Loubilou is a website rather unlike any other that I am aware of - they sell childrens clothing and products from independant sellers around the world from one convenient website.
You may think that this sounds similar to other websites such as Not On The High Street and even Amazon and e-Bay - but the difference is that unlike some of websites Loubilou encourage contact between seller and buyer rather than prohibit or limit it, and the items sold are largely from European sellers and so have a very unusual and unique feel to them.
I was given the chance to spend £25.00 on an item of my choice in exchange for an honest review of the site - and refreshingly, Loubilou were very clear that they wanted me to be 100% honest in my feedback.
So here is what I thought.
My first impressions of the site were that it is attractive and functional. I am easily put off websites if they are too high-tech, or use too many gadgets and thinks like flash intros etc - Loubilou was nice and straightforward but still pretty.
The catergory breakdown made it really simple to browse through the products on offer - I liked the fact that the items were not limited to a certain number per page, as my laptop is not the fastest I sometimes find it irritating having to go through numerous pages of products.
Instead, Loubilou's pages allow you to continuously scroll down - each time you reach the bottom of the screen it "reloads" and shows more products, until you eventually reach the end. I MUCH prefer this to numbered product pages.
There were many products on offer - though I did notice that there seemed to be a bit more choice for girls but then I feel that's pretty reflective of the childrens market as a whole to be honest, rather than something specific to this website - and eventually I narrowed my choices down and decided I really liked the look of a personalised dressing gown for Tyne which was £20.00
He doesn't have a dressing gown yet and everybody knows I LOVE personalised things, so this was ideal.
When I looked closer to try and order though, I noticed that there were no sizes listed.
I then needed to try to contact the seller to ask them if there were no sizes because the product was One Size Fits All or if it was an error in the listing.
I looked for a way to contact the seller and noticed that there was a very clear "Questions/Comments" box on the item - so I entered my query, hit submit and left it at that.
Because I was reviewing the site, I also emailed my contact at Loubilou and informed them that I had chosen an item but was waiting for a response from the seller.
A day later my Loubilou contact replied, and this prompted me to check the item listing again - the sizes had now been updated and added to the listing.
My question however hadn't been responded to by the seller.
My Loubilou contact informed me that it was at the discretion of each seller whether or not to publish the comments they receive, and that the alternative - and probably better - way of contacting a seller with a query was to click on their Seller profile and then go to the Contact page.I have just tried this out and I do have to say that even after being directed about where to find this, I struggled a bit - If this is the best way of contacting a seller with a query I think it could do with being made a little more prominent on the actual item page with a simple "Contact Seller" button - as to me, the Questions/Comments box was very visible and so I assumed that was the way it was done!
With the sizing query resolved, I went ahead and placed my order.
A few days later, my item arrived
I was pleased with the quality of the dressing gown, it's a little on the large side for Tyne right now so it will be a good few months before he wears it but it will be lovely and warm for him in the winter.
The service I received from Loubilou overall was very good, and their range of items is really a winner!
Here are a few of my favorite things on sale at the moment:
Personalised Handmade Dolls - £55.00
Cloud & Raindrops mobile - £30.00
Personalised Laundry Bag - £20.00
Personalised Cushion - £20.00
I'm sure you'll agree that they're very cute?! There is a LOT more on offer including clothing, nursery furniture, and much more. It really is worth a look!
Loubilou also run a weekly competition from their website - this week's competition is a chance to win a colourful pram blanket! - Take a look HERE
And there are more competitions run from their Facebook page HERE
So to sum up my Loubilou experience, let's take a look at the good and not-so-good points:
GOOD
*Very efficient, fast-running, modern, attractive website*Wide range of unusual items which would make excellent gifts and are great if you want something just a little bit special!*Speedy delivery*Products exactly as described*Reasonable prices
Could Be Improved
*Contacting seller could be made a bit more straightforward*Would have been nice to receive a response from the seller themselves thanking me for pointing out that there were no sizes listed!
So all in all, I was really impressed with Loubilou - it is a brand new website on the scene and I am really looking forward to seeing it do well, I think it is funky and fresh and with so many "Samey" products around it is really nice to be able to find something more "stand out" for such reasonable prices - I will certainly use this website myself and I hope my readers will all pay it a visit and give your support to a UK company just starting out.
To check out the site for yourself, please go to www.loubilou.com
