Smoking-Shisha.de Reviews

[Chreees]

This is for posting your PERSONAL experiences with www.smoking-shisha.de. Please restrict your comments to what you ordered, customer service, delivery, and over all satisfaction.

If you had a problem, was it resolved in a satisfactory way?

Please post here only AFTER your transaction is complete.
Comments and questions by others will be restricted to the regular discussion forum and deleted from this topic if posted here.

[magick777]

[b]Review of www.smoking-shisha.de (Inside Trading, Munich, Germany)[/b][b]
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[b]1) Website - [/b]monolingual website in German, but easy to use as a non-German speaker with translation provided by Google Chrome. Functional shopping cart handles international orders well, but does not offer end-to-end international payments. However, it was possible to pay by [MoneyFriend] and just note this in the comments box, so the site works well enough to handle my order. [b]7/10[/b] for the website; points could be gained for building in more payment options and internationalisation, but, it's good enough.[b]
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[b]2) Communications - [/b]initial enquiry e-mail (in English) answered fully and concisely within 24 hours. Order acknowledged immediately, then notified of shipping with a valid link to tracking number on the second business day after the order was placed. [b]10/10[/b]

[b]3) Product range [/b]- above average by German standards, carries a good range of German, American & Middle Eastern brands, seems to focus on quality products, too. Outstanding as compared with UK retailers. [b]10/10,[/b] but note that [u]they do not offer to ship tobacco internationally[/u], thanks to EU legislation.

[b]4) Stock levels - [/b]good, but not perfect. Got most of what I wanted, but had to compromise on colours on two bowls. Still a better level of stock than most competing German retailers, certainly of the products that I wanted[b].[/b] [b]8/10[/b].

[b]5) Prices [/b]- very good value on balance; similar to the German competition, plus or minus a euro, with a few good special offers. However, they accepted [MoneyFriend] without any surcharge, while competing on price with retailers who accept neither credit cards nor [MoneyFriend], so a [b]9/10[/b].

[b]6) Shipping cost [/b]- at 13 euros, this is the median price among German retailers for deliveries to the United Kingdom, the cheapest being 10 euros. In fairness, for that price they used a premium, signed-for, trackable, international delivery service, with the first attempt at delivery after less than 48 hours. [b]9/10[/b], the only thing they could improve is to offer a better range of options for heavier packages and/or a choice of price/service points.[b]
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[b]7) Payment options [/b]- better than the website would suggest. Misleadingly, the site displays a Visa / Mastercard logo, but in the small print, one finds that credit card payment should be coming mid-2011, for now, they accept either a bank transfer or a German payment system with which I have no familiarity. A quick e-mail revealed that they would in fact accept [MoneyFriend] and please just note it in the comments box, but, the website itself is not currently set up for international payments. [b]8/10.[/b]

[b]8) Speed[/b] - theoretically they could have posted the order one day earlier than they did, but they replied e-mail after 8 hours and shipped the order the day after they received it; this is distinctly above average. [b]9/10.[/b][b]
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[b]9) Accuracy[/b] - the information they supplied by e-mail was correct, and they delivered all of the items ordered, in perfect condition, first time. [b]10/10[/b]

[b]10) Packaging [/b]- the order was well packed with visible fragile labels on the corners. Bowls were wrapped and packed with newspaper, bonus points for reusing free post-consumer waste that is easily reused or recycled. [b]10/10[/b][b]
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[b]OVERALL: 9/10[/b]. I am completely satisfied with the order process, payment options, communication, order fulfillment and value for money. The average is lowered only by the fact that as an international customer, I needed to contact them to clarify shipping and payment options; hardly a major gripe. Would be a 10/10 if I were in Germany. Overall, recommended without hesitation to German and European users; they compare very well with the UK companies I've used.
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[/b] Edited January 31, 2011 by magick777