KidKraft Playsets

KidKraft has been around for more than 50 years, primarily as a toy company. They produce doll houses, train sets, musical instruments, and kids furniture. They really do it all when it comes to children’s toys. Within the last decade, kid craft purchased a Canadian-based playset business that brought them into the outdoor industry. They continue to adapt the product and bring their toy expertise to the backyard category.

KidKraft is a marketing juggernaut. They have totally dialed into the mom blog and fashion-forward trendsetters when it comes to anything they sell. Any cute play kitchen or doll house will have been rigorously designed for the trendiest of buyers. Quite frankly, KidKraft makes superior looking products across the board. They have the Instagram following to prove it! I do find it interesting that many of the KidKraft pictures shared online are totally redone, repainted, or otherwise customized by the customer, making the product even more worthy of a retweet.

They also go one step further by paying very close attention to the shipping and installation process. They meticulously plan out packaging and sorting of hardware so as to make it easier for someone remotely handy to put together their toys. Their playsets are rarely more than 5 or 6 boxes in total and very clearly marked. Lastly, their design team has value-engineered a lot of the product down to an appropriate price point. Again, they are great marketers. They begin with the price point, margin, and look that they want, and work backwards through their rigorous design process to arrive at a spot-on product made for the latest social media share.

Something you may recognize about their business model when it comes to playsets is that they are heavily invested in the large retailers. You will find many products on their site exclusively sold at Walmart, Costco, or Target. They go through large negotiations with their retailers to come up with an exclusive model. It’s unclear to us whether or not kid craft continues to hold the bag for these large inventories or if the retailers will have a fire sale for unpopular sets. Frankly, it just isn’t a problem in today’s playset industry where demand is very high.

Another thing to note is that their model names change every year or so. You may find yourself liking one product that goes out of stock, only to find it never returns. In some ways, this looks a lot like the fashion industry where companies are turning out new models, new features, and new colors. You will see some similarities between particular playsets year of year, but don’t expect to have the old tried-and-true models named the same each year. This also happens to benefit the company by making each model stand on its own, and there aren’t really any interchangeable components.

The main drawback you’ll run into with KidKraft Playsets is that they aren’t necessarily designed for longevity. As mentioned earlier, they have designed the playset for the instant gratification of the social media world and they definitely hit a lower price point than the heavy-duty manufacturers, but these playsets have the fast-fashion concept in mind as well. You’ll be installing the best looking playset on the block today, but you’ll be taking it back down within 5 years as well, possibly looking for that year’s fancy model.

KidKraft Playsets Warranty

KidKraft covers the lumber of their playsets for five years. They cover hardware and accessories for one year. There are many limitations on the wood warranty, so you will need to get into the details. The warranty is not transferable from the original buyer.

It also does not cover cosmetic defects, acts of nature, improper installation issues, or minor warping that doesn’t affect the performance of the place that, at the company sole discretion. The warranty is only applicable for residential use, and cannot be claimed with any commercial or public use.

This is a fairly limited warranty and is commensurate with the product that you’re getting.

KidKraft Playsets Replacement Parts

Replacing parts in the first 90 days due to manufacture air is just completed online. In fact, you can order just about any replacement part that you need through their website, but you will be charged for it and shipping.

KidKraft Playsets Shipping Policy

You will always want to pay attention to the particular retailer from whom you buy the playset. Just know that most retailers use third-party carriers which aren’t under their control. Regardless of what you pay for shipping, you should know that you will likely be out the companies cost of shipping if you decide to return it, you will also have to pay the shipping back to the retailer as well.

The KidKraft shipping policy is very straightforward and matches most of what you would see in the market. In general, you should probably look to sell a playset in your local area to recoup more of your cost in the item.