DISCOUNT FASHION AND SPORTS WEAR (mandmdirect.com)

Member Name: womblebatman

Product:	mandmdirect.com
Date:	19/11/08 (476 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great prices, Excellent customer service, Quick delivery

Disadvantages: Stock changes quickly, Not so good for children

If you are looking to save money this year on branded clothes it might be worth your while taking a look at www.mandmdirect.co.uk. M and M Direct are the number web based sport and fashion discount retailer (source: 'Hitwise'). M and M Buy end-of-line clearence goods from well known brands and sell them direct to the consumer from their warehouses in Hertfordshire. Cutting out the middleman means they are able to reductions of up to 75% over the RRP. Started in 1987 by two business men their first advert appeared in the 'Shoot' magazine that same year. Originally called M and M Sports they changed their name to M and M Direct in 2006 at that point sales had pass the 60 million pound mark. There is a huge range of brand names, to give an example of some : Helly Hansen, Bench, Schott, Henley,Penguin, Firetrap, Lambretta, fcuk, energie, sonneti, boxfresh, fenchurch, Fly53, ringspun, crosshatch, carter, levis, fred perry, ben sherman, etc...


~THE BENEFITS OF SHOPPING AT M and M~

* Save 70 % on fashion and sports brands
* Over 3,000 discounts online
* 100% genuine products
* Men, Woman and Children's ranges
* 24 hr shopping, delivery to your door
* Dedicated customer service
* Easy to use, Secure website
* 28 day 'no quibble' guarantee


~THE WEBSITE ~

The M&M website gets around 15 million visitors a year and has over 100 top fashion and sports brands. As mentioned above there is over 3,000 items on the web page but despite this the site is easy to navigate around and you can find all you need to know on the first page. There's a search engine (top left on webpage) from which you can search by brand or type of clothing. If you prefer you can look through the different departments : Fashion, Sports trainers, Outdoors and ski, Street and surf, Gifts, Web exclusives, Football and Last chance to buy. There's also the option of using the Mens', Womens, Boys, Girls & Sale section above the main display frame. You can also order a catalogue from the webpage, access customer services and get order info. If you want to get the latest deals and discounts without visting the website you can set up a RSS feed, you can get more information and advice on how to set this up by clicking on the RSS symbol (bottom right of webpage).

~THE CATALOGUES~

M and M send out around 19 million catalogues a year, with five main seasonal catalogues. Their latest 88 page Xmas catalogue is out now. I do actually like having a catalogue to look through, I find that the colours are a bit more faithful than the ones on my computer monitor.


~HOW TO ORDER~

There are 4 ways to order from M and M Direct:
By Internet
By Phone - Call on 0871 664 1333 (Mon-Fri 9.00 am to 10.00 pm, Weekends 9.00am to 7.00 pm)
By Fax - 0871 664 1355
By Post (order form on last page of catalogue)

Postal Address

M and M Direct,
Clinton Road,
Leominster,
Herefordshire,
HR6 0SP

M and M accept Visa, Solo, Switch, Mastercard, Electron, Cheque and Postal orders. They require the following details to process your order : email address, correspondence address, contact number, and payment/card details. Note : M&M don't offer credit.

~SECURITY~

I know this is one aspect which might concern people, I'm quite hesitate myself of passing my card details over the internet. M and M do have their own secure server software that encrypts (SSL) all personal information preventing it from being accessed or read by any third party. When you reach the credit card area a padlock should appear in the bottom right hand section of the screen to indicate that the site is secure. They do say and I quote that they "will not disclose your details to any third party unless it is necessary to fulfil your order, or....if you've ticked the notification box". One thing to remember when using M&M if you don't want your details to be passed onto a 'carefully' selected third party is to make sure you 'untick' that specific notification box.

~DELIVERY~

The standard postage cost (within UK) is £3.99. On the website M&M tell you that delivery will take between 3-5 working days, I've usually got my order within a 2/3 days. I've never experienced a late delivery (7 days or more). With Express delivery (£6.99) goods ordered by noon Monday to Friday will be delivered the next day. I've only used express once, I tend to go for the standard delivery.

~RETURNS~

If you are unhappy with your purchase (or have a quibble !? ) M&M will offer you a full refund or exchange providing the item is returned within 28 days of purchase and (unworn). The only goods they will not provide a refund on are underwear, swimwear and pierced earrings. I've only had to return one item myself which wasn't quite the right size and they gave me a full refund. I've also contacted the customer services department a few times to track an order and in both incidents I've personally found them to be very polite and helpful.

~SOCIAL INVOLVEMENT~

Since 2005 M&M has supported the Teenage Cancer Trust. You will sometimes find that a TCT donation logo will appear next to some of the fashion and sport brands ie adidas, timberland, this indicates money will be donated by the brand or M&M Direct. So far M and M have donated more than £368,000 since it began it's support of TCT.

~MY EXPERIENCE OF USING M and M~

I was first introduced to M&M Direct by my brother after I noticed that he was wearing a nice pair of trainers, the same pair infact that I'd seen in town but had brought for half the price. I've personally been using M&M now for around two years and I've been very happy with the goods and service. To give an example of some of the things I've brought so far with the RRP in brackets: New balance running shoes, £24.99 (£50.00) a pair of Timberland shoes, £30.00 (£55.00) Helly Hanson jacket £44.99 (£89.99), Berghaus coat £79 (£139.00). I have to say that the children's section isn't as big as the mens and womens but it is improving and has got a lot better than it was. You can get items even cheaper during their on-line sales although these tend to be the larger and small sizes.


~CONCLUSION~

I would say M&M are one of the better web based discount stores, if not the best. I like the fact that that stock changes on a daily basis, there's such a variation of branded goods that I always find something I like - you've got to be quick though, it doesn't tend to hang around long. Being a discount store ordered goods will often arrive simply boxed or wrapped but in the two years that I've been involved with them the products have always been in excellent condition. I actually enjoy and prefer this way of shopping, it fits into my mad busy life and to be honest I don't enjoy shopping in the city. I have friends who disagree with me (mostly girls) who prefer to go out shopping and they do have a point with wanting to try things on. However, if like me you are pressed for time and money or simply prefer not to go shopping this site might possibly interest you.

Summary: Branded names at a discount price