Toys R Us

US import Toys R Us has 64 megastores in the UK, and they've been online since 1996. They recently struck up a business partnership with Amazon, but we found different products and prices on www.toysrus.co.uk and www.amazon.co.uk, so we reviewed them separately. First reactions to the bright homepage was 'wow, that looks great' - a phrase that kept repeating on us as we clicked around. The Top 10 Products list takes pride of place on the homepage and all listed toys are hyperlinked, with the all-important price details immediately visible. Leading the pack when we visited was the Battle Spin Warriors Pro Gift Set. You can't buy every Toys R Us in-store item online, but the site's range of products is nonetheless vast, encompassing PCs, DVDs, clothes, bikes and car seats as well as toys. Categories are listed in tabs across the top and special deals are highlighted. Clare, who gets very frustrated with slow websites, found the search facility quick and easy to use. The excellent Advanced Search let her specify any combination of brand, category, price, age and theme (the first search term that came to Clare's mind was Harry Potter), and when she selected an item she was directed to other related categories. Prices are parent-friendly, with lots of reductions, good regular prices and reasonable delivery charges, at £3.50 for ëwithin four working days'. You also get a constant on-screen reminder of your running total. However, we had some complaints: 'I don't think it tells you enough about the toy when you click on it. They do have lots of things, but the girl's bikes are rubbish'. Your grown-up reviewer was more irritated by the big space-gobbling frame that meant we could only scroll using two-thirds of the screen, and we were disappointed that Toys R Us gift vouchers aren't accepted online. One criticism offered: 'Where is the giraffe?' Familiar Toys R Us mascot Geoffrey is nowhere to be seen online. Bring him back, we say.