Redhouse rules! (Red House Books)

Member Name: nazc1

Product:	Red House Books
Date:	24/08/09 (59 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Discount childrens books with free P&P

Disadvantages: You'll be tempted to spend way to much!

As you may have gathered from previous reviews, I love books! I wanted to pass this love on to my daughter and so am always picking up books for her, either from the local charity shops or supermarkets but one of my favourite ways is ordering through Redhouse.

WHO ARE THEY? ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Redhouse is a mail order bookshop that specialises in childrens books for babies right up to young adults. It was established in 1979 and has grown not only in what it has to offer but also in popularity since then.

I think I first found out about them through a leaflet in a Bounty pack (the pack you get from the hospital when you've given birth) and asked to receive their monthly catalogue. Once I got the first one I was hooked!

CATALOGUE ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The catalogue is nicely laid out with an introduction from an authour at the beginning then pictures of the books available with a short description across the following pages. The books are arranged in age category with them being:
Babies, toddlers, 3+, 5+, 7+, 9+ and 12+
What I like is that the recommended age is put at the top of the book along with the number of pages. I think this is good because I have been caught out before when you order a book thinking it's going to be War and Peace length, and when it arrives it's like a magazine!

PRICES ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

All the books are offered at a discounted price and the company claim they've been hand selected to offer quality and value and I have to say I agree. There are always well known classics that are a must for every childs library along with newer authours and more unusual titles, truly something for everyone.
The prices are always reasonable but my last order was placed during the summer sale and I brought 3 books for £6 and 2 lots of collections for £9.
I brought 5 books of The Large Family with CD and 3 Mister Maker books for £9 combined and then a Charlie and Lola jigsaw book, Charlie and Lola story book with CD and another hardback childrens story book all for £6, which means I got 11 books for £15 and saved about a hundred pounds!

POST AND PACKAGING ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

To make things even better postage and packaging is FREE! This is if you choose the standard delivery of 7-10 days and this applies no matter how big or small the order is. You could buy a book for £2 or spend £100 and still have the free postage.
There is the added option of next day delivery at a cost of £5.95

I placed my latest order last Saturday afternoon and it arrived today (9 days) but this is the longest Ive ever waited for an order ( I think this was due to it being sale stock), normally it arrives within 3-4 days.

My parcel today was delivered through the HOME delivery network and I had to sign on receiving it but the last 3/4 parcels have been left out in the porch when I wasnt in. Im not sure if this is company policy or down to the driver but might be worth leaving a note if you're going to be out.

RETURNS ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

If you receive a book you're not entirely happy with or it arrives and it's not what you expect you can return the book as long as it's done WITHIN 7 DAYS.
You have to contact customer services (by phone or online) to let them know and they'll give you an authorisation code. Then you need to package the books up with the original documentation and write the authorisation code on the front of the parcel.
Then you can either arrange for it to be collected or post it yourself.

ONLINE ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Redhouse is also available online at www.redhouse.co.uk and has a similar format to the catalogue, being divided up into age categories. There are also exclusive on line offers and discounts so its always worth checking this out from time to time.
If you place an order on line you can then track its progress to see when its been shipped and where it is in the couriers system too.
There is also a section called the reading room where there are messgae boards ands discussion groups for those who want to use that facility.

NOT A BOOK CLUB ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

What I love best about this company is that it is not a book club so there is no obligation to place an order once you've received the catalogue.
You're not tied in to anything and only order the books you want and all the books are discounted. There aren't introductory prices to lure you in and then the prices get hiked up, evry book is really a bargain!

In summary I would highly recommend Redhouse books.
I love looking through the catalogue evry month and have got lots of bargains for my daughter and also ordered books as presents for her friends.
I love the fact P&P is free no matter what you order as the price you see truly is the price you get!
The only down side is not buying everything you look at!

Summary: Good quality books at low prices with good customer service