Hi, I'm going to be open and honest about the nature of my post. My wife and I own and run an independent nursery goods store, however, I am not here to promote my shop and I won't mention it's name or location.
I want to explain to you all why you get such poor service from these companies who sell these products so cheaply on the web. Then when you understand you can then decide if you wish to use them with a full understanding of what you are letting yourself in for.
Firstly, as they sell products so cheaply the profit margins are very very low. They rely completely on selling in large volumes. Therefore as each order is worth so little profit to them you will not be afforded a proper amount of customer care.
As they run on such small margins but deal in large volumes they will not be able to afford to have enough staff to handle the number of complaints/issues they will receive. This is why emails and phone calls go unreturned. I've sold prams and car seats for a number of years, and I know how many problems arise during the order process and their life time of use.
The handling of warranty faults and complaints does not make any profit, hence, they work on the basis that you as the customer will have to pack up and pay for the return of a faulty item. If it is a car seat or pushchair this is going to be difficult and very expensive to do. And you will struggle to live without the item while it goes back. They know that most people won't bother and they can just forget about it and not get involved. Hence they can keep their margins low.
They don't have to demonstrate, check fit or advise a customer on the vast majority of their sales. Their total sales pitch is low price, therefore they don't to have a commensurate level of trained staff. Again keeping overheads low and profit margins down.
As they operate on such low margins the only way they can keep cash flow going is to take full payment up front, this will often mean taking payment when an item is not in stock and is yet to be ordered. As many of these goods such as Stokke and Bugaboo are imported they can take weeks to arrive and any mistake in the ordering process can take weeks to resolve.
Under the distance selling act a retailer is allowed up to 30 days to return your money, they will use this clause to hang on to your money for as long as they can and sort problems out before refunding you.
Your sales contract is with the retailer you bought the product from, the manufacturer of the item will not be able to help you if you have a problem. They simply ask you to return it from where you bought it.
Approximately 70% of child safety seats being used on the road today are incorrectly fitted. Do you want to be one of that 70% or do you want to be shown how to fit your car seat and know you child is as safe as possible. For instance did you know that not all Isofix seats fit all Isofix cars? No web site can tell if you if the car seat fits correctly or show you how to fit before buying! Thats how they sell them so cheap!
If you still feel the financial savings are worth it and are happy that if you have a problem with the item you are buying then you will probably have to live with it then go ahead and purchase.
However, if you want deposit terms, deliveries on time and when you need them, full warranty support, car seat fitting and to be treated like your special during your pregnancy then go and find a good local independent retailer. Tell them what you want what you've seen it for on the web, the retailer will normally be able to go about half way between recommended retail price and a web price. Therefore you get a good deal and get the service you deserve.
One last thought before I sign off, if everyone buys from these cheap internet sites soon there won't be any high street retailers left. Busy thriving high streets are the core of any town, those towns with busy thriving high streets providing jobs and services and keeping the area looking smart will be less affected by the house price slump. Buying from these sites may be cheap in the short term but it won't be in the long term!
Sorry for the length of this rambling post, I hope some may find it interesting. All the very best with all your pregnancies