KiwiCo Arvostelua 

We began our KiwiCo subscription in September for one year. The first package arrived within 7 days, exactly as advertised. The October box took about 11 days, which was still reasonable. However, from November onward, the communication and service have significantly deteriorated.

There has been no information whatsoever about when the November and December shipments were sent or where they are in transit. Despite constant follow-ups, the November crate only arrived after 20 days, and even then, I received no proper tracking information.

For December, today is December 15, and KiwiCo is telling me the shipment—which should have arrived by December 1—will take another 4–5 weeks. There is still no tracking number, no carrier information, and no shipment email. I have called customer service multiple times, and the only explanation provided is that delays are due to shipping to Canada. If that were genuinely the case, then why did the first shipment arrive in 7–8 business days exactly as promised?

This inconsistency makes the service feel unreliable. And frankly, if I wanted that level of uncertainty—waiting until mid-January for something that should have arrived December 1—I could have simply purchased similar science kits from TEMU for a fraction of the cost, since many of the kits appear comparable in content. At least then I would know what to expect regarding delivery timelines.

Overall, it feels as though the initial shipments are timely to encourage subscription sign-ups, but once subscribed, the communication and support become abysmal. I have multiple email threads where I repeatedly asked for tracking information and received no useful response. This subscription has added more stress than value. At this point, purchasing science kits individually from TJ Maxx, Marshalls, or online would have been far simpler and far more predictable.

Not recommended.
Edit on January 9th, 2026:
There is no way to add screenshot, but it is January 9th and the shipment is not yet done. I have sent emails as well. So, you can deny and lie about it in the social and online, but I have my screen shots, emails, and experience of disappointed kids who have stopped looking forward to these kits.

Fantastic. Easy to use and manage subscriptions. Timely delivery.

Product is good but I believe customer service can be improved. I renewed a subscription for my daughter and the company shipped a crate that we had received previously. I have written to the company at least 3 times to date in order to request different crate and have received no response at all from the company besides their automated responses.

SECOND UPDATE: Thank you for an interesting perspective. My review referred to the second subscription. I was explicitly told by a member of Kiwico when I telephoned that I could not get a refund; the only option was to pause the subscription.

With reference to the first subscription, I also had an unfortunate telephone call concerning a discount announced within hours of paying for the subscription. During that call, I was informed there were no refunds ever. Canceling a subscription means ending the subscription on its scheduled end date.

UPDATE: Kiwico requires my phone number before TrustPilot will "accept" the review. I am extremely uncomfortable giving my phone number to a company engaged in questionable business practices.

An hour after I ordered an annual subscription, I discovered the receipt was uninterested. I immediately contacted the company, who responded that there are no refunds. Ever. The advertised cancel at any time is misleading -- if you paid for 12 months, then you will get 12 months with the cancellation taking effect at the end of the subscription, which is not a cancellation. The only thing they can do is to pause the subscription and then change the recipient. Even airlines give 24 hours to cancel a ticket.

They ask for my personal info before they even show their prices. Finally found them in the support chat widget of all places. Worst organized site ever? No, it's probably done on purpose for some scummy reason. Was curious to give them a try before seeing this and giving up.

I really didn't want to give a star. The kits are good and fun when they work but beware of their customer service. This ongoing battle for a such a minor request (yet one that would allow my child to complete the project!). I requested that they could send out the long one over 87 days ago (the irony being it was for a Perpetual Calendar!) Email trail below and happy reading:

SAT 16 AUGUST (Me)
My daughter was in the process of making the 'Perpetual Calendar' which is fab by the way.
She got to the end and the dowel that runs through the number tumbler is too short to allow the two thin disks and O-ring to be placed around the handle. I checked that she used the correct ones for each part and took it apart to reassemble – the dowels in fact are are the same size. Would it be possible to send out a longer dowel so this can be completed.

TUES 28 OCTOBER (Me)
I had really hoped you would have answered my last email and helped my daughter complete her kit. Please can you look into my previous request.

TUES 28 OCTOBER (KiwiCo)
Hi there, I'm Chip, KiwiCo's virtual agent. Thank you for reaching out again about the Perpetual Calendar kit. It sounds like the dowel included might be too short for the assembly with the two thin disks and O-ring. Could you please confirm if you have the instruction manual handy? If so, could you provide the exact name or part number of the dowel causing the issue, or a picture from the manual showing the part? This will help us assist you better. If you don't have the manual, I can connect you with our Customer Care team who can help further with this.

TUES 28 OCTOBER (Me)
It's Part D, step 4 and the 'long' dowel. It would be nice for a human response seeing as this is the second time I'm contacting Kiwi Co.

WED 29 OCTOBER (KiwiCo)
Thank you for reaching out to KiwiCo! I truly appreciate you contacting us for assistance. To ensure we can provide the best support, could you please share more specific details about your concern? Any additional information you can provide will help us address your request promptly and effectively. I look forward to hearing from you and helping you further! Best regards, Mark

THURS 30 OCTOBER (Me)
Good morning Mark, I'm not sure how I can be more specific when I've written two emails and answered the virtual agent. Please find the details below: (Email forwarded)

THURS 30 OCTOBER (KiwiCo)
Thank you for reaching out to KiwiCo. I want to ensure we can assist you promptly with your concern regarding a possible missing item in your project. Could you kindly provide the name of the child, the order number, and the name of the crate? Once we receive this information, we’ll be happy to process a replacement for you and make things right. We're excited to get you back to exploring and innovating! If you need anything else, please don't hesitate to let us know.

MON 10 NOVEMBER (Me)
Child's name: Provided
Don't know the order number as they were given as gifts by Provided (Grandfather)
Lot #03262021-CW
Part #F1790-ECAL

MON 10 NOVEMBER (KiwiCo)
Thanks for reaching out to KiwiCo. After reviewing your account, we can confirm that the subscription under 'Childs name' has already expired. To help us locate the order and address your concern, could you kindly provide the order number as well as the name of the crate? Once we receive this information, we’ll be happy to assist you further and process a replacement for you. We truly appreciate your patience and cooperation, and we’re committed to making things right for you. Please let us know if you have any questions. Hope this helps!

MON 10 NOVEMBER (Me)
Is there anyway I can speak to a human being or speak to someone who can actually do something? You keep thanking me for 'reaching out' and I'm a little tired of doing so! I had kindly asked for one slightly longer dowel over two months ago and I have had to supply details to 3, 4, maybe 5 emails and now this latest cracker. It was a gift from a grandparent, I do not have an order number but you clearly have my son's details (and should already have the order number attached to the account)!
Yes the subscription is over and we don't want another – surely as a company providing toys to inspire kids to build a better world you would like to give them the correct parts to do so? I have attached the correspondence from you to my father-in-law and the crate was the Eureka Crate (Perpetual Calendar)

TUES 11 NOVEMBER (KiwiCo)
Thanks for reaching out agin to KiwiCo. To assist you further with your concern, we kindly ask if you could provide the email address of the account owner. This will help us locate the account and get everything sorted for you.

There still hasn't been a resolution and this is for a missing part. I would hate to be dealing with these guys if there was money on the line!

I decided to order a 12 month subscription for my daughter, the $288 quote seemed expensive but I thought just about worth it. However as I clicked the button to buy in Apple Pay, the price jumped from $288 to $431!!! Way out of our budget, apparently this is to include shipping and taxes but it literally did not appear until I pressed the ‘buy’ button, by which time of course it was too late. Immediately I looked up how to cancel the order but no option was available, other than to cancel the subscription for the following year. So I did that, and immediately emailed customer support. I received an ai bot reply within minutes to say it would be forwarded to customer service. Two days passed and instead of receiving a cancellation email, I got a shipping confirmed message. I wrote a further message to customer support asking why they had shipped my order instead of cancelling it as requested. The reply was that they had not reviewed my message in time and it is not company policy to refund any item that has been shipped- which is of course why I had emailed immediately, it felt rather convenient for them to use this as an excuse. I was appalled that a company of this size would use their own poor customer service as an excuse to take money from me. To top it off my bank has charged me £9.80 for an overseas payment, which is of course not kiwicos fault, but adds insult to unjust and for the purpose of this review feels relevant when the overall theme is of being charged more than expected.

Poor qaulity for the pricing with the idea that it’s barely educational and PRETENDS to be from NZ as a cover not an NZ company just a Californian cash grab that needs its advertising to make any sales as the products don’t do anything

Only received one crate so far and the quality was fine. Their customer service and logistics are horrible. I have a subscription and after charging my card it takes them 5-7 days to ship out the crate. It is being delivered within the same state: CA. They also take too long to respond to email enquiries. I will cancel my subscription if they can't get it together.

Update: I sent Kiwi emails last week and they still haven't responded. However, they responded to this Trustpilot review. They pick and choose when to respond. My card was charged on the 22nd and it's now the 30th and my crate still hasn't shipped. Yet they say all crates ship 2-3 business days. Ha! They hold your money hostage. This happened with the first crate, and now again with the 2nd crate. Now I have to tell and disappoint my 7 year old nephew that he can no longer receive this gift because the company is garbage.
ALSO: Their website shows Trustpilot review score of 4.7 when it is actually 4.2. Dishonest.

I purchased a quarterly subscription and received the first package but not the second one. The second package was delivered to a neighbor instead of my address. Since I'm located outside the US, I initially assumed the delay was normal for international shipping and waited patiently.
Eventually, someone from KiwiCo contacted me explaining that the neighbor who received my package had reached out to them directly. I was relieved and assumed the issue would be resolved quickly. However, after that initial email, I never heard back from a human representative again.
I've been emailing KiwiCo about my missing package for several weeks now without any response. The lack of customer service follow-through has been disappointing. They also didn't provide the neighbor's contact information, even though the neighbor had initiated contact with them, which would have helped me retrieve my package directly.
As an international customer, this subscription was a significant expense when factoring in shipping costs and import taxes. Receiving only partially what I paid for, combined with the unresponsive customer service, has been frustrating.
The concept of the crates is okay, though my child was more engaged with book (which was an additional purchase). KiwiCo needs to improve their international delivery tracking and customer communication to better serve customers outside the US.

I've first ordered a 12-month subscription on 08 Aug 2024 and paid USD348.61 (USD203.40 + Shipping USD119.40 + Tax USD25.81). An email containing the order details was received back then and there.

On 02 Jul 2025 (based on SGT), I received an email saying that my subscription is going to be renewed at USD259.20 which included an "exclusive 10% discount".

However on 08 Sep 2025, my card was charged USD412.67. No email acknowledgement nor order details, or even details of the renewed subscription was received at my hotmail (I had signed up for Kiwico via my hotmail).

I checked in my Kiwico account that there is no module for monetary transaction/payment history.

Hence, I've sent an emails - 1st one to their 'Hello' mailbox on 10 Sep, 2nd one to their 'customercare' mailbox on the same day, 3rd one to the latter on 13 Sep, followed by a 4th one today (ie. 19 Sep).

From USD29.05 a crate to USD34.39 a crate, that's an 18% increase. This is too steep.

I'd think it's basic courtesy that consumers be informed of why a particular amount was charged, and the details to it.

But no, they aren't responding and not responsive.

DO NOT PATRONISE KIWICO.

They do not allow you to cancel once you have signed up. They just continue sending new boxes. I had to send them back return to sender.

Thank you for your response regarding the Dissection Froggie Lab crate. While I appreciate your intent to teach children about biology in a hands-on way, I remain deeply troubled by the concept of introducing dissection, even with a plush toy, to children as young as 3. A child’s mind is simple and impressionable—they are likely to perceive dissection as dissection, potentially internalizing that it’s acceptable to cut open living creatures. This risks normalizing practices tied to ethical concerns about animal welfare, given the cruelty and unreliability associated with animal testing. If the goal is to teach about organs like the heart, lungs, liver, and kidneys, why not create a human model for this activity? Learning about human anatomy would be more directly relevant to children’s understanding of their own bodies and could foster curiosity without the ethical implications of mimicking animal dissection. I urge KiwiCo to reconsider this approach and prioritize activities that promote compassion and ethical awareness alongside scientific learning.

I was deeply disappointed with KiwiCo.com, a company that markets itself as creating educational toys for children. While their products are presented as fun and enriching, I was appalled to discover their Froggie Lab Dissection kit, which encourages young kids to "dissect" a plush frog. This concept feels disturbingly inappropriate for children as young as 3, the target age for this toy. Even though it’s a plush toy and not a real animal, framing dissection as a playful activity risks normalizing invasive procedures and desensitizing kids to the ethical concerns surrounding animal cruelty and testing. Animal testing itself is cruel and unreliable, and introducing children to such concepts, even in a pretend format, feels misguided and unsettling. When children are around animals, they maybe curious to harm them to see what’s inside.
I expected KiwiCo to promote compassion and curiosity in a way that respects all living creatures, not to gamify something as serious as dissection. I won’t be purchasing from them neither recommend to anyone and urge them to reconsider this product.

Never shipped the very first box. Called twice regarding it and the box just says "label created." Customer service is not in the U.S. Had to cancel the subscription and hoping to get a refund. Ordered for my grandson and realized I wouldn't know whether he received monthly boxes after this unless I asked him every month if they are not reliable. There apparently is no way to track the shipments. It will say label created and they tell you that means it has shipped. From that point on you can't track the order and you just have to trust them that it really was shipped. Pretty shady if you ask me. And they will also tell you they have processed a refund but be sure you get confirmation of that in writing. I had to insist on that. Still waiting for my money back.

I love kiwico. Best Cost and price value.

Good quality and good learning experience

Great customer service, very helpful.

The gentleman was very nice and helpful

Jay quickly answered my question and apologized for the generated response I had gotten with the incorrect information. He was very kind and helpful!

Very responsive to my emails about my issue! Website was easy to use.

The young man I spoke with was very knowledgeable and helpful.