¤ MAPSCO ¤ ››››› mapsco.com
by bluehawq - Written: Mar 06 '05
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| Full Review |
¤ Experience
Back in July of 2004 I decided since our son was in Iraq, I'd order a full size map detailing Iraq so we could keep up with him best we could.
I surfed a couple of places and ended up at mapsco's online store. I found what I was looking for there and it cost me $8.95.
Once I received the map, on time too, it was pretty much exactly what I'd hoped it would be. It was a folded map (not a book type as with an atlas) and it was on a scale of 1: 1,200,00. It fit on our younger son's wall nicely and it was easy to read and locate areas we were interested in. It served it's purpose just fine. He's home now but expected to go back sometime in October again.
¤ Cosmetics
Mapsco is very colorful and even though I do not particularly like it, most probably would. It is bright and and fairly easy to read with a top tabbed layout. The color scheme is blue, gold, white, and some red.
¤ Navigation
As I said, it has a top tabbed area for navigation with very little linkage on the left side bar. On the top tabs, you'll find the store, mapsco products, Texas maps, Colorado maps, accessories, gifts, and stuff, globes, U.S. maps, and world maps. On the side you'll find:
¤ Customer Service
¤ How To Place An Order
¤ Privacy Policy
¤ Security Statement
¤ Order Tracking
There is duplicate links matching the top tabs as well. They have a good search feature as well as an advanced search to detail your search. It works well and I found my exact item using simply the regular search.
At the bottom of each page you'll find links to customer service, their privacy policy, order tracking, retail store locations, tech support, their return policy, and a few others. You will also see a few modest advertisements in the footer. Nothing to obtrusive.
¤ Prices
I find the prices to be the same as you'd find in most any retail store. A map is a map and no body offers much of a savings on them really, however, they do offer other items such as atlas', globes, travel software, street guides, and some travel videos. These are moderately priced but I feel you'd do better shopping around instead.
¤ Selection
As far as maps go, their inventory is outstanding. They have a nice selection of atlas' too but the software and such is limited.
¤ Orders, Shipping, and Customer Service
Ordering is quite simple. Pick the item you want, place it in your basket. Create a user account (a must), provide pertinent information including your payment method (cc, check, money order) and check out. You must create a user name and your own password. One will not be e-mailed to you. Your log-in name will be different from your actual account name. They do not use your e-mail address as your user name. They have an option to create a charge account for businesses that will order many items.
Once you order, you will receive confirmation. Once your items are shipped, you'll be notified and you can log in to your account to track your package. (UPS)
¤ Extras
They offer a VIP service account from $50 to $200. Geez, right. That is for the other than everyday person ordering from them obviously.
¤ Conclusion
Finally, I did have an enjoyable ordering experience from them. My order arrived on-time (5 days) and was in excellent condition. It was exactly what I expected it to be and and given that statement, I had no need to use customer service. A plus in my book. I do recommend this site ( mapsco.com ) for any and all your mapping needs.
Recommended:
Yes
What product did you purchase or try to purchase? Map of Iraq
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