Having an exceptionally busy time at work just now- bear with me, I'll try to get a new op posted so...
Having an exceptionally busy time at work just now- bear with me, I'll try to get a new op posted soon.
Member since:09.07.2001
Reviews:51
Members who trust:45
Fancy saving a lot of money on your next purchase of home electrical goods? I am talking about quite a lot of money, too, not just the piddly £5 or £10 you might scrape if you traipse around all the High Street stores. There are some absolutely amazing bargains to be had at Electricaldiscountuk.co.uk, an online shop selling a wonderful range of products. Add on free delivery for most items, free 3 year guarantees, secure online ordering, and excellent customer service…let's just say it's so good that I am writing about it for the benefit of Ciao users even though I won't get paid a penny (literally) for this op!
The Electricaldiscountuk site is easy to navigate and clearly laid out. Special offers are presented on the first page, which is nice if you want to head straight to the bargains. You can search for items by manufacturer, or by cost.
WHAT DO THEY SELL?
A great range of brand-name televisions, DVD's, camcorders, home cinemas, computer products, MP3 players, Hi-fi systems, domestic appliances including microwaves, vacuum cleaners, cookers,
fax machines and more. The list of products is displayed at the left of the screen- to check out each section, simply click on the category, and it will take you to a page where you can narrow down your choices. For example, clicking on "televisions" gives you the option of searching under Widescreen, TV/VCR/DVD packages, or Nicam stereo.
In the subcategories, i.e Widescreen, the page displays the models on offer, the features of each item, the High Street price, and Electricaldiscountuk's price. This lets you see immediately how much you are saving. If you want more detail on each item, you can click on " More detail" which brings up a big picture of the product, and all the various specifications.
Special offers are flagged up in red, often giving the actual savings, which is very helpful as an instant price guide. Prices include VAT. New product models are also highlighted in red.
SO, HOW ABOUT THESE SAVINGS?
I think the easiest way to illustrate this is to give a few examples from the site. Note that pries do change all the time, so these are just the current offers. Prepare to have your jaw hit the floor in some cases!
Some current deals include:
A Zanussi DE4744 washing machine with one year guarantee, currently £264.99- saving of £85.00 off the High Street prices
A Panasonic TX36PG50 88cm Widescreen television with Dolby Digital- saving of £510! Includes three year guarantee worth £171.00
Philips 42PF9952D 42in Plasma Flat TV Inc stand, including 1 year guarantee. High Street 8499.99, ElectricalDiscountuk £6424.99- that's a considerable £2075 saving!
A Samsung American style fridge-freezer with 2 year guarantee and free delivery, £649.9, saving £200 off the High Street price.
A Panasonic TX36PG50 camcorder including one year guarantee, special offer 599.99, saving £400 off the High Street price.
Dyson DC03Absolute Cyclone vacuum cleaner with 2 year guarantee, currently on offer for £185, compared to £279 High Street price, a savings of £94.
There are many good bargains throughout, and even if you are not necessarily always saving hundreds of pounds, the deals are still good. We ordered a Panasonic stereo, and saved £40 off the High Street prices. I knew the saving was real, because I had spent all day Saturday going to every department store and High Street retailer to compare prices. This was by far the cheapest I had found by a long shot.
HOW DO I ORDER?
Electricaldiscountuk give two options- you can order online using the traditional "shopping cart" method, using the online secure server. Or if you are wary of these things, you can phone the freephone number. Lines are open Monday through Saturday I ordered online, and had no problems. A customer service representative frome Electricaldiscountuk phoned with 5 minutes to confirm the order! You can pay by a number of credit cards, and some credit options are available for items like widescreen televisions.
Item availability is given at the time of ordering. All items come with a one year guarantee, and some have extended guarantees on top of that.
You can purchase even further extended guarantees on your items, and the prices depend on the type of goods you buy. There is a separate page detailing the extended guarantees clearly.
DELIVERY
Incredibly prompt. The site gives all the delivery details- standard delivery is 48 hours, or for a fee you can get next day delivery. We ordered on Sunday night, and had the stereo sent to the correct address by Wednesday- if you order by noon, you should have your goods within two days, possibly less! Certain items, such as tumble dryers and cookers do incur a delivery charge, and have longer delivery times, but this is confirmed at the time of ordering.
They will arrange for Home Entertainment Products to be delivered to your place of work, but be aware that proof of ID is required.
The only problem we had was that the box arrived with a slightly damp corner. This made me a little nervous, as I was worried that it might affect the stereo, but it was well-packaged and there was no damage to the item itself.
STILL NOT SURE?
The site belongs to Which? Webtraders code of practice. It also offers a page of customer testimonials from happy buyers impressed with the prices and services. I don't usually credit testimonials with much weight, but in this case, all the comments confirm the service I received myself, and it would appear that Electricaldiscountuk are doing good job. A few comments indicate they handle the Christmas rush very well!
Customer service is generally excellent. I was impressed by the speed of the follow-up call after ordering online. Check out the customer service page, which clearly lays out all their policies on guarantees, complaints, after-sales, faulty items, how to make contact by phone, e-mail or post, and their terms and conditions.
You can register for details of special offers to be sent to you, if you are holding on for that special bargain.
ANYTHING TO BE IMPROVED?
It would be good if the site could give product reviews, and provide a bit more product information. The pictures and list of specifications are good, but if you don't know what you are looking for, it can be a little overwhelming picking your way through a list of brand names. You may wish to do a little research first and double check what you are looking for in a shop- especially if you are purchasing a very expensive item. This is also quite good simply from the standpoint of knowing you are getting a very, very good deal.
Log on to www.electricaldiscountuk.co.uk for more information. I sincerely hope you find the bargains as spectacular as I did, and enjoy saving lots of money!
UPDATE: The Boyfriend recently ordered a DVD player on site which was supposed to come with three free DVD's. The DVD player arrived no problem, but no sign of the DVDs, and the customer service people (via phone) were a bit clueless about it.
UPDATE UPDATE
Customer service replied to our e-mail very promptly and explained the invoice for the product is sent separately from the special offers, ie free DVDs and guarantees. So it would seem the confusion has been handled well, although I would suggest this is something they could explain on site when ordering takes place.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
... the site is still going strong! Thanks for an excellent opinion - and just in time, before I go out and buy a new widescreen tv and fridge/freezer :-)
Montenegrin 17.04.2002 15:08
You seem to be a helluva bargain hunter. Superb opinion. Need to check this site asap. Thanks a lot. Cheers.
TallTone 23.11.2001 16:40
I wasn't previously aware of this site - will add it to my favourites for the next time I need something of the ilk - thanks! TT.
Nov 13th, 2001
(Nov 21st, 2001)
very helpful by (100%):
