Plenty of offers on at Play.com (Play.com)

Member Name: nixtee

Product:	Play.com
Date:	20/12/08 (184 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Bargains, good service, plenty of offers, competitive pricing

Disadvantages: Dodgy own-branded products

I have been a customer of Play.com since 2001 and checking my account it seems that I have ordered over 220 items from them, so as I'm sure you can guess, I am a happy customer!

Play.com started out selling CDs, DVDs, books and computer games, but have since branched out into electronics (such as TVs, iPods, Sat Navs etc), computing (PCs, Laptops, Macs, software, accessories etc), gadgets (radio-controlled items, games etc), mobile phones & accessories, clothing and downloads, and most recently they've branched out into event tickets. There's plenty to choose from!

Play.com's prices are competitive, but they also have various sales on throughout the year and there are certainly some bargains to be found on the website (Last week I ordered an Animal jacket which was £15 less than the RRP and most other websites I'd seen it on).

I have found delivery usually takes place a week after ordering. Play.com tend to dispatch items a day or two after you've ordered them and then it will take an additional 3 - 5 days before they arrive. There's no priority dispatch or anything, but I don't have a problem with this especially as delivery is free within the UK no matter what you're ordering or how much you spend. It doesn't matter how many items you buy within one order, items will always be dispatched seperately. I have found items to always arrive in good condition and wrapped well, with the minimum of packaging.

Play.com also have something called PlayTrade where you can sell your own items. I've never ordered anything using PlayTrade or sold anything so I can't comment on that part of Play.com's service.

Play.com also allow you to pre-order items (usually giving you a release date) and I have done this several times. Somtimes, if they don't have a solid release date or something is continually out of stock due to high-demand then Play.com will sometimes have an option for you to enter your email address to get updates on that particular item.

I find the website easy to navigate and the search function always finds what I'm looking for. The latest offers and deals are always on the Home page and various banners for deals and certain brands can often be found down the left or/and right hand sides of the web pages.

Sometimes you'll find a few competitions dotted around the website and they're usually worth entering.

Play.com also have their own branded products, but I tend to steer clear of them. A few years ago I decided to try out one of their SD camera memory cards. Unfortuntely, I tried it out in my camera at a concert and after only 16 photos it died! It wouldn't let me take any more photos, but thankfully I managed to get those few photos off the card and onto my computer. (I stick with Sandisk branded memory cards now!).

All in all, I have found Play.com's prices to be good and I've had no problems with them (apart from the dodgy memory card). I have recommended them to friends in the past and would recommend them again in the future.

Summary: All in all, a good company.