepaid FedEx label unless YE sent one. YE would deduct $10.50 from the refund amount. YE suggested pay for the return shipping using USPS and insure the package. I used the USPS calculator and determined the cost with insurance would be ~$22. In summary, I received a canceled order and it will cost additional to return it. This is NOT 100% satisfaction in any way. I cannot recommend Young Explorers read more

Terrible, confusing catalogue. I gave up trying to order gifts for my grandchildren for Christmas. Very disappointing. Jennifer read more

They falsely claim satisfaction guarantee. There is no way to return. You will get customer service person in China who will say that they will submit a return request but there is no guarantee Do not waste your money. Find the toy on Amazon because Amazon will honor the return. Young Explorers has dismal customer service. I spent 2-3 hours on the phone and on computer. They promise a return label, but never send it. Do not buy from this company. The item cost $70, but will cost me $85 to return, it was flimsy. I have to keep It. read more

Young Explorers - Young Explorer magazind. - Toy Stores Near Me - Chelmsford, Massachusetts

I ordered so I thought toys for Christmas 2 weeks ago. they took my order, credit card info but couldn't give me an order number as they were having technical difficulties. I called 10days later as I never received a confirmation. I was told someone would call me n the next week. No one did. i tried calling customers service several times no one gets back. This is going on over two weeks so I filled out an on line form , again no response I want to cancel my order if there even is one. unsettling as they have my credit card and contact info This seems like a bogus company And a scam. I will purchase these items on Amazon read more

Absolutely horrific customer services. Order was delayed 10 days, tracking system did not work, and I was on hold for 1 1/2 hours. Worst part - their website still has "order now and receive before Christmas" Do not order from this company read more

I guess I can only blame myself but somehow I ended up in their VIP Club, God knows what that is, and have suffered from recurring monthly charges. I thought all I did was order my grandson a toy and must have clicked a box or something. My CC bill runs 3-4 pages so that little $14 charge escaped my attention. My bad. I wrote to them when it came to my attention and got an auto reply that they were busy and would get back to me. Busy in March? After a week with no reply I called customer service. The only way to get someone to pick up is to act like you want to place an order. Once I did get through I was transferred two more times and the unprofessional, hacking her head off rep said she'd take care of it. I have yet to receive the confirming email from them so I guess I'll have to go the credit card dispute route. Catalog looks good but you need to look behind the curtain! read more

Worst experience ever. Returned home to find my package in my driveway in one of the worst rain storms this year. Not delivered to my door like I asked. You would think I would not have to ask to have front do delivery, when my first order (which was not even close to what I ordered) was found in the street. Stay far away from this company!!!!!!!!!!!!! read more

Young Explorers - Toy Stores Near Me - Chelmsford, Massachusetts

I don't know how i got on their mailing list, but i did and I foolishly ordered something for my child and something for my husband. Took a stupid long time to arrive and was incredibly poorly packaged so my gift was crushed. Hubby won't notice so i take out of the box to wrap. Pieces were missing!! After waiting two weeks why would I think they could fix it any faster? Nope. I almost made the same mistake today thinking it was a fluke...two years ago so you can't blame covid for their first issue with me. My child picked out what he wants santa to bring him. From young explorers catalog. I accidentally scrolled too far and came across their reviews. Thank God for that. The toy I need to buy is back ordered until December 21. Even if I was dumb enough to trust their date I know even with overpriced express shipping there is no way i will trust them for a second attempt read more

Be-aware! If you purchased something from Young Explorers club you might have been also enrolled into their VIP membership. It is not worth the $16.30 a month. As a matter of fact, we didn't even know we were members until I kept seeing the revolving charge each month. Unfortunately, part of the blame is on me for not questioning it earlier but my wife gives to a lot charitable organizations. BLUF: I should have questioned it sooner. read more

I ordered a toy for my nephew's birthday. After three weeks wait I called the company and was told the item was on "hold" supposedly because the shipping address was different from the billing address. Duh! It was a gift. I hung up and found the exact item oN Amazon for 20$ cheaper, so I recalled the company to cancel the order (not even 15 minutes later) and was told the item was already at the warehouse and could not be recalled. I insisted they cancel the order and after telling the merchant I wouldn't pay for it regardless he agreed to "try" and stop the order. I asked for an email to confirm the cancellation. None was forthcoming. Sure enough, two days later the charge appeared on my credit card. Luckily my bank is disputing the charge. This company is incompetent and totally dishonest. Avoid them at all costs . read more

Great from a visual look but horrible process and customer service! I placed an order on 11/30, a hold was placed on my card and then I checked this morning for an update and apparently the order was canceled on 12/8! No notification at all! They could have at least sent an email stating the product was discontinued so I could have started looking for another gift for my nephew for Christmas. The customer service rep was nice but she wasn't able to provide any details other than it was canceled and didn't appear to want to help me with any additional questions! SO DISAPPOINTED!!! Really liked the concept of this company! read more

Ordered a item for my nephew on Nov 28th, still not shipped on December 10th. I called them to verify that they had the item in stock when I placed the order on Nov 28th. Calling customer service is a complete waste of time. I had to speak to four different people and was told that the item was already shipped. However, the website says the order is "in process". I asked for the tracking ID and they hung up on me. read more

I was going to order a Big Wheel for my grandson until i read the reviews. I will go elsewhere. I dont have time for this kind of BS. Young Explorers can keep their toys. I dont see a review over two stars. What a statement to say RUN AWAY NOW!!! How sad. Glad i looked at the reviews.Currently their header on their homepage reads: Our warehouses are closed for annual inventory and will reopen Thursday, April 4th. Orders placed during this time will ship when our warehouses have resumed normal operations. Expedited orders will receive priority. All other orders will be processed in the order they were received. We apologize for the inconvenience REALLY? So glad i googled their reviews read more

I was charged twice for same item (only ordered one). I reached out to customer service multiple times and was given a different excuse each time. The boxes arrived without any packing slip. I called customer service again and was given an address of where to send the item for a refund. That was two months ago and I still haven't received a refund or any type of correspondence. When you call customer service, you speak with someone in another country with limited knowledge of the English language and there are chickens clucking in the background. I am 50 years old and this is the first negative review I have ever written. DO NOT DO BUSINESS HERE.....IT IS A SCAM!!!! read more

First if my niece had not called I would of never known that it wasn't delivered. 2, I never received an email or call to tell me it was on backorder. Nor did the online order status show a backorder status. I had them transfer me to a Manager and he was of little help. This is what I found out, they don't send emails, they don't have the capability. WTH! They alert the customer by postcard only if the backorder is over 30 days..WTH! Oh, he did tell me that 1 of the 3 was available and they would go ahead and ship it. Yeah So, now there are 2 little girls that look forward to Christmas and wont get this gift for a month after the holiday. It is obvious this company does not value their young customers. I will not order from here again. Good Luck to you if you do. read more

This business has excellent toy's but awful customer service. My Mom ordered several items last year she received everything but 1 item. They claimed it was on back order. My Mom didn't receive a refund or the item. read more

BE WARNED!!! HORRIBLE company! Do not waste your time. Believe the one star reviews and the consistent themes of horrible customer service and misrepresentations on shipping. It is regrettable the option does not exist to give zero or "negative" stars. I placed an order on Saturday, June 25, for a child's birthday party on Saturday, August 1. I paid for expedited shipping and received a confirmation email at that time. When the order had not arrived by the evening of Tuesday, June 28, I placed a call to the Customer Service line. The representative advised my credit card had not "processed" ....despite the fact I received a confirmation email. She advised the products would be shipped that morning to arrive within 24 hours. It is 36 hours later, the products have supposedly "just shipped" and will arrive by tomorrow. The representative did not have the tracking number. I asked to speak to a supervisor and was advised there is no supervisor. I will find an alternate gift for this sweet boy and will absolutely return the products....if they ever actually arrive. read more

I wanted to place an order in November for the princess vanity but was told the product was not in stock but they took my card info and said they would contact me/send when in stock. A couple days later I called to cancel order as I found same product at target for cheaper. They said they couldn't cancel because it was already shipped. No big deal, I'll just return it. It has now been almost TWO months since I have had this product, waiting to get a return label since it would cost me $73 to return. I keep being told they sent out a return label and to wait 7-10 business days. I just want this large product out of my house & my money back. Awful, awful customer service. read more

Wish I had read these reviews before ordering from Young Explorers! Needed a gift by Saturday so ordered it Wednesday morning and paid for 2-Day Express Delivery! They did not process my order until Friday and didn't ship it until Saturday. I received it Monday. When I contacted them, they didn't even apologize. They just explained their shipping process/schedule! This is the worst customer service I have experienced in a long time! I will never order from them again!!! Lawrence in VA read more

Very upset about my experience. Initially was told product was shipped June 6th. Then received letter in mail June 13th saying they couldn't deliver and needed me to call to confirm shipping address. Called same day (confirmed address - it was the same as originally stated) and was told the product was on back order until October and would then take 7 additional days to ship. I asked the customer service rep to repeat/paraphrase what she was saying a few times as I was in disbelief and confused how my June 6th delivery just turned into mid-October. Customer service rep kept repeating the same thing without any genuine concern. This was a birthday present for my nephew, which was now late. Very upset by my experience and will never do business with this company again. Needless to say, I cancelled the order. read more

Total rip off business They induced me to order their robot, offering that if I joined the VIP, they would deduct $24 from that order.. When I finally got the bill, they had charged me for the $24 No amount of calls to the department they call customer service, and which I call the Screw you department helped. They cheated me out of $24 and laughed about it. I should have read the reviews before dealing with this bunch of crooks. The only good thing is I now NEVER buy from the net without reading reviews read more