Website Review & Give Away: FamilyChristian.com

I recently was given the opportunity to do a bit of shopping at FamilyChristian.com and share my experience with you all as well as share some information about the products that they offer and some deals they have going on right now. I was looking for a gift for a friend anyways, so I decided that it was meant to be and took FlyBy Promotions up on their offer to do so.

Let's start with the "negative" parts of my shopping experience (because let's be honest - whenever people read reviews they really want to know the good AND the bad). The first thing that shouldn't be a surprise to much of anyone is that in some cases, their prices don't even come close to meeting Amazon. For example, the book that I purchased for a gift ("My Great Big Veggie Storybook") retails for $14.99 at Family Christian whereas on Amazon it runs for just over $10 and on ChristianBook.com it runs for $10.99. And yes - I did price-compare even though I had a coupon in my hand to shop on someone else's dime and not my own. This is important to know for future purchases; however - and I'll get to why in a moment - depending on your situation and your personal views when it comes tho shopping, it may still be beneficial for you to shop at FamilyChristian.com over another retailer.

The second "negative" thing (and this will be good for you to know in the event that you win the giveaway that I shall detail out below) is that the voucher that I received did not spell out certain exemptions that it could not be used for. As such I ran into a bit of an issue at checkout and had to call into their customer service line to order my items (I also chose an additional item that I'm going to preview, pray over it, and give away to a person in the near future). Additionally, the coupon did not indicate that it would not cover the shipping charges and so even though the total - including shipping - did not meet the total value of the coupon, I still paid $4.47 out of pocket. Because the intent of the purchase was for gifts, however, I did not have any issue with that.

That was all the negative, however, and now I shall share with you the positive parts of my experience.

Having never heard of FamilyChristian.com before - or their retail stores - I was skeptical of the quality of their website and selection. When my husband and I used to lead the youth ministry at our church, we would frequently purchase from Christianbook.com and so I was familiar with that; I expected far less when I entered in the address for FamilyChristian. What I found, however, is that FamilyChristian.com seems to be competing directly with Christianbook.com (I could be wrong, it just seems that way). In reality they had a wonderful selection and I had many items to choose from while looking for my gifts. Their website was incredibly easy to navigate and I had no problems getting around and finding items. Additionally - they are having a site-wide Buy-One-Get-One-50%-Off sale on many of their media items which meant that my preview-and-give-away purchase was half-off as well. Bonus!

Customer service: When I called about the issues I was experiencing at checkout, there was minimal wait time on the line and the customer service rep that I spoke with was very helpful and kept me on the phone until the issues were resolved and my order was placed. At checkout, I chose "economy" shipping which was standard USPS Media Mail and took about a week to arrive. The packaging was protective (sturdy box and packing tissues for the remaining space in the box) and the items I received were not damaged at all. Friendly, helpful people, receiving product in a reasonable amount of time, and packaging that doesn't risk the integrity of the product - all three of these are big customer service wins in my opinion.

What I especially appreciated about FamilyChristian.com is that they are a non-profit venture. According to their website, their mission is to help orphans and widows in need (James 1:27) and if you read through their "about" page - they have given to several organizations around the world in an effort to do just that. While their prices are closer to full list/suggested retail price, I am more comfortable paying that price when their profits are not going directly to their pockets - but rather to help others. For some people knowing that their dollars are not just going to the pockets of a corporate executive makes a difference in where they spend their money - so I wanted to make sure that I highlighted that here.

If you are a part of a church, bible study, or ministry who tends to buy books in bulk (or just someone who really REALLY likes to buy things and spend lots of money on books and such), FamilyChristian.com offers a frequent buyer program called 1:27 Rewards. As you make your purchases through their website, your dollars accrue and for everyone $100 you spend you earn $5 towards a future purchase. By joining you also receive an email letting you know about deals, get additional coupons, etc. If you are one to tend to buy in bulk, this is an advantage that FamilyChristian.com has over other websites.

So - bottom line: Would I shop here again? Because I so infrequently shop for books, bibles, etc. these days and considering that though they have higher prices their profits are going to a good cause - yes, absolutely I would. In fact, I have a birthday coming and if I get any birthday money, I've got my eye on this gorgeous NIV Compact Bible that would be MUCH easier to bring to my small group or my mom's group than my big, at-home NLT Study Bible.

And now it's time for a GIVEAWAY!!!

Do you want to check out FamilyChristian.com for yourself? Want $25 to put towards a new bible, some gifts, or books for your kids' library? Great! I've been given the power to give away a $25 voucher to FamilyChristian.com to one super-lucky winner! Here's how you can enter this giveaway:

1. Share the link and leave a comment below.
2. "Like" my blog page on Facebook and leave a comment below indicating you've done so (if you already "like" my page, just comment on that below).
3. Comment with one item from FamilyChristian.com that you'd buy with your $25 gift card.

Up to 3 entries per person (see guidelines in the disclosure below for who is qualified to win) and I'll close the entries on Tuesday, August 23 at 12:00 PM EST with the winner announced no later than Thursday, August 25 at 3:00 PM EST. NOTE: You MUST comment on the BLOG POST and not on the Facebook Page or Post in order for your entries to count!

Good luck (and happy shopping!)

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Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255:  “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”):  Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway.  Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation.  I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.

Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway.  If you have won a prize from our sponsor Propeller /FlyBy Promotions in the last 30 days, you are not eligible to win.  Or if you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again.  Winner is subject to eligibility verification.