Unicahome

Full review
I love modern design but find that the prices for unique designs are very high (unless you get lucky at Target). I found Unicahome while doing a search on the Internet for a stool designed by Philippe Stark. I had seen the stool from $75 to $99 in various stores and catalogs but wanted to do a quick web search to see if I could find it cheaper.

The web search let me to Unicahome. They had the stool for a great price at $65 plus no tax and shipping was free for orders over $100. I was so happy, I bought two and bookmarked the site to return.

MERCHANDISE

Unicahome has, of course, a lot of stuff for the home. Almost everything has a modern edge, some have clever designs and some are weird. There is a wide variety of merchandise including rugs, lighting, accessories, bathroom fixtures, furniture and almost anything else that goes in the home. There are also toys, jewelery, watches, cameras and other miscellaneous items. In addition to new items, they carry vintage design pieces. The amount and variety of items is really quite amazing. The prices on this site are also very good.

WEB SITE

The web site is actually the weak link of the shopping experience on this site. It is hard to find products, very hard to browse and impossible to back up. It helps if you know what you are looking for, otherwise you will be going back and forth and in and out of menus trying to see the offerings.

The web site offers pretty good descriptions of items but there are no customer reviews. You can view larger images of items but there are no fancy spins or color changes. There are no excess pictures or animation, so web pages load quickly.

ORDERING

The check out process was acceptable but there was some room for improvement. I had to type my address in twice because it didn't carry over from one screen to another. Other than that, things went relatively smoothly.

CUSTOMER SERVICE

I got an email immediately after placing my order. Then I got an email from a REAL LIVE person confirming that my order shipped. I responded to this email with the information from above, mainly that I liked the merchandise and prices but found the web site tough to negotiate. The REAL LIVE person responded with a personal email. Then, I got an email with a FEDEX tracking number. My order left the warehouse on the same day I placed my order.

SHIPPING

Shipping on orders over $100 is free. I ordered two stools and expected to pay a surcharge and there was none.

My items arrived exactly when promised.

PACKAGING

My two stools were wrapped in foam in a secure box. They survived the trip just fine.

RETURNS

Here is the returns information from the web site: Returns will be accepted within 30 days for credit or exchange ONLY on all items except special orders, and dinnerware sets (single place settings are suggested before a large purchase is made.) We will allow store credit and exchanges with receipt and original, intact packaging. All credited returns or exchanges must be in original, unused condition. A restocking fee may apply to any order not received in good condition. Please call 1-702-616-9280 for a return authorization. All special orders are considered non-refundable.

I kept my items. I didn't get a return label or return information with my order, so the return could have been a bit of a hassle.

FINAL RECOMMENDATION

I love the merchandise and prices on this site. The web site itself it a bit of a dinosaur, but the values make it worth the slog to find what you want.


DO YOU LIKE TO SHOP ON THE INTERNET? HERE ARE SOME MORE REVIEWS OF WEB STORES:

Clothing and Accessories: Talbots; The Gap; CWD Kids; Hanna Andersson; J. Jill; Tote Le Monde ; Blu Pyxie ; Miniboden; One Hanes Place; Nordstrom; Gymboree; Simple Shoes; Sierra Blue; Ebags.

Clothing and Home Goods: Land’s End; Bluefly; Soft Surroundings; Garnet Hill; Sundance; L.L. Bean.

Home and Garden: Smith & Noble; Restoration Hardware; Gardener’s Supply Company; Homeclick; FaucetDirect; Gardens Alive; West Elm; Crate & Barrel; MyKnobs; CB2.

Books and Magazines: Amazon.com; ValueMags; Magazine Values; Dover Publications.

Office Supplies, Furniture and Services: Staples; Officemax; Topdeq; Efax.

Electronics: HP Shopping; Buy.com.

Travel: Amtrak; Hotwire; Orbitz; Hotels.com.

Discount: Overstock.com; Target.

Photo Developing: Shutterfly; Snapfish.

Baby Stuff: Babystyle; Baby’s Here Birth Announcements; Baby Universe; SoZo.

Miscellaneous: 1-800 contacts; Movie Tickets.com; Drugstore.com.

Rebate Sites: Upromise; Ebates.