For want of a nail.... (espares.co.uk)

Member Name: cmh4135

Product:	espares.co.uk
Date:	20/08/08 (122 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy to locate spares and good customer service

Disadvantages: Not really a "thrilling" site

Our houses are full, these days, of large white goods. With each item generally costing in excess of a few hundred pounds it is rather frustrating when the appliance fails for a seemingly minor reason. This was a position we found ourselves in recently - the plastic handles on our oven door had split such that they were no longer capable of opening the oven door. We'd already swapped the grill handle for the main oven handle when this happened the first time but now we had two split handles.

For want of a nail....

Enquiries on the high street proved fruitless. A specialist retailer did say that they could order spares in but there would be a minimum order of £25 and postage of at least £10 for any specialist order. I suspected that our request for a minor part was simply too much hassle for the small store and they wanted to discourage us - either that, or they thought that they could push us into buying a new cooker.

There had to be an answer.

A quick google threw up eSpares and our quest began in earnest for that small, white piece of poorly designed plastic that should, in theory, save us a lot of money.

eSpares presents itself as a very professional one-stop shop for all of your appliance needs. The website is well designed and intuitive and, with the minimum of factual information you can locate the part you need.

Your quest begins with a search for the product type and then drilling down into the website either via manufacturer details, model or part number. Manufacturer's logos are used which I find helps you locate what you want very quickly.

When you've found the page that relates to the make and model of your machine you'll be presented with a list of available spares, some with handy illustrations to show exactly what you get which is particularly helpful when you know what the part you want looks like but haven't the foggiest what it's actually called in technical terms. Searching for a "thingy" never works on any site!

When you've identified the part you need then there's a standard process of adding the item to your shopping basket and checking out through a secure portal. Registration is necessary in order to place and process and order but this is painless and requires the minimum of information. Credit and debit cards are accepted in payment and, unusually, PayPal can also be used.

Despite having located my model number (excellent instructions were found on site) it appeared that the part I required was not listed. Not one to give up I decided to contact eSpares via their online help channel. An intuitive form was used to take down the required information. Within 12 hours I had an answer and was told which parts I would need. This saved me the hassle of calling the alternative 0845 helpline enabling me to submit my enquiry out of hours and giving me a written answer.

Discovering that the part I required cost under £10 I was ecstatic. The order was placed and we awaited delivery.

The item duly arrived within 3 working days, securely packaged.

Throughout the order and dispatch process email updates were sent so that I wasn't left wondering whether the order had been placed or what stage the order was at.

Even if you don't want or need spares for an appliance eSpares might still be of use to you. They maintain a good and comprehensive list of user manuals, all accessible in .pdf format, for free, online.

So, whether you've broken your oven door, smashed the washing machine or simply lost the TV remote, this place could save you hundreds of pounds in a click or six.

Recommended.

Summary: Salvage your electricals with a spare or two