Vendors I would recommend

I've bought a few bits n pieces on eBay and the web recently and all of the vedors were top-notch and I'd recommend them.

First off I got an FM Transmitter for my car which takes a line-out from an iPod or a USB key. It has taken a bit of fiddling to get a frequency that is not used in either Bandon or Ovens but I'm very happy with it and it only cost £27.94 including P&P. To be found here on eBay:

USB/MP3/iPod/DvD/Cd Player & Car Stereo FM transmitter

Vendor looks like he is in UK but item shipped from USA. Got it in a week.

To go with that I got a very nice Memorex 1GB thumb-drive. A bit of an odd shape but good value at £42.49 including P&P. To be found here on eBay:

1GB Memorex USB 2.0 Travel Drive

Vendor took a while to ship it (ordered June 23rd, shipped July 6th) but it arrived a few days after shipment. Based in Singapore.

But the prize for the most unexpected excellence in online retailing goes to Discount Watches in the UK. I had spent weeks trying to find a good online seller of both Casio Baby-G GMS and Waveceptor watches. Thought I had found the perfect one in Germany but on ordering, it turned out they had no GMS in stock, so I cancelled.

Then I found discount-watches.co.uk. I emailed them to check in advance that they shipped to Ireland and that they had the watches in stock. No reply. Bum. Decided to try that old fashioned means of communication, the phone. No reply. Double bum. Rang the next day and got through to a lovely woman from Llantwit in the Vale of Glamorgan. Nearly said "I'll have a bacardi and coke please Myfannwy" but asked about the watches instead.

Not only were both in stock but they only charge a fiver delivery to Ireland. The real clincher tho is their prices - less than half RRP in many cases! I ordered on the phone with the semi-expectation that I was about to be diddled. Three days later the watches arrived and are perfect. I cannot recommend them highly enough.