Customer Reviews

Fisher Price Smart Shopper Marketplace

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

I purchased this toy as soon as it came out-even before Toysrus had the additional CDROMS (which I purchased a Walmart). So I was one of the first people to contact Fisher Price regarding the quirks with the toy. It does take a little time to put together (especially for moms-ha) and I was so afraid I was going to have to take it apart again since the register would not stay shut, the light on the register did not light up and the scanner didn't work. I called Fisher Price and spoke with a very sweet girl who walked me thru the problems. First of all the spring in the register looks like it is broken when it isn't-it is suppose to be crooked. Also the yellow tab on my machine looked like it had been partially broken off - but that was normal too. The reason the drawer will not shut and the light wasn't working was because you have to hold your tongue just right when you put the yellow electronic part on the red register. It may take 20 tries and a flat head screw driver to insert tab properly (No kidding it took me a while and the girl was very patient while I screwed it on and off and she stayed on the phone with me until I had it working properly) but once you get it on correctly and screwed down it will work right every time-I PROMISE. We have had ours since August and it is now November and it works GREAT!!! The light works, the register closes (money or no money) once you get it on properly. Also the scanner is light senstive - when the light sensor is covered it will beep but you must have LOTS of light. If you don't believe it works take it outside in the sunlight or put it directly under a light - it will work. This machine does have some quirks but with a little help it will do what it states and it is lots and lots of fun. The only real problem we have is once we purchased the additional (3) CD ROM packages (which are not required to play with the toy) with food and grocery bags is now we have more food than we have room to store it on the small shelves and baskets provided. Too bad the ROMS couldn't come as part of original set considering the cost and quirks. But all in all we like the machine. It is educational and fun and even more so with the extra ROMS. I bought this for my 1 year old but my 9 year old likes to play with it as well as my 3 year old niece. Who doesn't like to play grocery store? Suggestion for Christmas: If your giving this as a gift for Christmas morning: Put it together a few days ahead of time and make sure you have everything working so there is no frusteration on Christmas Morning when you can't call Fisher Price to get a sweet patient person on the phone to help you hold your tongue properly(ha). Mom in Georgia

I read all of the reviews posted on this toy and was very disappointed to see a Fisher Price product rated so low. I have been a Fisher Price customer since my first child was born 21 years ago. I am a mother of 5 (the youngest is 4) and a Pre K teacher also. I purchased this product to use in my Pre K classroom duing my grocery store unit.
This product was used by 20 four year olds duing this unit. After showing the children how to play with the toy, they used it with no mishaps. I also purshased the component packages to use with the Smart Shopper. I am proud to say that the whole system withstood the test of my class (which has more boys than girls). I did however make a modification to the product. The cash register drawer made an awful screeching sound when it opened. This was due to the plastic scraping against itself. To fix this problem, I simply placed a piece of clear packing tape on the underside of the drawer and Volia! the noise stopped. The drawer does not always pop open as it should but this is due to the spring not being tight enough. All in all I love this product and I am so glad to be able to write a great review!!! Thanks Fisher Price!!!!

My son received the Smart Shopper as a gift for his second birthday about three months ago, and he loved it from the start. I was amazed; it didn't look too interesting to me at first, but he thought it was great. Sometimes he plays by himself, and sometimes he comes to me and says "go shopping?" Then he says "turn on light?" so the scanner will work. We learned pretty quickly that the scanner is really a light sensor. He rearranges the shelves, and the food on the shelves. He weighs and scans food, and walks around with the basket on his arm. He presses the number and food buttons, and repeats phrases. For some reason, he thinks some of the phrases are highly amusing. He's learning about letters, numbers, food names, and even how not to overstuff the cash drawer. We've added a few of our own food items, such as an empty mustard bottle. When we play together, we pretend to go on a real shopping trip, arriving with the play money and leaving with the play food we put in a real grocery bag. Then we put the food in our refrigerator. When we go to the real grocery store, I show him the scale, scanner, and cash drawer. So far, it's been durable and we've had no problems with it. We don't have the extra ROM packs yet, but will get them.

I would not recommend this toy. It was not vary easy to get together. When I did get it together, the scanner, cash register drawer, and credit card didn't work. We had to call Fisher Price. The toy has to be in bright light in order for the scanner to work. It didn't say any thing about that in the instructions. We also had to take apart the cash register and put the spring back on that made the drawer pop out. I think that this toy is a good idea, but a poor design.

My seven and two year old play together with this toy all the time! My two year old especially loves the money!! He pretends to buy things and now identifies things clearly at the supermarket. The best part is the scanner and the prices constantly change. There are additional cartridges to purchase that will teach your toddler about shapes, colors, etc. and they come with different food groups.

I read a review that gave this toy some negative feedback so I decided to test it out before my little girl's birthday. Just as another reviewer said, the drawer on the cash register doesn't stay closed because the spring is broken. In addition, the scanner feature doesn't work at all. It's such a cute toy, but it is VERY poorly made. I would not recommend it.

When I read some of the reviews of this toy. I seriously considered not purchasing it, but the concepts behind this toy appealed to me, and I thought it was worth a shot, so... My daughter truly enjoys this toy. We play store during the day, and she loves handing the customer the groceries, ringing them up on the register, and putting the money in the drawer. She understands real shopping much more clearly, and has a better conception of money. Of course at age 2, it's all her money.

The food is very realistic, and the voice on the register is clear and audible.

I didn't find the toy very difficult to put together, but you do have to be precise. My scanner only works during the day, by the window, but I seem to be the only one bothered by it. My daughter still runs the groceries over it and makes her own beep sounds. Score one for kids imaginations.

My only problem with this toy is its lack of shelf space. You can't fit all the groceries (assuming you buy all the CD ROm packs) on the shelves.

I have been waiting for this toy to go on the market for over a month. When I finally saw it in the store, I was so excited. I bought it for my daughters 2nd birthday. Was that a mistake! It took forever to put together. I finally got it together and there really isn't much to do. Never mind the fact that the cash register won't close all the way unless all the money is in it. Let's just say that the next day I took it all apart and brought it back to the store. I was very disappointed in this item and definately not worth the money!

Just purchased this recently. My three year old is a total shop-a-holic so this is perfect for her! So far she's really enjoying it! Love the scanner, as it's pretty realistic!
Am happy I read the previous reviews about all the quirks for setting up the register. It saved me a lot of frustration and thought of this one's broken. I'm glad I knew to be patient and that it was just a matter of assembling it properly. We first came home and opened it up and started assembling the register to make sure it really would work before my daughter even knew we had it. Took me forever to get that register on properly, and still isn't! But, the scanner is working, so happy with that. Only thing is the drawer doesn't pop open, just stays open or manually open/close it. one day keep saying will take it apart and try to install it again! But just happy the scanner is working. As far as light for the scanner, we keep our house pretty well lit, and hasn't been a problem yet for us in the day or night, as we just keep this in a brighter end of the room.
The only thing I wish this had was for credit cards if it were to make noise when you scan the card. On the back of the register is a little credit card area which is pretty lame. It's ridged where you slide the card and makes a noise over the ridged plastic. Would have been way cooler if it beeped or something, as my daughter looks forward to sliding my credit card for me in real stores! But at least the scanner is pretty cool! We were going to buy an older Playskook checkout model which the credit cards made noise, but figured this had a nicer scanner and the whole grocery shopping aspect of it.
As far as the learning aspect of this for the register, my daughter could care less. So we won't bother buying the different ROMs for it. But she's having a great time with her toy shopping cart and now having her own little grocery store!
Just be patient hooking up that register!

I purchased this toy for my 2 year old despite the negative reviews I read. First of all, I had no problems putting it together. I followed the directions for the cash register, and it works perfectly. The drawer stays closed fine and opens fine when you hit the enter key. The scanner also works very well. There was a sticker on it that says it works better in light, so I keep it near a window or lamp, which seems to work very well. I think it is very durable, my daughter loves to go "shopping", and so do all the neighbor kids, who are mostly boys and older and not very gentle with it. I think this will be a toy she will grow into, and the educational factor will increase as she gets older too. I look forward to buying the refills and adding even more variety. I highly recommend this toy to anyone!