Haven't had a survey for nearly 3 months from ciao :(
Haven't had a survey for nearly 3 months from ciao :(
Member since:20.03.2007
Reviews:83
Members who trust:37
Despite my last order through the catalogues being a while back due to the appalling service provided by La Redoute I do still browse through them when the big heavy books lands on the doorstep. Last week that book was the Great Universal Spring Summer 08 edition allowing you until the 17th August 2008 to make your purchase. "Spread the cost with affordable payment options," screams the green circle of text on the lower left hand side of the page.
Flicking through I am amazed at how expensive catalogue clothes have actually got compared to the same items in the high-street. Never the less I systematically fold over the corners of any page which shows an item I wish to purchase, but my bank balance refuses to allow, something I do with every catalogue, just in case someone else happens to flick through it and wish to buy me something (it is so far yet to happen).
The catalogue itself if nicely
set out and covers a variety of items. Its key page is as follows.
The pink section represents women The red section represents men The orange section represents kids The khaki section represents home The blue section represents electricals The green section represents leisure
Nice and easy to follow.
The ladies clothes section, which is my only interest, clearly shows on average 3/4 garments per page all modelled by lovely proportionate models. Where items are not modelled such as sets of t-shirts there is often a display of up to 12 shirts on one page. The information relating to the item is to the side of one page and each item is categorised alphabetically.
By the end of the women's section my wish list has 5 items (1 suit which I suppose is in two parts and makes 6 items) and is a whopping £308.
As I really have no interest in buying these items and they are purely a wish list I cast the catalogue aside.
Today the book, which landed on the doorstep, was Additions - the Littlewoods catalogue Spring 2008 edition allowing you to make a purchase before the 17th August 2008.
Flicking through I am this time amazed at how similar in fact identical the items are compared to those in the Great Universal catalogue.
The front covers are completely different yet the contents - page for page are identical. The key code on the inside is the same and the format is identical.
One thing differs between this book of expensive goodies and the last, and that is the price.
Of my 5 (or 6) selected items from the Great Universal catalogue at the price of £323 the same items on the same respective pages total £283 in the Additions catalogue.
A saving of £40, not a lot for some but enough for many.
After checking through the Additions catalogue for a disclaimer stating the affiliation with Great Universal I am none the wiser as to the link between the two. Once I check the Great Universal pages I found out that all "goods/services provided by Littlewoods Shop Direct Home Shopping Limited".
Had I have not had the Great Universal catalogue just a week earlier I would not have known this connection, as if you are paying for Great Universal goods you pay Great Universal.
Both books (obviously) have a feature by Trinny & Susannah on "which body shape are you?" they allow you to choose from the following:
The column The lollipop The cornet The goblet The brick The apple The vase The hourglass The cello The skittle The pear The bell
Trinny & Susannah claim that 99% of all women will fall into one or two of these categories - unfortunately for me I must be in the 1% as I couldn't identify a body shape, which represented by own assets.
If you follow their advice and choose from the selection of clothes in the Great Universal catalogue, then don't forget to make your savings by buying them from the Additions book.
I cannot comment on the customer service or the postage and packaging services offered by either of the catalogues, I just wanted to outline the savings, which can be made on the identical garments.
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Jan 21st, 2008
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