Since ST701 Spree opened for business at http://shops.st701.com/spree on 18 April, it has set many a shopping queen's heart aflutter and her fingers all a clicking, resulting in a better than expected response.

ST701 Spree is a collaboration between ST701 and comGateway, a spree service provider that has the full suite of online shopping services. Currently, the site features about 600 American online merchants.

The advantages ST701 Spree
In an online spree, a group of online shoppers band together informally to form a spree group to combine their purchases from an overseas merchant and share the handling fee and shipping costs in order to lower the per unit cost of the goods. These groups are co-ordinated by ad hoc leaders who collect the money, place orders and distribute the items to the members when they arrive.

By partnering comGateway, ST701 allows spree shoppers to get round problems such as the majority of US merchants accepting only US-issued credit cards and shipping within the US.

The tie-up also adds legitimacy and security to the entire spree process. Shoppers no longer need to give sensitive personal information to an unknown individual or worry that an unscrupulous spree leader absconds with the money or goods. ST701 Spree shoppers can have their goods delivered right to their doorstep.

Off to a great start
Said Mr Dennis Tan, Group Account Manager of ST701 Shops, 'ST701 Spree started off well, with some spree boxes being closed within four hours. Most of the boxes were also closed near the maximum cap of USD$195. The popular merchants were Old Navy, Victoria's Secret, Bath & Body Works and American Eagle Outfitters.'

'I believe its popularity lies in the ease of use because any one can join as a member and start a spree box. The order process is very simple and fast. Users only need to use one entry point to access more than 600 online stores and there is no need to get the approval of the moderator of a forum to start a spree box, which could take up to a week.'

The 'pioneer' spree-ers will be taking delivery of their goods in about a week's time, according to Danny Lim, Founder and Executive Chairman of comGateway.

Happy spree-ers
ST701 Spree has certainly made its mark among bloggers who are keen spree-ers. Their feedback and comments posted on blogs indicate that they welcome this service with open arms and open wallets.

'As I organise sprees quite often on livejournal, I find ST701 Spree much more efficient as there is no need for approval to start a spree from the forum moderators. Now I can always spree for sales item without having to worry that the sale may be over by the time the moderators give the approval. My spree box closed within one day when I posted up my Old Navy sale spree.' Serene, 22, NUS

'One of my colleagues joined ST701 Spree which enables you to buy from David And Goliath Tees. Basically you don't have to shop from the site itself since like most US sites only ships within the USA. This site actually solves your problems because when you order through them, they take care of the shopping from the US to Singapore.' Rachel

'Sprees are the reasons why I'm always tempted and broke - there're tonnes of sprees out there, but I'm very excited to know about ST701 site - it sounds more legit since there have been cases of fraud before.' Therascals

'This idea is amazing! I used to wait for livejournal sprees which were really unpredictable and had limited quotas. But with ST701 Spree, I can spree any time of the day and buy as much as I want.' Dawn Tan