Matalan - any good?

cheap_charlie

I would highly recommend Matalan's kidswear and school uniform - the quality is very good IMO and its pretty stylish too. The quality is vastly superior to Primark's.

Only gripe is the schoolwear only goes up to age 12-13, like kids don't wear uniform after this age :mad:

seven-day-weekend

My son works at the Matalan Clearance Store in Wolverhampton and the other day I bought a top for me and a pair of shorts for my husband and ended up paying....nothing.

How it worked? Well I paid £1 to park the car (refundable in store). Then, my top was £1 and my husband's shorts 50p. They were BOGOF so we got the shorts free. Which meant I owed them £1. But they owed me £1 for the car park!...So, nothing to pay at the till.

Marvellous, couldn't rate it more highly for the type of store it is.

I have kept my Matalan card even though I live in Spain so I can use it when I'm in the UK.

Luvmyfreebies

adandem wrote: »

When Matalan first openend I loved it, then I went off it. However, Primark has recently openend by us and I think Matalan is better than Primark. I have noticed a marked difference in the quality, much better and still very good value. (Really gone off Primark atm!)

Me too - gone off Primark I mean. It's okay for basics (kids undies, cheapo t-shirts etc) but the whole experience is just too painful - from the store layout to the displays to the staff attitiudes, making it very unpleasant. The quality is well iffy, which I'm not surprised about given the prices, but even the style and fit of some of their stuff is just bizarre. As I said, okay for the basics but I'd rather pay a bit more and get something that (a) fits properly and (b) lasts longer than 3 washes. And, as Hezzawithkids says, who knows what goes on behind the scenes with their suppliers?? :eek:

Never tried Matalan but I will now after all these posts - cheers!:beer:

aimee21j

The clothes for men are fantastic, but over the past year, there hasn't been anything for women worth buying (apart from the swim wear). They used to do some really nice shoes but they look a bit cheap now.

choccyface2006

I love Matalan (I spent £35 in there just today, whoops) for that I got

Elle umbrella (£5)
three small systema food storage tubs (£3)
some black summer shoes for DD2 (£5)
two pairs of threes quarter roll up pants for me (£6 each)
a bright pink print t-shirt for me (£6)
a green vest for me (£1)
and another green T-shirt with button up sleeves(£3, I have one in black and it washes lovely)

I probably nip in there every week and think its very good value, espeically when you get offers like, buy the skirt get the top free (DD2 has lots of these sets which look really expensive)

The only problem with the clothes that I have found is that the girls clothes that are very stretchy sometimes shrink quite abit when washed so I make sure I buy a bigger size.

I bought three bikinis for holidays three years ago and they are still going strong after four fortnights away All the homeware I have bought is good value and quailty too, I've had lots of towels and bedding and garden items.

Sarah

vixarooni

Primark is more fashion orientated - matalan isnt. Matalan is ok for some things but its generally ok for the odd piece.

Swimwear is really good, everything else is alright. I normally go there just to have a mooch about and see if anything catches my eye. I did buy a bagless hoover from there in the sale. £60 to £30 so ive saved that for when my boyfriend and i get a house, so its good for some things

princessmoneysaver

I've found Matalan girls clothes VERY small, my DD is only 8 & most places she wears age 9-10/10-11 years clothes but in Matalan I have to get age 13+ depending on style which I think is ridiculous really.

betterlife

hello, i went to matalan at the weekend, and think its improving, it was my mother in laws treat as she had vouchers for me and i spent about £100.00 for this i had 2 summer tops for myself, my husband had 2 pairs of designer boxers and 3 pairs of pringle socks. my 2yr old had a long gypsy skirt, 2 summer dresses, 2 hotpants, a top and a pair of shoes. my 4yr old had 3 school tops, 2 tracky botoms for school, a pair of shorts and 2 tops. my 7yr old had 3 school tops, 5 boxers, shorts and 2 tops. so pretty good i think. the clothes is definetely more fashionable, kids stuff is great as its cheap, fashionable, and last longer than primark and not everyone else is wearing it. there also great for lunch boxes and bottles for school, and uniform/sports kits. definetely worth a try in my opinion. xx

Fibabe

adandem wrote: »

I've had a Matalan card for a number of years and never received these?
Only info. on current promos. which apply to everyone

Matalan have changed the way they do their special offers. They have ongoing offers that anyone can buy and their card holder offers. These are the ones that they advertise in their catalogue that you may have seen. You have to have a Matalan card to get these discounts.

dreamlife99

turtlemoose wrote: »

I'm a big fan of Matalan...even though a lot of the stuff is a bit crappy, you can get some real bargains if you are prepared to look at EVERY rail (and i am!!)

But...best of all......try to find a Matalan Clearance Store....oh my god it's amazing!! I went for the first time at the weekend, everything is dirt cheap anyway (many items £1 or 50p) but mine (wolverhampton) was also having a bogof on EVERYTHING in store! I bought the following items:
1 x pair mens jeans
1 x pair mens khaki combat type trousers
1 x ladies smart suit jacket
1 x ladies t shirt
2 x pairs ladies shorts
1 x scarf
1 x hat

Total price?? £8.50 :T

Another thing that was good at the clearance store - they let you split your items in to two transactions, because it's the lowest value item that is free. So, I paid for the mens jeans and the suit jacket together, as they were both £5, but bogof so total price £5. Then the rest of the stuff was all either £1 or 50p so bought that all together for £3.50.

hi, do u know if the clearance shops are opened on a saturday/sunday?do they hav a good variety or is it a hit and miss like next stores? thanx