STELLAService College Shopping Guide

When it comes to college shopping, shopping online is a great way to save both time (you’ve only got a little bit left) and effort (because boy is it hot out!). By shopping at only sites STELLAService rated Elite and Excellent, you can be sure that behind the scenes is a customer-focused company eager to help get you and your family the best products.

So, to make things easier, we’ve crossed a college shopping guide with some of our best STELLA rated sites to bring you a complete college shopping guide of great items from the best sites. This is not an advertisement for these companies. Rather, all of the items were hand-picked by one of our STELLAService analysts who is still in college (and who wrote this from her dorm room). When you like an item you see, just click the recommendation- it will bring you right to the product page. We hope you enjoy the guide and enjoy the STELLA service you’ll discover.

Note: We can’t say whether each recommendation is the best price for that item available, even amongst other standout STELLA rated sites, since sales and promotions change so quickly. However, we intend for this guide to help suggest great places to start your online shopping in each category.

This Site Is Going To Be Huge. Soap.com-Short Name, Big Service

Please excuse the declaratory, non-crafty title, but I have a feeling that come July, consumers will change the ways they buy everyday essentials, from eye makeup to E vitamins to envelopes. Alliteration aside, a press release issued today from MarketWire claims that the launch of Soap.com is going to be “one of the biggest launches in retail history.” From the founders of Diapers.com, (currently the #2 site for Elite Customer Service by STELLAService), Soap.com aims to make life easier for consumers by being a one-stop shop for items people need on an everyday basis but for which they don’t want to always travel, wait, or lug home.

No longer will you have to lug home and purchase in bulk for inexpensive everyday products

What makes Soap.com different from Walmart.com, Target.com, or other online drugstores? The release states that “the average offline drugstore has just 10,000 items. Soap.com will offer more than 40,000 products by the end of 2010 and 100,000 by the end of 2011.” Further, akin to the excellent customer service at Diapers.com, Soap.com will have free next-day delivery for two-thirds of the country and within two days for the rest. Further, the site promises to have prices up to 25% less than what you pay at a normal drugstore.

Soap.com's logo, making sleek use of "white space" in the "A"

Given the money saved in travel and competitive pricing, I predict some people may cancel their Costco, Sams Club, and other buy-in-bulk memberships. With free and fast shipping of everyday products to your door, it is like the FreshDirect of online drugstores, but without the minimum purchase requirement. The only caveat? You may have to do a few more reps at the gym for the heavy products you no longer have to carry.

The full press release can be viewed here.