Santa brought this for my son, and after 5 hours of attempted assembly by two adults (one of whom is an engineer) and one sad 8-year old, this machine will not work at all due to a flaw in the hydraulic system. I would return it, but I’m tired of looking at it and would rather chuck it in the trash than disassemble, try to fit it back in the original box, and go through the hassle of returning. So I’ll just leave bad reviews everywhere and warn everyone DO NOT BUY THIS!
Disliked:
Quality,Value,Educational
Todd D.
December 26, 2021
Extremely Disapointed
We've been working on this for 3 hours and still have not completed it. It is impossible for a child to put together. The parts that we have completed do not work. DO NOT BUY THIS! Wish we could get our money back.
Disliked:
Quality,Value,Educational
MindWare
December 27, 2021
Staff
We are sorry to hear this didn’t meet your expectations. We ensure our customers a 100% Happiness Guarantee and want to find you something you’ll like better. Please contact our Customer Service team directly at 1 (800) 274-6123 if you would like to exchange this for another item.
December 26, 2021
Verified Purchaser
Don’t waste your money!
Do not recommend. Bought for our claw machine loving son, thought this would be fun / different then the traditional claw machine. It’s so tiny and fragile, it breaks almost every time he touches it which results in frustration on all sides. Don’t waste your money! Will be tossing this and buying him a replacement somewhere else. Love the concept but hate the product.
MindWare
December 27, 2021
Staff
We're so sorry you were disappointed! We want you to be completely satisfied with every purchase and when you're not, we can help find something that you’ll like better. Please contact our Customer Service team directly at 1 (800) 274-6123 if you would like to exchange this for another item.
Joni E.
December 29, 2021
I wish I had read reviews on this!
I wish I had read the reviews on this before we bought it but it's what our son wanted. He's 8, pretty bright and a capable builder and follower of instructions. The age rating on the package was vastly underestimated. Son and father worked on this for hours, got it pretty close to finished, only to find out the seals were not sealing, thus rendering the hydraulics, and the toy itself, completely useless. We've reached out to Thames & Kosmos to get replacement parts, but no response yet.
MindWare
December 30, 2021
Staff
We are sorry to hear the Candy Claw Machine didn’t meet your expectations! We ensure our customers a 100% Happiness Guarantee and want to find you something you’ll like better. A member of our customer service team will reach out to you directly; we look forward to connecting soon!
December 29, 2021
Do not buy this!
I would not recommend this product at all! It took hours to build and was extremely difficult to put together. I bought this for my 9 year old son and it was impossible for him to build (even though it says for ages 8+) leading to my husband and I to take over. It was still extremely difficult to put together, as two educated adults. The instructions were unclear, so many mistakes were made and we could never get the claw to work. We were so frustrated we ended up giving up.
Disliked:
Quality,Value,Educational
MindWare
December 30, 2021
Staff
We're so sorry you were disappointed! We want you to be completely satisfied with every purchase and when you're not, we can help find something that you’ll like better. Please contact our Customer Service team directly at 1 (800) 274-6123 if you would like to exchange this for another item.
December 29, 2021
– Montrose
Verified Purchaser
completely useless
This product was a headache to put together, took in total 4 hours to complete. Once it was set up our daughter couldn't even play with it, it kept falling apart. Very frustrating for our daughter, not to say how frustrated we were after working on it for hours and ended up completely useless.
Disliked:
Quality,Value,Educational
MindWare
December 30, 2021
Staff
We want you to be completely satisfied with every purchase and when you're not, we can help find something that you’ll like better. Please contact our Customer Service team directly at 1 (800) 274-6123 if you would like to exchange this for another item.
December 27, 2021
Verified Purchaser
HORRIBLE
This does not work! My daughter and husband spent 3 hours building it and then he spent 2 more hours trouble shooting why it did not work. The kids still try to use it despite claw not moving down and by the next day several of the pieces were broken! Its a PIECE of JUNK!
Disliked:
Quality,Value,Educational
December 19, 2021
Verified Purchaser
Not very durable
I didn’t like this product at all. Levers kept coming off every time my grandkids tried to raise or lower , or close the claw. It went in the garage after 2 hrs of them using it. What a waste of money
Disliked:
Quality,Value,Educational
Jacqueline S.
December 28, 2021
Huge disappointment
Awful. Spent 3 hours building it, follows the directions as well as the video directions. It does not work. The hoses keep popping out, the gears don’t properly align…. I could go on.
I would not recommend purchasing this product. Huge disappointment.
Liked:
Quality
Disliked:
Quality,Value,Educational
February 26, 2023
Don't buy this product
I've spent several hours trying to get this to work with my 10 year old grandson. The hydraulics part leaks like a sieve from all of the pistons in spite of following directions. We tried the cooking oil as recommended to seal the pistons, then more viscous mineral oil, silicone grease, and Vaseline. Nothing worked. Also, the online video instruction differs significantly from the written instruction on how to construct the plungers.
Attractive idea, badly made. Waste of time and money.
MindWare
February 27, 2023
Staff
We're so sorry you were disappointed! We want you to be completely satisfied with every purchase and when you're not, we can help find something that you’ll like better. Please contact our Customer Service team directly at 1 (800) 274-6123 if you would like to return or exchange this for another item.
LeeAnn S.
February 28, 2022
DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY AND TIME.
This was a horrible experience. 3 of us adults, at different times, tried for hours to put it together and never even came close to doing it. There was not one positive thing about it.
MindWare
February 28, 2022
Staff
We are sorry to hear this didn’t meet your expectations. We ensure our customers a 100% Happiness Guarantee and want to find you something you’ll like better. Please contact our Customer Service team directly at 1 (800) 274-6123 if you would like to exchange this for another item or receive a refund.
MindWare
March 01, 2022
Staff
We're so sorry you were disappointed! We want you to be completely satisfied with every purchase and when you're not, we can help find something that you’ll like better. Please contact our Customer Service team directly at 1 (800) 274-6123 if you would like to exchange this for another item or to receive a refund.
January 30, 2022
Verified Purchaser
Built to fall apart
This thing barely worked once then fell apart. We were careful following the instructions which were mostly clear. The parts are so cheap and when put together precarious at best. I was expecting something she could play with and it most definitely is not.
The best part was hanging out with my daughter working on the project together, which really was the point. It was educational in the sense that everything is a learning experience.
Liked:
Quality,Educational
Disliked:
Quality,Value,Educational
MindWare
February 07, 2022
Staff
We are sorry to hear this didn’t meet your expectations. We ensure our customers a 100% Happiness Guarantee and want to find you something you’ll like better. Please contact our Customer Service team directly at 1 (800) 274-6123 if you would like to exchange this for another item or receive a refund.
