Rackerman Avis 57

Customer service was poor delivery took longer then it should have and

Ordered an RSJ painted in red oxide. Got exactly what I ordered in good time.
Best price out there including delivery.
Communications could have been better for my liking but did get a phone call off driver on day of delivery.
Yes I would consider ordering off this company again. Would have been 5* with better comms. Thanks

Fast and great service, all queries answered and a fast delivery. Highly recommend.

Very helpful, great communication, good product ! Highly recommended

Parts didn’t fit well. No help from the owner who contacted. Product half price elsewhere when I sent the link not acknowledged. Would not recommend.

Great service fast delivery as described great product

Straightforward ordering process and very quick delivery.

Delivery postcode was entered wrong by someone, they then took another 6 days to deliver. No one answered the phones, very poor communication.

I ordered rubber bark from Rackerman on EBay as it was very reasonably priced. I ordered a sample first and was happy with the product so ordered a 500kg bag for a play area.

It took a couple of weeks to come but communication was good. No tracking, but the delivery person rang me when it arrived and as I was out; they left it on my drive in a convenient place.

The bag was bigger than I expected and well packed - it was very good value for money and covered the area perfectly. It's not well cushioned and ready to be played on for years to come - would highly recommend.

Great staff very helpful will use time again thanks so much

On time, as promised and excellent quality. Excellent communication, smooth delivery, and exactly what I ordered. Who could ask for more?
I would definitely purchase again, and recommend the company to others.
Paddy Jones

Purchase 6 metres of Angle Iron on ebay from this seller, Sent a message to Seb and got and instant reply, he kept me updated and delivery was very prompt. Would definitely buy from him again ☆☆☆☆

Excellent product and great value for money
Good communication throughout and free delivery

Item come day late. Not there fault driver made a mistake. So happy in the end. Thanks Dean

It's something to bear in mind and hope that others can benefit from my experience. I was looking for a large shed - at least 10ft x 10ft - to store a mass of garden furniture and garden equipment that seems to have taken over the garage. I needed it to be secure, and preferred to have a metal shed of a reasonable thickness. I spent quite a lot of time looking round, and came across the Rackerman.co.uk site.

It looks good, although they don't specialise in sheds - but they did have a wide selection at what looked to be quite good prices, especially as it included the base as well.

I looked a bit more at the website, and found it odd that none of the shed reviews were less than 2 years old. So I contacted the vendor and asked them about it. They told me that it was was because they had been trading for a while, but it was only in the last two years that they had been using this name. They also said that previously they were really hot on asking customers for feedback and asking them to provide reviews, whereas they hadn't done this in the last two years. It seemed like a reasonable explanation.

So I went ahead and placed an order for a 12 x 10 shed. The vendor came back to me within a few moments and apologised and said they had incorrectly priced the shed and that it should be £700+. At this point they said they had refunded my card (which they have) and the website price was updated.

I looked at the other sheds they had, but they were now getting to the point where they were outside what I wanted to pay, so I said I would think about it. I went back to the vendor the next morning and said I was interested in the 13 x 11 but would have to give it a miss as it was over £600.

About 20 minutes later I got a message back saying they could do the 13 x 11 for £549.99 and they were about to change the price on the website. I watched the site, saw the price change, and then ordered the shed.

The website advertises delivery within 2-5 business days, and indeed the she was delivered by courier (XDP) within a few days. In fact, the shed comprises 5 packages, averaging 22-23kg each. They look to be pretty well packed, but I have yet to open them all up to check all the pieces are present. The reviews that I have seen say that it can be a bit of a faff putting it together and in some case you have to assemble a piece only to disassemble it later to fit another part in the jigsaw. The packaging itself also advises you to wear gloves due to sharp edges.

Now, where I did get a bit of a surprise is that the packaging is all labelled as 'Outsunny' with a UK importer of MH trading, based in Perivale in London.

Where my surprise turned into a slightly darker emotion is when I then looked up the same shed 'Outsunny 13 x 11' and see that it is sold by other vendors for a significantly lower price. For example, Wilko sell it for £417, Homebase sell it for £449, Amazon sell it for £499.

The obvious thing to do is to then return the shed and buy it from one of these other vendors - however the T&Cs say the return postage needs to be borne by the customer.....and of course 5 odd shaped packages, weighing an average of 23kg each will cost around £100 - £130 to return.

So here's the thing that I think you need to bear in mind based on my experience:

1. If there are reviews, but they are not recent, then definitely dig a little.
2. Ask if they are the manufacturer of the item, or just reselling it.
3. Ask about how it's delivered and how many packages, in case it needs to be returned
4. Check the T&Cs carefully.

I feel a little foolish in posting this review as all I have done is perhaps highlight my own naivety, but am posting it so that others can learn. I have of course sent a review to the vendor (as they have a 'write a review' option, but to date it has not been published on their site - and I suspect it might not