Ever heard of Peter Alexander ? When I was studying in Oz , they would always have these well designed catalogues attached to the Cosmo magazines (or was it some other Fashion magazines ? ) . I would always browse and look through them in enjoyment and even kept the catalogues as reference . Peter Alexander started off with only an online business and no physical shop . But over the past few years, their business has grown so well that they now have more than 17 shops all over in Oz because of Peter Alexander's signature catalogues !!  Take a look at some of the signature catallogues, I bet you will love them as much as I do !! I used to collect them all when it was easier for me to gain access to them in Oz. Everything was so well designed ! To me , it is a brilliant work of visual merchandising art.

* All the above images belong to Peter Alexander unless specified otherwise.

However, my first experience with Peter Alexander was never in Oz. After I came back to Singapore to work, with some purchasing power, I started browsing their website very regularly (To date, I am still doing that !!). My first purchase was these 2 sweaters (yah, they specialize in pyjamas, yet I bought their sweaters ?? ) Their PJs are always so beautiful that I think I could even wear them out without anyone realizing that they are PJs. To date, I am still wearing them coz they are so lasting that I couldn’t bear the thoughts of giving them away or throwing them away.

They used to have sales promotions online rather frequently but not anymore. I think it might be because they now have physical shops to clear their old stocks. Thus I do not shop at their site as frequently now. As an online customer, I am definitely hoping that they have more sales items as the shipment isn't cheap and it will be good if I can save some money on the apparels I am buying ! And they can capture more customers from overseas with their old Seasons stocks and more range of products !! Winter in Australia doesn't mean that it isn't Summer in Singapore !!! Oh ya, they have apparels for your kids and men too ! Don't forget to take a look !

Let's me share with you something, I was so influenced by Peter Alexander's catalogues that I made my hubby take PJ bridal photo shoots with me when we got married !

Website : http://www.peteralexander.com.au/

Delivery :  Up to 20 working days from Australia to Singapore.

Delivery Costs :  Flat International shipment to Singapore at AUD20 for orders below AUD200 and at AUD30 for orders above AUD200.  

Product Range: Mostly pyjamas.

Price:  AUD10-100  

Customer Service: Very prompt. They will respond to your email within a day.

Rating : 8 out of 10

I have always been an Apple fan. So when Apple announced that the Ipad was coming on the market, it immediately caught my attention.

Before the Ipad was officially launched in Singapore, I tried to order the Ipad from US directly and via concierge services such as Vpost and Globeshopper but was unsuccessful as Apple had ceased all sales via these concierge services to prevent overseas sales.

Hence when Apple launched the Ipad in Singapore, I was very keen to purchase one. However due to limited stocks, they were sold out by the time I reached the store. Hence, I tried the next best thing – ordering online from the Apple Store.

The above images used in this post belong to Apple unless specified otherwise.

The pros – there was no need to queue for hours

The cons – there was a waiting time of 3 weeks before the Ipad is ready for shipment.

I ordered the Ipad on 1 August 2010 and within 3 days, I had received an email from Apple confirming my order advising that the Ipad would be ready for shipment by 17 August 2010.

On 11 August , I received an email from Apple advising that the Ipad had been shipped out. That’s 1 week earlier than I had expected.

Apple also provided a DHL tracking number for me to track the shipping status.

However sad to say, the online shopping experience was marred by an irresponsible DHL delivery. When DHL first attempted to delivered the item, they claimed that no one was home and simply left a note in the mailbox even though my mom was at home the whole time. When I called DHL to enquire, they claimed that due to the tight delivery schedule, the delivery guys would sometimes leave a note if they think that there is no one at home. I was infuriated when I was given such an irresponsible reply. To make things worse, when my mom called the DHL number upon seeing the note left by DHL and arranged for a second delivery, the DHL did not even show up. When we called DHL to enquire, they replied with a nonchalant manner that they had rescheduled the delivery to the next day. And they did not even have the courtesy to call us to inform us about the rescheduling!!!

I was so annoyed by the irresponsibility of DHL that I ended up going straight to their warehouse to pick up the Ipad myself as I simply could not trust their services at all.

I was happy with the Ipad that I ordered but maybe Apple should consider using a better and more responsible courier service so as to provide the customer with a better overall online shopping experience.

Website : http://store.apple.com/sg

Delivery : Item delivery depends on availability of item. If item is available, delivery will take up to 3 days from date that item is shipped. A tracking number is provided for buyer to track the status of delivery.

Delivery Costs : Free.

Rating : 6 out of 10

My husband is a great McLaren as well as Hugo Boss fan.

When we were in UK on our honeymoon, my husband went into all the Hugo Boss, McLaren and F1 Memorabilia shops to look for the original McLaren Team Shirt by Hugo Boss but could not find it.

So this year, whilst surfing for a wedding anniversary present for my husband, I chanced upon the McLaren e-shop website and found the Original McLaren Team Collection by Hugo Boss and decided that I have the perfect anniversary present for my hubby.

I duly bought the Limited Edition Hugo Boss Team Polo shirt for my hubby. This is the same shirt which is worn by the McLaren Team during the F1 races!!!

A size chart is available on the website so choosing the correct size shirt was easy.

* The above image belongs to McLaren e-shop unless specified otherwise

The website also has some fantastic “Sales” item. I managed to pick up the female McLaren teamwear (not Hugo Boss though) for only US$14.99 (RRP US$49.90). So now I can wear matching shirts with my hubby!!

By combining the purchases, I only needed to pay a single flat delivery fee of US$25.

The response from McLaren e-shop was very prompt. I received the confirmation order via email the next day and in 7 days, I had received my package.

However, upon opening the item, I realized I had made a great big mistake. I had ordered the Women’s Hugo Boss Team T-shirt for my husband instead of the Men’s Polo shirt.

I immediately emailed the McLaren Shop about my mistake, praying that they will accept returns. Luckily I received an email reply from the McLaren Shop the very next morning advising that I can mail back the wrong item to them and they will do the exchange at no extra costs. They will even absorb the costs of the 2nd delivery (although the mistake was mine).

True enough, I couriered back the wrong order and received the exchanged item in a week’s time at no extra charges.

Kudos to McLaren for the great and prompt services.

My husband was so excited to receive the Limited Edition Hugo Boss Team Polo. Now whenever we watch the F1 races on TV, he would always keep an eye out for the McLaren Team and point excitedly that he has the exact same shirt which the McLaren Team wears. We can’t wait for the next F1 race where we can proudly wear and showoff our Limited Edition McLaren Teamwear.

Have a look at my husband's new collection - the front & the back. It looks exactly the same as what Lewis Hamilton was wearing !

I would highly recommend this website to all McLaren fans.

Website : http://www.mclarenshop.com/

Delivery : 5 to 28 days on website but received my packages within 7 to 10 days

Delivery Costs : Flat fee of US$25 even If you buy more than 1 item

Tips : The website offers 3 different currencies for payment (US Dollars, Euros and UK£).

Do check out all 3 currencies and choose the one whose exchange rate works out best for you as it could make a great difference. When I purchased the Hugo Boss T-shirt, the UK pricing was $149 (S$315.88) but US Dollar pricing was US$199 (S$274.62). By choosing to pay in US$, I saved more than S$40 !!!

Service : Great Service and Prompt Response.

Overall Rating : 8 out of 10

Thanks to Ms Chocolate, I found that Air Asia has launched a promotion to travel from KL to Seoul for only $40 (inclusive of all taxes!) .

Guess what ? I have managed to book a pair of tickets for RM530. How cheap are the tickets ? That is only like SG$230 !!! Can you believe it? SG$230 for two tickets to Seoul !!!! That means that my Seoul honeymoon dream is coming true !!! YIPPY !!

It was definitely a hard fight for me to get these tickets. Airasia has recently launched promotions to Seoul and Tokyo (Ms Chocolate and I wanted to try the Tokyo promotion but we couldn't find the dates we wanted and by the time we did, we were too late. All the promotion tickets were sold out! There were lesser tickets offered for this Tokyo promotion than Seoul as the frequency of the flights going to Tokyo was fewer) . For such promotions, you must really be very very kiasu and very fast or else you will never be able to get the tickets!

The tips of getting these tickets:

1. Check the launch date and time and make sure you standby a few minutes before the launch time!

2. Plan how many seats you want and the exact dates you want the night before.

3. Decide on your backup dates the night before ( so that you will not be too indecisive on the launch date !)

4. Be Fast and choose the exact dates you wanted on the launch time.

5. After you have made your selections, skip all the parts that require you to enter more details (e.g. insurance details, select seats) and go straight to payment part  (You can go to "manage your booking" after you have successfully booked the tickets)

I wonder what is the next promotion we should look out for ? Airasia to New Zealand or Airasia to Paris?

Website : http://www.airasia.com/

Delivery: Immediate! You have to be one of the first to start browsing the fares when they launch the promotion!

Ease of Website:  Might experience many incidents of timeout errors or dates no longer available ! Have to be really lucky and fast !

Product Range: Airasia is expanding their flights to more areas , from Kuala Lumpur !

Price:  Cheap ! But only can buy when there is a promotion! For regular price, it isn't really worth!

Customer Service: Poor! Tough to get through the number and email response is slow !

Rating : 6 out of 10