Have we had the good online shopping companies yet?

[miSaltireandwine]

Can i list
M&M Direct. ordered on Wednesday evening, items here today. Also they do free postage if you order over £50

The Book People - always good, never ever had any problemswith them

Play.com - as above, plus free delivery

I like Fragrance Direct too donnie, they do all the top brands at great prices. Especially at Christmas, they have gift sets cheaper than Boots. And great service, really fast IIRC.

If you like Fragrance Direct, you should give Fragrance Mad a try. I like Fragrance Direct, but I find Fragrance Mad to be even quicker (often same day dispatch if you order early and the delivery is free), and sometimes have products that I can't find on Fragrance Direct.

I also love Amazon, and have had no problems with John Lewis - although haven't used them since they started using Yodel.

Great site, Elliespoon!

For me kiddicare offer great customer service. Good prices, super fast service and messages to keep you informed about progress and delivery slots.

I love amazon. I have used them for years and never had any problems.

I got DP a funky tax disk holder from stores.ebay.co.uk/artisticky last week and it arrived the following day. Very pleased with it too!

You got me worried about John Lewis now. I had not ordered for a long time but I am expecting a packet any day now...

The good:
Amazon- free delivery and very fast.
toyshop.com - very fast delivery.
Zavi- best prices on x-box and ds games and fast delivery.
Superdry- ordered dsd's coat last week ind i was delivered within 3 days.

The not so good:
H&M- very slow and they dont always tell you when ordering if the item is in stock.
Play.com- ordered a few things 4 weeks ago when the had a sale and i have still not got all the items i have ordered, although there prices are great and the web site is easy to use i have been put off a little.

John Lewis, Amazon.
You're right SugarAndSpiceMistletoeAndWine. Yodel are rubbish!

Oops, I forgot to add Play.com
I used to buy from them as often as I did Amazon until I placed an order that was 'in stock' but wasn't delivered within the usual time.
I logged on to check the order status and it gave me a new allocated stock date 'to be confirmed'. I wasn't notified so I cancelled the order but still monitored the item - they kept pushing back the date! I was livid and had to source elsewhere.

Haven't used them since...I'm just a wee bit wary now.

Regarding courier companies....anyone had trouble with Hermes?? they are the absolute worst in my opinion.

The delivery guy, on 4 occasions over the last 2 months, has banged on my door n leged it back to his van; leaving the parcels on the doorstep. One time he was driving off as i opened the door...doesnt bother for me to answer

Just send off a complaint letter to both the retailer and Hermes about my parcel which arrived on friday. I spent lot of money on the 2 items i ordered, and on friday i discovered the parcel just abandoned on my door step. I never heard him knock at all...parcel was possibly sat on the door step for 3 or 4 hours before i discovered it on my way out to meet a friend. I live on a busy street with ppl passing all the time. Im not saying everyones a thief but i was soooooooooooooooooo

Never any problems with Amazon.
Firebox have always been excellent: had a problem with an mp3 alarm clock that kept going wrong - I must have returned 3 different units over the course of a year and they were never shirty about it, always profuse in their apologies and eventually just refunded me without quibble

But the cream of the crop are definitely Lakeland. Lovely people, even in their stores never too busy to help. I've only ever had one problem with a delivery - an item that was supposed to be a freebie with something else I'd ordered wasn't included. I rang up, got straight through, the lady apologised and sent one out, which I received the next day. You can pay for guaranteed next day delivery but most times I've not bothered and still received my order the next day or at latest the day after that. I will not hear a word against them and there's a lot of companies that could benefit from taking a lead from them.

I agree with Amazon - I never worry when I've placed an order with them.

Glad it is not just me who find Yodel bloody awful. I am so cross with them - I was out last week and found they had left the parcel with someone across the road who I don't know, and who, when I knocked (feeling awkward anyway) found out the poor woman lost her husband very unexpectedly two days before.

Then the other day I tried to track a parcel that they were supposed to deliver and it said I was out and they left a card - there was no card!!

Yep Hermes shit as well - left an Innotab on my doorstep when I was out

Happy with Amazon (so far!) but will never use Play.com again. I ordered DVD and CD at the same time. Waited 5 working days as they request but they didnt arrive. Emailed them and was told I had to wait a further 21 days. I waited then emailed again which they didnt repsond to. Then I called and was told I was I had to scan a signature on a document they would email me?? They then didnt email the documents so I called again and was told I would need to post NOT email the missing claims document. So I posted document and waited a further week, nothing! I called several times after that but kept getting told I had to send the forms to Belfast and then people in the Philappines await the form being sent to them before I get items replaced...WTF??

Anyway, after a further 2 emailed documents (and scanning my signature in) I finally had a refund. However they only refunded one item so spent another 2 weeks re-requesting the second refund .

After 2 months and 2 weeks I got my full refund. Appalling service via email, phone and post, I would never use Play.com again. There service is fine if its arrives but god help you f it doesnt turn up, bloody nightmare.

Debenhams are rubbish at the moment. I ordered things beginning of November and only received them 2 days ago!

Amazon, Next, M&S all fantastic. As is M and M Direct. Have recommended m&m to other people.

ooh and Gap online amazing. I have not shopped for any xmas things in the shops this year. My 'regular' delivery person said she is so busy, nobody is shopping in town, all online, so maybe I might venture to the shops and have them all to myself.

LOVE Amazon. And I love the fact that they use Royal Mail for most stuff and the sorting office is a 5 min walk away .

Also love Boden - never had a problem.

Ditto Kiddicare - no problem, customer service has always been excellent.

I'm slightly worried about the anti-Debenhams comment - I've ordered once before from there (suitcases, in the sale) and they arrived really quickly. Just ordered a Happyland building site which I've not seen anywhere else - having said that as I was typing I've had an email pop up from them saying the order's been despatched and it was the courier one we missed today, so I guess they're still excellent service in my book.

ELC are good too.

GLTC - never had a problem with delivery or products, but I think it's luck of the draw from what I've heard. My parents were less fortunate.

Ocado - good for delivery. Not so great for fresh produce quality :-( I find myself going to Sainsbury's for fresh fruit, veg and meat.

I'm going to go against the grain and say that I've only ever had bad experiences ordering from John Lewis online - to the point I won't use the website any more. Three times I've paid the £9.95 for next day delivery, three times they've failed to deliver the next day. That's three wasted days sitting at home, having paid for the privilege, and three days' work to make up at evenings/weekends. Sure, they were apologetic and reimbursed me, but it's still unacceptable. Even rescheduling the missed deliveries, they couldn't give me any better time than 9am-7pm or something equally ridiculous.

Re couriers, DHL are terrible. Not as bad as DPD though - sent an email giving me a delivery day and then failed to turn up. Sent me another email the day after, giving a one-hour slot for that day.

Hermes, on the other hand, are great, IMO. I think it depends on your area though - it's some kind of franchise system, apparently. Our Hermes courier is Alan - only Hermes courier for this area, so I know it'll be him. He leaves a card with his home phone number on and also a date/approx time he'll attempt to redeliver (like "late morning/lunchtime" - no specifics but enough info to be useful). I'm always grateful when the missed delivery is from him - and today's Debenhams one was Hermes, so I know for sure we'll get it Monday lunchtime!

Wingdingdong....your Hermes guy sounds fab, wish ours was as considerate/useful. Im personally always glad when a parcel is via Royal Mail..they leave a card n I dh can collect it from the callers office down the road after 24 hours

Amazon are amazing, had a parcel from them via City LInk go missing last month and they sent out a replacement straight away. Ive also never had any problems with Debenhams but havent ordered with them lately. M&S are fab also.

Our Hermes delivery man isn't great, he chucks my Next orders (clothes) over our back gate or leaves on door step, not great if its raining.

Our Hermes man is fabulous, he mainly delivers Next orders but delivered an Amazon parcel last week too. He knows to come to the back door (as I'm usually in the kitchen!) and if out he'll leave parcels somewhere safe where they won't get wet, in the back yard.

Good Amazon are always great. I order loads from them throughout the year and I don't think I've ever had a problem.

John Lewis are excellent. I realised I'd ordered the wrong size pyjamas for DS when they arrived and rang to order the next size up. I said I would post the others back in the return envelope. The new pyjamas arrived the next day before I'd even had chance to the send the others back!

Lakeland customer service also brilliant. Highly recommend them.

Agree with piprobin about thecleverbaggers.co.uk/store/pc/home.asp

Bad are www.weegooseberry.com/ absolutely useless when I ordered a coat for DS. It never arrived even though they insisted it should have. They had me ringing the Post Office insisting that it must be there and I had missed the card through the door etc. After several weeks still with no coat I cancelled the order and demanded a refund. Crap customer service.

Great thread. Just saved £40 on a dress for my brother's wedding

The only bit of my amazon order that's turned up is the debenhams item.
Sat morning, delivered by someone I know, next style in own car.
Books are late, somewhere in Yodle land.

I used
campus gifts for the first time last week, very fast delivery.

Amazon
book people are also very good

I think it depends on local managers.
Parcel force, DHL and Next have sussed it's impossible to find anyone out here.
Tend to send the same drivers, who know their way round.
Service of most of the others is really patchy.

www.getknitted.com for nice things for knitters. Very reasonable postage and always very quick to despatch.

Ebay. Got about 2/3rds of my gift there this year, as i am SO skint

Penwizard -- ordered personalised books and had them within 48 hours.

play.com - had problems
they conveniently forgotten to send me a game
I am waiting for the refund :( I shakll never use them again as the customer service was pooor and rude, telling me that I was wrong....

amazon.co.uk - yes, like using them

Liz Earle - good
Thorntons - appalling - you have been warned