uk.avon.com > Reviews > THE DEMISE OF THE AVON LADY

Author's product rating:   

How fast is this website?	Fast
Content Update	Very often
Products & Services Pricing	Excellent value
Search Facility	Good

Advantages:	Shop till you drop, no waiting for Avon lady, one delivery charge
Disadvantages:	spend a fortune

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Up until a few months ago I used to buy a lot of Avon products from one of my friends, as she was an agent. However, after my husband and I moved to a new house a few miles away in the country I wasn’t able to see my friend so often and shortly after she decided to stop working for Avon due to family commitments anyway. Not wanting to go through the rigmarole of finding another agent, or Avon Lady as they were once known, in the area, my friend suggested I look at the website as they deliver your order directly to your door and you can order whenever you want without having to rely on the agent turning up at infrequent intervals.

A month or so ago I decided to throw out a lot of my old makeup that I had hovering around my dressing table for ages and had probably reached the end of its shelf life by about 10 years. By the time I had finished my spring-cleaning I realised that I wasn’t left with an awful lot so thought about replenishing my stock of beauty products. As Avon is one of my favourites; they are reasonably priced, good quality and look after my skin, I decided to throw caution to the wind and logged into the website. Bad move. The brochures are tempting enough, but as I entered the site I suddenly felt like a young child in a sweet shop.

The homepage was warm and inviting and displayed images to promote the upcoming summer months. A huge bottle of skin bronzer stands out a mile on the left side of the page and a bronzed beauty lies basking on the beach. Despite these images, the home page is fairly simple and doesn’t have over-complicated links to other departments.

There are four main categories for you to peruse at your own leisure:

Avon Cafe

Here you can find information about all the products that are hot off the press and proving popular with other customers. You can also get advice on hair and beauty problems that you are experiencing as well as pick up new styles for your hair and face via the virtual beauty advisor. You can send an ecard to friends and family for any occasion under this category as well as download screensavers. For those that like to waste time there are a couple of games to play, which will help, while away those boring hours stuck in the office.

Selling on Avon

For those that have thought about becoming a representative for Avon, then this is the category for you. Here you will find out everything involved in taking up this opportunity. Once you have decided that you have time on your hands as well as drive and ambition then you can simply apply online by completing an application form and join the already thriving team of men and women who are reaping the benefits of selling Avon products. To become a representative however, you need to be over 18 years of age. Once you have sent your application online an Avon representative will contact you to give you more details and also to let you know if your application has been successful.

Login

The login area is specifically for employees of Avon, e.g. Sales Leaders, Avon representatives and Area Managers. If you are one of these or have applied to become one then this is where you come to log in. You will need an account number and password to access this area and both of these will be supplied once your application has been processed.

Shopping

This is my favourite area on the site as the name says it all. There are several options available in this department and all are quick and easy to load up. You are able to order a brochure to be delivered to your house is browsing a website is not to your liking and then you can either post off your order form to Avon, order by phone, or even do your shopping online. You can also request a representative to drop by and order via him/her but as I live in the middle of nowhere, I find it easier to shop online.

On the Shopping home page there is a ‘product highlights’ link, which displays all the current promotions, and free gifts that you can receive when ordering certain products. Also shown is a substantial list of special offers, which I usually head for first and I have been able to bag a few bargains in the past.

Clicking on the Shop Online category takes you directly to the online brochure and first appearances are very pleasing. Again the page is very friendly and welcoming and doesn’t appear to be cluttered up with annoying banners or confusing links.

The layout is very appealing and easy to follow. Each department is easy to navigate and the site loads fairly quickly, which is great for busy mums such as myself. There’s nothing I hate more than having to wait an age for pages to load up when you are in a hurry to make a purchase. More often than not though, I do like to take a leisurely browse around the site, but quick loading pages make the visit more comfortable. The site content appears to be updated regularly, I presume this is done with every new issue of the brochure, or when new promotions are introduced.

There are a lot of products to choose from and you can pamper yourself from head to toe. For those that love to indulge in a bath or shower then visit Bath and Body to treat yourself to bubble baths, shower gel, foot crème, deodorants to name but a few. You will find a wide range of all these beauty products and you will be spoilt for choice.

For those that love to lavish love on their hair then visit the hair care department. Here you can pick up shampoo, conditioner, treatments, hairbrushes, etc. By coming here you will never have to have a bad hair day again.

Avon has an extensive range of makeup to suit skin of all ages. There are classical colours for the more mature lady, and even funky upbeat products for teenagers. Products you can expect to find here are obvious; lipstick, eyeliner, mascara, nail varnish, but again the list is extensive and you will find it hard to make a choice.

As well as make up and bath time goodies, Avon has a good range of fragrances suitable for the whole family. While there are subtle daytime perfumes for ladies as well as stronger scents for evenings out, there are aftershaves and colognes for men. Children need not miss out either, as there are even gently fruity scents for them to enjoy.

With summer not far off now one department I tend to visit quite often is Suncare. Here you can find everything needed to look after your skin during the hot days we all hope to get this year. There is a vast range of sun creams for all the family and skin types and all products are reasonably priced and you can be sure to pick up a bargain or two especially when they are on the 2 for 1 promotion. As well as sun tan lotion you can find insect repellent as well as self-bronzing products if you don’t like going out in the sun too often.

For those of you that like a bit of ‘bling’ then head for the Jewellery department where you can treat yourself to a new watch, necklace or pair of earrings. In fact the prices are so good why not buy all 3.

Ordering online is fairly quick and simple. Once you find the product that you desire simply click on to the basket sign next to it and then if it’s makeup you will be asked to choose your preferred colour. Again click on the basket next to the colour you desire and a pop-up will appear saying the product has been added. Once you are satisfied you have bought everything or in my case, once you have spent far too much, then you can head for the checkout.

This can be located at the top of the page and a swift click of the mouse takes you directly there with no fuss. Here your shopping list is simply laid out and it’s easy to see what you’ve bought. Also you will see the cost of post and packaging, which is £2.50 regardless on how big or small your order, is. Avon You have the option to return to the shop at any time if you’ve just remembered something else you’d like to buy, but if this isn’t the case simply go to the checkout.

At the checkout you are asked to fill in a form simply asking for your name and address. There is no need to do this every time you visit Avon online again as you have the option to register your details online so that Avon ‘remember’ you. Clicking on continue takes you to the payments page where you need to enter your card details. The site is secure so there is no need to worry about giving out your card details. All card information will be encrypted so that no one can see them. Once you are happy with your order and you have entered all details correctly it’s time to confirm your order. After this process you will receive an email detailing your order also with delivery details that confirm your order will arrive within 10 days.

Avon prides itself on its breast cancer awareness campaign and this is a subject close to my heart having lost a good friend to this horrible disease a couple of years ago. For every Avon product bought, a small donation goes to the Breast Cancer charity to enable research and treatment to be carried out.

Avon deliver to all areas of the United Kingdom and the Channel Islands and aim to deliver your order within 7-10 days and I have been very pleased with their service as I have always received my orders well within this time. Small items are delivered via Royal Mail, but for larger items a courier will deliver your goods. There is a standard delivery of £2.50 per order regardless of size or address. I find this delivery charge very reasonable as the goods get delivered straight to your door with no fuss and the savings you make online soon outweigh this small cost. As for customer support, I have never had the need to contact Avon with a problem simply because I have never had the need to complain. If their products and services are anything to go by then I can only suggest that their customer service department is highly efficient and deals with any query satisfactorily.

Since visiting this site just before Christmas I have never looked back. I used to get fed up waiting for my friends new brochure arriving and sometimes when I received one I didn’t always want to order anything and I used to feel bad when I returned the empty order form. With the handy website there is no feeling of guilt if you decide not to buy anything and you can buy any time you want 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The only downside of my whole experience is that I don’t have a money tree at the bottom of my garden to assist in paying for my huge basket of goodies. This disappointment is short-lived however when I receive my order the following week with a few free gifts thrown in which always come in handy for gifts for friends and family saving a few pennies here and there.

Visit www.avon.uk.com to start your spending spree.