Argos.co.uk (Argos Online)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Web address:-http://www.argos.co.uk
What is Argos.co.uk?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Argos.co.uk is the online shopping facility of the famous company Argos that first opened its doors to the public in July 1973 offering a huge 4700 products for sale in there first 250-page catalogue. The idea was that the company produced a catalogue to promote all the products you could buy from them and allowing them to have smaller shops as they only required minimal display features and payment features with a warehouse at the back of this facility. This allowed the customers to choose the products they wanted to buy at home and take the catalogue numbers to there nearest store to purchase that item if it was in stock or try to order it. Argos then went on from strength to strength launching new features and products all the time. In the July 1993 winter catalogue Argos
first launched there `Stock Checking` and `Ring and Reserve` feature to the company and in 2000 they launched the new Wedding List` feature. It has seen many difficulties over the years but has always managed to come up with new and inventive ideas and increase the variety of products sold. At the end of 2001, Argos first launched its
internet shopping facility, which has now managed to allow it to compete with its other leading competitors and continue supplying a good and valuable service to its loyal customers.What does Argos Online Sell?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To be honest it would be impossible for me to list all the products argos.co.uk sell online via there website so I cannot possibly list the thousands of different items that they sell, so I will write the twelve main categories that the site uses and a brief description as to some of the different products in that category.
Sound and vision:-This section lists all the different television, videos, and music playing devices that the company sells.
Kitchen and Laundry: - This section lists all varieties of kitchen appliances and accessories plus laundry products.
Video Games: - This features all the different varieties of games consoles and top selling games for those consoles.
D.I.Y, Garden and Car: - Tools and toolboxes, car accessories, garden furniture and garden tools plus more.
Photography: - Film and digital camera, plus films and storage accessories.
Office, PC and phones: - all telecommunication devices, home computers plus accessories, printers, scanners and computers desks plus chairs.
Furniture and Furnishings: - Bedroom, Lounge and dinning room furniture, Curtains, Blinds, bedding and other furnishings.
Bathroom and Personal Care: - Showers, Towels and bathroom accessories, Shavers, Hair care and Dental care products.
Sports and Leisure: - Home gym and sports equipment plus accessories.
Toys and Baby: - Nursery equipment, accessories, prams and more plus Toys and games for all ages.
Gifts: - Gifts for all occasions plus a gift search engine for added help and advice plus suggestions.
Jewellery and Watches: - Rings, Necklaces, Bracelets, Charms and watches plus more.
How to Buy.
------------------------------
It is easy and straightforward to
order online with argos.co.uk and you simply add the items you wish to purchase to your basket via the button next to the product when you have found the items you wish to purchase. Finding the products you wish to buy is also very easy you can use the search facility provided by the site to find products by either keyword or
Argos catalogue product code, listed in the catalogue. If you prefer though you can shop online from the main section links listed above and find the products you wish to buy that way. Once you have added all the items required from Argos to your basket it is then time to decide if you wish to reserve the items in store fore collection or go through the checkout process to pay for the items and arrange for home delivery.
Payments.
---------------------------
Argos accept all major credit cards
for a payment method on there website, or if you have an Argos credit facility account then you can add the cost of your purchases to that account here. The checkout procedure for checkout on the Argos website is the same as all
other websites concerning the request of your name, address, phone number and email address. You are then given an opportunity to have your items sent to a different delivery address if you prefer. Finally, you have to enter your
card payment details, check your order is correct and then confirm your delivery date. You are given an option on the Argos website, which enables you to choose the most convenient delivery date for yourself; however, this excludes large items as you are telephoned concerning these items to arrange delivery when the stock is available. Argos will then give you a reference number on the next webpage, which is printer friendly for future reference, but you will also be sent an email confirming your order and delivery details.Delivery.
--------------------
Home delivery service from Argos comes with a standard fee for smaller products sold on argos.co.uk and is £4.95 however, you can arrange for
next day delivery if ordered before 1pm. This feature is charged at an extra rate, as is Saturday delivery, the extra charge is £2.95 making total delivery charges of £7.90 which can work out a little expensive so you should always be aware that although it sounds good for an extra £2.95 you must remember to add the original delivery charge to this amount as well. Another thing to be aware of with Argos delivery charges is that items which state on there listing as an express delivery item is not covered by the £4.95 delivery charge but is actually a charge of £19.99 for delivery. Finally, Argos does offer a connection fee for products such as dishwashers, cookers and
washing machines, which is optional, but also carry an additional fee; the product listing should clearly state details of this for you to view before ordering. The length of delivery time offered by Argos is totally dependant on stock levels, your choice of delivery date and time of day the order is placed but they do aim to offer delivery within two days if ordering on a weekday before 1pm, but this is not guaranteed.
Other Site Feature.
---------------------------------
1. Stock Reservation: - This is a feature you can use via your home telephone but is now mostly used as an online feature of the Argos website. The feature allows you to reserve an item in your local Argos branch for a set amount of time to ensure you will have the item in stock when you arrive in the store. (This is if you collect the item within the set reservation time). The reason that Argos only set you a limit on the time that they reserve stock for you is to prevent them from having unclaimed excess stock from unclaimed reserves and also each branch has so many reservation requests these days that if it was any longer than they currently allow they would have no room to move in there stores due to an excess of reserved stock awaiting collection. When you reserve an item with Argos, you do not need to pay for this item online as you need to pay for it on arrival at the store you have reserved the item from.
2. Stock Available: - The Argos website offers you the added bonus of being able to check if your local branch actually has the items, you want to buy in stock before you even leave your home. It is at this point you can reserve the item, which if the item is on sale is a great feature to ensure you definitely get your bargain.
3. Special Offers and Price drops: - This section of Argos is where you will find all the current sale offers that are currently running with Argos, you are given the sale price and the original price for reference and you are allowed to reserve these items.
Other Services from Argos.co.uk
--------------------------------------------------
The site also features a store locator for everyone so that you can find the nearest store to your location by postcode listing, it also gives you the
contact addresses and phone number of the
argos store and the distance from your postcode given. Wedding gift list is another feature on the Argos website, which allows couples who are getting married to make an online wedding gift list of Argos products and more features. You can apply for an argos
credit card if you want from the argos site but you should be aware that this credit card runs at a massive 25.9% APR. Argos now offers a range of insurance services as well now for you including
home insurance,
pet insurance,
car insurance and
travel insurance and Argos has recently added a new Travel services section to there website as well now. Finally, Argos also has a quick order facility for you to use if you prefer from you catalogue reference numbers and they offer a search facility that allows you to search the site via a catalogue number or keyword facility.
Returns and Refunds.
---------------------------------------------
Argos online has the same 16-day money-back guarantee as it does in store and through its catalogue but it also has the same restrictions as well. You must have the product original packaging and still in perfect condition and the product receipt. It also has the same exclusions as concerning Jewellery, Personal care products and certain digital imaging devices.
The reasons for this are clearly stated and available from the help section of the Argos website.
To return a product as faulty or for the money back guarantee via your local branch of argos however you can have the items collected to return them if you have had the items delivered to your home from the website in the first place. To return a product you have had via home delivery simply phone 08706003030 and arrange with the customer services department.
Other Info.
----------------------------
This is just a small section to inform you that certain jewellery items sold on the Argos website are not available for home delivery such as Rings and some other personalizes items are also included however these are clearly stated on the product listings. They are also excluded from the stock checking and reservation features.
Site Security.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Argos.co.uk boasts a 100% secure shopping feature on there online store
, they state that this is possible because they use the following features. They use SSL (secure sockets layer) in there ordering and payment facilities and that all transactions are processed by there secure server in an encrypted format for added security. This process will also be securely closed immediately after the transaction payment has been processed for even more added security. Full details of this are available from argos.co.uk; please see the privacy and security links available from the webpage's.My Opinion.
------------------------
I have to confess I have regularly had products via the Argos website delivered to my door, and I think it is a fantastic service. I use this site every year to do all of my Christmas shopping as not only does it save me a journey to the shop but it also allows me to avoid all those horrible Christmas rush cues that we all know and hate at that seasonal time of year. It allows me to order everything I want from Argos from the comfort of my own home and have it all safely delivered to my
front door within four working days usually providing the items are in stock. I have to say I do disagree with the additional fees for the Saturday delivery and next day delivery service as I feel you already have to pay nearly £5 for the items to be delivered and should not have to be charged another three pounds for a few hours. To avoid this I always insure I order early and if not I will do The Reservation Feature instead. All the items I have ever ordered from Argos online have always been in excellent conditions and I know I am probably extremely luck in the sense, but on saying this, it is unfair for me to comment on the returns service they have to offer, as I have never had to use it. I can however comment on the Customer Services that Argos has as I have had to use them once when my order did not turn up on the delivery date stated. I spoke to the Customer services representative and I must say he was extremely helpful and very apologetic. He explained to me that my order had been left in the warehouse in error and promised me delivery the next day.
I was a little worried at the time as to whether this would actually happen, but true to his word my items were delivered the next day and the driver also apologised for his error. So on that basis I have to say that I personally have found the customer services offered by Argos excellent and the staff extremely pleasant and helpful.
On saying all this, I am happy to say that I find the service Argos online has to offer very efficient safe secure valuable fast and top quality and therefore give argos.co.uk a massive 9.7/10
Happy Shopping....
The Big, Big Book online for even easier access ! 
good information about argos!