Sweets from around the World! (Cybercandy.co.uk)

Member Name: littleme96

Product:	Cybercandy.co.uk
Date:	20/11/08 (169 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good range, items that you can't buy in the UK

Disadvantages: P&P a bit expensive, Products can be out of stock for a while

Cybercandy.co.uk is an online sweet shop with a difference - instead of selling the normal sweets that you tend to get (boiled sweets, toffee, fudge etc), this website sells chocolate and candy from around the world. The company is family owned and run and has been in business since 1999. I have only purchased from them via their website, but if you would prefer to visit a real shop to purchase these items, they do have two stores:

Cybercandy London
3 Garrick Street
Covent Garden
LONDON
WC2E 9BF

or

Cybercandy Brighton
98 Gloucester Rd
Brighton
BN1 4AP

When these shops are open, there is even a webcam on the website where you can see into the stores, which is rather unique.

The website itself is easy to navigate. On the left hand side of the homepage there are the following categories:

American Stuff
British Stuff
Japanese Stuff
Australian Stuff
New Zealand Stuff
South African Stuff
Canadian Stuff
Finnish Stuff
Swedish Stuff
European Stuff

Below this section, there is also the option to browse by Specialist Store (for example Jelly Belly Beans or KitKat Store). There is also a search box, which is handy if you are looking for something in particular and don't want to browse by country. There are also a number of picture links on the right hand side, which are mainly for the specialist brands or certain products that the company wish to promote. Amongst these are Oreos, Muddy Bears and Nintendo branded items.

The website sells a number of unusual food and drink items including chocolate with ants in them or lollies with real crickets in them. However the majority of stock is normal, but just unobtainable in the UK. Brands that are sold here include Cadbury, Hersheys, M&Ms, Reeses, Jelly Belly and KitKat and it is great to see what merchandise these companies produce for sale worldwide that we are not aware of! They also sell a range of drinks such as Mountain Dew and numerous energy drinks.

You can choose to only see items that are in stock, which is quite handy. However, I do find that if you want an item that is out of stock, it may take a while to become available again due to shipping times from their suppliers...

I have ordered from Cybercandy twice now and have been very impressed with both orders. They are packaged well in a sturdy cardboard box and generally delivered via courier. My most recent order was for items for a Christmas hamper and I requested that all of the dates on the items went past December 25th 2008. All of the items that were sent easily went past this date, which was great. I haven't had any problems with the company, so I am unable to comment on how good their customer service is.

The P&P charges are a bit steep (£4.99) for 'budget' postage and packaging or £6.99 for 'standard', but if you are doing a big order this isn't too bad. The payment methods that they accept are Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Switch, Delta or Solo. They also accept their own CyberCandy gift vouchers, which are available to buy online.

You are also able to sign up for their newsletter online, which they email to you on a regular basis (probably only once a month though, so you're not bombarded!). The newsletter contains a link to their 'Secret Shop' which contains items that are not yet available on the website.

I really like the website and the company and will be ordering again from them in the future - hopefully for me this time, as my previous 2 orders have been for other people! If you like chocolate and sweets this is the website for you!

Summary: Well worth a visit...