Fast Shipping to Australia

Two of our favorite summer fun plastic animals made it to Australia quickly, eliciting this very nice e-mail from one happy customer:

Hi Tapir,

Thank you for your very efficient service! The package you posted on 10th June was delivered to me (in Australia) today, the 18th June!!

Many thanks.

RPM

Wow! We can't guarantee arrival that fast to every country every time, but we do our best to make the experience as seamless and pleasant as we can. We ahip quickly, and the arrival time depends on the speed of the mail and how fast it goes through customs in your country. We do everything we can on our end to streamline the process, because we love our overseas customers and hope you will keep coming back!

Come see what we've got for you!

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Creative Cake for a Galapagos Islands Bon Voyage

Photo by Deborah Chapman

People send such great photos of how they use our plastic animals.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

This Spider Went to Sweden

Eric sent a photo of our super-realistic redknee tarantula in its new home in Sweden. He said:

"Thanks for the spider! Here she is in her natural habitat :) Greetings from Sweden /E"

Yikes! Is a human skull part of the spider's natural habitat? It certainly could be, and it looks pretty cool here in its terrarium habitat. Below is a close-up of our beautiful plastic toy tarantula! She looks real, and she makes a very easy-to-care-for pet, as you can see above. Can you think of interesting ways to use this spider?

The Mexican redknee tarantula (Brachypelma smithi) is a large terrestrial spider located along the western faces of the Mexican mountain ranges Sierra Madre Occidental and Sierra Madre del Sur. They live in self-dug burrows where they can avoid predators and ambush prey. Like most tarantulas, the Mexican redknee with kick course, irritating hairs off its abdomen and rear legs if frightened or surprised, rather than biting. The Mexican redknee is only slightly venomous to humans.

If you'd like, you can buy this spider replica in our store.

Eric sent another photo (thank you!). This time Lady Tarantula is emerging from her cave. I can't believe how real she looks! Can you see her?

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Squid and Coffee, Anyone?

We try to be responsive to our customers' requests. "C" wanted to know just how big our 18-inch plastic squid really is.

"Would it be possible to see a picture of your 18 inch giant squid toy next to someone (or a size reference), I just cant picture how big/thick this will be..."

No problem, C, Here ya go. The photo also goes to prove that occasionally the sun does come out here in the rainy, stormy, Pacific Northwest. In fact, we're supposed to be in the midst of a big storm right now, but you see that the sun is bright and actually a bit warm on our happy plastic squid.

By the way, this photo is not to imply that you should be having squid with your morning coffee, but if that's your "cup of tea," we don't want to discourage it, either. Mmmmmm! Hmmm. Maybe it's not such a bad idea. Are you getting bored with the normal routine? Squid and coffee, anyone? Think about it.

We like to stay open-minded here at Tapir and Friends Animal Store. It's always fun to hear what YOU do with your stuffed and plastic animals. Let us know, OK? Even better . . . send photos and become famous on our blog  :) (Check out the Customer Comments label below to see some fun stuff our customers have done with toy animals.)

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Yellow Mongoose Heist

It was not even a dark and stormy night when a yellow mongoose went missing. . . .

Mark wrote us the following saga:

Hi -

Well, it appears we have a case of mongoose theft. I checked into the post office this afternoon. Their records show the package was delivered to my mailbox last week. They suggested I contact the police as there have been a number of thefts from rural mailboxes lately.

I only wish I was there to see the look on the thief's face when he opened the box...

OK; so I'll be needing another mongoose. Since this is in no way you fault, I'll pay. Consider the other payment a donation.

In fact, send me two of the dang things. Might as well up the ante.

So, can you please issue me a paypal invoice for two snappy yellow mongooses?

But please send them to my PO Box instead of the street address.

Onward.

We liked Mark's letter so much, we sent him two free mongoose replacements for the use of his letter. Although we're very sorry the original mongoose was stolen and the delivery delayed, it's almost worth it to hear the story! We love to hear from you  :)  We hear tell these two mongooses are on their way to Hawaii to learn to play the ukulele.

Read more stories here.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

"Too Cute!"

Just how cute is a hermit crab? We learned the answer today when one of our customers received hers in the mail. She made our day! She wrote:

The hermit crab is just too cute! I am so pleased with your products. Your service was amazing as well!

We try hard to make your purchase enjoyable and your online experience a pleasure. A response like this is worth every moment we put into our work! Thank YOU! :)

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

What A Cake!

Wow! Our thanks to Kathy for sending this photo of the WONDERFUL cake she made for Jamie, who likes fish! Kathy purchased some of the critters you see here from our online animal-themed gift shop. As you can see, we specialize in realistic animals. In this case, they needed to be plastic, but we also carry stuffed animals. Kathy gathered the materials for this amazing cake from various sources, and we are glad to be one of them. We recognize, among other things, a yellow-green moray eel, a sea turtle, a spotted eagle ray, and several fish. You can check them out on our fish page, and our aquatic animals page.

I love the blue fish on the top. It's not one of ours, so maybe we have to do some investigating to see if we can get them :)

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Our Hansa plush fawn was perfect!

We received a nice customer e-mail this morning that I wanted to share with you:

Sent: Mon, December 14, 2009 7:07:11 AM
Subject: RE: Deer Order

My fawn arrived today and I just wanted to let you know that I LOVE IT! It’s a gift for my daughter who is expecting her first baby in May. She and her husband decorated their nursery in a forest theme with deer, raccoons, and squirrels and this little guy is perfect.

Thank you!

"L"

Plastic/rubber goldfish used in Premier Medical Plaza children's waiting room

If you're a child, one of the most uncomfortable things can be waiting to see a doctor. At least it was for me, growing up. Barbour Spangle Design has just finished making the children's waiting room at Premier Medical Plaza in Highpoint, North Carolina, a lot more fun and interesting. Take a look at the design they made with the help of our plastic goldfish! Thanks for sending the link, Amber!

She's glad she found this plastic iguana (and the rest of our Galapagos animals)!

From a customer in England who was glad to find us:

There is nothing like your stuff this side of the Atlantic - find an importer!

Even their Labra-puppy likes this zebra

A note arrived with a recent order for a carved wood zebra eyeglass holder (Peeper Keeper). Here's the comment:

This is the second one we ordered. Our puppy Lab did a number on the first zebra's nose! It is now my wife's backup!

Happy Customer Report: Soon this plastic piranha will have a new home!

Our turnaround is so fast you barely have a chance to blink. We usually ship your order the day we get it, and we ship by US Priority Mail in the US, which means that it takes no longer to reach the East Coast than it does to reach nearby cities and towns (we're located at the far northwest of Oregon).

If the box leaves our store for the 5 p.m. mail, it reaches Portland, Oregon, sometime that night. In many cases, it's on the plane that night. Of course, we don't see the package to follow its route, but typically it will be delivered as quickly to Boston as to Los Angeles, even though one is a continent away. If you live in a peripheral, or small zip code area, it may add a day to the delivery time on your end. That's why we say that your order is "usually delivered in two to four days" from the time you place it with us. And all this is for a minimum shipping and handling fee of $6.50 on an order of $20.00 or less. A larger order will cost a little more. We use the Post Office rather than UPS, because ground shipping may take a week to travel across the country. We like quick service, and so you do you!

Kevin needed this plastic piranha and some other items for his child's school project. After some discussion with Sue (our Customer Expert) about possible deliver dates, he wrote:

November 19, 2009

Just finished up the order, Sue.

Thanks again for your quick replies and speedy service. Now it's up to our friends at the USPS.

Kevin

You can read comments from other happy customers here.

They loved our plastic mammoth bones!

Sent: Wed, October 21, 2009 7:27:28 AM
Subject: RE: TAPIR PRESERVATION FUND Customer Receipt/Purchase Confirmation

Good morning,

We received our box this morning and have had great fun putting [the mammoth skeletons] together.

Many thanks!

[LMK]

Lowland tapir t-shirt: One happy customer!

The text was simple, the message was heartwarming:

Sent: Wednesday, June 03, 2009 3:01 PM
To: tapir@tapirback.com
Subject: order received

received my order in THREE
DAYS!!!!!

tshirt is exactly as described and is in mint condition.

will definitely be shopping for more tapir stuff in the next day or
two. thanks,

j

Big smiles here. We always love to hear how happy you are with what we've sent you! Thanks for the e-mail, j!

About the t-shirt:

This is the second shirt design drawn by artist Audrey Jakab especially for Tapir and Friends Wildlife World. We love the tapir's beautifully-formed shape! This time Audrey drew a lowland tapir (Tapirus terrestris) in the same "faux woodcut" style as her first one — the Baird's tapir shirt. As with the Baird's shirt, this design is also printed front and center, and is about the same size — 8 x 8 inches.Both of the no-pocket shirts look identical except that the t-shirt is short-sleeved and the sweatshirt is long-sleeved. Of course, the sweatshirt fabric is heavier! The shirts are printed in black on ash-gray, and for once we can say the scan came out very well! You'll get a very good idea of what it looks like from the picture. The small print underneath "T is for Tapir" says "© 2000. A. Jakab" on the left and "Tapir Preservation Fund" on the right. Come look through our terrific selection of shirts.

We love to see your projects and we LOVE it when you get good grades!

A very happy mother wrote to us:

Hi! About a month ago I ordered a Horned Toad and a Thorny Devil from you for my son's project for his school's Academic Fair. We just finished the fair and Marshal made a 100 on his project with very high marks for the animal examples he used (your toys!). This was a big boost to him and he worked very hard to make sure his report was as good as his visual project was. I am attaching some pictures of the project! Thanks again for the speedy service!!!!! His name is Marshal Rainwater and he's in the 3rd grade at Hancock Creek Elementary here in sunny Cape Coral Florida. (P.S. - This was made in a child's shoe box. The background is an aquarium background, the 'sand' is crushed almonds colored, and then of course your lovely figures including the 'box' the devil came in.) -- Mandie

Thanks for telling us! We're all smiles around here. Great work, Marshal. We're glad we could help! By the way, the "box the devil came in" consists of two halves, light tan in color. The horned toad is standing on one, and the other is just behind the thorny devil. The thorny devil is a puzzle, and the pieces come in a re-closable plastic case. Marshal used his ingenuity and put the case to use as stones for his diorama. Very clever :)

Walter the Friendly (Stuffed) Crocodile says, "We aim to please!"

Wow, did this photo make our day! This is Walter the Friendly Stuffed Crocodile (green, on the left) along with his new friend, B., (the red-haired birthday boy in blue). Both seem to be quite ecstatic with their new friendship, which we expect will be a long and enduring one. We want to thank Dad (D.) for the wonderful photo! He wrote:

(B.) loves the crocodile. Thank you so much! Here’s a cheesy grin for ya…

What a great smile! It made Sue and me smile, too! We love seeing our animals in their new homes . . . and we love seeing all the happy faces! If you have a photo of our animals and your family that you'd like to share with us, please send it by e-mail. We also like to see our plastic animals used in their new settings - your school project diorama, your kids' play room, or on your collectible shelf. And now that we're into blogging, we promise to get your photos online much faster than in the past!

Oops! It looks like Walter found a good spot to relax. We only wonder if that comfy chair is something like a bed is to a Labrador. We hope Walter will behave and let the humans use the chair part of the time!

If you're into plastic vultures, give us a call!

This is one of our plastic vultures. We have a new one, too, and I haven't managed to get it online yet. When a customer called looking for plastic vultures for his son who had a serious fascination with them, Sue was able to tell him about the one that isn't online yet. He purchased both, and here is his reply:

Hello Sue

This is [DL], I ordered 2 Vultures for my 4 yr old son Ameer. I would just like to say that you were right, he is one happy little camper I could not believe how fast it came. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.

We will continue to shop at Tapirback

-- Regards [DL]

If you don't see it on our site, give us a call toll-free at (888) 325-3179 or send e-mail. We do our best to give you the best customer service we can. It's like breathing air. It's not that hard. We love to see you happy! And the vultures have a happy home, too, so it's win-win. What could be better?

Customer service is what we do!

The case of the missing alligator . . . heron with frog, and a few other critters from the swamp. . . .

. . . Solved!

We love getting e-mail confirming our great customer service. It always brightens our day, but the real surprise is that our customers are surprised. Shouldn't we all expect great customer service when we do business with someone? Yes, of course! And you've probably noticed that the little niceties that we used to expect have often disappeared from the business scene. I know that personally I expected to be treated respectfully and kindly, and yes, I still expect the people I buy from (goods or services) to be not only polite and helpful, but sometimes even to go that extra distance with a smile. It doesn't happen as often as it once did. I know that *I* notice it these days when someone gives me great service, and I appreciate it. Our customers often seem surprised when all we've done is what we enjoy doing - helping you with a smile!

Here's another letter we received from a customer today. We appreciate it that you appreciate us! Let's make the world go around a little easier today, OK? All of us!

February 25, 2009 2:06 PM
To: tapir@tapirback.com
Subject: Re: Delivery Confirm: (etc.)

Sorry, it was here, my wife mistook it for something else I'd ordered! Thanks for your prompt help, you are great!

~ M.B. in Georgia

We and our scorpion are "awesome" :)

We haven't seen a photo yet, but the scorpion was purchased to go on a hat for some event. Today John wrote:

Sent: Wednesday, February 25, 2009 6:07 AM
To: Tapir
Subject: RE: Sales Receipt from Tapir and Friends Wildlife World

Got it yesterday. You guys are awesome.

~ John in Ohio

Thanks, John. We love to help and we love feedback!

Sheryl and Sue

Animal writing pen - trout!

Friday, October 10, 2008

Wow! thank you so much. That's really generous of you guys.I really appreciate it!

~ NR