Customer Reviews

thepurplebook: The Definitive Guide to Exceptional Online Shopping

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When I first found out about the Purple Book I was very excited, I love to shop and to find unique buys and often don't run across great websites because they are hard to find. This is a great resource across many categories to help you find what you need online and to discover some great sites for shopping.

The one aspect of the book that I didn't like was that it listed sites that are very known an common such as some brick & mortar stores or very promient online stores (Gap, Abercrombie & Fitch, Ebay, etc...) I was hoping there would be more focus on stores that were unique and off the beaten path but I have found some sites that I never knew of before and it is a great resource so I would highly recommend this for anyone that loves to shop as much as I do!!

This is a rather Zagattish commentary (unfortunately without the point score) on the 1600 or so sites the book tries to cover.

The real value and unfortunately the (slight) failing of the book is that it tries to be too broad. In addition not everything in the book is perfect. I spotted some slight inaccuracies in some websites that I am a regular customer of. Secondly, the narrative is simply too Categorical in its comments, and one suspects that a lot of insight may be colored by the perspective garned from the particular website itself and not through a real user experience. Unlike Zagat, there is very little of the equivocation that may suggest the particular (shopping) website could have failings, or that it may not be so good. Indeed, it would appear that virtually all comments about each (shopping) website highlights the positive ...

Nevertheless, this opus provides the reader with a valuable trove of information. I personally found the epicurean section as well as the stationery/gifts section most useful, although that might reflect my personal biases. While I also question the breakdown of the shopping categories in the book, but on the whole, I recommend it, and think that it is by far the best in its class.

I'm slightly surprised that Amazon did not put out sample pages (at least of the writing of this review) as that would allow customers to have a much better feel for the book. In any case, here's my input:

Opening a random page in women's wear includes the following sites in (continued) alphabetical order:
1) Peruvian connection
2) Pieceunique.com
3) Purpleskirt.com
4) Ravinstyle.com
5) Sauvagewear.com
6) Seamlessbody.com

And just in case you were wondering what they thought about Amazon? Amazon appears twice. The first is under the segment "Entertainment" (which includes books). The entire spiel is as follows:

"The first name in Internet retail has come a long way from its origins as strictly a bookseller. Its expanision started, logically, with music and videos, but has gone on to plenty else. But it's a continued master of entertainment media that keeps us coming back. Here you may listen to music samples, read book samples and read customer reviews of just about anything. There are plenty of reasons these guys are No. one, and you probably don't want to read about them here. Suffice to say, if for some strange reason you've never visited, check it out"

Here's one more random example from www.clambakeco.com:

"Clambakes to travel. When it's time for a good old-fashion clambake, you can do no better than to visit this new-fangled speciality retailer. What's a clambake? Well, as these guys have it, its a shindig that involves steamed lobster, mussels, vegetables, Portugese sausage and of course clams. Yes it sounds like a lot to prepare, but that's the great thing about this site: they send you a pre-packed steamer pot ... You simply add water, put over a flame and 20 min or so later you have a full fledged clamback for as any people as you need. It couldn't be easier, and you get to keep the pot."

I have found over 100 sites I had no idea ever existed. The humor combined with the depth of shopping indexed info makes this book a must have for me. I bought 9 books for my friends. The epicurian section is to die for and the baby section is goo goo gaga. 5 stars is an understatement AAAAAAAAA+

The authors have reviewed the website of these companies - not the actually shopping. For most of the sites, they've never made an actual purchase - just walked through the shopping cart. So they write about ease of navigation and cost of shipping, but largely ignore whether they site actually ships promptly and accurately, how they handle defects and mistakes or billing questions.

Very disappointing - I can evaluate the sales website for myself. What I need to know - and can't find out without making the purchase - is whether the people at the other end are reliable, helpful and honest. And this book tells me nothing about that.

thepurplebook is a great book for those who don't get out to read Cosmo, Glamour,InStyle, YM, W, GQ, Better Homes and Garden and basically any periodical currently printed in the U.S. or abroad. The term "authorship" is so loose these days. Sure the sites are great, if you can find one that works. We all know how website have a tendency to die online. However, I found some real gems. Thanks InStyle! It's really too difficult to decipher (and the print is too small) for the elderly. And the gen-exers like myself, really don't have the cash to spend $200 for a handbag or pay the large amount of money alot of these sites are asking for their goods and services. I probably wouldn't buy thepurplebook, instead I'd pick it up at your local library.

It's scary to think shopping can be made a lot easier than it already is. With the internet, now shopping is so easy you can find almost everything in a matter of minutes, depending on how fast your computer loads. Hillary Mendelsohn's book is nothing new, since there has been directories of internet companies before, but she does present it in a manner shoppers are more used to, rather than in technogeek language. Another book worth exploring if you are looking for internet shopping: Stretch Your Dollars by Buying Wholesale. Saving money so that you can buy more is always exceptional, isn't it? My wife thinks so! Thanks to the internet, she now has more stores to shop til her fingers drop.

I am so glad that this book is out! It is truly a godsend when trying to shop online. I have avoided shopping online for years for exactly the same reasons that the author had for writing the book! No more confusion and incorrect search results!!! Thank you Ms. Mendelsohn for this carefully thought out and planned book!!!

I am so glad that this book is out! It is truly a godsend when trying to shop online. I have avoided shopping online for years for exactly the same reasons that the author had for writing the book! No more confusion and incorrect search results!!! Thank you Ms. Mendelsohn for this carefully thought out and planned book!!!

The Purplebook is a terrific resource. It saved me time, money and aggravation. The sections were clearly organized, very detailed and extremely easy to use. I highly recommend this book.

This is a terrific, well-researched and well-organized resource, one of the best guides I have ever read. THEPURPLEBOOK starts where search engines leave off, helping to get through the clutter. Cheers to Ms. Mendelsohn for a terrific book. A great stocking-stuffer. I can't wait for next year's edition!