Baby Gift Registry

[scufish]

I'm about to start registering for baby stuff. Does anyone have any recommendations as far as what stores and/or websites are the most user-friendly both for new Moms and Dads and the people purchasing the gifts. Great Beginnings looks great, but I have a lot of friends/family from out-of-town and was wondering how good their online ordering/delivery system is. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

What about Amazon?

[scufish]

That's a good suggestion. I'd have to check the variety of stuff they have on there. I'd like to keep to just one website / store if possible.

[Anonymous]

I would say start with Great Beginnings even if you aren't going to register there in the end. They have a wonderful setup to help you choose stuff and set yourself up for all the necessities. You can even pre-load their recommendations, Baby Bargains recommendations, and one other book's recommendations and then cull through duplicates or items that you are not interested in. We used it as a guide to what we need to have. In case you are superstitious or your family is, they will definitely make sure to hold stuff for you until the due date, which a lot of other places won't do. My best friend in California ordered off there and it went fine. I still have a few more months until the due date so not sure what the rest of my family will do.

I went to Babies R Us next and just found almost everything and more there that was on the Great beginnings list. Babies R Us is located everywhere and easy to register online.

Sometimes you will get multiples of items and will want to return. I find it a pain to have to pay shipping to return an item, so I would be cautious with online stores.

Target has some issues with returns. Check Baby Bargains book. Especially if you don't have a receipt, they may only give you the cheapest price that it has ever been sold at. Some stores are better than others, but other times they will only let you return it to the same department for the exact same type of item, limiting what you can exchange for.

Buy Buy Baby was actually started by the children of Bed Bath and Beyond. Excellent return policy and all of our friends who registered here swear by it. My issue is we couldn't find enough of what we were looking for because the website needs some revamping, but if you take the time, you might find everything.

The other place we just learned about was right start. They actually give you money back on purchases made. Which can take off prices on some of the more expensive registry items that you might need to buy yourself like a stroller.

Also sign up for free stuff. If you register at a lot of these places they will provide you with discounts on purchasing other items.

[Anonymous]

I bought the crib, mattress and mattress pad from Great Beginnings and have restricted my registry to Babies R Us because they seemed to have everything I needed and for whatever reason, the gift givers seem to feel comfortable with the store, or their online shopping. Plus, there is a Babies R Us store near where we live so we were able to go over and test some of the larger items like strollers etc. before putting them on the registry. Amazon would've been my first choice, but I noticed that for several items, the price on Amazon was 5 to 10 bucks more than Babies R Us.

[Anonymous]

We did great registering at Buy Buy Baby and Pottery Barn Kids. A lot of the locals hit BBBaby and the out of towners were comfortable with using either online, too.
One thing to keep in mind... Target has tough return policies, and often we end up registering (and getting!) stuff we think we'll need and then of course six months later find we've never used. Both BBBaby and PBK are great about returning!

[Anonymous]

I personally really like Great Beginnings in Gaithersburg although I registered 4 years ago at BBB. I find the staff incredibly helpful and knowledgeable at GB especially for carseats and strollers. The only negative for people wanting to shop in person is that it's in Gaithersburg but it's a relatively easy drive up 270. The BBB website is not that great but I think the store has a fair amount of good selection and the staff is fairly helpful. BRU has definitely improved the quality of their merchandise over the past 4 years. When I was registering, the only stroller brand that they really carried was Graco but now they carry Peg Perego and MacLaren. BRU is a national chain which is very good if you have family/friends scattered everywhere.

I like the furniture selection at GB. I've ordered two sets of nursery/bigger kid furniture there and am very happy. It can take up to 12 weeks to get some brands of furniture, FYI. Pottery Barn Kids has great crib bedding sets and their sheets fit and wash very well.

If you need any help, I am starting a baby planning/concierge service to help new moms-to-be with the overwhelming process of sorting through and selecting baby gear and products. I know husbands don't always want to endlessly discuss which bottle is best and which crib bedding set is the most fabulous so I'm here to help. Feel free to contact me at [e-mail] if you are interested.

Best of luck during this fun and exciting time,
Kim

[Anonymous]

We did registries at Babystyle and Babies R Us for the out-of-towners and Daisy Baby for the locals. Daisy Baby had the bedding we wanted (plus they're great when it comes to customer service), and I just didn't want to give everyone's money to Amazon. But that's just me!

[Anonymous]

Babies R Us. All of my family is out of town and it worked great for #1.

[Anonymous]

I recommend using myregistry.com - it's a free service that lets you create a registry out of lots and lots of different websites. I have items on mine from independent cloth diaper dealers, from Babies 'R Us, from some super cute clothing makers, from Target.....

Friends who have experience with it say it's easy to use - what I really love is that you can customize your registry to get what you really need (rather than just browsing the B'RU website and thinking "what else can I ask for....")

[Anonymous]

We went with Target especially since their prices are affordable and it's a national chain. The selection is pretty decent too.

Just a thought that worked for us.