I received $100 in gift certificates to Uncommon Goods from Gather awhile back. Living in Sweden, I was a bit leery about ordering from this US-based company but they had a ton of way-cool things so I decided to give it a go. I am so very glad that I did.
Uncommon Goods is just what the name implies. They offer a ton of unusual items at affordable prices. The website is not gaudy or hard on my eyes at all, and it is extremely easy to navigate and find just what you want. What I wanted was something for my husband as a just because kind of gift. I found the perfect item.
I would have loved to have gotten some really fun items for the kitchen or the garden, but I settled on a pen and a business card case for him. He is the US supervisor for the company that takes care of the cruise ship gangways in the US, so he deals with blueprints a lot. These items both had a blue print pattern so they were just the perfect gift. The total for both came to $77. Reasonable for good quality items.
Adding these to the shopping cart was easy. The problem came up in that there form is not really yet set up for International ordering, although they will ship anywhere. The form requires things in the address that do not occur in other countries. For example, I do not have a state in Sweden, and the phone number does not comply with the usual number of digits that occur in the US.
So, I could see they offered rates fro shipping to Sweden. I knew this could be done. I shot an email query off to Uncommon Goods and received a prompt reply. I went back into the form and tried the suggestions. Still no dice.
To make a long story short, I ended up snail-mailing the gift certificates to them along with a hand-written order. Through all the emails back and forth the Customer Service people were just top-notch. This was more hassle for me than I will usually endure, but those CS people were so incredibly nice and helpful I pursued the order.
The shipping to me turned out to be a pretty outrageous $22 for very light items, but what can I say... I really wanted those for him. Shipping within the US is way more reasonably priced.
They emailed me when they received my gift certs, and the items arrived within 2 weeks. I was very pleased with the quality of the items themselves and with the packaging. I was not pleased with the tax that Swedish Customs tacked on for me to pick up the package, but that is not the fault of Uncommon Goods in any way.
Will I order from them again? Not from home I won't, but not because of Uncommon Goods at all. I will for future gifts that are going to US residents, though. I love that website, the items they offer, their pricing, and their employees. I am giving them 5 full stars and highly recommending them to everyone who lives within the US. Seriously... go check them out. They rawk hard.
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I have been to the site several times. They have some very unique and cool items, but the prices discourage me. However, perusing the pages gives me some great ideas of items to create myself.
You are aware of the jewelry we make, some think I have some "skillz" in writing--but we can agree nothing close to our friend Soren. You recently learned of my dabbling in drawing and painting. Now add to that, being a pack-rat of odd/unusual found items with which sometimes come together as a whole when inspiration strikes.
Sunday, Bubba-Catl and I sat on the floor in Home Depot and designed an end table constructed of threaded pipe, along with the same size tees, elbows, and floor flanges to create the frame. The top and center shelf will be made of strips of 1 X 6, with each strip clamped on the underside to the pipe frame. It took us much longer to design and gather the necessary materials in the store than it did to construct the frame once we arrived home. Right now, the frame is still topless. Although it may not be a wonderful image, I will post a picture image to give you a better idea of the project.
On another note, this very morning I will be traveling to the airport to pick up a long-time mutual colleague and his wife. They will be in town for a couple of days before departing on a Carribean Cruise. I understand that he may not be one of your favorite guys, but I look forward to meeting Phil and his wife. Our friendship flourished the day after Hurricane Katrina, when I was contacted by this guy I knew as an Eps veteran by the name of popsrocks. He wrote to me and told me that he and his wife, after watching the destruction on tv, had sat down and discussed it and were offering to provide shelter for myself, wife and mother-in-law, (all of us total strangers to them at the time) in their Long Island home for as long as we needed. Our correspondence and telephone contact increased over time and today I plan to greet the big lug at Louis Armstrong Airport with a good ole boy bear hug and some welcome to NOLA Mardi Gras Beads. Then we are off to Angelo Brocato's for fresh cannoli!
For the record, my home is always open to you and the darling warden should the need ever arise. When Katrina hit, I was in between homes or I would have offered it to you then, also. Actually, did I not tell you I would give you a free room at the hotel at the time? I am quite sure I did... although you may have missed it in all the hecticness at the time.
At any rate, give Phil a hug and a punch in the arm for me.
Off to look at the pic.