A different review of the Kringle Express porcelain bells

Mominohio · ‎08-08-2010

Just received part of my bells, and have to say, I'm not as impressed as most everyone else.

The good first. They are a nice size, not too big, and not too little. The size makes a good statement, without being overbearing.

Lit, they are stunning. They appear cream or ivory colored, elegant, and like they cost way more than they did.

Now, the not so good.

They are very light, I expected them to have more weight, but not a problem really, just surprised.

The battery compartments are really cheap plastic (more so than usual for these items) and I had trouble getting batteries in some.

The switch is very loose on all of them. It doesn't always want to light right away. I look for the switches or the lighting function to not last in these, based on how incredibly flimsy the whole unit appears.

I don't like them unlit. They are too white to suit me, at first look. And the detail doesn't show up like when lit (but I really don't expect it would, just hoped it would look better than it does). My rule is I have to like them unlit as well as lit, for when the lighting fails, I want to still feel good about using them. Not sure at this point that I can say I have met that goal with these, but will look at them longer to see.

One arrived with mold (technically I guess it is more a mildew) all over the outside of the box. Was going to be a gift, but I guess not now.

The lining in a couple of the boxes is tattered and ragged. Very cheap cloth, and it didn't even hold up to original shipping and unpacking before deteriorating. A couple of them look like they are lined with a rag rather than a nice fabric. Doesn't make a nice presentation for a gift.

I knew these were too inexpensive to be as good as I'd hoped, especially for gifting. I wanted them to have a real 'wow' factor when someone opened them, but it comes off more like a Walmart presentation (until lit).

Not sure what I'm going to do yet, as most of these were for gifts. I'm going to look at them a few days, and think about it, because I'm not going to be very proud giving them. I still have the Santa to arrive.

I will say again, they are stunning when lit. And they weren't super expensive, but at almost $25 to the door each, most of them didn't arrive and aren't really nice enough for the price.

Just wanted to post so people who are on the fence can know my experience.

GinaV24 · ‎07-23-2010

@Mominohio aww, so sorry that you were disappointed. I hate buying things and having them not meet my expectations. I know what you mean about wanting to like the item lit or not, otherwise what is the point?

thanks for the review. you provided a lot of valuable information & food for thought.

Mominohio · ‎08-08-2010

My other problem with these, and it is just a personal preference thing, nothing against the product, but they showed these with the most incredible stand. I searched the Internet for something similar. It is so perfect for displaying these.

All ornament stands out there do not compliment the elegance of these. I'm going to have to find the right stand, or I don't think I'll be totally happy with the look of these.

I don't see me ever using them on a tree, or sitting flat, but I will be thinking about them over the next several days.

Susan Louise · ‎03-14-2010

@Mominohio wrote:
My other problem with these, and it is just a personal preference thing, nothing against the product, but they showed these with the most incredible stand. I searched the Internet for something similar. It is so perfect for displaying these.

All ornament stands out there do not compliment the elegance of these. I'm going to have to find the right stand, or I don't think I'll be totally happy with the look of these.

I don't see me ever using them on a tree, or sitting flat, but I will be thinking about them over the next several days.

ITA about the stand. I must have searched for over an hour for a quality stand for the bells. The only ones I see are thin cheap metal stands. Some stands I saw with wood bases didn't seem to have enough space to accomodate the bell when it hung on the hook. I will display it flat or in our tree if it looks nice there, but I don't think our small tree will have branches strong enough for something that big.

I should be getting one of our bells today and I'll post when I get ours. TY for your review

lucymo · ‎12-13-2010

@Mominohio, I'm so sorry that the bells aren't what you were expecting them to be. I should get one of mine today and I'll post my thoughts later tonight. I wonder if we all got our hopes up too much and were expecting Lenox quality and it isn't going to happen. I hope I like them, tired of returning merchandise but don't want to keep if I'm not satisfied.

MTH · ‎10-18-2012

@lucymo wrote:
@Mominohio, I'm so sorry that the bells aren't what you were expecting them to be. I should get one of mine today and I'll post my thoughts later tonight. I wonder if we all got our hopes up too much and were expecting Lenox quality and it isn't going to happen. I hope I like them, tired of returning merchandise but don't want to keep if I'm not satisfied.

My santa bell just shipped today. I wanted to give it as a gift also. Hope it is nice. JPC seems to really love the ones she got.

Susan Louise · ‎03-14-2010

@Mominohio I would call CS and let them know about that terrible mildew issue whether you return them or not. Sorry to hear about that. I can only guess that some bells were stored in a damp corner of the warehouse...or somehow certain ones got wet...

I just received one of our Cardinal bells and was lucky to get a good one. Our other bell should arrive by the end of the week.

SHOPR · ‎04-17-2013

I have the cardinal (for a gift) and I like it so much that I'm waiting on the snowman that I ordered for myself. I didn't have any of the issues that you mentioned with the cardinal, thank goodness. It is very presentable as a gift.

About the light possibly failing, I worried about that, too, because I don't want just a matte porcelain bell in my decor. I don't find it ugly unlit, but it doesn't go with other things in my home. I figure if the lighting quits for some reason, I will chisel out a hole in the thin plastic battery compartment and insert a flameless votive of some kind. I have two types already. I would then have to use it tabletop only because of the hole.

Not ideal, but I do have a backup plan. Ha Ha.

What's up with all the moldy merchandise. Yuk!

MTH · ‎10-18-2012

@SHOPR wrote:
I have the cardinal (for a gift) and I like it so much that I'm waiting on the snowman that I ordered for myself. I didn't have any of the issues that you mentioned with the cardinal, thank goodness. It is very presentable as a gift.

About the light possibly failing, I worried about that, too, because I don't want just a matte porcelain bell in my decor. I don't find it ugly unlit, but it doesn't go with other things in my home. I figure if the lighting quits for some reason, I will chisel out a hole in the thin plastic battery compartment and insert a flameless votive of some kind. I have two types already. I would then have to use it tabletop only because of the hole.

Not ideal, but I do have a backup plan. Ha Ha.

What's up with all the moldy merchandise. Yuk!

@SHOPR That's a great idea with the votive. As far as the moldy stuff...not cool.

SHOPR · ‎04-17-2013

Please, if anyone finds any nice ornament stands, let's share them on the forum. If my snowman is a keeper, I will likely want to use a stand. I have one or two ordinary ones packed away, but I'd like to have a nicer one.