Registry and Gift Forum

Which stores offer the best paybacks/incentives for registry?

My Fiance' and I will be going to stores to register soon. However, I was curious which stores most couples have found to have had the best overall experience at. 

Things that are most important:

- easy return/exchange 
- affordability/availability for us as well as guests
- friendly customer service
- freebees/incentives offered when you register

We are considering registering at Bed, Bath and Beyond because of the conveniece and the fact that their stores pretty much have everything for the home. We are considereing Target, as well (mainly b/c we shop there a lot), but it was rumored that their exchange/return policy is not the best. If that's the case, then it may not be worth it. Other stores like - William Sonoma, Crate & Barrel and Pottery Barn are wonderful, however prices can be on the high end. 

We don't need furniture, as we are being gifted furnature from my family member. (Yay!) But are in need of pretty much everything else. 

Any helpful tips and reccomendations are greatly appreciated! :)

Thanks!
~Christine 

Re: Which stores offer the best paybacks/incentives for registry?

  • BBB is probably the easiest. They have everything. We got a free Calphalon knife just for registering for Calphalon stuff.

    I would say pretty much every store is fine for returns with a gift receipt or packing slip, but most will only return funds in the form of a gift card/store credit.
  • Not quite sure how I got on the wedding list, but Target recently sent us an offer for a $25 gc if we sign up for a 10 item registry. I've heard horror stories of their return policy and really don't want many items thru them, but I think we'll be making the registry both for the gc and for the convenience of friends and family. Even with the gc deal aside, you can save 10% on the items left on your registry after the wedding.

    We are definitely going to do BBB - great return policy and the 20% off coupons are pretty common in the mail and via email. They have perks based on what items you put on your registry.

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  • First off do NOT do Target - scroll through a couple pages on these boards and you will see tons of complaints.

    BBB coupons are nice for your guests.  That said, their completion discount is only 10% and that's sort of worthless given their 20% coupons.  I find that frustrating.  Also, you need to be on your guard there because while they do carry all the brands that are good quality and are carried by most dept stores, they also carry a lot of junk.  Unfortunately, many (not all of course) of the items in-store are the junky items, and their nice stuff tends to be online-only, except for the few stores with full-sized bridal depts.  I prefer a traditional dept store because guests can more easily purchase your china, flatware, etc. in-store there.

    The other thing BBB is missing is a thank-you notes manager.  Most other stores have this feature, and it sounds like a minor one but figuring out who gave you what after cards get separated at the wedding can be a huge headache.  There are a lot of posts about that on these boards as well.

    All that said, BBB is notoriously very good for returns.  You don't need a receipt or your registry sheet to make returns there for store credit.  FI and I are planning on buying some of our high-end items that we probably won't get at BBB using a 20% coupon after the wedding, even though we didn't register there.

    As far as perks for you, I think Macy's has the best all-around.  If you have a credit card with them or open a card with them and link that card to your account, Macy's gives you a gift card after your wedding for 10% of everything you spend (with only a couple exclusions, makeup being the most relevant) and 5% back on everything your guests spend on your registry.  I know several girls who have gotten their gift card that was valued between $300-$400 because they bought bridesmaids gifts, christmas gifts, etc there along with what their guests purchased.  Honestly, I am buying everything I can at Macy's between now and the wedding to accumulate those perks.  If I'm going to spend the money anyway, I might as well get the gift card, right?  Macy's also has all the "free gifts" that the other stores carry - those are run by the manufacturer of the products, not the store.  Their completion discount is 10%.  Macy's sale prices = BBB's every day prices, but Macy's will go lower than BBB during their one-day sales, etc. that happen a couple times a month.  Most days their sale prices are in play, but sometimes they aren't running a sale, and that's the only downside of them I see.  That said, I would say they have sales about 75% of the time.

    Dillard's has the biggest completion discount I know of - 20% - but theirs is limited to items on your registry, and their registry doesn't match up well with what they carry in-store.  WS, PB, and CB all give you 10% off the entire store (which is awesome for furniture, very expensive pots/pans sets, etc), but if you don't need really big ticket items that may not be useful for you.  That said, if you are considering doing all-clad, etc. I recommend registering at WS for the pans individually, then returning them for the full-set.  You will get the full value of your gift and 10% off the set, which is a better value than the individual pieces anyway... but you won't have to have a $1000 pots/pans set appear publicly where everyone can see it.

    Finally, if you need a registry for odds and ends, I recommend Amazon.  No completion discount, and you only get 30 days to return, but they have a universal registry button that allows you to register for things all over the internet.  This is similar to giftregistry360, but I think guests tend to be a lot more comfortable shopping through amazon than through GR360.
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  • I also am really looking forward to registering at Macys because of all the perks that you get. I already have a Macys card, so I am looking forward to the incentives.
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  • I've registered at Macys - my wedding is this week so I don't know whether my gift card will pan out well, but I do know that when I received 4 grill pans (last minute addition to my registry that 4 people must have bought the day of my shower) I had no problem bringing them back and getting store credit. 
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  • THANK YOU EVERYONE!!!  This is all such helpful information!!!  YAY! I can't wait to go and register! Smile

    ~Christine 
  • I second what people have said about BBB and Macy's.  I registered at both and was VERY happy with the registry incentives at Macy's. 

    I also registered at Target.  I had to take a few things back and I had no trouble at all.  In general their return policy kinda sucks, but if it's on your registry, they have a record of it and it's very easy to return. 
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  • Target was a pain and the quality of their items is pretty sub-par.

    BBB was great to work with, and you will get invited to a registry completion party after your wedding date passes and they offer 20% off everything in the store during the party (not just items on your registry).

    We got duplicate items of almost every single thing from Target and one item from their registry says "purchased" but we never received it. When we inquired if we could find out who purchased the item they told us they couldn't help us. Very frustrating because the missing gift is a $70 duvet cover.
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  • We went with Amazon because we didn't like sticking to one store and then we didn't want to register at 5 others. Amazon doesn't offer anything, but it's just awesome to not feel limited to items in a store when you might love something else at another. That was our issue. Plus the site offers a lot of free shipping which is a plus for many of our out of town guests. You can also see who bought what, which is really nice. 

    I would suggest registering at Target online for fun, because they give you a $25 gift card if you add ten items, print it out, and show it to them. We basically did it just to get the free $25. We haven't looked at the registry since nor shared it with anyone. 

    My cousin went with BBB and she loved it. My family wasn't a fan, however, since they don't offer free shipping and not everyone has a BBB. Many just wrote them a check. Luckily we had a store nearby so we were able to go there and buy something to avoid the shipping costs. 
  • Macys has a rewards program for your registry. The staff at our Macys was really nice. They recently had a Scan for a Grand event and I was lucky enough to win a 1,000 gift card. They have items priced low and high to accomodate all gift givers.
  • In Response to Re:Which stores offer the best paybacks/incentives for registry?:[QUOTE]I second what people have said about BBB and Macy's.nbsp; I registered at both and was VERY happy with the registry incentives at Macy's.nbsp; I also registered at Target.nbsp; I had to take a few things back and I had no trouble at all.nbsp; In general their return policy kinda sucks, but if it's on your registry, they have a record of it and it's very easy to return.nbsp; Posted by ash273uk[/QUOTE]
    Ditto everything said in this post.
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