October 2020 by Steve J.
This company is incredibly "hit and miss". Firstly, it's the only mail order firm i'm aware of that DOESN'T offer free returns labels. Thus, trying to return faulty or unsuitable items is a laborious process, and done at the customers expense. This is presumably a ploy on the part of Express Gifts to try and deter customers returning anything at all!! I'd be interested to read their reasoning on this!! A few weeks ago I ordered a piece of jewellery from Ace Gifts And Cards. Turns out I was sent the wrong item in error. A member of customer services told me that I had to return the item via RECORDED DELIVERY - AT MY EXPENSE, and that i'd receive a full refund when the item had arrived. Ace have still not processed the return, nor have they credited my account. Good job I didn't order a dining table or tv!!!!!! Over the years I've ordered a variety of things from Ace. They do have a wonderful range of Christmas crackers and cards, which I've been happy with. However, the wrapping paper rolls are half the size and length of those in High St shops - such as Clinton/WHSmith etc..... so I won't bother ordering any of those again!! Likewise, some of the products are lovely, whilst others are absolute cheap tat. I've bought reduced price bedspreads that have had stitching and pattern errors. Too much hassle trying to return them, so a pat on the back to ACE! I once bought a branch light decoration that allegedly had been "REDUCED BY 75%!!!" From £70 or some nonsense. It was the sort of tat you would see in a bargain shop for a fiver!! Come on Ace!! You know full well that this rubbish was never sold at that price to begin with. Be honest with your customers. We didn't come down in the last shower!!!!!!!!!
January 2009 by Qype User (Granny?)
This is a mail order catalogue, although you can also order online or over the telephone if you prefer. They send out a catalogue twice a year, a Christmas one with all the gifts and toys, and a brilliant selection of Christmas decorations, cards and wrapping paper; and also a summer one which tends to be mostly household goods and other gifts for Easter or weddings and christenings. They also sell children's character bedding, and have also added clothing in recent years. I usually only order from the Christmas catalogue because it's a great place to get Christmas decorations and cards. Generally, they send out a Sale leaflet some weeks after the main catalogue, but still in time for Christmas, so you can get some really good bargains. Every now and then, they have an offer where you can get free delivery - and that's really worth looking out for because, personally I resent paying for delivery! The usual delivery charge is about £3.95, which I suppose is fine if you've ordered tons of stuff, but not so good if you've only ordered about £10 worth. Also, they don't do free returns, so it could work out quite expensive if you need to return anything, and certainly puts me off ordering things like clothing, where you can't really judge from the catalogue picture if it's going to fit or not. I ordered a denim skirt a couple of years ago, along with a few other items. I wasn't that keen on the skirt when it arrived, but given that I had paid to have it delivered, I worked out if I then paid to return it to them, it really wouldn't be worth it - the skirt only cost around £10-£15, so I ended up keeping it. Also, worth keeping an eye on hidden charges. They have a habit of adding on an insurance charge to your order, whether you requested it or not. It's only about 75p, but it's the principle of the thing! My understanding is that the package is insured by the carrier while in transit, so I'm not really sure why they ask customers to pay an additional fee. Anyway, they add this to my order year after year, and I then have the hassle of contacting them again to get them to remove the charge.
