CSN Stores Review and GIVEAWAY!!!

I told you this review was coming over a month ago, and finally it is here! I hope it was worth waiting for!! I was given an opportunity to review an online shopping experience with CSNstores.com. If you havent heard of CSNstores before, you are missing out! With over 200 stores all in one place, you can buy nearly anything you want without leaving your house-which is very important to me, a mother of 3, living 30 miles from town!

It's the middle of birthday season around here. My birthday and my brother's was 6/21, my nephew, MIL, and sister all share 7/7 as their birthday, another nephew is the 22nd and my brother on the 28th. So yeah, that's a lot of people to buy for in a short amount of time, not to mention Mini's birthday is in August, kicking off birthday season #2.

When I shop I like to get the perfect gift. Who doesnt? I will go to a store and consider nearly every option. My biggest problem is that I wonder if there is something better at the NEXT store. That requires me to pack up all 3 kids and drive to the next place, only to realize that the first store's gift was the better deal-and is gone by the time I return. *Sigh* CSNstores.com helped so much this year! I STILL had to look through all the options, stores, and ideas, which is why this review took me so long. But, in the end I am very pleased at my selections.

So my thoughts on the shopping this time. I tried to use the 'Gift Giving Guide' and I have to admitt I was disappointed in the ideas. There were girls items {pink} in the boy's guides, and trucks on the girls guides. Save for a few items, the guides had all the same things on them. And, even though there are thousands of awesome items for sale on their site, the same items were listed 2 and 3 times out of only 50. I was also increasingly annoyed at the amount of items listed as out of stock. What is most frustrating, is that CSNstores has a GREAT inventory at very competitive prices, but it's so hard to find the items that I am sure many buyers give up. I hope they will work to improve that!

I received a 25.00 shopping spree for the purpose of review, and decided to combine my own cash to reach the 69.00 threshold for free shipping, since I had so many gifts to buy. I received my purchase very quickly, but am still awaiting 2 items that were back ordered. I didnt know they were back ordered, so I contacted customer service to let them know I didnt receive 2 of my puzzles. They were very prompt and friendly in their reply. I was extended a coupon for 10% off my next purchase and they said that I should receive my items in August.

So what did I get?? I picked out this awesome puzzle for my nephew who just turned 3 and, of course, had to get one for our school. LOVE it!!



It is a Kid O Matching Shades Puzzle. It retails for 13.99, and is a GREAT buy. It is so sleek and colorful, and very well made. The kids were drawn to it right away and enjoyed mixing and matching the different colors.



The second was the Kid O Short to Tall Puzzle. It costs just 9.99, but is a nice, quality item. It's made of wood, and though it is made in China, paint falls well below European toxicity standards, which are stricter than those in America.



I picked up this Kid O Sorting Primary Colors Stacker for Mini's birthday, so its not open yet, but I like the way it looks in the package. It was slightly smaller then I had expected, but still nice. And, yes, if you are noticing a trend in Kid O products, you will realize that the 'Related Items' feature was working VERY well.




What I am still waiting on are two of this puzzle. The Kid O Recognizing Shapes Puzzle. Priced at 9.99 and listed as still in stock, though I dont know if that's true.

And a few thoughts on Kid O products. LOVE THEM. I dont own all their products *yet* but they have moved to the top of my list of must own kids toys. I love the the Montessori feel to their designs, and my kids loved them. I even had ideas for some extension cards I think I can make with these.

So....the part you have been waiting for...the GIVEAWAY!!! CSNstores.com has graciously offered to give one of you a 25.00 shopping spree to use on your own must have purchases. Here's how to enter:

Visit CSNstores.com and tell me what you would purchase!

For extra entries

1. Follow or subscribe to Our Country Road {2 entries}.
2. Put my bloggy button on your blog & tell me where to find it {3 entries}.
3. Vote for Our Country Road on Top Mommy Blogs {brown button on the side bar} 1 entry, can be done once a day.
4. Enter any other giveaways on my blog {one entry per giveaway entered}.

This giveaway will end August 3rd and is open to readers from the US & Canada. This giveaway is for a one time use 25.00 electronic code that can be used towards a purchase of any amount, but does not cover shipping. Good Luck and God Bless!!