KiwiCo craft crates

[lastonetime]

Morning!

Just wondering if anyone has experience with KiwiCo and their craft crates, wondering about signing up DD, she will be two at the end of the month, so not sure if I should go for the panda or koala crate, if they are worth the money and what the customer service is like?

Had a bit of a nightmare with a previous subscription so nervous of messed up deliveries

TIA

My mum sometimes gets Kiwi crates for my kids. My 6 year old has always loved them but he was never younger than 4 with them. My daughter loved her last one (at 3 years old) but before then had zero interest. I'd say the Koala crate will be too complex for a 2 year old, but you could try the Panda and see how she goes with it. You can always change the subscription?

Delivery has never been a problem for us with them at least.

Their customer service is very good, and they seem quick to resolve any problems. However, like most subscription services they're over priced, as you're paying for the convenience.

My 9 and 7 year olds have been getting them for a year (a christmas present from an aunt). They get the Kiwi and Tinker crates. They absolutely adore them, there's huge excitement when they arrive and they always sit down and work right through everything in them, they never lose interest halfway through. I'm a huge fan of the whole thing (though in fairness that's easy when I'm not paying for them!).

Thanks all, I might see if I can get one koala one and see what she thinks.
I love the idea because I do struggle to think of things to keep her entertained sometimes!

Hi @lastonetime, how did you get on with your KiwiCo subscription?

I'd be curious about their Panda crates (0-2yrs) - has anyone got experience and thoughts?

I was looking into lovevery.com and really like their philosophy (the price not so much), but they seem to be USA based only. Ideally, I'd like a UK equivalent, as custom shipping from Lovevery will not be practical...

Never went ahead in the end, because she'd just turned two I wasn't sure which crate to get 😔

We get a Panda Crate for DD. I think it's really good, the stuff is good quality and there are cards with lots of ideas on how to use the various bits. DD enjoys playing with the stuff inside.

Hello, sorry to jump on an old thread but with the bad weather and new restrictions, I’m thinking of getting a Kiwi crate for my six year old son. Just weighing up the cost. For those of you that get them delivered to the UK, do you have to pay any additional import costs upon arrival? Thanks.

Just been looking into Kiwi Crates myself and wondering the same. They're shipped from the US, so has anyone ever had to pay customs upon receipt in the UK?

I’ve created a new thread just now, hoping to get more traction there rather than on this older thread.

Hi, I can't find your new thread but wanted to share the reply I got from KiwiCo:

"We list the value of crates shipping internationally as US$15.

"Please be aware that customers outside the U.S. are responsible for any duties or taxes upon import. If you are concerned about being charged additional fees, please review your country's value threshold for international shipments before ordering."

According to .gov (www.gov.uk/goods-sent-from-abroad/tax-and-duty), VAT is applied on goods worth more than £15 and there's no customs duty on anything under £135.

We’ve had a Kiwi Tinker crate subscription for the last year. DS has loved it. He really looks forward to them coming and they are very well thought out. Total including shipping for the 12 months worked out at about £15 per crate, which I felt was good value for what you get in them.

We have never had to pay customer etc, but each crate would be below the threshold anyway.

They usually have some offers this month. Just signed up to the next 12 months with FAMILY which knocked about 20% off. Not sure if it’s still valid.

NB in the checkout process, don’t get too used to the price until you get to the end. Shipping does add a huge amount on.

(customs, not customer)

Thanks to you both. I emailed KiwiCo too but they didn’t mention the fact that they put $15 as the value. That is good to know. Royal Mail normally add a £8 handling fee too. Now I just have to decide whether to try it out! If you do then let me know how it goes!!

Why would Royal Mail add an £8 handling fee? Isn't it treated like any other parcel coming from the States? I've never had to pay a handling fee on post from the US. Very curious about this!

Not sure but I ordered some kids’ clothes from the US, had a small amount of customs vat to pay on top before delivery and Royal Mail charged me an additional £8 handling fee. They wouldn’t have charged me the handling fee if the parcel had been below the customs vat threshold though.