A Fluffy Bagger Speaks.. (handbag.com)

Member Name: cherwaite

Product:	handbag.com
Date:	26/10/06 (140 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Pink, Bright, Up To Date, Interesting Articles

Disadvantages: Clogged with Adverts, Very PC, Money Making Machine

If you have never heard of handbag.com you are probably:

1. Male
2. Not interested in fashion or beauty
3. Have never googled how to get over being dumped.
4. Dont have a penchant for the colour pink.

Handbag is a huge website previously owned by the Barclay brothers but recently aquired by the National Magazine Company. It towers over the competition of other websites aimed at 20 something women who are opinionated, sassy and independant. Over 500,000 women regularly sign on to handbag making it the most popular website of its kind on the net. Very much written in a magazine style fashion this website tackles burning issues and reaches out to readers by talking to them in a direct manner and providing them with exactly what they want.

The average handbag.com user is apparently [taken from the site]..

The typical handbag.com user is aged between 25 and 45, with a median age of 33. She is likely to be ABC1, and either married or living with a partner in the home she owns. In her spare time (of which there is little!), she enjoys the cinema and reading magazines - particularly the women's and home improvements titles. There'll be a bottle of good quality wine in her weekly shop, and she is constantly on the search for a good book. As a voracious shopper, she purchases by mail order and online

Im 25. I dont know what ABC means, I have a boyfriend whom I dont live with. I have lots of spare time, I enjoy the cinema and reading but hate home improvements. I dont like wine, I like a good book and I love a good shop.

So as you can see they are umm.. kinda accurate?

Features of the bag (thats how I shall refer to it from now on)
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These include articles written by predominant journalists on fashion, beauty, healthcare, relationships, lifestyle, health & fitness and celebrities.

There is also the regular features to encourage reader participation such as competitions, horoscopes, offers, shopping and dating.

A huge feature of the bag is its forum - This is a message board which creates a friendly environment for regular readers of the bag to post comments on their feelings on different subjects.

This is what introduced me to the bag one grim morning following a recent separation with an ex partner. I was absolutely gutted. I found it hard to talk to my friends about how I was feeling.. well I found it hard to talk to anyone actually without bursting out crying (young love eh?!) I googled something along the lines of 'getting over splitting up' and the first thing that popped up was a forum message that lead me to handbag. This was over 4 years ago now and Im still a regular visitor there and have gained alot of lovely supportive friends from there in my time posting. But more of the forum to come later..

Other websites associated with the bag
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and owned by the same folk are advertised predominantly on the bag. There are as follows:

allaboutyou.com - I think this is aimed at an older market from the looks of the website. It is focused on busy working women who juggle family and home life.

gomama.com - for pregnant women or mums.

getlippy.com - aimed at 18-24 year olds this is a younger version of the bag with similar topics but not as sordid or heavy!!

First Impressions of the bag
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From the home page you are quickly thrown into a busy overcrowded environment. Vivid colours, advertisements and tag lines are all set against a fuschia pink based backdrop. The logo of the bag is a small pink handbag next to the word handbag which is also in *pink*.

It is obvious alot of the sites revenue comes from advertising. L'oreal, WH Smith, Maybelline and so forth are all pushing and vying for position with competitions and articles sponsored by them. I do think a much more simplistic clear cut homepage would make it easier for the reader to navigate and not have as many issues thrust into their head at once.

There is a row of small tabs at the top to take you to the different sections of the website. Also at the very bottom is a list of the different areas for you to click on which navigate you through.

There is a daily poll which features something which is in the news at the present moment and your opinion is asked for. Today it is 'Would you buy clothes designed by Kate Moss for Top Shop?' I sure would! Im not sure how they use these results , maybe they make money from them. Im sure Topshop would be interested to know before they commision her work.

In the middle top of the page is an article which is focused on, on that particular day. Today it is Top 40 coats. If you are using handbag.com expect to be lured into spending copious amounts of hard cash. At every corner there is sellers pushing their wares. There is even a handbag.com credit card advertised. Only 14.9% apr.. but hey its pink and you get sent shopping offers every month so Im sure some girls have been sucked in. They wonder why the debt is escalating in this country?!

A new feature of the bag is its blog spots. Blogs are an ever increasing trend on the internet that the bag has jumped upon. Basically you get the chance to have an 'online diary' this is where you can ramble about whatever you want and others can click and view your blog and leave comments if they desire to. The blogs on the bag are done by the journalists and staff who run it. Dont expect to read anything too juicy though, from a quick glance they are all done in a politically correct manner and generally sitting on the fence about everything. Worth a look if you are bored though.

There is a search facility enabling you to go straight to a feature that you are interested in. You just type in the little white box in the top right hand corner. There is also a handy 'email to a friend' facility in which you can send a friend who you think might be interested in an article a direct link just by entering their email address.

The range and content of articles
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The only thing that I can see is missing is a politics and news section. I guess these things dont bring in money so they have been left out. Its a shame as this does tend to give it a dummed down feel. Like the only thing women can articulately discuss is which colour lipstick suits their skin tone best. I think we are somewhat underestimated in our pursuits. I think interest in the latest political news and debates should be encouraged, not half heartedly left out in the vague hope of urring on the right side of caution and giving in to advertisers demands. Handbag.com also has a reputation of avoiding tackling anything which could be deemed in the slightest way possible as being litigious. On the forums even the slightest flammable post is deleted by the mods before you could say urm 'oh that was quick'. I guess this is inevitable as more and more celebrities and people in the public eye are taking huge corporations to court over anything printed which is untrue, but it does beg the question where has the freedom to speak gone?

If you are less intellectually inclined, prepare to bathe in the pool of girly talk. Pink, fluffy, lighthearted and always on the tail of the latest trend. The staff at handbag.com know what the public women want. It is comparable to an online version of Heat crossed with Womans Own.

Im very much a girly girl but I have no common sense as far as beauty and fashion go. I can quite happily slouch about in my tracky bottoms and vest top with no make up on and feel completely natural and at ease. Handbag.com provides me with an inside view into how to dress properly, look stylish and most of all trendy. Oh yes ladies, I think its a guide to how to be a perfect person!! (see my earlier thread on what annoys me to understand this) Too much pressure is being put on women to look perfect and it gets my goat. We dont all have the money, time or inclination to get facials, have a personal shopping session and a quick iced tea at Harvey Nics on the way home. Life is very different to how people in these media offices portrays it. Id love to see a down to earth, natural, funny even website aimed at us, but que sera. Time will tell.

The bag is infatuated with celebrities of the A list kind. Every day when I click onto there I am faced with a lollypop head poking out at me in a tailored blouse and pencil skirt. WAGs, Hollywood and TV stars are aplenty with there whole appearance being assessed. Given the fact that everything these ladies wear is picked by a personal stylist who will have been given a bunch of free clothes by a designer you have to take it with a pinch of salt. Although I have gained a few good tips as to do with colour co-ordination, what clothes to put together and for what occasions. So you can all take a sigh of relief. The neon blue all in one jump suit is going back in the wardrobe.

A particular area of interest for me is the love and sex section. Easy tiger, not in that way. This is great plus point for the bag and is one of the things that appeals to me. It is written very much in a friendly way like you would be talking to a friend over coffee. There is advice for couples, singles, divorcess and widows. From talk of '100 sexy turn ons' to 'commitment phobic - are you ready for commitment or are you running for the hills?' If ever I am curious or worried about any part of my relationship, sure as the day is long, I can always find my answer on the bag. Or even look in the relationships forum and talk to others who are like freelance Dear Deidre's, lovely girls.

Advertising Angers..
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I understand the need for websites like this to make money but on the bag the advertising seems to have increased 10 fold over the past few years. Whilst you are surfing on handbag you will keep experiencing pop ups of several companies trying to get you to click on them and increase their traffic. Not only is this annoying and frustrating, but I feel very unnecessary when the whole website is plastered with small banners offering their wares. If you get like me its worth using a pop up blocker such as available with the google tool bar. It saves you from having to click on the cross button again and again.

Also run anti spyware programs regularly as you may be at risk of getting tracking bugs on your computer from the pop ups. I use Lavasoft Adware.

Shopping On Handbag..
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If you click on shopping in the left hand column of the homepage you are navigated to a page of around 5 select items. These are all aimed at women.. naturally. Although the range of stock is somewhat strained and limited. On offer you have a fabulous pink handbag diary, daarling, an I-Pod, Hair Styling Products and nifty gadgets like an alcohol pen. These are all great ideas if you are struggling to think of a good birthday present for a friend or girlfriend. If you click on any of the products it will take you through to a more detailed page which gives you the product specifications and a selection of similar products for sale to look at.

Handbag though is not the retailer here, they are making money via e-commerce for their partners by selling the goods on their website. They are all scratching each others backs you see.

The transaction procedure is simple and secure. You enter debit card details, address and delivery details and hey presto. You have a present and handbag has another wedge of moola's in its pocket.

Dating on Handbag?
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This is quite a new feature. Many singletons out there are desparate to meet a romeo by any means possible. With longer working hours and less time to go out and meet a potential romancer the internet has filled a niche for bringing couples together. The Bag has cottoned on to this and done what other sites such as U-Date has done.

It is free to sign up and make a profile of yourself and then you just wait for the messages to come in from potential matches and hope for the best. You can upload a photograph of yourself if you desire.

Heres the catch, Its free to send anonymous messages to but receive or send message with your name on you have to sign up to a subscription service. For 3 days this is £4.95 and for up to 12 months its £69.95. Gah. What a rip off. Im sure there are cheaper services out there so avoid this.


The Forums - The Heart of the Bag!
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The forums are accessible through clicking on the forums link at the bottom right hand corner of the homepage. They are quite hidden away with only the odd link here and there but they are certainly worth checking out. You can also use this link forums.handbag.com

The board is divised into categories very similar to the handbag site itself. From Beauty, Hair & Treatments to Legal Advice to Money Matters.

You have to sign up to use them but this is an easy, simple procuedure. You just have to think of a username, password and supply your email address which also needs to be confirmed. The whole process takes a couple of minutes.

Once you are a registered user you can reply to any threads or start them yourself. It is very addictive and you soon get used to the familiar 'faces' and settle in quickly.

The board is carefully regulated by a group of moderators who applied for the position after being regular users. These are voluntary roles and they do have quite a tough job! Put together any group of women and you are guaranteed an arguement or some bitchy comments. These mods have to keep on top of this and are often left with little or no thanks. I certainly wouldnt want to be in their position. They are overlooked by the Communities manager who is employed by handbag. He has come in for alot of flack with recent changes, banning of regular members and such like but at the end of the day he is employed to help promote Handbag and encourage revenue.. so any changes he makes he will have this in mind.

There is a strict set of rules which have caused a bit of conflict also! Such as;

No sales or swapping items so the users cant profit from the Handbag site. This is a shame as alot of the fashion and beauty forum users regularly arranged swaps with great success. It helped create a friendly environment and any problems were always quickly dissolved.. but no longer. You arent even allowed a link to a personal business in your signature. Barhar.

No mentioning of banned members. This is an odd one. I dont know why but by mentioning a banned member you are in breech of the Bag rules. Its a shame as alot of people have firm friends who have been banned. I have no idea why we cant mention them.

Anyhow these changes resulted in a few members going to other similar sites and abandoning ship but I am always strangely drawn back. There are often meets arranged so all the girls can urm meet up and have a few drinks and a gossip. Lots of scandal has been known ::winks::

The forum users are very witty, funny, astute women and will always give you an honest open opinion to anything you ask about. If you need fashion advice such as If an outfit would go together you are promised a brutal but truthful reply by the fashion lot. But beware giving out too much personal information or leaving yourself too open to outside threats. Never give out your address details!! If you are a sensitive soul I also advice getting a thick skin. I have seen alot of arguements spring up as users are unprepared for the backlash to any thread which may be the slightest bit controversial. The mods are always there though and a quick message to them will hopefully resolve it all.

Recently there has been alot of downtime - the forums have sprung up with an error message if you try going onto them. This is down to a change in servers apparently but it has been going on for a while and is annoying everyone. Hopefully is will go away soon. You would think with all the money they are making it would be easy for them to sort out!

Newsletters
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There is alot of emphasis on signing up to the newsletter. This is an email sent to your inbox on a weekly basis advertising whats new on handbag and any special offers they think you might be interested in. I have this delivered but am going to delete it as to me its just another form of spam. If its your thing, then go for it. Its easy to unsubscribe. Just follow the link in the email.


Summary
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For any women who regularly go online and enjoy feisty articles this is worth a quick look. If you arent impressed by the editorial content of the home page and subsequent sections I urge you to check out the forums. They are a lovely bunch and are more than willing to help with any problem you have.

Be armed with your pop up blockers, keep an open mind and take a bold brave step into the ultimate girly fashionistas website. Its very cliched, somewhat predictable but ultimately oddly addictive. They have some great competition prizes too :D

Thanks for reading my review!

Copyright cherwaite 2006 xx

Summary: The Girliest Website In All The Land.