woodenwagon and rainbow stacker

[amandaleigh37]

I purchased the extra large rainbow stacker for my son's birthday from thewoodenwagon.com - and am very disappointed in it. The pieces are not symmetrical and do not stack in either direction. If you turn a piece around, it does not fit together at all. Seems to be likely very frustrating for a toddler who is just learning to stack these....

I asked around to other people who have this toy and they said that theirs does not have this problem, and it does stack fine if you turn an arch around.

So I contacted the store and they said I could exchange it, ship it back at MY expense ($10+) and get a new one. But also that they could not check it before sending so the new one might be the same way. Ummm? I was not happy with this, and told them so, but received no response.

This is really frustrating. Has anyone else had this problem? My son's birthday is today and this is his gift.

[amandaleigh37]

I should also mention that I understand with handmade items that perfect symmetry is not necessary or even desireable! (I also make & sell wooden toys, so I do understand this!) So I would expect some variance, but from the photos & description I would not expect it to only fit one way.

So I guess my point of posting is to find out from those who own this toy - does yours fit together both ways? Or is this "normal" for this stacker? Trying to decide if I should push on returning this or not, either way I will not buy from this store again after their lack of response

[boatbaby]

That IS disappointing! Ours fits together any old way. I can see that it would be frustrating if it didn't work properly, it's never good to have a frustrating toy.
I don't have any advice on this transaction, but I can say that much of what Wooden Wagon sells you can get at A Toy Garden is Sonya is the BEST customer service merchant I have ever dealt with.
I hope it all works out for you!

[JudiAU]

Are you talking about the one by Grimm $72?

We have the "large" not giant size and they stack fine. We have all four elements and they are really awesome actually. How young is your toddler? Ist birthday or second iid actually suggest getting a few of the large ones instead. Endless play. But I think the smaller ones might be more easily manipulated. Don't give up. I am looking at our play mat right now and our three year old has fire (terrible accident) and water (beach vacation) and rainbow (hippo bed) and the wooden cups (boats) all in play. Poor kid. It took 90 minutes to get his sister to sleep.

But yes. Rainbow does not need to be rotated to fit. It sounds like you is warped. The others require more skill but not rainbow.

[amandaleigh37]

Yes the Grimm's one... the giant rainbow stacker. I did (after sending another email) get a replacement from Woodenwagon, but this one is exactly the same. I'm not wasting my time trying to return yet again, but am very diappointed for the $$ I spent on it... I know it frustrates ME when I am putting toys away. Oh well..

[Tashakittie]

How annoying! I've bought Grimm's toys from them in the past, and when they've arrived, they were fine and not wrapped in any kind of sealed plastic- they were in perfect condition wrapped in brown paper, in the shipping box. I never purchased the rainbow, but even still! I don't understand why they couldn't check the darn thing to ensure customer satisfaction! Seems so foolish. For that kind of $, I would be furious, too. And, when you see the pictures of this toy being played with, it is very open-ended, beautiful and creative. For the money you spend on, who wouldn't want their child to get the most out of it? Sorry you had such a frustrating experience, Mama.

[TulsiLeaf]

Originally Posted by amandaleigh37

Yes the Grimm's one... the giant rainbow stacker. I did (after sending another email) get a replacement from Woodenwagon, but this one is exactly the same. I'm not wasting my time trying to return yet again, but am very diappointed for the $$ I spent on it... I know it frustrates ME when I am putting toys away. Oh well..

Thats really annoying!

The thing that really bothers me sometimes with buying wooden toys is that they are not properly sanded. I bought some Imaginplay toys for my daughter and while they are really cute toys, they are rough! I actually had to sand some bits (at the cost of sanding some colour off) because it would have caused splinters.


I know that you don't want the hassle of returning it again, but I would shoot the shop an email explaining your disappointed and that you will not be returning your business there again.

[melamama]

I want to mention that we have a smaller rainbow stacker, and it is not symmetrical. There clearly is a correct way to fit the arches together, and it doesn't really look proper when they're not facing all the same way.

We've had the toy for 7 years now and it is currently being used by our fourth child. They all have figured out that there is a better way for the rainbow to fit together, and a not so good way. Not endless frustration. Not a big deal.

Bummer about the customer service you received though.