I've never ordered from Rainbow Resource...

[momto4kings]

I've never ordered from Rainbow Resource before. I seem to remember hearing on here that it takes forever to receive the order. If I order this week, will my stuff come before mid-August?

[ubermomto5]

some of your things will come quickly...some of it may take a while. i had an order for developmental math that took months to get here...in fact, i think i finally cancelled it. but the rest of the order (art supplies, workbooks) came within a week.

i'm in ca too, so geography can't be it!

[historybuffmom]

Here's another perspective--I've ordered from Rainbow Resource for years and never had anything come late. Maybe it's geography? I'm in California.

[JaniceO]

I think it depends on whether or not anything in your order is backordered or out of stock. I've ordered things from them several times, and as long as I pay for the shipping (I have a FPO address, so they ship free shipping to ME using media mail, which can take 2-3 months; this is not the case for the continental US though), I don't have any problems. I've noticed that they don't charge my credit card until they ship my order. They've held it twice for out of stock items, but both orders were shipped within a week of my backorder notice.

[Michelle in MO]

always been very reliable. Sometimes it does take up to a couple of weeks, but they have the best prices around, and of course their catalog is the size of a huge telephone book! If something is backordered, it does take longer, but in general I've always been very pleased with their prices and service.

[Alice]

Similar to the others...when I ordered I got most everything very quickly (1-2 weeks) but then there was one item that I didn't get for a few months. The one confusing thing is that it wasn't clear to me when I got the original package that there was something that was backordered. I had made a biggish order and the item that didn't come at first was a small thing. I actually completely forgot about it and then it was nice surprise when it did arrive a few months later. :)

[TraceyS/FL]

Its normally depends on where they are in orders.

 

They have this posted to their home page right now.

 

Orders are leaving our warehouse 1 week or less from when they are entered

 

If i'm in a major hurry, i pay the $10 to have my order processed at the front of the line. If you call your order in they will tell you about backorders - and you can decide if you want to leave that off the order or not. THey will hold your order for a week to see if anything comes in that was on backorder.

 

I know others have had horrid experiences, but they have been one of the nicest companies i have dealt with in recent times Customer Service wise.

 

So if you have to to have something by a certain date - i'd call the order in, or call and check stock - i've done that too!

[SheilaZ]

They just shocked me last week. I placed the order Monday morning and the box arrived on Friday.

 

I was so impressed and glad too because the boys are off to the farm this week and I can plan to my heart's content.

[sadiegirl]

I placed an order about 2 weeks ago for about 7-8 items and received it this past week with only 1 item out of stock. I have always had great luck with them but after reading some comments about people's experiences, I was nervous about getting my order in time this year. No problem here, though!

[threetreasurs]

I've also ordered for years and my books always arrive promptly. (I'm in the Midwest.)

[Zoraida]

I think the back orders are the problem. I can order with them on a Monday and recieve my items by Friday or Saturday and I live in Texas. I placed an order 5 weeks ago and they said an item would be on back order. I called them two weeks later to find out about my back order and they said I would recieve it by the middle of July. I recieved it yesterday and was very happy.

 

Blessings

 

Zoraida

[HSDCY]

I have ordered from them for the past 4 years and never had any problems with them. I just placed my order on Monday and today I received an email from them telling me that there is one item on backorder. They told me they will hold all my items for 5 days to see if they can get that one item, if not, they will ship the rest of the order to me first and ship the backordered item later with no additional cost.

[momto4kings]

Thank you all for taking the time to respond. I can see why so many order from RR--almost everything I need is offered there and at a discount. I stayed up past 2 am loading my shopping cart. I haven't placed the order (wanted to sleep on it before spening hundreds of $), but I now feel more at peace about ordering from them.

[kailuamom]

You can call them the day after you place the order and ask if there are any backordered things. If there are, you can just ask them to cancel those items if you want it to come sooner (rather than them holding the whole order waiting for the items). That is what I just did (only 2 items out of about 22 were backordered).

 

I have never had a problem, even when I lived in Hawaii. (I paid the extra for priority shipping and always got it really quickly.)

 

Good luck!

[CactusPair]

Almost ways get mine within a few days if the items are in stock. I live in the midwest, so that might explain the quick arrival. I order birthday and Christmans presents from them, too, I trust them so much.:)

[Mom-ninja.]

They do have good prices and I order from them often. However, be sure to check Amazon as well. I have found some things on Amazon cheaper than Rainbow. Also, with Amazon you can usually get free shipping over $25.

 

So now when I need/want something I check the price on both sites...figuring in the cost of shipping (or lack of cost)

[Mostlyamom]

When I went to the convention this year, I put a pile of stuff down and accidentally picked up two high school planners that I didn't need and didn't plan to buy. And I accidentally paid for them as I didn't notice them being rung up at the register. Rainbow Resource extended wonderful grace to me and allowed me to return them even though I had lost the register receipt. Really, they are a class act!

 

Pat

[Debbie in OR]

I'd say we have about 50/50 right away/very long time. It's wierd...some books arrive quickly, others (even books that are not back-ordered) can take weeks. I am currently waiting for the 3rd part of an order I placed in June: the bulk of the books came right away, the back-ordered books a week later and the final book is still not here. But, by and large, I have been happy with their service.

[Melinda S in TX]

I ordered from RR two weeks ago. It took nine days for me to get my order, but nothing was on backorder.

 

Melinda S in TX

[kailuamom]

They do have good prices and I order from them often. However, be sure to check Amazon as well. I have found some things on Amazon cheaper than Rainbow. Also, with Amazon you can usually get free shipping over $25.

 

So now when I need/want something I check the price on both sites...figuring in the cost of shipping (or lack of cost)

 

:iagree: This is exactly what I do. I did find some of the things I wanted cheaper on Amazon this year. I also check barnes & noble online (bn.com) -- they have free shipping over $25, too.

[OnTheBrink]

Bear in mind, they're a family-run business. During convention season through the end of the summer, things can take a bit longer to process. That said, I've been ordering from them since 2001 and I've never had a problem with orders. I placed an order at the convention in MO and got all but 2 items within 10 days. One backordered item came a week later and I'm still waiting on one more.

 

I think they're a great company and do a phenomenal job, considering how large their client base has become.

[stacey05]

I have a good success with ordering from them.