ThinkGeek.com Service and Site Review
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When it comes to novelty stores, they are usually a dime a dozen, but once in awhile, one will stand out from the crowd. By targeting the right niche, novelty stores can do amazing business and ThinkGeek is one great example of a store that has managed to do just that. But are they worth all the hype they get? Let’s find out!!
ThinkGeek started as the effort of a few friends and was quickly purchased by Andover once they were mentioned on Slashdot. After that period, the store grew quickly and has been one of the only early stores in this niche to hang on. They’ve grown a lot over the years and continue to add new products on a regular basis. They’re well known for their quirky and pithy product descriptions, bizarre product range and their fun attitude.
If you’re ever curious about what goes on at their offices, check out their webcam!
When you first load the site, it’s obvious that the company doesn’t take itself too seriously and in this niche, that is a good thing. They’ve managed to walk that fine line of irreverent humor, never passing into whimsy. You can tell from the first glance that they know what they’re done, but they like to have fun while they are doing it.
They’ve done a great job with the various badges they use throughout the site to help increase confidence. New shoppers should feel pretty secure shopping here and although they didn’t put their toll-free number up in a prominent spot (more on that later) the graphics do make up for that to some extent.
One of the things we liked the most was that they are soliciting for product ideas. If you’ve got a burning idea, share it with them and you could get $250 for your trouble. That is a terrific way to make sure they always have fresh ideas coming in and there are few stores that do this. It really gives ThinkGeek the edge, especially in the internet community.
The site is designed quite well and they’ve managed to fit quite a few products into the main page without it feeling terribly cramped. The links for customer service are all quite visible, and the overall design is functional, cutting edge and well put together. The color scheme is decent and overall, we gave their total design an A.
Navigation is made easy by multiple menus, and then you can further narrow your search down. They’ve also made it easy to find gifts if you’re not a geek yourself. The individual product pages are clean and contain their usual pithy commentary that’s fun just to read. Think Woot with a little bit more sass and you have the general direction of their product descriptions.
This is actually pretty refreshing, especially since many sites fall into the trap of relying only on standard catalog copy or manufacturer descriptions. Since some of their products are a little off the wall, the descriptions really work.
You’ll find a wide variety of novelty merchandise and useful stuff here at ThinkGeek. From t-shirts proclaiming geekdom with pride, to shower heads that glow to indicate what temperature your water is, there is literally something for everyone here. They’ve done a great job in stocking some really off the wall items alongside things you can actually use every day.
From the world’s smallest USB drive to fluffy reproductions of viruses, the entire store is good for more than a few laughs. Programmers should definitely head for the caffeine category, where you can find caffeine candy (yum) and plenty of energy drinks to help fuel late nights of coding. We had no idea that there were that many caffeine products on the market.
The clearance section is pretty good and they do have some really good pricing there if you are looking for a great deal. Overall, most of their items are pretty well priced, so clearance bin rummaging isn’t really necessary. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, ask the staff and they’ll be able to point you in the right direction.
The help page is very well laid out and offers plenty of options for tracking orders, finding out about shipping times and getting more assistance. They do have a toll-free number, but we’d like to see it advertised just a bit more prominently. In order to find it you do have to click on Help. We would like to see it incorporated more onto the front page, since this would help increase consumer confidence in the store, at least for new buyers.
Old customers already know what to expect, but adding the phone number on the front page would certainly be helpful for those that have never dealt with the company. However, this is a minor flaw that is lessened by the fact that they do provide numerous contact options inside the help pages.
As long as products are returned in their original condition, you can get a full refund within 30 days of your purchase, minus shipping. They also offer exchanges and credits to use again in the store. They are a little more liberal if you received the wrong product, but that 30 day minimum is still going to apply.
This is a fun store with a ton of great products that you most likely won’t find anywhere else. We loved the product selection and found more than a few things that would make great gifts, although it would be hard to part with them. If you’re looking to let that inner geek loose, this is a great place to start.
The customer service here is great, the staff is friendly and they’ve done a very good job of putting a human face on their company. It is easy to see why ThinkGeek is so popular and if they keep it up, chances are they will be enjoying their success for many years to come.
About ThinkGeek
If you’re ever curious about what goes on at their offices, check out their webcam!
First Impression
When you first load the site, it’s obvious that the company doesn’t take itself too seriously and in this niche, that is a good thing. They’ve managed to walk that fine line of irreverent humor, never passing into whimsy. You can tell from the first glance that they know what they’re done, but they like to have fun while they are doing it.
They’ve done a great job with the various badges they use throughout the site to help increase confidence. New shoppers should feel pretty secure shopping here and although they didn’t put their toll-free number up in a prominent spot (more on that later) the graphics do make up for that to some extent.
One of the things we liked the most was that they are soliciting for product ideas. If you’ve got a burning idea, share it with them and you could get $250 for your trouble. That is a terrific way to make sure they always have fresh ideas coming in and there are few stores that do this. It really gives ThinkGeek the edge, especially in the internet community.
Site Design and Navigation
The site is designed quite well and they’ve managed to fit quite a few products into the main page without it feeling terribly cramped. The links for customer service are all quite visible, and the overall design is functional, cutting edge and well put together. The color scheme is decent and overall, we gave their total design an A.
Navigation is made easy by multiple menus, and then you can further narrow your search down. They’ve also made it easy to find gifts if you’re not a geek yourself. The individual product pages are clean and contain their usual pithy commentary that’s fun just to read. Think Woot with a little bit more sass and you have the general direction of their product descriptions.
This is actually pretty refreshing, especially since many sites fall into the trap of relying only on standard catalog copy or manufacturer descriptions. Since some of their products are a little off the wall, the descriptions really work.
ThinkGeek Products
You’ll find a wide variety of novelty merchandise and useful stuff here at ThinkGeek. From t-shirts proclaiming geekdom with pride, to shower heads that glow to indicate what temperature your water is, there is literally something for everyone here. They’ve done a great job in stocking some really off the wall items alongside things you can actually use every day.
From the world’s smallest USB drive to fluffy reproductions of viruses, the entire store is good for more than a few laughs. Programmers should definitely head for the caffeine category, where you can find caffeine candy (yum) and plenty of energy drinks to help fuel late nights of coding. We had no idea that there were that many caffeine products on the market.
The clearance section is pretty good and they do have some really good pricing there if you are looking for a great deal. Overall, most of their items are pretty well priced, so clearance bin rummaging isn’t really necessary. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, ask the staff and they’ll be able to point you in the right direction.
Customer Service
The help page is very well laid out and offers plenty of options for tracking orders, finding out about shipping times and getting more assistance. They do have a toll-free number, but we’d like to see it advertised just a bit more prominently. In order to find it you do have to click on Help. We would like to see it incorporated more onto the front page, since this would help increase consumer confidence in the store, at least for new buyers.
Old customers already know what to expect, but adding the phone number on the front page would certainly be helpful for those that have never dealt with the company. However, this is a minor flaw that is lessened by the fact that they do provide numerous contact options inside the help pages.
As long as products are returned in their original condition, you can get a full refund within 30 days of your purchase, minus shipping. They also offer exchanges and credits to use again in the store. They are a little more liberal if you received the wrong product, but that 30 day minimum is still going to apply.
Overall Opinion
This is a fun store with a ton of great products that you most likely won’t find anywhere else. We loved the product selection and found more than a few things that would make great gifts, although it would be hard to part with them. If you’re looking to let that inner geek loose, this is a great place to start.
The customer service here is great, the staff is friendly and they’ve done a very good job of putting a human face on their company. It is easy to see why ThinkGeek is so popular and if they keep it up, chances are they will be enjoying their success for many years to come.