Hand made beautiful gifts - something a little different for that special gift (notonthehighstreet.com)

Member Name: carlz2001uk

Product:	notonthehighstreet.com
Date:	17/08/09 (80 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Beautiful items - lots of them too!

Disadvantages: Expensive

I stumbled across notonthehighstreet.com after looking for a father's day present from my two little girls to my husband. I was sick of buying the usual boring presents and wanted something a little different. After using a search engine to try to find some unusual gifts, I found THE website! It is absolutely fantastic. The gifts are so beautiful I could have spent an absolute fortune! However (!!!), it is very expensive!
Holly Tucker and Sophie Cornish started notonthehighstreet.com in April 2006 after the frustration of never being able to find the perfect gifts. They source beautiful items from small businesses and sell them on their website, giving the majority of the takings to the small business and taking a small cut themselves. Perfect for the little businesses that until now had been stuck in markets or in small villages.
The thing that I love most about notonthehighstreet.com is the personalised section where you can buy anything from personalised children's t-shirts, cushions, keepsake boxes and even wig-wams! My personal favourite (and one which I actually bought), is the handmade, personalised jewelry where you can have your children's names etched on a bangle or a necklace. Just beautiful! They also sell anything from home ware to fashion, food, cards and wrapping paper. For fathers day, I bought my husband a plant box (without the plants in), which was personalised to see 'Anja and Isabelle love their daddy'. I wasn't disappointed when I arrived this through the post just a few days later, however it did set me back £30.
Notonthehighstreet.com have the usual browse and search facilities, and an easy to use shopping basket, enabling you to add items from as many different small business sellers as you wish. The only thing with ordering, is as each item is made by individual businesses, you will be paying more than one delivery charge, but it will be added to your order in one go, so you can pay in one checkout. Your order is confirmed to you by email and you also get status updates by email too, such as when the item has been posted and how long you should expect to wait before receiving it.
They accept all major credit and debit cards, including Switch, Visa, Delta, Maestro and MasterCard, and with their online payment system being endorsed with VeriSign and McAfee certificates, you know you are shopping securely.
As many of the sellers are making hand made products, the majority do send in beautifully wrapped packaging (it states what kind of packaging the items will be received in for many of the items) at no extra cost, but some do offer a gift wrapping service if you are wanting the item as a gift. The items I have bought through this website have nearly always come in unique and imaginative wrapping, such as organza and velvet pouches and jeweled boxes.
If you hand make any of your own items, then you can of course sell the items through this website (subject to their say so I may add!), you just have to email them at membership@notonthehighstreet.com.

You have to have a look at this website - but hide your credit card first!

Summary: 5 stars