Shining Stars Penguin

It is soft and cute but the site is kind of a let down

I bought this "toy" as an anniversary gift for my boyfriend (cheesy, I know). I was going to do the International Star Registry gift certificate but thought a cute option was much better than shelling out nearly for a piece of paper. However, the site has serious technical problems. I logged on with my "secret code" and named my animal and chose my constellation. However, I was never given star coordinates. I went to print out my certificate and the constellation is listed, but the coordinates box is left blank. My star chart also shows no star. I emailed customer service, who were responsive, but it is now nearly three days later and I have been assigned no less than four accounts and have bought another bear to try again to no avail. I am calling again tomorrow, as I am a customer who simply wants the product she paid for. There were no coordinates assigned to any of the accounts created for me. I don't know how it happened, and I'm not sure customer service does either. In short, it's been a frustrating experience for something that should be very simple. Buyer beware I'm not sure the technical aspects are quite up to par yet.

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Their Website is junk and does not work with any kind of consistency. I have several computers and we tried all of them and were only able to get on one time, and now can't get back on. I've tried contacting their online support through their email system to no avail.

My son used his allowance money to buy two of these Shining Stars things. He loves Webkins and thought they would be similar. He is bitterly disappointed and I'm very annoyed.

Do yourself a favor, buy Webkins and avoid this junk like the plague. And tell all your friends!

Read Best Reviews of Shining Stars Penguin Here

Shining Stars is Russ Berrie's answer to the Webkinz by Ganz. It is a stuffed animal that contains a code that will grant you access to an online world. The website is not up to speed, but the plans they have for it are very exciting. A lot more thought and design are going into the worlds you create than just decorating a room and the animals themselves can have different personalities based on what characteristics you give them. You earn glow points by making wishes and playing games. You can then spend your glow points or you can donate them and make a contribution to a real charity. It is a very nice animal, very soft and cuddly. The best part is getting to name a star. It costs $55 dollars to name a star with the registry, but with this product it is included. They give you the coordinates and you can print out a star chart with the location. You even get to choose which constellation your star is near! This is the next big thing, so be ahead of the fad!

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The toy itself is fine but the website is worthless. We were unable to get to the main page. The help desk told us to access the site without using our internet provider. Apparently some people are accessing the website via magic. Anyway we are taking this toy back and getting a Webkinz instead.

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