16 July 2009

Lifestyle Packs

Filofax have today announced a series of Lifestyle Packs.

Take a look here http://www.filofax.co.uk/lifestyle/

We will take a closer look at them in the near future. I wonder where the ideas came from?

Steve

[Update]
I enquired about the individual pages of the Lifestyle Packs being available should you use them up within the 12-18 months of use, here is the response received from Filofax UK today:

Dear Mr Morton

Thank you for your enquiry. Our lifestyle packs are a new product in our range and were launched after our 2009 brochure was printed. The lifestyle packs are sold as units and no individual pages can be purchased separately. However, if you would like to get back to me with the page you think you will require more of I can look further into this for you.

Kind regards

Val

Val Abrahams
Sales Administrator, Filofax UK
I suspect that if it was just one or two of the pages you used up they would send you a few as a complementary gift, but obviously they want you to buy the whole pack really.

Steve

18 comments:

  1. OOH!!!! I am SO excited about these!!! I really want the City Dweller one - it reminds me of the funfax file I had as a child and absolutely loved. I'm getting one! New obsession?

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  2. My City Dweller is already in the mail... Can't wait to get it!

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  3. One thing I'm going to ask Filofax UK is, once you have used up any of the special pages in these packs, how do you replace them? Hopefully not by buying a whole new pack. At the moment I can't see some of the unique pages in their catalogue, may be they will appear later...

    May be they have been secretly watching this blog and noting our desire for some of the un-usual pages from previous decades....

    Steve

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  4. Oh they´re grat, but not available in Germany :-(

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  5. Filofax UK will ship to other countries, but the shipping charges are much higher. For example, the City Dweller pack is £23. The exchange rate is currently 1.636, so the pack would cost me US$37.63. (By way of comparison, that's about like buying myself an average-quality sweater.)

    The shipping to "rest of world" (outside of Europe) is £6; US$9.81. (That's about the cost of a martini at a nice restaurant.) But within the UK, shipping is only £2.95; and £5.50 elsewhere in Europe.

    Furthermore, when products are shipped overseas, your home country may charge you customs. The Filofax UK website does not add on customs.

    All in all, I think the cost is reasonable for a product that I will use for a year or more! I will order a lifestyle pack and have it shipped to the US, and report on what happens in terms of customs.

    Interestingly, the Lifestyle Packs include your weekly diary. For example, if you order the Urban Dweller pack now, you get a diary from July 09 to Dec 2010! In addition to the special pages (like Party Time and Dilemmas), the pack includes standard pages like lined notepaper and addresses.

    Presumably, you would buy a new pack each year as your diary refill, and make the special pages last that whole time. Steve, let us know what they say about replacing the special pages. It would at least be cool to be able to buy the special pages as a pack without the diary.

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  6. Ooops, I mistyped the cost of the City Dweller pack in my comment. It's £17 before shipping, not £23. £17 is US$27.81.

    The Lifestyle Packs are apparently on sale! When I went to check out, I was charged £14.81 instead of £17.

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  7. It's not a sale, as you do not live in the EU, they automatically reducted the VAT.

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  8. Brilliant! Just ordered my City Dweller pack... and that Travel Journal one is calling my name after Laurie's post the other week.

    I'm really looking forward to most of the sections in the City Dweller... but, seriously...Outfit Planner? Really???

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  9. I'm going on vacation next week and this has inspired me to make up my own DIY A5 Travel Pack. I'm just beginning to think about this, so am not sure what to include--airline itinerary, things to see, diary pages where I can jot down the highlights of the day. I don't think I need expenses pages, though those would be useful for business travel. Some Sudoku puzzles for whiling away the time. An envelope to hold receipts. A page protector or two would probably be useful. I already have my checklists for preparation, modeled on Steve's. Maps not so useful because I'll have my GPS. Addresses of people I want to send postcards to.

    I'd really prefer to be able to print these off on Personal size paper and use a smaller Filofax for my trip, but I don't have that size paper. Plus personal size Filo's are harder for me to write in and read.

    I wish I could get the Travel Pack here in the States, as it wouldn't arrive from the UK before I leave.

    Any suggestions would be appreciated.

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  10. I bought the family pack and got it last week. There was more then enough sheets in it for my use with a family of 4 (2 kids) I think there was enough that all I need is a calender next year not a new pack. Nice set up filling the sheets in slowly.

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  11. I love the idea of the Lifestyle Packs, but think that they don't go far enough.
    For example, I work on a weekly family shop basis and 5 meal planners, 15 shopping lists and 5 budget sheets are not enough.
    However, I do love the other bits and pieces though. But at £17 I will not being buying.
    ~Simon

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  12. I've just ordered the City Dweller and the Travel Journal pack. AND the Cherry Pocket Filofax ... Argh! I couldn't resist! ;-)

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  13. Wow, these packs look great! I LOVE the Travel pack. It has taken me years of stumbling through packing and planning to put together essentially the same thing. They have it all put together, which makes planning so easy! This helps you remember the details that might otherwise slip through the cracks.

    I love the 3D viewer feature that lets you flip through the pages of these packs to really get an idea of whether they would be useful for you.

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  14. I would imagine if the product takes off, Filofax may begin selling packets of the seperate special pages, in much the same way you can buy lined paper, To-Do lists etc, without having to buy a whole new filled folder?

    But that's pure speculation! ;)

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  15. Nan, have you gotten your Lifestyle Pack yet that you ordered? Which one did you get? I can't wait to hear how you like it. And Narcissa, how are you liking your City Dweller one?

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  16. Laurie - No, it hasn't come yet! Even considering the distance, I was expecting to have gotten it by now. Then again, the shipping cost was reasonable, so I don't suppose they used the fastest method! I'll report as soon as I get it, which I hope will be soon!

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  17. Anyone selling a city dweller pack? or have printable of the special pages?

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  18. Ah City Dweller, Traveller, and Family were the others!

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