The Royal Collection

The good thing about online shopping is that it makes shopping so accessible. You can shop from anywhere and at anytime. However, therein lies the perils of online shopping. It is so accessible that sometimes, you end up buying things without thinking cos it is so simple and fuss free that before you realize it, the damage is already done.

That is what happened to me today.

I was just browsing through news on the Internet when I came across an article on the the release of the official range of Royal Wedding China to commemorate the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton in -  http://uk.news.yahoo.com/18/20101220/tuk-royal-wedding-china-goes-on-sale-a7ad41d.html

Out of curiosity, I started surfing on the Royal Wedding Collection and found  The Royal Collections Website at the following address- http://www.royalcollectionshop.co.uk/.

Now if you had ever visited the Buckingham Palace in London, you will know that there is a shop just outside the Palace selling The Royal Collection Souvenirs. Now you can shop from the same shop from the comfort of your home. Besides the Royal Wedding China, you can also find a range of official gifts and accessories from the Buckingham Palace bearing the "lion and unicorn" emblem of the royal family as well as other palace souvenirs.

Sale of the  Royal Wedding China had just started from 20 December 2010. The below is an extract of the details pertaining to the  Royal Wedding China that I had extracted from The Royal Collection Website :

"The Royal Collection has launched an official range of commemorative china to mark the forthcoming wedding of HRH Prince William of Wales and Miss Catherine Middleton on 29 April 2011.

The official Royal Wedding range has been approved by the couple and includes a tankard (£35), eight-inch plate (£40) and pill box (£25) in English fine bone china. Each piece bears the couple’s entwined initials in gold and silver surmounted by the coronet of Prince William and the wedding date.  The range is decorated with a pattern of doves, white ribbons and hearts in silver, gold and grey, set against a pale-grey striped background.  Handmade exclusively for the Royal Collection in Stoke-on-Trent using methods that have remained unchanged for 250 years, each item is individually decorated and then embellished with several layers of burnished gold and platinum before a final layer of gilding in 22-carat gold is applied by hand. All pieces come in a presentation box and are wrapped in white tissue-paper printed with designs inspired by the wall hangings in Clarence House"

Doesn't the  Royal Wedding China Collection look exquisite from the pictures extracted from the website below :) ?

It is true that the  Royal Wedding China is a lot more costly than your normal china plates (not that I would even think of eating off them). However, if you were to compare the prices to the China and Porcelain Collection from Wedgewood or Royal Albert Collection at Takashimaya, you would find that the prices are actually quite reasonable, especially since this collection has much more commemorative value, and thus is more of a collector's item.

Anyway, without much thought, I immediately ordered the collection from the website.

The website was able to do direct international shipping and the shipping charges were quite reasonable at £15.05 for the 3 items in the  Royal Wedding China. I though that by offsetting the £14.89 VAT on the purchase, I was virtually enjoying free shipping once again :)

The ordering process was very simple and in just 3 steps, my order was finalised.

STEP 1 - Filling in of customer details and shipping address.

STEP 2 - Checkout

STEP 3 -  Confirmation of Order

* All the above images (except the ones we personally shot) belong to The Royal Collections  unless specified otherwise.

Once the transaction was completed, I immediately received a confirmation email from The Royal Collections confirming that the order is now in process.

My only grouse with the whole process was that I did not realise that the store had not deducted the VAT charges when I made payment for my purchases.

I have emailed the store to ask them to clarify on the VAT charges and hopefully the VAT will be refunded to me  ASAP .

If you ever want to give your friend an interesting gift which is not found in Singapore, this is a good website to pop by. You can now surprise your good friends with royalty treatment by giving them some souvenirs from the Buckingham Palace :)

Website : http://www.royalcollectionshop.co.uk

Delivery: Orders will be dispatched within 7 working days.

Ease of Website:  Very user friendly and simple to navigate. 

Rating : 6.5 out of 10 Would have given a higher rating if not for the wrong charge on the VAT.