A gift of a site (Paramount Zone)

Member Name: 34_hobbes

Product:	Paramount Zone
Date:	28/08/02 (554 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great gadgets, Lightening delivery, Reasonable Prices

Disadvantages: I've had an item lost in the post

Paramount Zone is a great website for cool gadgets and toys, which make brilliant presents. The website address is paramountzone.com. I find that I normally spend more money buying myself presents than anyone else!

There are so many great gifts that I rarely only buy one item. So what sort of things does it sell? Well, at the top of the homepage there are tabs, which take you to gifts that are grouped under the same category. The categories are Gadgets, Boys Toys, Lifestyle, Bar Stuff, Executive, Games, Technical and Sports.

To give you an idea of what sort of things are under each category they helpfully show one item from each category on their homepage. If you like the look of one of the items, then by clicking on the photo of it, it will take you to a page with more detailed information and a bigger picture of it. To give you an idea of the sort of things they sell, I have listed a few of them from their website below:

 L'espion mini digital camera. Small enough to make James Bond jealous (smaller than a matchbox), this camera is packed with features. It can be used as a digital stills camera to store up to 80 photos, as a web cam so you can communicate with friends over the web or as video camera.

 The smallest remote controlled car ever. How such a powerful engine has been compressed into such a small body we will never know. The Micro Racer is not much bigger than a 50 pence piece, and is totally remote control.

 Mathmos Aduki light. The Aduki is a rechargeable, portable teardrop shaped light that fits neatly into the palm of your hand. It employs the amazing colour changing properties of LEDs to stunning effect, as it shifts calmly and seamlessly through the colour spectrum.

 Key Bottle Opener. The same size as a standard Chubb key, it gives guaranteed entry into any beer bottle. Designed by Suck UK, it will be the most important key on your key-ring.


 Desktop Air Conditioner. Staying cool and comfortable has never been easier, thanks to the Desktop Air Conditioner. Designed for ease of use, it utilises frozen water to create a personal climate-control system anyone can use.

If you click on, say, the Boys Toys tab, then it will take you to a page which lists all the items that are Boys Toys. It shows a small photo of the item with a description. It also lists the price and whether it is in or out of stock. If there is a green tick, then it is in stock, and if there is a red cross, then it is out of stock.

Once you have found the item you like, if you click on the photo you will get a whole page describing the item, a larger photo and sometimes-additional photos. At the end of the page there are often press reviews, and customer reviews of the item. There is also the option of adding the item to your shopping cart if you want to buy it.

Also on the homepage Paramount Zone list their top five selling items with photos and descriptions. If you are not too sure what you are looking for but you know what your budget is, there is a search facility on the left handside, which enables you to search for gifts within a price range. The options you can choose are: under £10, £10-£20, £20-50, £50-£100, and over £100. The results of your search are listed by the item name and price. If you then clicked on the item name, you will see a photo and description.

If you spend over £100 (excluding postage) you are entitled to a free gift! At the moment, the free gift is an Excuse or Relationship keyring. It works in the same way as a Magic 8 ball. If you need an excuse, by shaking the excuse keyring and looking at the viewing window you will see an excuse appear for example, "Car trouble". There are 20 different excuses. An example of the Relationship keyring solutions are "Run like hell", and "Say sorry"!

The thing I really lik
e about Paramount Zone is that once you have bought an item, you can review it. So if you were disappointed or if you were really happy you can let them know. It is a good thing for potential customers because the reviews are shown at the bottom of an items description page so it may help them decide whether or not to buy it. As an incentive for us to review our purchases, each month Paramount Zone reward the best review and the best photo (of you with or using your purchase) with a £50 voucher to spend on their site. If you send a photo and a review you might win £100!

Paramount Zone also run a monthly competition to win one of their gifts. They set a question and then you can e-mail them your answer.

Another fun thing they have is a "Fascinating Facts" page where they list their top 30 fascinating facts sent in by customers! A couple of examples taken from their current top 30 list are:

"Mosquito repellents do not repel. They hide you. The spray blocks the mosquitos sensors so they do not know you are there". Sent in by Nicolee Venter.

and

"The German football teams away strip is green in honour of the fact that the first team who would play them away after WW11 was Ireland. They were shunned by all other nations". Sent in by Drew McDowell.

If you like Paramount Zone then there is a newsletter that you can sign up for, all you need to do is give them your e-mail address. The newsletter comes out every three or four weeks and tells you about any special deals, competitions and latest products. If you do subscribe and then change your mind there is an option to unsubscribe to all future newsletters.

I think their delivery is fantastic. They promise that the majority of orders delivered in the UK are dispatched the same day, via Royal Mail First Class or Courier service. You receive your items within 1-3 working days after you have placed your order. If the
item is heavy then delivery may take an extra day. If you need something by guaranteed next day delivery, and do not mind paying a bit extra then if you telephone them they will try and do if for you.

If you find you are not happy with your item then you can return it to them within 14 days if it is in its original condition and they will refund you.

You can order online or by telephone or by faxing/posting a completed order form.
Telephone ordering: 0870 745 4797. Customer services: 0870 747 1160.
Their phone lines are open 10:00 - 17:30 Monday to Friday.

Payment can be made by Visa, MasterCard, Switch, Solo, Electron or Delta. You can choose whether you want to pay in Euros, US dollars or GB pounds.

I have found that their delivery is very good but I have had an item that got lost in the post, and so they sent another one to replace it. I was also slightly disappointed about the state of the packaging one item came in, especially as it was for a present, but I just wrapped it up without the box it came in. Other than that, I have had very good experiences with Paramount Zone.

Their products are quite similar to those at firebox.com and the prices are mainly the same. I have not tried firebox.com yet, as I have been very happy using Paramount Zone. I think it is the perfect place to find unusual and cool gifts.

Summary: