Has this happened to anybody else?

steph861

So, I stalked our Bed Bath and Beyond registry before the wedding and know for a fact that a significant number of gifts were purchased months in advance, but we haven't received them. We didn't have any no-shows at the wedding, either.

I called up the store and they said they don't track who bought what, whether it was online or in store, whether it was shipped, etc. They said if they have the name and phone number of the purchaser, they *may* be able to track the gifts down. Unless guests approach us and ask about the gifts, we have no way of knowing who purchased them. Obviously we can't send these people thank you cards, so now we look like assholes. And I don't know if we should buy them with gift cards, since it's possible we could still receive them.

This is the definition of a first world problem, I know. Still, frustrating.

steph861

smichek said:

How long ago did you get married? The VERY first item that was bought off of our registry (like four months before our wedding) never arrived at our house pre-wedding. It wasn't at the wedding. Eventually, a month after the wedding, one of H's relatives who was a last-minute no-show stopped by our house with the gift. Since you didn't have any no-shows, it could have been that someone attended your wedding and forgot the gift at home, or someone who RSVP'd no bought you the gift and just hasn't given it to you yet.

I hope it's that (or somebody changed their mind and kept the gift or something) because I really don't want a situation where somebody is expecting a thank you card and is (rightfully) annoyed when they don't get one.

ETA: The wedding was only a week ago.

steph861

smichek said:

steph861 said:

smichek said:

How long ago did you get married? The VERY first item that was bought off of our registry (like four months before our wedding) never arrived at our house pre-wedding. It wasn't at the wedding. Eventually, a month after the wedding, one of H's relatives who was a last-minute no-show stopped by our house with the gift. Since you didn't have any no-shows, it could have been that someone attended your wedding and forgot the gift at home, or someone who RSVP'd no bought you the gift and just hasn't given it to you yet.

I hope it's that (or somebody changed their mind and kept the gift or something) because I really don't want a situation where somebody is expecting a thank you card and is (rightfully) annoyed when they don't get one.

ETA: The wedding was only a week ago.

Well if someone bought you a gift but never gave it to you, how could they expect a thank you?

I'm worried that the gifts were shipped but never received.

ahyatt87

We had this problem with two items on our registry. We know for sure one person purchased it and it was supposed to be delivered to our home, but we never got it. Fortunately, it was from one DH's good friends so when he was visiting us a few weeks after the wedding he asked us about it, and we told him we did not receive it. He contact BB&B and they refunded him the money.

I suspect the other gift was from one of my friends from school who has graduated and moved away, so I have not saw him since the wedding, but I don't know for sure. I also hope it was just someone who bought the item for him/herself and that it didn't get lost en route. Part of me still feels terrible that someone may have bought us a gift and did not recieve a thank you.

WinstonsGirl

I had this problem with a gift I bought.  They didn't have all of her bowls in stock, but she was in a different city, so they sent the order to her home town to be completed.  We left her a note in a card to say we got her the bowls.  She phoned a few months later and still hadn't received them.  The store had lost the order and it was a ton of work and paper trail to prove they and been bought.  She did finally get them though

lc07

steph861 said:

So, I stalked our Bed Bath and Beyond registry before the wedding and know for a fact that a significant number of gifts were purchased months in advance, but we haven't received them. We didn't have any no-shows at the wedding, either.

I called up the store and they said they don't track who bought what, whether it was online or in store, whether it was shipped, etc. They said if they have the name and phone number of the purchaser, they *may* be able to track the gifts down. Unless guests approach us and ask about the gifts, we have no way of knowing who purchased them. Obviously we can't send these people thank you cards, so now we look like assholes. And I don't know if we should buy them with gift cards, since it's possible we could still receive them.

This is the definition of a first world problem, I know. Still, frustrating.

I think the person you are speaking to from BB&B is mistaken. Or policies have changed. I was married in 2011 and received 2 mystery gifts. I was able to call and tell them the item from my registry and they told me the name of the person who purchased it and what city they purchased it in and if they picked it up in store or shipped it. 

steph861

lc07 said:

steph861 said:

So, I stalked our Bed Bath and Beyond registry before the wedding and know for a fact that a significant number of gifts were purchased months in advance, but we haven't received them. We didn't have any no-shows at the wedding, either.

I called up the store and they said they don't track who bought what, whether it was online or in store, whether it was shipped, etc. They said if they have the name and phone number of the purchaser, they *may* be able to track the gifts down. Unless guests approach us and ask about the gifts, we have no way of knowing who purchased them. Obviously we can't send these people thank you cards, so now we look like assholes. And I don't know if we should buy them with gift cards, since it's possible we could still receive them.

This is the definition of a first world problem, I know. Still, frustrating.

I think the person you are speaking to from BB&B is mistaken. Or policies have changed. I was married in 2011 and received 2 mystery gifts. I was able to call and tell them the item from my registry and they told me the name of the person who purchased it and what city they purchased it in and if they picked it up in store or shipped it. 

I'm in Canada, so it's possible their policies are different here. I'll see about phoning HQ, though.

steph861

I just got off the phone with Bed Bath and Beyond and all the missing gifts were purchased in store... in Nebraska. I don't know anybody in Nebraska.

They figured there's a couple with the same or similar names in Nebraska and people didn't realize they were purchasing off our registry and not the other couple's.

So weird. At least nobody else is expecting thank you notes from us!

novella1186

steph861 said:

I just got off the phone with Bed Bath and Beyond and all the missing gifts were purchased in store... in Nebraska. I don't know anybody in Nebraska. They figured there's a couple with the same or similar names in Nebraska and people didn't realize they were purchasing off our registry and not the other couple's. So weird. At least nobody else is expecting thank you notes from us!

So that couple in Nebraska is getting some surprise gifts. Ha. 

ShellD13

Well it sounds like the mystery is solved but the other possibility if that hadn't been the case is that someone bought the gifts as early Christmas Presents.  I know my parents and IL's did that for us they purchased things off of our registries early for my birthday and picked through what was left for DH's birthday a couple of months later.

steph861

ShellD13 said:

Well it sounds like the mystery is solved but the other possibility if that hadn't been the case is that someone bought the gifts as early Christmas Presents.  I know my parents and IL's did that for us they purchased things off of our registries early for my birthday and picked through what was left for DH's birthday a couple of months later.

These gifts were purchased in May and June (they were actually the first gifts purchased), so the chances that they were Christmas presents was always low.