Vertbaudet (Mail Order)

If you’re looking for something a little different to the High Street designs for your little one or are fed up with trailing around Mothercare, Adams or Next with a toddler yet don’t have the budget to afford designer labels or prices then sit back and relax as help is at hand from our European cousins; Vertbaudet. Vertbaudet is a leading top French mail order catalogue it is also France's Number One children's catalogue, they are just celebrating their 7th year anniversary too. After having a baby, shopping by mail order has made life much easier for me; the benefits far outweigh any downfalls. Vertbaudet allows you to order stylish and colourful clothes at leisure from the comfort of your own home without breaking your bank balance or having to pay for the phone call to place an order! (and no, I don't mean use somebody else's phone line!) Allow me to explain…

Having been a customer of sister company La Redoute since 5 years who sell a range of ladies and men’s fashion wear I came across Vertbaudet. Vertbaudet specialise in children’s wear with an extensive range catering from newborn babies till teenagers and even have a small section for mums-to-be. They have recently added a Nursery furniture, bedding and accesories supplement to the range which is known as the 'Home Collection' quite a rare find! I became a customer last year when I was pregnant and have since ordered a host of baby clothes for my baby boy (who’s 7 months now). I am delighted to say I have been happy with the style, colours, and quality of the clothes I have purchased.

As Vertbaudet is a mail order catalogue, there are no shops or outlets you can visit so it’s important that the products are displayed clearly and can be accessed quickly. Fortunately, this is a catalogue with a difference, its no hardback “Ph.D style” bound copy like the ‘Next Directory’ or neither is it like one of those massive 700 page Great Universal catalogues; it’s a neat and slim catalogue. It contains carefully arranged fashion wear in about 200 pages including a useful shoe size chart allowing you to measure your baby’s feet.

Vertbaudet have recently launched its own website and I believe you can order a catalogue and apply for a credit account to be opened via the site, though I don’t know how long this method takes. I do however use the websites online tracking facility to check my orders, returns, payments made etc. I will not comment too much about the website as this opinion is related mainly to the mail order catalogue.

There are plenty of vivid, fresh colours and exciting designs to entice you throughout the clothing range. I have found Vertbaudet combines both trendy and classical styles in generally very pleasing colour combinations. I have a baby boy and had got a bit bored of seeing a choice of mainly navy blue and navy blue and navy blue again for boys outfits –when the girls clothes looked so much more fun in many shades! Whilst I didn’t have a budget that could afford designer prices for something a little different, neither did I want my baby exploiting designer labels before he’s even had chance to make his own mind up!

My orders with Vertbaudet have been from the ‘Collin Colline’ range, which pays attention to detail, styling and colours. I chose colour combinations of teal blue, orange, and cream; the end result has been a very pleasing. The set I ordered most recently from this range was a matching set comprising of biscuit beige coloured padded trousers in microfibre fabric with pure cotton lining and a motif label, an orange cardigan with front opening zip fastening with a ‘dog’ pull tab motif, and matching pure cotton orange striped and cream full sleeved body suit twin set normally the whole set would have cost £27, I bought at 40% off costing me around £16.

Opening the Account…………Don’t worry, it’s not like one of those Littlewood’s or Index accounts where you forever have to pay £2 a week for next 20 years! (although you can if you want but I don’t think I want to be paying off baby clothes just in time for my son’s 21st Birthday!) When you open an account, you have the option of setting up a credit personal account or paying for your goods at time of purchase.

I opened my account over the telephone in a matter of 5-6 minutes using the free phone number 0500 33 22 11, so it wont cost you anything to apply, order or just enquire. The procedure was very easy; a few basic questions are asked should you wish to make use of the personal account service which works like a credit card allowing you a few weeks to pay for your goods in full which will be interest -free till the payment due date. As it’s a credit account, you do have to be at least 18 years old and have a valid UK address. I chose the personal account (used wisely this can save you money, i.e. if you pay off your full balance) but if you don’t pay off your monthly balance you will incur horrendous interest charges like most store cards, this is around 29% variable APR interest!).

You can pay for your goods at time of purchase or on the credit account immediately using any of the usual payment methods; debit card, cheque or even use another credit card to pay of the credit account –this works a treat if used wisely it could mean you get your goods interest free firstly from Vertbaudet for a 3-4 weeks then again on your personal credit card for another 5-6 weeks, which means you can save your money and pay for your goods interest free for 10 weeks! If used with a cash back credit card then you’re in for another treat! Vertbaudet currently only accept Visa credit card (sadly, they don’t accept American Express so you can’t get another 1% off).

Now that I’ve explained the best way to use the payment facilities without incurring interest the next thing to know about Mail order shopping at Vertbaudet is making sure you are using the best discount codes. So, here’s how it works, once you apply they send you a new catalogue, with an Introductory offer say 10% off or a free gift usually a toy. Its best to do nothing, resist temptation make a note of your favourite items but withhold ordering. After a few days they will mail you again with an even better offer maybe 20% off or if its end of a season they usually send out Sales catalogues with up to 50% off –this is when I make my kill! There are also discounts for referring friends where you and a friend can get discounts. You must make sure you quote the discount code at time of ordering or you will get charged full price.

The phone lines are open from 8.00a.m till 11.00p.m, I often place my orders at 10.45pm, and there are always helpful staff willing to take your call. There are times when the phone lines are quite busy i.e. from 6-8.30pm in the evening and you may have to wait a few minutes especially if you have a query and wish to speak with customer services. You can also place orders via the website.

The delivery costs £2.45 irrespective of how big the order is and is usually very fast providing the item is in stock; I have got some items within 48hours of ordering, though realistically I’d say it takes 3-4 days. Sometimes certain items are out of stock or there is a waiting list of 3-4 weeks –you are given this information at time of ordering –this can be a problem as all clothes come from the France’s warehouse and there can be delays and sometimes the estimates are inaccurate. You always have a choice to cancel the order if the order is taking too long or even return the whole order if it has taken too long.

Fortunately, unlike some children’s catalogues (e.g. Blooming Marvellous) returns and exchanges are free. If you live in an area where there’s a local courier they will pick the parcel up for you or you can return it any post office free of charge using the pre-paid address label supplied with the parcel. I usually drop my returns off at the Post Office as it’s near to me and have had no problems with items being refunded back onto my account.

So far it sounds good, fresh colours and designs, free returns, free phone order line, potential for big discounts through using Sales codes…so what’s the downside well the main one I have mentioned already is sometimes popular items are out of stock and its not known how long it will take to get those items again –which is not helpful to the customer especially if its part of a matching set. Another point worth mentioning is the sizing of the clothes –as its a French company the baby sizes I have found to be a bit smaller than other leading UK brands, for example it gives the following guide 6months is 7 to 8Kg or 67 cm. I ordered a 6-month size for my baby whilst he was 3-4 months old and he has grown out the Vertbaudet 6 month size far quicker compared to UK 6 Month size. So, the sizing is not very generous and I’d recommend you order a larger size than normal. Durability and fabric quality is good.

I have no hesitation in recommending Vertbaudet, if you are looking for something a bit different and haven’t got time to waste trawling through children’s shops in the High street.

Connoisseur_haggler© ciao 2003

Further details:
Vertbaudet (UK) Ltd.,Standbridge Lane, Kettlethorpe,
Wakefield, West Yorkshire, WF2 7YY.

Tel. 0500 33 22 11