This review is on the Argos.co.uk site, rather than Argos the company, because there is another review facility for that one.

Argos.co.uk is the internet site for probably the largest catalogue company in the UK. It is owned by Home Retail Group, the same company who also owns homebase.

In years gone by it was the norm if you wanted an item from Argos, you would pop along to the store. Look in the catalogue and then take your catalogue number to the counter. This happened for years and was very successful. Move on to the 1990's and the birth of the internet and Argos went one better. Search their catalogue online and then either buy online and pay a delivery charge, or reserve online and simply turn up on the understanding that your item has been reserved. This has proved even more successful and the company has gone from strength to strength.

I have bought hundreds (and that is no exaggeration) for both business and personal use, over the last few years and I have found their service very good. The only downside is when we get to the Christmas period and the website (like most online retailers) grinds to a standstill. It can be unbearable at times. It is never like that at other times of the year in my experience.

Another bug bearer around this period is reserving popular items and finding that they are not available on collection. It is always the hard to find items. The excuse I had for a DS lite last year was 'flooding', Gogo pet this year 'non delivery'. This can be really frustrating, especially when you hear, 'sorry there is nothing we can do, don't know when others will be in, try checking online'. Doesn't cut much mustard when you've been searching online for weeks for that hard to find present.

Another issue has been searching local stores. As you can only check 2 stores at one time (I think they have 350) it can be a long process, especially if at Christmas you are willing to travel.

However as you can see the problems I've had are around the Christmas period. I've not had problems at other times of the year, and their no quibble exchange policy is second to none. I'll drop a dooyoo star for not having the correct staff and systems in place for the stressful Christmas period, but otherwise this company has so much to offer (although sometimes the prices can be a little more expensive).