This year, my birthday was during hard COVID lock down. Bleak. I had planned a pretty epic birthday bash and saved up for it. In a moment of darkness I decided to drop the cash I’d saved on a piece of jewellery for myself instead. It was my birthday gift to me. Because of lock down Level 4 I needed to shop online and so decided to use PANDORA’s online site and by myself a little something something. I’ve been doing online shopping reviews for awhile now and this one will be no different. It is a bit different though because I’m focusing on a bigger brand as opposed to a smaller locally run one.
Navigating the site
Pandora’s website is a bit tricky to find, Pandora.co.za doesn’t work so you need to go to Pandorashop.co.za
There’s a lot of promotional banner ads running for various items they’re pushing but finding what you want is really easy and straight forward. I had a specific ring in mind so it was simple enough to find it. I also like that the site lists what is in stock first so you don’t end up disappointed. My biggest issue with navigating the site is that no matter where I looked I couldn’t find a sizing chart, which is really needed for rings. I ended up having to google how to measure what size I was and then google how that interprets into the sizes on offer on the PANDORA site. I wanted the ring for my middle finger but unfortunately when it arrived it fits my ring finger. Not a huge issue, but a helpful sizing and measuring chart wouldn’t go amiss on the site.
Checking out and Payment
Checking out and payment is all run through the site and is extremely secure. I chose to pay with my VISA card and had no issues. Once you’ve ordered you get an email and then another once payment is made. That’s about as much correspondence as you’re going to get, so be prepared for that.
Receiving item and Courier Company
Let me focus on the positive first: I love how your PANDORA item arrives. It’s safely boxed up but when you open up its in a gorgeous little Pandora gift bag. The gift bag has the receipt in it and the item is beautifully boxed. You’re getting all the ribbons and fan fair you’d get if you purchased in store which makes it really special. Also if this is a gift, it means it arrives out the box as a gift, rather than bubble wrapped and duct taped. Just take it out the box. The negative though: It takes 7 to 8 working days for delivery. You are warned about this at check out but in a world where smaller local retailers can get things to you almost over night, it’s frustrating to wait so long. This is standard for PANDORA. Player 2 surprised me with an anniversary gift that arrived 2 days after our anniversary because he ordered and figured it would come within 5 days (his bad, he didn’t read). It’s not the end of the world but something to keep in mind if arrival is date specific. Pandora uses Dawn Wing Couriers, not my favourite but if I’m honest I’ve actually not had any problems with them since lock down. I’ve explained my thoughts on Dawn Wing on this post if you want clarity:
Final Thoughts
PANDORA Jewellery is a big spend and I was super nervous about shipping it out, but we’ve done it twice now without an issue. While the wait time is a bit longer than most, your items arrive beautifully wrapped and you still get all the joy you’d get if you went in store to buy. I also think buying online gives you a lot more stock access, though I’m yet to test this out properly. So if you were on the fence about gifting via them, don’t fret. Your stuff will get to you safely and beautifully wrapped! However, don’t expect much communication around delivery. You order and wait.
Overall – Easy enough to use, safe and your more costly purchases will get to you, in my experience.
Disclosure: I used my own money to make these purchases and PANDORA was not aware I was going to review their offering.
