Fab Online Shopping at ELC (Early Learning Centre)

Member Name: cookie334

Product:	Early Learning Centre
Date:	29/10/08 (81 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Big birthday club, easy to browse, good search functions

Disadvantages: Prices can be a little expensive

Website: www.elc.co.uk

I'm sure I don't have to introduce the Early Learning Centre (ELC). They are very common now and can be found in most large town centres. The stores themselves vary in size and not all stock can be found in all stores. The shops generally have a few toys out on display that children can go in and play with, however, I'm not reviewing the Early Learning Centre shops today, I'm reviewing their website, so I wont go into too much detail.

I first came across the ELC website a few years back when I really began internet shopping. I used to use the site for browsing before going into the store to purchase the items. However, a little over year ago I discovered that there are various cashback sites all over the internet and that a few of the good ones featured the ELC. I also discovered that with a little bit of searching you can usually find an online discount code to allow you money off your order as well. This is when I decided to begin online shopping at the ELC instead of shopping in the store itself.

The website itself is quite plain for a toy shop. The background colour is white and all the writing and different links and catagories etc are all in green. However, once you begin searching pictures of toys come up and there is plenty colour to the page.

The website offers two different ways to search for items. The first is a search bar where you just type in either the product number (which you will find in the catalogue) or the description of the toy that you are after. The second is their shop assistant. This tool has several dropdown lists - gender, age, price, catagory, learning skills and brand. You can choose how many of the lists to search at one time for example you can choose to search just for toys suited for babies aged 0-6 months, or you can choose to search for toys for a baby girl aged 0-6 months costing less than £10. You can also choose not to use the search facilities, but instead you might prefer to browse the toys by clicking on a specific catagory. There are nine catagories to choose from and each of these can be narrowed down further if required.

While browsing the products you can clearly see a small picture of the toy, the price and whether or not there is stock available. You can see all this without having to click on the specific product. I really like this feature, as most sites it will just show you a picture and occasionally the price, they will rarely tell you if the item is out of stock until you try and order it and they don't have it, or even worse, some don't tell you at all and you only find out after ordering and waiting an age. But back to the ELC. Once you've got this far and you see a product that you like you can either add the item directly to your shopping basket or click the "tell me more" button. If you follow the "tell me more" link you will be taken to a page with a larger picture of the item and a description including any battery requirements, age range and a bit about how it will help your child. There are also reviews written by previous customers. The ELC seem to keep reviews on the website whether they are good reviews or not, which I think is very honest of them. It gives you a great insight to what the toy is really like when used by children and inspected by parents rather than just what the shop want to tell you, so it's invaluable for finding out exactly what you are thinking of buying.

Once you have added all your items to your basket and are ready to puchase them, you click the "checkout" button. Here you will see a list of your items and prices set out a bit like that of a receipt you would receive if shopping in a store. There will be a subtotal at the bottom, then delivery of £4.95 will be noted and then the total including delivery will be at the bottom. There will also be a box at the bottom where you can enter a promotional code should you have one. If you have not previously registered with the site you will then be taken to a page where you will need to enter your billing name and address. If you are already an ELC customer you will be asked to confirm that your details are correct instead. You will then be asked to choose your delivery option. Standard delivery is £4.95 and takes 4 working days. Express delivery is £7.95 and takes 2 working days. If your purchase is over £100 you will receive standard delivery free of charge. You will also be given the option to leave instructions for your delivery driver. You will then be asked to enter payment details and then confirm your order. Once all this is done, you can sit back and wait for your order to arrive.

Also on the ELC website you can enter their Big Birthday Club. This is a club for children aged 0-6 years. You don't have to be the childs parent to join the club, you could be the grandparent, an auntie, uncle, friend etc. A few weeks before the childs birthday you will be sent a voucher by post, email or both which will give you 20% off. This can be used instore or online but will exclude any special buys. As an example of a special buy, I was looking to buy a sizzlin kitchen but because this came with a free accessory kit I couldn't use the voucher to obtain a discount on this product. You will also receive a few gift suggestions from the ELC and if you opt to receive correspondence via post, you will also receive a free gift for the child. The club is free to join, so if you have kids or buy for kids birthdays regularly it's certainly worthwhile doing. They will also send you other special offers from time to time.

I have never had to return an item to the ELC so I can't comment on returns or customer service in that respect. However, I can tell you that their website states that they have a no quibble return policy and that anything bought online can be returned either via the courier that delivered it or by taking it into any Early Learning Centre store along with your advice note and they will refund you no questions asked. It also states that there is no time limit on this which I have to say sounds brilliant and a lot better than most shops offer.



All in all I would say you can't really go wrong ordering at www.elc.co.uk The prices can be a little steep sometimes, but you can combat this by joining the big birthday club and only shopping with your 20% discount.

Summary: Well worth joining the Big Birthday club for 20% off your birthday shopping