I'm getting fed up with our BBB registry. They are constantly going out of stock with certain items, and I'm never sure whether or not to replace it with a comparable item or leave it alone because the actual store may still have the item.
Did this happen to you and would you recommend replacing it or leaving it?
5/27/12

Re: BBB question
I'm registered at Macy's and Sur la Table. I feel obliged to check them weekly (and my invitations won't be sent for months). I've had trouble with Macy's having different brands online v. in store. For example, at the huge store, they had 1 brand only for a white tablecloth in the right size. Online, they had a different brand, and only that brand. Some things have also been discontinued, and sales end, and I just won't have certain things on my registry above certain prices. I left discontinued things on, hoping someone will get an equivalent elsewhere. They weren't things where brand matters. But that's probably a pipe dream.
Sur la Table discontinued a whole bakeware line I had registered for. I got an e-mail 2 weeks after the discontinuation that they'll automatically replace the discontinued items with the new line in another 2 weeks. It was all old news to me. Haven't had any other issues at Sur la Table.
Your job is to make sure all your guests have lots of options. If most will be shopping online, it might not matter that things aren't in the store. If they're like my guests...
My Bio
We've had similar issues at Pottery Barn, but because our PB registry is mostly decorative and not 'necessities', it's not as big of a deal.
We haven't had any problems with Williams-Sonoma or Macy's.