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So, we had just finished up at Macy’s and had taken a much needed break to grab some grub. Registering at Macy’s had taken about 2 hours, and after lunch we were ready for more (or, so we thought).
(source)
We headed down the road to Bed Bath and Beyond, where we met with a registry consultant.
She was very nice, and got our info into the computer right away. She asked if this was our first registry, and when I said that we had already been to Macy’s she joked that they were their “evil” competitors.
She then went on to explain that most of what we had found at Macy’s we could probably also find at BBB - AND that BBB’s regular prices were most likely the same or lower than Macy’s sale prices. She also threw in that our guests would be able to use the ever-popular 20% off coupons on our gifts at BBB as well. Hmm. We decided that would think about it.
In the meantime, we got started. Things were much different at BBB - there was no gun, and we were never alone. Our consultant went with us from department to department, kind of functioning as our personal shopper, writing all of our choices down. At first, it was nice to have a third opinion, in hindsight, however, I think she influenced a lot of our decisions. 
For example, I already mentioned the issues that I had with the cookware prices at Macy’s. Well, BBB was no different. Same brands, same crazy prices. Our consultant somehow talked us into upgrading our Calphalon and changing from stainless steel to non-stick. None of these decisions were made lightly. Mr. Burger and I had lengthy discussions about every expensive item. But then there was always the consultant weighing in over our shoulders - “it’s just a wish list!” “People LIKE when you have lots of things on your registry.” “Don’t worry about how expensive things are, people go in on gifts together all the time!”
You know what else she told us? She said that we needed to register for three gifts PER guest (something about showers and engagement presents, etc.). Yes. That means that since we are inviting 300 people she wanted us to register for NINE HUNDRED ITEMS. I wish I was joking, really I do.
Anyway, after FIVE long, long hours (sooo 7 hours total - Burger is a trooper), we rounded out our registry (with 200 some items, thankyouverymuch). It was fairly complete, and at the time, I felt mentally and emotionally exhausted, but glad that we at least had our registries.
Do you prefer having the help of a consultant, or to go at it alone when you’re registering?
Odd I had a scann gun at BBB
That sounds extremely painful…I haven’t registered yet, but I am pretty sure I do NOT want a “registry consultant” with me.
Wow, that’s odd! At BB&B someone went around with us to a few areas to give us some non-biased info, then sent us on our own with the scanning gun to do our own thing.
We had a consultant at BBB too, so it was kinda awkward having someone else there while we debated over this vs. that. We did have a gun though =) We ended up going back to the store and asked to add some stuff to our registry– which we did BY OURSELVES.
I mean, it was nice to have some help in regards to what to register for…but for us it was OVERKILL going all around the store with them.
I started 4 registries (but only kept 3). When I registered at Macy’s I got the huge price-change scanner and random shoppers came up to me and would ask me questions like, “where are your electric mixers?” and “can I get my parking ticket validated here?”— they thought I worked there and it was annoying. But I’d rather have that than have a consultant follow me for 5 hrs!!
I didn’t have that experience at all at BB&B! Sounds painful! I had a gun and went on my way (they offered help but I told them I knew what I was doing and was fine to go with just my fiance).
That sounds kind of insane. I still need to face the Macys store though.
Ugh, that does not sound good. I have heard the thing about 3 presents per guest too but it’s a little out there. Have you gone back and changed your registry since you registered?
i liked having someone there to help us at bb&b. she didn’t pressure us at all, but she was very helpful about giving us info on all of the different products.
Hmm… I haven’t done my registry yet and this makes me nervous! I don’t think my FI would be as patient. =\
Also, in today’s awareness of coatings and leeching substances, I don’t think that non-stick is an upgrade but a more expensive downgrade. Stainless steel is a much better performer and doesn’t have a coating that will flake off into your food. Just a thought! =)
That doesn’t sound good. We registered everything without a consultant and it was good. My DH and I feel very knowledgeable about cooking and household products in general and would hate to have unsolicited opinions. I recommend that now that you’ve seen those items in person, go online and revamp your registry as you like without being harassed. I also don’t agree that you need to have 900 items. Seems ridiculous. One more thing, stainless steel is better than non-stick depending on what you wanna do.
I’m doing all of mine online. I hate salespeople tailing me around and telling me what to do. I used to work in retail and that was so not my style, but I worked with people who did that and it used to drive me insane having to listen to it.
Ouch, totally painful! I would have owed my hubby to be BIG BIG time!
We registered at Bon Ton in State College. Their scan gun wasnt working that day. So an associate got stuck walking around with us and scrambling to write down all of the info for each item we wanted. We weren’t there too long and finished with some paper work. They assured us, multiple times, it would get put into the computer and we could view it online.
After a break for food, we then went to Wal-Mart (We choose these two stores because we have them at our home town where the majority of our guests live and our ceremony was there as well).
At Wal-Mart we were handed the gun and told what to do to get started and we were off. I left hubby have the gun, to ease the pain of the process. He wasn’t excited and we put it off until June, with our wedding being the beginning of October and bridal shower in August.
A month before the Bridal Shower, I decided to get on line and make some last minute changes/additions to the Bon Ton registry (had a very hard time deciding on color for our Fiesta wear!)
I COULD NOT FIND OUR REGISTRY! ANY WHERE! That whole painstaking 2 hours we were there and the associate that was writing for dear life to keep up with our choices and having someone hovering over us, like a monkey on our back….all for nothing. No one ever put it in the computer.
After getting over being angry and upset, I did it myself on the internet and found it to be, for the most part, painless. Within a few days, Bon Ton in our home town called us to pick up the Bridal Planner every Bride receives with coupons, vendor biz cards and tons of information. It was a HUGE binder! I was very excited about it and found our Bon Ton to be a lot more friendly and helpful than SC.
I feel that registering for items that are going to fill the house you own together should include the couple only. If you have questions, someone from the store should be there to assist you. I do not feel it is necessary to have someone hovering and second guessing your choices the whole time. I know my husband gave me “the look” when he found out it wasn’t going to be just the two of us and there was no gun for him to play with.
You still have time to get online (if that’s available to you) to make changes. I know I did and I am glad I did. I still ended up taking the dark green Fiesta wear back to BT and trading it in for a different color. Sometimes you just don’t know until you get it home and out of the box.
The only nice thing about most registries, is that after the shower and wedding are all said and done, you have X amount of time to go to the store and purchase any remaining items on the registry with a discount. So while you don’t expect your guests to buy a stainless steel dishwasher, with a 20% discount for you that helps a lot.
We registered as Amazon.com - they were extremely cost competitive and in many cases shipping was free and no tax. Plus we were able to register for “fun” items like video games and home/garden items.
Sorry to hear that you had someone hovering over you during the process, at my local BBB I just asked for the gun with no hassles.
Thanks for posting this. We’re considering registering at BB&B but I don’t think I’d be comfortable with the personal shopper breathing over our shoulder! I like when they just give you the gun and let you have at it!
The good thing about registries, though, is that you can go home and delete/add stuff online!
We had the SAME THING happen and BB&B. We had friends that registered at the same one, but didn’t have the crazy assistant with them the whole time. Our guy had TERRIBLE breath and the whole time kept voice his opinion while we were discussing things to pick. We got the same spiel out it being a “wish list”… very irritating when you know what you want. We both got so annoyed that we only stayed for an hour. We came back another day, told them we didn’t need anyone else and we got the scan gun. It’s weird that they pick some people to walk around with and others they don’t.
We did ours all online! Saved the hassel, FI could just look over my shoulder when he needed to see something or help chose something. No third person, no BS. We registered at BB&B, Target, and Sears (tools!). They were all easy and gave us very little headache at all.
I think for the most part, online descriptions were adequate and we didn’t need to be there in person to make choices.
I would have loved to do amazon, because they have such great prices, but most of our guests will probably want to go to the store rather than purchase online, so we skipped it.
oh no no no. i’d rather wander alone with a gun than have a consultant. like you said, they would probably influence a lot of my decisions as well. i hate feeling pressured to buy stuff.
We went in Person to Target, and did Wal-mart online. We haven’t had the energy to do one more at Macy’s or Kohls. *shudder*
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Mrs. Cheeseburger, Baltimore, MD/State College, PA Age and Occupation: 25, Medical Student Fiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Medical Student Engagement Date: June 28, 2008 Wedding Date: March 2010 Venue: Catholic Church Ceremony & Hotel Reception About Me: I'm a passionate girl from Pittsburgh, currently living in Baltimore for school, who loves Penn State, seeing movies, football, thunderstorms, black and white photos, Christmas, good beer, my amazing friends and family, and of course, my mister! We met, fell in love, got engaged, and will be married at our alma mater (go lions!) in a traditional Catholic ceremony followed by a hotel reception with lots of DIY details. It means so much to have our families and friends meet at our favorite place on earth to celebrate our love for one another - I truly couldn't ask for anything more!
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