Send Off For Something Beautiful! (notonthehighstreet.com)

Member Name: Machair1

Product:	notonthehighstreet.com
Date:	20/05/09 (51 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Lovely items.Supports UK small business

Disadvantages: None

Some of you may know that I love Welsh cakes, and that I eat them a lot as do most of my family. I have been searching for some time to find the perfect tin in which to store them, as they were languishing in one of those" lock and lock" containers which although keeps them perfectly fresh doesn't look particularly appetising or aesthetically pleasing.

Trawling the internet I found a web site which caught my eye because it claimed to be selling a cake tin inscribed with the words "Cacen" which is Welsh for cakes so I thought- perfect.

The website can be found at www.notonthehighstreet.com and it is a company who are acting as a window for sales from small businesses, who have to pass very strict criteria to be included in their selection. They only accept 5% of applicants, which indicates to me that they are a discerning group of people, who have put together some extremely well made and unique items. As their website address indicates many of these items are a little different, so if you are searching for an individual present you may find something of interest here.

The home page is very attractive and underneath the company logo is a statement which says "one basket, hundreds of unique shops", and this paints a picture really of what you might expect to find in the pages as you search the categories. These are clearly labelled at the top allowing you to click through to home and garden, fashion, jewellery, personalised, gifts, baby and child, cards and wrap, gourmet, weddings and a section for items which are hand made completes the choices. Each of these sections has sub categories which are clearly labelled, so you can soon find exactly what item you are looking for easily, quickly, and further subdivisions enable you to home in on exactly the item you are searching for. I think this is a superbly designed website.

Underneath these categories are boxes which you can click on to see what is new in that day, and they also have a section which has 40 great ideas which are updated daily too, so this may be helpful if you are looking for inspiration. There is also the opportunity to set up a wedding list on this site which you can allow others to access.

A particular favourite of mine is the section called "inspired by the sea", I own a cottage in the Outer Hebrides and these are the kind of items my house is filled with. Individually made pieces of seaside things, some made from driftwood, and many made by individuals making a living in these places producing gifts and home ware with beach and coastal themes. These items are also perfect if you want to create a nautical theme, maybe in a child's bedroom, and they have many items I have never seen before.

How It All Works
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They have no warehouse or central store, because you are simply being given the opportunity to buy from small businesses themselves, who have been vetted and given this forum in which to sell their items.

Payments are completely secure, endorsed with VeriSign and McAfee certificates, and the company take a small fee from the amount of the sale, which you never see, of course, as it is included in the price, this being their commission for maintaining the website, marketing, and of course selecting the businesses, and ensuring the quality of the items.

As each seller is different the postage charges will vary between them, but they are working to tight guidelines laid out by the company, so that they deliver at a fair price, and also that they work to time scales so that the delivery times are acceptable. Most of their prices are set at £2.95 and some even deliver for free.

Any queries are to be directed at the seller in the first instance, but if this does not end the matter, the company will then intervene to ensure a satisfactory outcome, so I feel it certainly made me think I could order with complete confidence

The sellers benefit from extensive marketing behind the company and the buyer is assured of a good product.

My Experience
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I purchased a tin for my Welsh cakes in lovely blue enamel and it arrived with me in 3 working days. It was beautifully wrapped, and it was also perfectly made too. On the website I was able to discern that the company who were going to sell this to me is a new enterprise that specializes in the sale of Welsh items and hampers. The company is called Bodlon and I was able to find everything I would possibly know about them by clicking on 3 items corresponding to "about the seller", "sales and returns policy", and I was able to see all their products by clicking through to them. The company makes hampers in a Victorian schoolroom in Llanarthne near Carmarthen, and the company name means "fulfilled or satisfied" in English which inspired me to order from them, and I was absolutely delighted.

Every item you look at has a seller with a history you can delve into, and from "Norfolk Boy" who makes beautiful things from driftwood in Norfolk, to "Cup Cakes" who sell all sorts of beautifully made items form craft workers all over the UK, this catalogue is a forum for the work of the best of British design and originality.

You can request a catalogue by filling in the form on their website or simply browse through pages and pages of online goodies from the comfort of home.

This is the most interesting and inspiring website I have come across in a long time, and certainly for gifts it will be somewhere I will be happy to use as a first port of call.

The final point I would like to make is that I emailed them to express my thanks for their excellent service, and received a thank you back straight away. I thought this was professional and welcoming, and certainly from the placing of my order through receipt of the item I have been totally impressed.

I think at a time when many small businesses are struggling this is a great way to support them, many of them operating from economically challenged areas, and producing items of outstanding beauty.

Summary: A website I shall continue to use as it is unique and impressive.