Well, this CAN work in the other direction! Yesterday, I decided to shop around on line for the best deal on the Saltire tartan kilt - having at last seen it in action on the video clip at the Scocha website ( www.scocha.co.uk ), I am even more inclined to have one for my Kilt Kollection, but I was only preparing for a price-check exercise, nothing more at this stage.

The first three stockists I checked out were offereing the kilt at prices of over £400, £369 and £350 VAT included. The last website also listed an accessory that I felt I could not live without, but it gave scant information - I decided to telephone Edinburgh for further details. In the course of my conversation with their Shop Manager, I asked about the fabric weight of the Saltire kilt which was not stated (16oz, by the way, but "it feels more like 15oz" I was told!) and mentioned the price (£350) on their own website. "Oh, that's not the store price. We sell it in the shop for £299." The Shop Manager even left me for several minutes to go and check the prices, which he confirmed by telling me that the retail and on-line sides of the business are run separately although they share the postal address. What I had seen was the on-line price, which was £51 dearer than the shop price. I was given his name and was told that if, after thinking about it, I wanted to order the Saltire kilt from them, I could call him back and we could 'do the deal' over the telephone with me getting the kilt for £299.

To cap it all, when he asked for my name for reference, I told him Hamish Bicknell from West Sussex, he asked, "You are known as Ham. aren't you? Someone told me about you months ago, and suggested I took a look at your photo album. I was very impressed." We then spoke for a few minutes about the Kollection (and "X Marks..." - but he doesn't have access to a computer so I doubt we'll be hearing from him!) before he told me that, "under the circumstances" he would be pleased to waive the postal charge of £9.95 - should I honour his shop with the order! How could I refuse? I checked my measurements, grabbed my MasterCard and called him back. Now I have 6-7 weeks of 'jonesing' !!