Guest Posted June 15, 2010 Share Posted June 15, 2010 Can you tell me what you consider the best both for quality and value for money and why -consortium,Nes Arnold,Galt,etc etc? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
narnia Posted June 15, 2010 Share Posted June 15, 2010 Community Playthings for furniture, wooden toys etc, cannot be beaten on quality and thier guarantee of 10 years, Service is always impeccable and delivery times, in my experience, are phenomenal For general day to day stuff, I use the consortium, prices need watching sometimes ( I can but the same, or similar items in Wilkinsons or pound shops quite often at cheaper prices, particularly craft things).........delivery is usually very good, I can have things next morning if i order before 2pm. They have recently introduced a delivery charge which I am querying, as I was assured as on old customer that I wouldn't ever have to pay deliveries, no matter how small the order. I did have aBIG argument with them last year over equipment we ordered, but didn't receive ( they deliver themselves, so it didn't get lost in the post!), they kept phoning, sending nasty letters, threatening all sorts of dreadful action against us.....................until they realised that the item in question was STILL in their warehouse. They did end up letting us having the item at a huge discount, but the air was very blue on the phone between us and them for a while! Galt are ok, but I have had huge wrangles in the past over furniture.....................a child's sofa broke a couple of months after purchase and it took a LONG time to get this sorted,as they claimed we'd let children sit on it!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laura Posted June 15, 2010 Share Posted June 15, 2010 I have just done a massive lot of ordering - £2500 - of resources. It took me AGES to go through catalogues looking at how different the pricing was. Eventually I got most things from TTS and D & G, they were a lot cheaper, for eg a puppet theatre was £20 cheaper in D & G than hope and Galt! What annoys me about Galt and Hope is that they are obviously run by the same people, their online ordering system is identical, but each catalogue had certain deals, then each had a different amount to spend before you got free delivery. All companies have delivered in a week, was v impressed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 15, 2010 Share Posted June 15, 2010 Hi, i love ordering things for the nursery especially when it's not my money that i'm spending, i generally use Early Years resources and Hope education, i normally flick between the two for prices but they are generally the same and good quality. If you are shopping for creative materials i would have a good look in shops like wilkinsons, pound shops and qulaity save to see what there is in there, for the prices you pay in the catalogues you can normally buy double in the shops. With early years resources and hope you can normally get 10-20% off if you order it in line! HAPPY SHOPPING Becky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shiny Posted June 15, 2010 Share Posted June 15, 2010 I love TTS and D & G. I ordered a unit from NES Arnold December 2008, they lost the 1st one, they sent another that was damaged, then another that was damaged, then sent an invoice which our treasurer paid then sent another that was damaged (may have even been the same one they sent the first time it was damaged!!) this was all by April 2009, finally managed to cancel the order after 2 months of trying, then had to wait until September for a credit note after many frantic phone calls, then ordered two different units wanting to use the credit note, long story short they finally cleared our account last week after many a 'heated debate' over the phone bout the validity of our credit note!!!!! Aaargh!!! Will be steering clear of them this year!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finleysmaid Posted June 15, 2010 Share Posted June 15, 2010 i have had problems with Nes hope and don't even mention galt ! i love community playthings but were sadly dissapointed by their service standards this year and we had a problem with the products we ordered - what really irritated me was the attitude that we , as the customers were wrong! i have never had a problem with tts - always great service and good price. Consortium my standard supplier- rarely have an issue good price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 I have just done a massive lot of ordering - £2500 - of resources. It took me AGES to go through catalogues looking at how different the pricing was. Eventually I got most things from TTS and D & G, they were a lot cheaper, for eg a puppet theatre was £20 cheaper in D & G than hope and Galt! What annoys me about Galt and Hope is that they are obviously run by the same people, their online ordering system is identical, but each catalogue had certain deals, then each had a different amount to spend before you got free delivery. All companies have delivered in a week, was v impressed. Sorry what is D and G? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
narnia Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 Dolce and Gabbana............. Laura obviously has expensive tastes!! I'm astonished to hear you were disappointed with CP, finlaysmaid. I have only ever found them to be polite and courteous and the one occasion I had a small problem with an item, was quickly and politely sorted out. I always speak to Suzanne, who is the agent for our area, and she's simply lovely Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finleysmaid Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 narnia -i was really upset with them - i gave them several opportunities to apologies or put it right - they didn't play ball. in fact they argued with me on the phone i was really cross because i love their products but they are expensive. Tried to find a link for D+G but couldn't find them on the net! oh and baker ross good for silly bits and pieces! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inge Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 really does depend on what we were buying... must admit found Galt, NeS and Hope always were more costly and found service lacking... faulty goods, or non arrival.. billed 3 times for one product once and we had a discount voucher so they were evne overcharging us for it X3.. took a year to sort that out! Moreleys - were good, polite and furniture was really good quality.. Early years direct - also good quality furniture.. and service Consortuim we used for lots of things- but think they have some issues setting up early years accounts .. I set one up one a couple of years ago now, like them as they deliver next day so good for forgotten items.. S & S Services - for supplies- looks like thy have expanded a lot from when I used them, but goods were good value form the craft range when I used them.. and as other have said- local shops ( Ikea!) were always being perused and I bought when I say it.. so did other staff.. Inge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laura Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 D & G Educational - www.dg-educational.com, email - sales@dg-educational.com tel. 01484 86 05 06 I must admit I found their website hard to use as its a sort of online catalougue and my computer virus software couldn't cope. Much nicer to look through a real catalogue! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 Galt are ok, but I have had huge wrangles in the past over furniture.....................a child's sofa broke a couple of months after purchase and it took a LONG time to get this sorted,as they claimed we'd let children sit on it!! How could you Narnia? That's not what sofas are for at all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 Thanks for all the replies -how about where to get photo copier paper,white sticky labels,computer ink, name badges,sugar paper and display stuff-or is this the same as before Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laura Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 we usually get paper etc from viking. 365 ink is good value for compatible ink cartridges. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
narnia Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 copier paper I usually buy the cheapest i can find..............sainsbury's orTesco, but do buy bulk packs from the consortium sugar paper consortium...........or ask supermarkets for the thick paper that comes between the stacks of bags of sugar ( free!) Ink I get in Currys...son inlaw gets me 10% discount and I buy Kodak ink, so its cheaper anyway white sticky labels...........poundland, or consortium if i'm putting in an order Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inge Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 paper / sticky labels Viking Direct or Staples or Asda or local store.. all prices varied so much would just buy the cheapest place at the time same for Sugar paper/ display stuff.. we usually got it from consortium or S&S - checked prices at the time or as a special offer - but we only used sugar paper as a background for children's work,and they made the borders . name badges.. we did not have them so no idea Ink cartridges.. had several on line ones marked and checked prices at the time.. als checked local staples as ocasionally they were cheaper.. bought when on offer.. Inge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finleysmaid Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 ah just thought do you have a scrapstore near you too? the ones round here are a bit pants....but some others i've seen are brilliant (alladin's cave - milton keynes for example) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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