My first official review

Surfing around the cat bloggosphere, I kept seeing reviews on other cat blogs from cat related products and I always thought, Hey! that I could do that.

Most of the reviews have been positive and I always thought, I wonder if they really are positive or if people just do that so more places will ask them to review things.  I also thought if I ever get a chance to do that I'll mention the good and the bad.

So here we go on my first official "please review my product" review.. (so yes, I got a code from them worth $50 to make this purchase but the opinions are all my own - well and Fleurps)

Big surprise.  *smile* 

I got this email on 1/26:
Hi Connie,

My name is Brent Rangen from www.MrChewy.com, an online pet food retailer offering over 70 brands of pet food, treats and supplies.

Your Tails from the foster kittens website speaks directly to our target demographic and you've clearly created an influential presence. I would like to offer you a $50 coupon to use on our website in exchange for an honest review of our services.

We have had a couple of bloggers use their promo code for contest sponsorship, which would be something you can feel free to do as well.

Unfortunately we are only able to ship to the US currently excluding AK & HI. Would this opportunity be something your website would be interested in participating in?

Let me know if you have any questions and I hope to hear you from you!

Best Regards,

Brent Rangen
Twitter.com/MrChewy
www.MrChewy.com

Well I'm nothing if not brutally honest, so I replied as such and Brent sent me the code anyway. He was sure that his company would preform well and get the 28 paws up (hey, that's what happens when you have seven cats)  So that night I went shopping and placed my order.

Well the first strike against them, no raw food.  *shucks*  OK so then I'll be buying for the foster kittens when they show up.

Second strike, the 15% off banner on the website. It looks like this...

I got a little excited thinking I'd get to buy almost $60 worth of food, so I clicked for more info and I read all the way to the bottom of the pop up till I found that you only get it if you buy autodelivery.  Now granted, this can be a really great feature, I just don't think you should bury the lead in such a way.

OK fine, I *only* get $50 worth of cat food.. (yes, you can laugh at me here)

So now what do I do?  I search for canned cat food, I see a number of different brands, I see a number of different flavors.. but if I just pick something and order it, is that really an interesting review?  so I decided to do something a little different.

Since I feed raw and have for years I'm a little out of the loop on what foods are out there.  I do get a small bag of dry food  to give as "treats" to my cats every couple of months.  It is the easiest way to gather all of my cats from all corners of the house for what ever reason.  I usually buy the first bag I find that doesn't have a plant as the first ingredient and isn't filled with fruits and veggies.  I'm a little particular when it comes to food for my crew, and I thought this would be an interesting chance to learn more about the foods out there.  So, meat as the first ingredient, not filled with fruits and veggies, and I would prefer it not to have fish or fish meal in it.  So I looked at the first five bags, and was a little annoyed at the process.  Click on an item, scroll down, click on ingredients, hit back start over.  Pretty standard, but my machine hadn't been rebooted in a while so it was slow going.  I see a live chat link, and think heck if I am going to review the website I might as well... so I clicked on it and got this... (I added the times other then that it is copied directly from the chat.  I noted times after any delays)

9:45Please wait for a site operator to respond.

You are now chatting with 'Crystal'

Crystal: Hi there! How may I help you?

you: do you have a dry cat food that does not have fish as an ingredient?

Crystal: Just one moment and I will be more than happy to check that out for you.

9:47Crystal: Do you have any brand preference?

you: no

Crystal: Okay, one moment.

9:48Crystal: I am researching to see if I can find a dry cat food that doesn't list fish at all in their ingredients.

9:58Crystal: Is it an allergy issue?

you: no, it is a personal preference

10:06Crystal: http://www.mrchewy.com/felidae-chicken-meal-rice-formula/dp/29097

Crystal: http://www.mrchewy.com/holistic-select-radiant-adult-health/dp/29250

Crystal: http://www.mrchewy.com/royal-canin-feline-health-nutrition/dp/29862

you: Thank you. I was just about to mention California Naturals

you: I appreciate you taking the time to look with me and give me these options

Crystal: Of course!

So it seems that this isn't a standard question for them, and she searched for (or with since I was searching too) it while I waited.  Hopefully over time they keep a list of FAQs for the live chat and have things like this at the ready for the next person who asks.  Anyway.. I found a completely different product then the ones she mentioned, and I liked the ingredient list being so short so I decided to get that.  I also got two cases of canned for the kittens and ending up spending a total of $65.  

So, account open and purchased on Thursday night. (at 10PM none the less)
Got an email the order shipped on 1/27 at 11AM
it showed up Saturday at 9:30am.

not bad from PA to here.  (little surprised their address isn't obvious on their website.. I had to find it on the packing slip)

My other beef, they included a 'packing slip" with my order instead of a receipt.. aka no prices on it.  so to let the shelter know of the donation I'll have to print out my email receipt.  No big deal, but it is a little less official looking for a donation.  They know me so there will be no issue (nor with the company I work for as they do matching donations)

So, the package showed up on Saturday.. and there was much rejoicing. 

the box is in much better shape then the last pet food order

Twee says OPEN THIS!!

hey, it came with a toy..

WANT!  (which Fleurp? the food or the paper?)

mine

He's still on my paper

The paper wasn't the only hit...

all worn out

So apparently The Crew gives Mr. Chewy's paws up all around, cause they sent boxes and paper.. (yea, they are easy)  I like that it was easy to find the food I wanted (if you know what you want it is super easy) and while it does take a little extra work if you don't know what you want, if your computer runs well it isn't any more work then going to a store and picking up bags to read labels... but there is someone there to help you if you know what you need.. (I doubt they'll pick out food for you) so aside from the nitpicking I did, I would say they earned the 27 paws and 1 thumb up.

and in case you are wondering about prices... Here are their prices then PetFoodDirect then Amazon for the three products I bought

16.99 / 18.49 / 18.99
27.99 / 27.99 / 28.49
19.99 / 21.99 / 19.08

And they also support charities via referrals:

If you enter my Refer-a-Friend code during checkout, you'll save an extra 10% off your first MrChewy.com order.
Plus, MrChewy.com will donate $10 split between Best Friends Animal Society, Bideawee, and North Shore Animal League!
Pretty cool!

Here's my code: CONN3865
Here's their site: http://www.mrchewy.com/