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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think I replacement cover for a highchair shouldn't cost quite so much?

23 replies

SloanyPony · 01/03/2010 19:23

I've got a Cosatto Aurora highchair which retails between £59.99 and about £80 depending which website you use and whether or not they have a deal on.

I got mine 3 years ago for my son and he well and truly trashed the cover, its stained with tomatoes and blueberries etc even though I'd clean it up as soon as I'd set him free after mealtimes...I hate the way it looks and it is to live in a prominent place in my kitchen which is the heart of the house.

So I thought I'd get a replacement cover for it to use with my daughter. Bearing in mind the original cost of the chair, do you think its reasonable of them to want to charge me more than £50 for a new cover?

Am I being unreasonable to expect to pay a bit less than this to keep this otherwise perfectly fine highchair in operation and out of landfill?

OP posts:
FabIsDoingPrettyWell · 01/03/2010 19:26

I bought a new cover for my highchair a few years ago and paid £30. Considering the chair cost £110 I thought it was a good price.

nickytwotimes · 01/03/2010 19:27

Aye, but the manufacturers want you to have to buy a whole new one, don't they.
Capitalist society and all that. They aren't interested n environmental issues.

FabIsDoingPrettyWell · 01/03/2010 19:28

YABU with your last sentence. The parts still need to be manufactured as normal, makes no odds whether it is for a brand new highchair or a second cover.

Habbibu · 01/03/2010 19:29

meh. get an ikea antilop.

WorzselMummage · 01/03/2010 19:31

I had a chicco for dd with a cover ruined so i threw it away and bought an antilop and it's so much better and it cost £14 !

£30 for a cover !

WorzselMummage · 01/03/2010 19:32

£50 even

thisisyesterday · 01/03/2010 19:32

well, if you don't like the cost then you could always just keep the old cover. i mean really, if we're talking landfill then you should just keep the perfectly useable cover you have shouldn't you?

it isn't going to hurt to have a stained highchair

MultipleUnicorns · 01/03/2010 19:39

why don't you have a look on ebay and see anyone is selling one?

or jusy get a new cheaper highchair?

Longtalljosie · 01/03/2010 19:43

Another vote for an Antilop. Get a red one. V smart.

PureAsTheColdDrivenSnow · 01/03/2010 19:44

none on ebay (just checked for you)

Was going to say sod the highchair and get an ikea antilop, but see that someone's beaten me to it

YANBU though

MultipleUnicorns · 01/03/2010 19:53

I've got an Antilop in white it's very zen

5inthebed · 01/03/2010 19:58

Where do you live? I have a spare highchair you can have if you're local.

Original poster
SloanyPony · 01/03/2010 20:02

See, everyone is saying get an Antilop, which many people would just do when faced with spending £50 on a new cover OR having a really ugly stained and dirty looking highchair in their favourite room in the house. I either have the monstrosity in my kitchen or I get an antilop (or something else).

I just think that £50 is rather a lot when I can buy a new highchair of the same model for £59. Basically, the cover costs £50, yet the whole frame and all the parts and the box and the packaging cost £9? I dont think so.

So, a person may well be tempted to buy another highchair. What a waste, bearing in mind they have a perfectly useable one in their kitchen.

I may well keep the stained cover and use it and not put it in landfill, but the point is, Cosatto are charging more for a basic vinyl cover to a highchair than M&S are charging for pure cashmere which is going to encourage people in general to just buy a new highchair. Which I think is irresponsible really when they could sell it at what it cost them to make, plus a bit of profit, plus postage and packaging. Oh, that reminds me, I rang up about one when I was pregnant (before I decided to put it in the shed instead) and they quoted me £20 - so in just under a year its gone up £30 which is another thing that makes me think they have rather an unreasonable profit margin on their spare parts...

OP posts:
Original poster
SloanyPony · 01/03/2010 20:07

Thanks 5 in a bed that's very kind of you but its more the principle - any kind of new highchair, whether it is purchased by me, given to me, loaned to me, basically renders this perfectly good highchair useless, and it will end up in landfill no doubt, as it is not saleable. I suppose it'll eventually freecycle...

I suppose they are encouraging people to buy a whole new highchair...

OP posts:
ChippingIn · 01/03/2010 20:18

I would call again & speak to someone else - maybe they got the price wrong if you were quoted £20 a year ago. You could also try telling them you are prepared to pay £x for a new cover or you'll buy a new chair elsewhere and tell all your friends about the hopeless after service they offer....

Habbibu · 01/03/2010 20:23

or just put a piece of fabric over the top that you can sling in the wash

Original poster
SloanyPony · 01/03/2010 20:25

You know, I think I might do that, it might just depend what person you get!

I dont mind if they make some profit. But if they can sell a whole highchair for £59 and make a profit, they can sell a cover for a bit less than that.

Its made of vinyl, not Vicuña wool that has been hand spun by mermaids who bathe in La Prairie Cellular Radiance. FFS etc...

OP posts:
PureAsTheColdDrivenSnow · 01/03/2010 22:16

"Its made of vinyl, not Vicuña wool that has been hand spun by mermaids who bathe in La Prairie Cellular Radiance"

Go post that sentence on Netmums and see how long it takes them to ID a MNer

[applauds]

NEmummy · 01/03/2010 22:23

What £50? Well I am mad! Why? Because I e-mailed the CEO of this company with this exact problem and his response was this:

Thank you very much for your email.

I am very sorry that you have had some issues with our products and service.

I have had a look at the prices of some of our spares and have arranged for some of them, including the Aurora seat unit to be decreased. The price is now £30 plus vat and P&P. I know this may still seem quite expensive, but unfortunately the factories always charge a premium for spare parts and generally we are only passing on the costs that we receive. I hope that this reduction helps.

Thank you for bringing this to my attention.

Best Wishes

Andrew Kluge

CEO

Email: [email protected]

Obviously this hasn't been the case. Maybe Mr Kluge needs a few more e-mails from upset mums and he may go ahead with his so called promise of a reduction in price...which is still very expensive.

We may have to ask ourselves why this product isn't lasting?

Original poster
SloanyPony · 02/03/2010 08:19

£30? Was that after contacting the CEO and did they try to charge you £50 before?

Thanks for posting that, VERY interesting!

OP posts:
NEmummy · 02/03/2010 09:47

Yep, that was after contacting the CEO in August 2009. I had rang the spares line and I think they had said it was going to be £48. I explained to the ceo how I was a house proud mother and had always been impressed with the 'look' of the Aurora - it's quite stylish. I have the cream leatherette one and the 'leather' has turned grey where my child sits. It's really not hard wearing at all. I was a bit miffed really as I had paid £120 for the chair at Kiddi care and expected it to last alot longer. I'm a bit embarrassed to get it out in public now.

I decided against buying the seat as after VAT and postage the price was still going to be £38-ish, which I still think is a bit steep.

It's a shame that it costs so much and that the chairs really are not that hard wearing.

EmberRainbow · 24/01/2011 15:01

Hi

I have been given a Cosatto highchair which is an older version of the 'Auroua'

Although it's got plenty of life left, the seat cover was abit damaged and the harness was missing a piece.

I called Cosatto (numbers on their website)and they are supplying me with a new 5 point harness and a new seat cover (in the more colourful 'zuton' pattern). They have many different designs and colours available and i found the staff really helpful

All this with VAT and postage was £33, which i think is fair and will revitalise my chair. (The seat cover alone would be about £23 plus P&P)

Thought i'd post this incase anyone else needs Cosatto highchair parts. :)

DomesticDonna · 07/10/2011 16:24

This is my first time on MumsNet and I am currently looking at what to do with my Cosatto High Chair as the seat cover is past it's best. I was about to contact Cosatto to ask about purchasing a new cover and I am gobsmacked at the prices quoted here. Worst case is I will make a new one myself. There is absolutely no way that I'll be sending the frame to land fill as it is immaculate. Thanks for all the posts as it's been helpful! Donna

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