Amazon registry?

[newbie124]

I originally asked this with my save the date question, but thought it probably warrants its own thread.

Has anyone had experience using/buying from an Amazon registry? I always kind of wondered why it''s not more popular. As a guest, I''ve often wished that a couple had register on Amazon b/c I usually see stuff on their store registries that I know you could get for less online plus free shipping. Why don''t people use Amazon more? Plus, you can register for such a greater variety of things all in one place rather than spread out from store to store.

Is there some advantage to store registries that I''m just missing? (Well, I can maybe understand for things like china or flatware...but like knives or food processors...those are all things you can just as easily purchase through Amazon these days).

 

[neatfreak]

Because on a lot of items you have to pay shipping and older folks don't "get it" (a grandmother's words not mine).

 

[Selkie]

I did, and it was very popular with my friends and family. I think we got everything we put on there. You have to pay shipping on some items (usually from Amazon "partner" stores) but others still qualify for the free shipping. We also registered with Target, online.

 

[newbie124]

Date: 6/6/2008 11:51:28 PM
Author: neatfreak
Because on a lot of items you have to pay shipping and older folks don''t ''get it'' (a grandmother''s words not mine).

Hmm, OK (on the shipping). Still, though, I''m thinking that the cost of the item itself through Amazon even w/ shipping would, for the most part, be less than at retail stores?

I don''t think we''ll have an issue w/ the fact that it''s Amazon among the guests in our group. I was thinking of still maybe registering at 1 or 2 brick and mortar stores, but maybe make sure if some items are available for less on Amazon (even better if w/ free shipping) then we''d register for it online rather than through the retail store?

 

[mimzy]

we have an amazon registry, but we are still six months out so it''s too early to say whether or not it''s a success or not. i think it will go over well because the majority of are guests are pretty tech savvy and wouldn''t have an issue buying from it online. if i could, that would be the only registry i would have, just because everything is cheaper. we''re going to register at BB&B just to have another option, but it''s likely to be pretty thin.

 

[zoebartlett]

Maybe people want the experience of shopping in an actual store instead of doing the online thing. Or maybe they like the familiarity of shopping online at a store they know. For some, Amazon could be like a black hole -- kind of a mystery, like, where does that product come from, anyway? Just a thought.

 

[ladyciel]

We''re just about 3 months out, and we''re registered at 4 places, including Amazon. Crate & Barrel, Linens N Things and Macy''s are the other three. We''re kind of sprawled out because there were certain items we wanted that we could only find at some stores. Also, our guests are coming from all over the US and Canada, and no one store seemed to be near everyone. We chose LNT over BBB because LNT is in Canada, and most of our random kitchen and home stuff is there. With the coupons you can get for them all the time, their prices are typically pretty competitive. CB is for our wine glasses and few other items, Macy''s for our china and probably luggage once we decide what we want, and Amazon has become the catch-all-can''t-find-it-elsewhere place. Our registry there has everything from a waterproof case for our camera (which would be awesome to have for the honeymoon!) to speakers to pots and pans LNT didn''t have. We''ll probably also add some Wii accessories at the request of one of my friends who was so excited to hear we got one as a gift recently.

So, to more directly address the point of this thread, we were wary of using Amazon as our SOLE registry, because there are still people out there, particularly grandparents and their generation, who aren''t comfortable with shopping and purchasing online. At first we had our china on there, before we decided to add Macy''s, and I kept wondering if there might be a correlation between those guests likely to WANT to buy us china and those guests wary of Amazon or the internet in general. At the same time, the guests more likely to want to get us something untraditional/fun are also probably younger and more internet-savvy. We haven''t received anything off our registries yet, but I can let you know how it goes!

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 6/7/2008 12:36:40 AM
Author: newbie124

Date: 6/6/2008 11:51:28 PM

Author: neatfreak

Because on a lot of items you have to pay shipping and older folks don''t ''get it'' (a grandmother''s words not mine).

Hmm, OK (on the shipping). Still, though, I''m thinking that the cost of the item itself through Amazon even w/ shipping would, for the most part, be less than at retail stores?


I don''t think we''ll have an issue w/ the fact that it''s Amazon among the guests in our group. I was thinking of still maybe registering at 1 or 2 brick and mortar stores, but maybe make sure if some items are available for less on Amazon (even better if w/ free shipping) then we''d register for it online rather than through the retail store?

I love Amazon personally, I was just answering your question of why it isn''t more popular.

 

[CrownJewel]

How is the return policy on there? I think a lot of couples like to walk into a store to return something, instead of dealing with shipping something via UPS or whatever. Some of my friends said they prefer to buy things in the store because it''s a more tactile experience. My friends and I also liked the gift wrapping option - some stores offer it free on gift registry purchases, and other stores charge $5 or so.

Despite those issues, I think Amazon would be a great place to register. FI and I keep wishing we had a nice power drill set. None of our stores have a serious tool set, but Amazon does!

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 6/7/2008 12:49:47 PM
Author: CrownJewel
How is the return policy on there? I think a lot of couples like to walk into a store to return something, instead of dealing with shipping something via UPS or whatever. Some of my friends said they prefer to buy things in the store because it's a more tactile experience. My friends and I also liked the gift wrapping option - some stores offer it free on gift registry purchases, and other stores charge $5 or so.

The return policy can be a PITA. If it's something from Amazon, you ship it back to them. BUT if you have 10 things, they could all be from different vendors, and you need to ship back separately. AND each vendor can have their own return policy. So if you register with Amazon, hope you don't get doubles!

 

[newbie124]

Date: 6/7/2008 1:02:12 PM
Author: neatfreak

Date: 6/7/2008 12:49:47 PM

Author: CrownJewel

How is the return policy on there? I think a lot of couples like to walk into a store to return something, instead of dealing with shipping something via UPS or whatever. Some of my friends said they prefer to buy things in the store because it''s a more tactile experience. My friends and I also liked the gift wrapping option - some stores offer it free on gift registry purchases, and other stores charge $5 or so.

The return policy can be a PITA. If it''s something from Amazon, you ship it back to them. BUT if you have 10 things, they could all be from different vendors, and you need to ship back separately. AND each vendor can have their own return policy. So if you register with Amazon, hope you don''t get doubles!

Yeah, I thought about that, too. But then I realized that if you got doubles b/c someone got you the same thing somewhere else, you could just keep the one that came from Amazon and return the other gift (assuming it came from a retail store).