Making a baby registry is definitely a fun pastime when I come home and am tired of constantly cleaning, washing dishes, and doing laundry – all of which I expect to do much more of once the baby arrived (hello Cloth Diapers?!) . . . .There are just so many cute things to look at and to choose, and it feels super-easy to go way overboard in creating the list of to-buys. But it really seems like there’s a lot of stuff that we will need for baby. My friend sent me a list of must-buys and it is pretty fun.
Deciding on a baby registry seems to be the most challenging of choices; here are issues that factored into my decision-making:
Selection – It was important to me to find a registry that more often than not had items in-stock and available to buy. Babies R Us seems to be a popular choice, but I have read countless reviews discussing how often items go out of stock there, so the registry you create can be out of date by the time people go to purchase items. Made BRU a poor choice to me. I understand that people may want to buy something in-store, but I found Amazon.com and Diapers.com to have much better and more consistent selection. The nice thing about Amazon is that it has a universal registry function where you can include stores that are non-Amazon, such as Land of Nod items, which are notoriously cute. Buyer beware, however, that the function is not quite perfect, and it may botch up your selections a little bit, so I would put plenty of guidance in the descriptions of non-Amazon items for your guests, lest they have difficulties picking out exactly what you are looking for. Other individuals might go for a Target registry because you could have a big variety in items available, not just strictly baby items but also food and toiletries.
Convenience – Given that people are pretty busy and it is amazing that they are considering coming to a baby shower in the first place, it’s best to make things easiest for them. There are really nice stores like BuyBuyBaby but their stores are few and far between in the part of the country where I live, whereas in New York City there are several — this is an important element in choosing a registry for me. DH and I would have to drive to Cherry Hill, NJ to even identify items at the BuyBuyBaby but for people who like in-store purchasing, BuyBuy Baby may be a good option. Another aspect of convenience is ensuring inexpensive shipping for guests — that’s another reason why Amazon (minimum $25 purchase for free shipping or Prime if you have it) and Diapers.com (free shipping for all registry orders) are both highly convenient.
Incentives – Lots of registries attract you by offering 10% completion incentives which can help you save a significant amount on registry items that go un-purchased. Examples of this include Diapers.com, BuyBuyBaby, and Land of Nod. Diapers.com also gives $50 back for every $500 that is spent on your registry, which is an additional bonus and a big selling point IMHO. Of course, other sites go purely by convenience and low prices initially – e.g. amazon.com, but then don’t give completion incentives.
So you have to decide what is right for you. Our registries are still in process. Gotta let DH see the registry before any final decisions are made!!