Is this good advice?

OuachitaTrixie

The consultant at BBB suggested that we register for the set of Calphalon stainless that we want as well as the individual pieces.  Her logic was that folks would understand that our wish is the set but that since it is quite expensive the pieces can be purchased seperately.  She then said that after our wedding we could then exchange those pieces for the set at a much better price and with the completion discount. 

This is my concern: does it look greedy to have both the set and the individual pieces listed or do y'all think people will understand?   Aaaaannd, is that a rude thing to do?  We would still have the gift they gave us, just at a better price which allows us to have more of the set.  Oh, and we would never tell anyone if we did in fact trade in the 3 or 4 pieces for the 13 piece set (which come out to the same price).

LauraT25

I wouldn't do it.  If your plan is to return them and purchase the set later, that makes sense economically but I wouldn't advertise to people that you did that and I wouldn't do it, personally.  You can add the set to your registry later to get the completion discount.  I would either register for the pieces OR the set. 

Someone might buy you the set - a friend of mine registered for one of the Calphalon nonstick sets and got it as a shower gift.  You may be surprised what people spend, and sometimes groups go in on larger gifts together.   You may wind up getting both the set and some individual pieces if you go the route that the BBB rep suggested.

Edit: the reason I don't like it, besides the possibility of duplicates, is that it's kind of like a sneaky way to  make money off of your gifts.  I know that if you explain it, some people might say, "no, that's great, you stretched my money farther" but it just seems dishonest in a way.

OuachitaTrixie

I hadn't thought of that!  I will take your (non-sales person) advice and add the set later for the completion discount.  The one thing that we knew for sure is that we would never tell anyone if that's what we did.  Since that's something we feel we shouldn't tell maybe it's our conciences whispering "dooooon't doooo iiiiiiit..."  hmm..

OuachitaTrixie

or not add the set I mean

LauraT25

I think you can just not add the set for now, and decide what you want to do later (in terms of exchanging and buying the set).  I think if, say, you only get two out of five things from the set, you might want to exchange those two and buy the set.  It seems more dishonest to exchange if you already have the complete set, if that makes sense.  You can always add it later (or just add the set, and not the individual pieces, if you want) for the discount, depending on what you receive and what you decide.

hydrangeablue

At Williams Sonoma if you register for the individual item there is mention that "this item also comes in a set" for the guest when they are looking at your registry. Is that what it would look like at BBB?

OuachitaTrixie

No, it unfortunately doesn't have that option.  It's either one or the other or both.

karmellah

what I did was register for the set (same one) and registered for a few seperates that I could use, such as a few cast iron peices or a bigger pot etc.

aegrish

I would register for both.  You can always use 2 pans.  Even if they are the same size.  and I don't think it's 'tricking' guests at all.  It simply offers more options and pricepoints. 

futuremrseagle

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_registering-gifts_this-good-advice?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:34Discussion:92e13f13-88b7-4ff4-9565-8cbea8c8e840Post:41e653ed-f255-4fd3-8e2f-b1acd376aa38">Re: Is this good advice?</a>:
[QUOTE]I would register for both.  You can always use 2 pans.  Even if they are the same size.  and I don't think it's 'tricking' guests at all.  It simply offers more options and pricepoints. 
Posted by aegrish[/QUOTE]

<div>this is what I did. Like PP said, your guests might surprise you and get you the set, and then you'd have extra pans for lots of cooking! or if you do exchange it, it wouldn't hurt anybody.</div>

aggiebug

I originally registered just for individual pieces.  When I went back in and talked to a wedding rep lady she told me to register just for the set.

One big thing to remember is that most BBB stores don't carry all the pieces to the set, so there will probably be a lot of missing pans.

 She also said that she has only had one bride not get her pots and pans. Its expensive, but its also something that a group might go in on because it all feels like you got something individual but its more bang for your buck.

LauraT25

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_registering-gifts_this-good-advice?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:34Discussion:92e13f13-88b7-4ff4-9565-8cbea8c8e840Post:41e653ed-f255-4fd3-8e2f-b1acd376aa38">Re: Is this good advice?</a>:
[QUOTE]I would register for both.  You can always use 2 pans.  Even if they are the same size.  and I don't think it's 'tricking' guests at all.  It simply offers more options and pricepoints. 
Posted by aegrish[/QUOTE]

I agree that it wouldn't necesarily be a bad thing to get duplicates.  But I do think it's sort of 'tricking' your guests to register for 5 things separately, receive all of them, then exchange them for the same items in a set and pocket the difference.   That's all I was getting at.  Some people may not mind, but it's sort of a fine line - it's better than returning gifts for cash outright, but still a little odd.

Patineuse1124

I would register for the entire set.  People often chip in together to get one larger present off of the registry.  Also wouldn't it be awkward to open the entire set and separate pieces from the set at your shower.  I had a few duplicate presents (the people didn't have the registry scanned) and that was awkward.  I would have felt worse if the duplicate was because I registered for the same thing twice, just in 2 different ways.

OuachitaTrixie

Well I'm sorry if I implied that we were going to pocket the money.  That is completely untrue.  If exchanging pieces for the set left us with extra store credit we were going to use it on duplicates or the roasting pan.  The guests would still have given us the same cookware, only more of it for the same price.  I think it's more of a situation of "tricking" the store than it is our guests.

I also agree with aegrish about offering different price points.  That was our original intention.  It has just developed into this since then.