Mamas and Papas

[ceebs05]

I'm starting to plan what stuff I need/want to buy (baby due 21 Sept) and like some of the stuff in Mamas and Papas. I see they have a sale on at the moment and wondered whether to just go ahead and buy stuff now or hang off till later (limited storage space at present due to renovations).

does anyone know how often they have sales and are they likely to have another in the next few months?

Sorry I cant answer your qustion but Ive never been very impressed with Mamas and Papas personally, Ive found their staff rude andun helpful. Plus I had a problem with a buggy and there repairs were rubbish (had to be done 3 times) and they didnt seem to care.
Ive found a lovely independant shop who knows what he's talking about and couldnt be more helpful.
Also if your 100% om the m&p a friend bought loads of it new off Ebay for a fraction of the cost.

Depends what you are after I have been buying the millie and boris range and have found quite alot sells for more than 50% of original value on ebay and although if you are prepared to wait it out I have got some good bargains off ebay bidding on items that end middle of a week day or during an england football match - obv when less people will be bidding.

Only things that have been brought elsewhere are the cot mobile I got from very.co.uk as got a code for £25 off a £50 spend so brought that and cot mattress at same time.

and the changing mat as it was £28 and a nanny agency kindly brought it for me after recommending a family to their agency.

If you are anywhere near Huddersfield you can go to their factory outlet store and get lots at a very reduced price.

They do seem to have an awful lot of sales so there is likely to be another one before you have your baby.

You can also buy furniture in store or over phone and delay delivery for as long as you like.

If you're buying clothes or nursery accessories I would say yes, but I wouldn't recommend them for the bigger buys like prams car seats etc. I bought my pram from there and it practically fell to bits within 6months and the repairs departments are dreadful, they patched it together until it was out of the guarantee. Really disappointing. A few of my friends have had car seats from there and say they are very very heavy. So may be worth shopping around for those.

They do have really good sales regularly though for furniture and stuff so they will prob have a end of summer sale.
HTH

I too was swayed by the marketing machine that is mamas and papas in being drawn into the ideal nursery etc. What I would say is aftercare service not good, if you buy stuff and anything (as horrible as it sounds) happens to the baby they won't take it back if not in so many days after you bought it (even if unused) - not sure how this compares to others, prams were not great - we got one and it wasn't great so ended up spending more on another one 4 months after DD born.

We found an independant retailer too which was just great and using them second time round. M&P cotbed has been great but things like the musical playmat broke after 5 months and they wouldn't do anything about it. Travel cot ripped too and would only repair it not exchange it which whilst okay not great customer service.

Try and research what you want before you take the plunge and don't get drawn into the idea/lifestyle M&P sell you which they do very well. Great for stuff like blankets though and little toys.

Thanks for the responses - I'm not getting my pram or car seat from them as wasn't too impressed with them. I'm more thinking about nursery accessories, bedding, moses basket etc.

Seems from what folks are saying they have regular sales so maybe no need to rush and buy everything this weekend!

I'm not fond of M&P for babywear etc (it's all a bit too 'dressed up' IYSWIM) and we had a M&P carseat that weighed a ton. Never again! We only got one because a friend had given us their M&P travel system. I've heard terrible things about their customer service too. The only stuff I like in there is some of their maternity wear - I have a waterfall cardi I actually bought before I conceived that's one of my favourite things to wear, and last pregnancy both my jeans came from there, as well as some other stuff I loved. Not cheap, though.

Oh, and their mark-up on stuff like Moses baskets, etc, is appalling! Try ebay.

I'm massively underwhelmed by Mamas and Papas, their stuff is overpriced and fussy and their customer service is appalling. I ordered a maternity skirt from my local store, was kept waiting for 20 minutes with no apology whilst they got my details wrong and wrangled with a broken till, then the skirt got 'lost' in the post, had an email saying it had been sent back to the store, called them and they huffed and puffed and eventually checked the stock room and said "No, it's not here, maybe it's gone back to head office". It eventually arrived but their attitude has put me off buying anything larger from them. Waste of money, in my opinion.

If you are looking for Millie & Boris then I would get it now as they are ' refreshing the range' so I was told when in last week. They don't have this range on sale very often and it does hold it's value on eBay. The factory shops are brilliant. Swore I wouldn't get sucked in and I did for bedding, mobiles etc but for serious things like buggy etc don't do it!

I have their moses basket and extra plush mattress and a few bits and bobs plus an old pram that can be converted to a buggy. I also bought a famiglia cashmere blanket which my dd got (and still gets) a lot of wear out of.

All in all I'd say: try buying it on ebay. I find M&P expensive and not worth the money apart from said basket and blanket both of which I'd never buy used.