Great Universal > Reviews (16)

Great Universal, Trafford that was is one expensive way to shop. My wife first used Trafford in the early 70's when we needed to furnish our first home.

I was at sea at the time and credit, unlike today was difficult to obtain, even more so if you were a serving member of Her Majesties Armed Forces. So we were happy when we stumbled across an advert for a Trafford catalogue which we promptly applied for and used and hurray a free gift on receipt of the first order became ours.

The catalogue has stayed with us over the years and is now in its current form, Known now as Great Universal. It has been extremly valuable to us as it has helped us to spred the financial burden of a large young fast growing family.

I cannot fault the catalogue which is a full colour glossy publication for its content which is very comprehesive, including clothing, footwear, furniture and fabrics, garden products, electrical goods, photographic equipment & toys and much much more. The catalogue is also enhanced by supplements which are sent periodically such as summer clothing (not needed here in the North East) toys at Christmas, plants in the spring etc.

You can also request free brochures such as Gift time, home update and the Sofa collection to be sent to you post free of course

Also you can shop online at www.greatuniversal.com which has its own search facility, check your account or use the instant gift wizard where you input your budget, who the gift is for and select the gift type and a number of options are found for you in a flash. It also includes a help desk where your questions are answered, such as delivery times and costs , measuring guides etc.

Insurance also features heavily in the catalogue. Car insurance is a phone call away, I had occasion to use this recently but found it to be uncompetitive, that said I have used it in the past and I would certainly look again. Pet insurance is included and I am looking seriously to insuring our new kitten with them as they are definatly better value that Pet Plan. Home insurance is provided, look up your postcode, select the cover you want and your quote is there before you. ( It seems expensive to me ). Another option is Holiday cover which includes medical fees, cancellation or loss of deposit cover, accident an loss of belongings cover. Do you want a loan (Up to £15000.00) want to join the AA or the RAC well you can from here

Now the downside the cost. An example, a Tasco telescope which costs £279.99 is available from Argos for £249.00 now I understand that you get free delivery and that there have to be administration costs but I find the mark up to be exccesive., and someone please correct me if I'm wrong but don't they both belong to the same group. A Pentax Espio738s £79.00 at Argos and £99.99 at Great Universal,. and there are many more not just at Argos but through all retail outlets. I should add that you are given 10% commission in cash on your payments or 12.5% in goods at the end of each month which can be left to build up to a decent amount and claimed when you want.

You can if you wish pay over a variable number of weeks starting from 20 upwards. You are also encouraged to buy now and pay later, not a path that I recommend at these rates, but sometimes necessity makes these schemes a must and then the can be a god send. Also to boost your income you can act as an agent for them and take your percentage again from the payments of your customers, this option if you have enough customers may make the catalogue viable to have.

A word of warning now, Do not believe ANYTHING you are told by the accounts department , question everything and stand your ground or you may end up with an even bigger bill.

Thanks for reading © Baz