Babies R'Us.com----When There's Something In The Water, Head to Babies R'Us.
by erinrounds - Written: Jan 10 '02
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Some of you may be familiar with the expression There must be something in the water used frequently when it seems like everyone you know is turning up pregnant. Well indeed, there seems to be something in the water around me. (I've switched to Diet Pepsi, thank you). Everyone I know, even the die-hard career gals that were never going to be Mom's, have since decided to become parents, and with that it seems I have never had more showers to attend or gifts to bring to hospitals for newborns. What's a busy Mom to do in lieu of schlepping my own two little guys to the toy store to pick up a gift every other week? Well, for us the answer has become Babies R'Us.com.
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Babies R'Us The Site-
If you've ever shopped at Amazon.com the layout of the Babies R'Us site will look familiar. They are affiliated with each other, and you can link to Amazon via Babies R'Us and vice versa. The page is laid out with a tab style format. This is broken down into categories for the surfer to navigate, they are Baby Registry, Browse Categories (i.e. bottle feeding, bath time etc.), Broswe Brands (i.e. Peg Perego, Avent etc.), Gift Ideas, and Resource Center. The main page also offers prominent links to current specials, the baby registry area, a search box, and in typical Amazon fashion, a list of top sellers on the site.
I went immediately to the Baby Registry section on my trips, but I think with all of the site options, searching for a baby gift for any occasion would be intuitive.
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Baby Registry-
The registry section brings up the options to create a registry, update a registry or search a registry. To search all you'll need is the last name of the parent registered. The search can be further narrowed by the registree's city, state, or registry number. The more information you input the quicker you'll get to the registry you need. The registry is broken down into what is available on site, and only in the brick and mortar stores.
The product detail comes up with both a picture and a detailed description as well as a rating on the product from other owners if one is available. Once you've made your selection(s) it's time to head to checkout.
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Check Out-
If you've ever shopped at Amazon, the checkout process is exactly the same. If you are new to Amazon or Babies R'Us the payment process is fairly easy. New users need to set up an account with billing, payment, e-mail address, and password. Return Amazon users can sign in with existing accounts.
When purchasing from a registry you will be given the option to send the gift to yourself or directly to the recipient (very handy if the new parents are some distance away). The item will come promptly off of the registry to avoid duplication.
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Payment-
You may pay for your order with the standard Visa, MC, Discover, AMEX, Diners Club, JCB, Amazon line of credit, or by check or money order (note, if paying by check or money order, you'll need to send that in to process). Amazon.com gift certificates are also accepted, and Toys R'Us gift cards are not. This is something I wish they'd figure out a way to do in the future, but for now, the old standby's will have to do.
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Shipping-
I'll spare the gory details, but shipping charges are reasonable even on large items. There are options available for extra fees for gift wrap, express shipping, and overnight delivery. The methods to ship will vary between USPS, UPS and DHL delivery. Worth noting is that online order tracking is offered, always a plus with me.
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Return Policy-
Now obviously when purchasing a gift off of a registry you would assume it is wanted, however people change their minds, duplicate gifts can be received, and oh yeah, not everyone is buying off a registry so return policy is important. As an affiliate of Amazon.com Babies R'Us.com follows their policy of a full return within 30 days, with a nifty exception. In lieu of packaging everything back up, and mailing it back you may return your items to a nearby Toys R'Us, or Babies R'Us locally. That is definitely a plus.
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Other Features-
I genuinely enjoy shopping on this site, and like their partner Amazon.com Babies R'Us.com has notable features that making shopping there a pleasure.
--Resource Center-Here is a section of the site where you can search a whole set of links on anything you can dream up about parenting. For example, find out what to pack for the hospital, find a buying guide to pick out the perfect stroller, and check out what the "experts" think on a wide range of parenting concerns. There are also links to parent to parent discussion board. I highly recommend this unique forum for all kinds of research and support for parents.
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My Free Tips-
If you've ever experienced the joy (ahem, cough) that is Amazon.com's customer service, you may have noticed that next to nowhere on their site will you find the coveted customer service number. I have for you now, the number should you, for some unforseen reason have need of it.
1-800-201-7575 I've never had to use it yet while shopping at Babies R'Us.com in my many orders, but just in case....
Also be sure to check out one of my favorite online sites for any current coupon codes to enhance your shopping experience.
www.funtasia.net
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Final Thoughts-
This site is extremely handy for picking up registry items, but I would also recommend it to anyone, like grandparents looking for a perfect gift, or parents to be who'd like to research their baby items from the comfort of the computer chair. As someone who has been 8 months pregnant (twice for those counting) I can vouch for the joy I would have felt to browse nursery patterns with my swollen feet propped up!
Thanks for reading. Happy shopping
=) Erin
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