Blackstar is 5 star! (blackstar.co.uk)

Member Name: The Duke

Product:	blackstar.co.uk
Date:	14/08/00 (30 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap, Good Customer Service, Fast delivery

Disadvantages: None

An interesting snippet of information for you - Blackstar was originally meant to be an all singing, all dancing site offering videos, DVD's, Cd's etc. but the founders saw how well Amazon were doing and they decided that they would be better spending their energy seeling something that they were interested in, and that Amazon would have a job (as an American company) in cutting in on their market. They came up with the idea of selling videos as videoa are essentially divided into regions by virtue of the system i.e. Pal, Secam, NTSC. As the UK is Pal, Blackstar thought they could sell to the UK market without too many problems. I don't think they thought how big this would get!

I've been using Blackstar for about over a year now, usually for buying birthday presents etc. for my friends. Their service is outstanding, their prices are excellent, and their web site is easy to navigate.

They have a well organised web site with films being linked by category. Their home page has links for video searches, DVD searches, charts and latest releases. They also have a feature called "My Diary" which enables you to keep an eye out for your favourite films coming to cinema or TV, and you can do the same for your favourite actors of directors.

Each video or DVD has its' own page which contains some information on the DVD/video i.e. brief plot synopsis, info of actors or directors, running time etc as well as a picture of the DVD/Video cover.

Generally, as far as I can see, their pricing structure is this: new releases can be bought at 20% off RRP, while all other stock is 10% off RRP. Obviously, sales and special offers not withstanding. postage and packaging to anywhere in the world is free! (The furthest they've delivered to is Antarctica! I wonder how much that cost them?)

I don't think that they're the cheapest site around, but I don't begrudge paying them a little extra if they'r
e able to upkeep the level of customer support that I've witnessed over the last year or so.

Blackstar also operate a loyalty scheme, basically this operates as so: for each £10 you spend, you get 1 star. Stars can then be redeemed against a number of items of Blackstar merchandise - from Cd wipes to full blown DigiTheatre sound systems! You are acutally awared for each £10 you spend, so if you first spend say £13.99 on a video, then at a later point spend £17.99 on a CD (Total £31.98) this counts as 3 stars.

They say that the sign of a good organisation is how they cope when things go wrong, well, between me pre-ordering my copy of The Phantom Menace, and it being despatched, my credit card went out of date. During this time, I completely forgot to update any of my online shopping accounts. A few days before desptach, I got an email from Blackstar, saying that my card was out of date. I replied, giving my new details, and asking them to update them, before sending me the video. I stated in this e-mail that I was keen to get TPM on the day of release. Another e-mail from Blackstar thanked me for my new details, and stated that they were trying to update my account, and all efforts were being made to ship for the day of release. However, they said, if it didn't arrive on time, and I'd gone out and bought it in a shop, then simply to send it back to them for a full refund!

Since then, several emails have passed between myself and Blackstar customer service regarding various queries I have had, and every single time I have had quick, and problem solving replies. Their customer service is second to none so far, in my short time online shopping.

If you sign up to their weekly e-mail bulletin then you also get advanced warning of new releases which you can pre book for a discount, and which will arrive on your doorstep on the day of release without you even having to leave the house! Couch potato heaven!

Unlike othe
r e-tailers, I have to say that Blackstar have had a 100% success rate with me. I've ordered about 15 - 20 items from them over the course of about 13 months, and each one has arrived on time, and undamaged. This means I cannot comment on their returns policy.

I can't recomend these people highly enough for DVD or video shopping.

Summary: