We had our shower on Sunday (it was great!) and did returns yesterday so I thought I would share my experiences.
BBB we did most of the registry online and were happy with how easy it was to use. We had no issues with duplicates and the registry seemed to get updated promptly even registering one “off registry” item as “0 requested 1 purchased” which was helpful. We went in yesterday to exchange the off registry item for an on registry item and it seemed to go smoothly. The item we exchanged for was out of stock in the store so it is supposed to ship directly to me. We were able to keep the item on the registry showing as purchased so no one will be able to tell that we returned it. We also got a trash can that we noticed was dented so we took it in to exchange it without a gift receipt. FI’s parents bought it for us and had mentioned that they didn’t have a coupon available when they bought it so we took a 20% off coupon in with us and were able to get a store credit for the 20% during the exchange. It is on a receipt like piece of paper but the store associate said that if we lose it, they can look it up in our records and reprint it for us.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
We started the Target registry online and it was easy to do. We then went into the store to add items and the associate explained the process to us, gave us the registry welcome packet, and let us go on our way with the scanner. The registry welcome packet has a couple of coupons and some cute thank you cards that are actually coming in handy right now for a couple of early wedding presents (we haven’t bought wedding thank you’s yet). The other day I got an email that two things were going to be discontinued; the advance notice on that was helpful.
At my shower I got duplicates….all from the Target registry. I can understand one person forgetting to do the registry but I don’t think it happened to all three so there seems to be some fault here for Target. I had the registry showing 3 of 4 gray bath sheets purchased but at the shower I got 7 gray bath sheets. I also got two bath towels that were not on the registry (we went with the larger sheets not the towels) and these did not show up on the registry as extra items purchased. Last night I went in to exchange one item for a different color, return 4 on registry items and 4 off registry items. I only had gift receipts for 2 of the on registry items. I got it all done quickly and easily with no problems and walked out with a store credit. When I got home I noticed every item that was on the registry that was returned was now showing as not purchased (when in reality it was purchased because it was a duplicate) but I was able to adjust them back online to show them as purchased.
Overall rating BBB = A+. Good selection, some great prices with the coupons, registry stayed up to date with no duplicates and easy returns/exchanges.
Overall rating Target = B-. Good selection and good prices on towels. Too many duplicates and registry tracking had issues but returns and exchanges were easy.
Overall registry/gift/shower comments:
-About half the people shopped at each store (registries were about equal in number of items).
-There were more group buys than individual buys like my aunt and her two daughters (my cousins) going in on the Shark Navigator together.
-Kitchen Aid mixer at BBB list price $350 was purchased. My aunt used a 20% coupon and there was also a rebate so that in the end the purchase price nets out to about $250---this seems like a pretty good mixer deal to me.
-Kitchen items went quickly and then sheets and towels once the kitchen items ran out. The few boring practical items I put on the list did not get purchased…for example two window blinds at Target for $17 each and dish scrubber refill at BBB for $4. This doesn’t surprise me because I really don’t think anyone wants to show up to a shower with window blinds but at least with them on the registry we can use our store credit to get them at registry completion time.
-No one bought either of the two on-line only items we had selected.
-Most people purchased off the registry.
-Of course you shouldn't use things before the wedding but you should open them to check for defects (like the dented trash can) sooner rather than later.
-24 invited and 16 attended but all 24 had their names signed on cards for presents (cousins that had to work were on the card with my aunt, etc.). So with about 48 gifts received that equals 2 gifts per person which means the rule of thumb to register for 2-3 gifts per person is a good one especially if you are hitting all the price points!
-Only a few things remain on the registries which is fine because if they choose to give a gift at the wedding our families will likely give cash.
-With 16 people in attendance I was able to spend time talking with everyone and I really enjoyed the intimate feel to the shower.
And like many people on this board we were in the position of not needing much because we are combining two established households. I'll do a separate post of things we registered for in case it is helpful to anyone.