Moving on. Today is all about where I registered. I wanted to register at two (or more) stores to give people options and to give myself options. After very little deliberation (unlike my crib choice, more on that here) I registered at Amazon.com and Buy Buy Baby.
My first choice was Amazon because, simply, I'm a huge fan. I do a lot of Amazon shopping, so I knew the ropes and liked the ropes. It's convenient and the prices generally can't be beat. But, I knew that not all shoppers are into the online forum, especially when it comes to baby stuff. People love to touch and feel baby stuff.
With an online option selected, I went with Buy Buy Baby for a brick and mortar option. The reason for my Buy Buy Baby choice was proximity and coupons. Other big retailers like Target and Kohl's aren't easily accessible in NYC and I'd been warned against Target in particular for bad registry policies. While Babies R' Us and Buy Buy Baby stores are equally accessible in NYC, I preferred the feel of Buy Buy Baby. I also loved that Buy Buy Baby accepts the 20% off Bed Bath and Beyond coupons as well as its own coupons.
How did my choices pan out?
AMAZON
Amazon.com was a mixed bag. Amazon itself was great, but friends and family were (as I had feared) wary to buy gifts for a baby shower via the interweb. Even the young, technology savvy folks shied away from online shopping. I had taken advantage of the universal registry feature, which allows you to add items to the registry from any website online (awesome feature). I chose a couple things from LLBean.com and some other online stores. Those items were especially avoided by gift givers. And, when people did take a leap and purchase a universal registry item, it wasn't marked as "purchased" on my Amazon registry. Huge downer. That's the whole point of a registry.
Just like gift givers were weary to purchase items without seeing them, I was weary to register for items without seeing them. I hadn't anticipated this draw back. I ended up checking out a lot of items in Buy Buy Baby and then registering for them on Amazon because they were less expensive (even with a 20% discount coupon at Buy Buy Baby).
One major positive about Amazon is the incredible diversity of their merchandise. Amazon sells everything that Buy Buy Baby sells, and a lot more. There were many things I wanted for my baby-to-be that were only available on Amazon (more on that in the weeks to come).
The last comment I'll make about Amazon is that it offers 10% off unpurchased registry items, which is great. But, there are a couple catches here that I didn't realize. One, it's not all unpurchased items, it's unpurchased items sold by Amazon.com itself and not an outside vendor. Two, it's a one time deal so you have to use the 10% in single purchase.
Overall - the best prices, the best selection...if you can convince people (yourself included) to use this registry
BUY BUY BABY
Buy Buy Baby was all around great. My husband and I went to the store and did most of our registering in person and then I added and changed a few things online. The staff in the NYC Buy Buy Baby were incredibly helpful each and every time we went, which was only twice because it was overwhelming. Every square foot of wall is covered with baby merchandise and nearly every square foot of floor is covered with shoppers.
The prices at Buy Buy Baby were comparable to Babies R' Us, Target and other major baby registry stores, though they were generally higher than Amazon.com. With a 20% discount coupon, most items were less than competitors and Buy Buy Baby does price matching. So, one could price match and use a 20% discount coupon for a double savings whammy.
And now the cons. Unfortunately, in talking to friends and family, most people didn't end up using coupons. I think people didn't know they could use Bed Bath and Beyond coupons. Also, I have a lot of friends and family outside the tri-state area who didn't have easy access to a Buy Buy Baby store - there aren't a lot. Many baby shower recipients actually purchased Buy Buy Baby items online rather than going to the store itself because it was easier, which totally defeated my intent of it being a brick and mortar option.
Overall - If you can get to an actual store, it has great customer service, good product selection and good prices, especially with price matching and coupons.
Where did you register? How did it turn out?
