Hellobee Boards

I liked having an amazon registry, but most people tend to buy last minute gifts! A couple people said they logged onto amazon, saw what was on there, and then picked it up at a local store.

@NorCalWayfarer: yeah, no one actually did that though hahaha! I got several duplicates. It wasn't all bad though, I returned most to BRU or target even without a receipt.

I only did amazon and got what I registered for, along with tons of clothing, toys and books (which I didn't register for since people buy them regardless!). No one had an issue (that I know of) with our registry. Amazon shipping is usually 2-3 days and free for many people, so I think it worked out well.

I also don't like BRU and avoid it, and we don't have a BBB here.

we did amazon only. there's also a way for the people to buy at a brick and mortar store and check off on your amazon registry that it's been bought, too!

you can mark on the amazon registry that it was purchase elsewhere. that's what i've done for other friends!

I did Amazon only and it was fine. Some people did use the "bought elsewhere" option, and I think more would have if it had been more specifically pointed out (i.e. the shower hostess mentioning where the registry was but that people were more than welcome to use it as a guide and mark things if they bought elsewhere). I also hate BRU and we don't have any BBBs here, so I wasn't keen to register at those stores.

@NorCalWayfarer: Anytime anyone mentioned an Amazon registry, I would be bummed because I like to purchase and wrap the gift and just wouldn't have time with ordering online. Until this thread I had NO IDEA you could mark something "purchased in store"!

We didn't have a BBB when I had DS and I hated going to BRU, too.

I did Amazon only and it worked out really well. The only people who didn't buy off of the registry were my grandmother and the other women who are around her age that attended my shower. And that is mainly because they don't really online shop. Instead, they got me giftcards from BRU or just plain old cash. I was happy with either option!

Like you BBB and BRU stuff isn't my style so I never even considered those and we did Amazon and Target. I knew a lot of people would put off buying gifts until the last minute so I liked having Target on there as an option. Most of our gifts turned out to be purchased from Target online in the end.

I did only Amazon and wrote a note at the top of the registry explaining that we weren't registering for a lot of staples, encouraging people to go "off registry" and that they could by in store and mark it on the registry. I was slightly concerned that it sounded "gift grabby" but if someone is looking at the registry, they are probably planning on getting us a gift. Here is what I wrote:

"Family and Friends, We are very excited to be welcoming our baby girl into our family this fall! As a first time parents, we did not add a lot of the "staples" (diapers, bottles, soap, diaper cream) because we have no idea what baby Reagan will like nor do we have the experience of some of you parents. If there is something that you think we need that we have not registered for, please feel free to go "off registry"...let's be honest, we have no idea what we are in for! Also, if you would prefer to shop in a store, Amazon has a nifty "buying this gift elsewhere" button that allows you to check off the item without purchasing through Amazon. Thank you for all your love and support!"

We did Amazon and BRU because I am one of those last-minute gift buyers, and it's too much of a hassle to go online, look up your Amazon registry, find something at Target that I want to buy, get it, go back on, mark it as purchased elsewhere. Not to mention, someone else could have bought it in between the time I looked at it and bought it.

I wanted to make it as easy as possible for my guests if they decided to purchase a gift for us, not just convenient for me.

I think you should register where you want, but expect more non-registry items from the last minute shoppers. With returns and duplicates, you might be looking at chasing down where items came from, and end up with store credit to use at BRU and BBB anyway.