We spend 3 days, 6 hours and 35 minutes doing our Christmas shopping! That’s according to a shopping survey by one of the big insurance companies that’s just landed on my desk….but in order to beat those crowded stuffy stores and save time (and bag cheaper prices in some cases!) many of us have been getting savvy and shopping online…..
Great stuff! And I’ve ordered quite a lot of my own shopping online, BUT how good is the packaging when it comes to receiving your gifts? Are they battered and bashed, meaning you’ve then got to send them back (queuing at the Post Office) or spend time returning them to the high street version of the store when shopping online was meant to save time….
Thought I’d share some of my online Christmas shopping experiences this year, as let’s face it, if you’re thinking of shopping in the virtual world you want to check out the whole deal before you buy…….
M&S - fabulous!
Can’t praise them enough; while yes you do pay £3.50 delivery, unless you’ve got a discount voucher code, everything is wrapped in lots of plastic wrapping for extra protection and packed carefully in a cardboard box. As I had a boxed item in the parcel this was great as it meant the corners didn’t get battered or mutilated. Everything arrived in perfect condition so well worth the £3.50 - well done M&S!
Amazon
Opted for the ‘free’ delivery here on a large spiral bound desk diary (for my office!) and it arrived within just a couple of days in heavy cardboard packaging so corners couldn’t be dented or damaged - in fact so well packaged it was hard to get into but I don’t mind that - brilliant!
Play.com
I often order from these guys though between them and Asda.com it’s often a close run thing on price for CD’s and DVD’s - but both the CD and DVD arrived in perfect condition with thick cardboard packaging so while the packaging itself was a bit battered the gift inside was perfect!
Tesco.com….
Hmm now left them till last as sadly this was beyond shabby packaging on no less than two separate occasions….and in both cases while packaging and delivery was free, it left me thinking ‘is this a case of, you get what you pay for’ but such a shame from such a massive store where prices particularly on books and gifts are very competitive - at least two items I bought from them were half the price of other high street stores….(but half the packaging as you’re about to find out!)….
All the boxed items were wrapped in nothing more than a plastic bag, which by the time they’d sat in the courier van and been handed over were battered and the boxes inside were very dented and damaged on all corners - very disappointing. The first item was returned for a refund; but I had to foot postage first up to get it back there as customer service claimed they couldn’t send out a free ‘returns’ label and two weeks later I was still waiting for the replacement so got a refund on the lot. Second up bashed boxes so quickest option is going to be a trip to the store to return them, and despite an email to customer service several days ago still waiting for a response…so a letter will be on its way to the chief exec…….
So do watch out when you buy online as poor packaging can make the difference between a great service and a really shabby one which costs you more in time and hassle ringing for refunds or returning items….
Let me know your experiences? Have you had some brilliantly packaged parcels or battered gifts?