$300's range Pali or Sorelle, White pain on wood.

[chanamelia]

1. Anyone can recommand a model of Pali and Sorelle in 300 range? thanks.
2. Is white wood not as good as natural wood as it is painted?

[Imperia]

In general I have found Pali cribs run 400-1000 dollars, however, sometimes you can find an older or plainer style on Ebay for around $300 NIB. Watch out for shipping though! It can be really pricey. Also before you bid you will want to know what their policy is for returning a crib if it is damaged in shipping etc. I know some Ebay sellers make you deal directly with the manufacturer which is a PIA! I also wouldn't buy a used crib, especially off Ebay, you never know what you are going to get. Models I see on Ebay that are sometimes not too expensive are: the Cloud (watch out though its discontinued now), The April, The Sabrina and The Leanne.

There is even an April on sale on Ebay right now, ($259 or 299.99 buy it now) the shipping is $75.00 though!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2370250874&category=2985

I don't know much about Sorelle, I have seen them at USA baby but I really prefered the Palis. Loads of people love the Sorelles though and I would say they are cheaper than Pali, and still good quality. I know a lot of people like The Rita model.

One other thing you can do, depending on where you live and what stores are near you, is watch for a big sale (especially when they are discontinuing modles or floor models). I know USA Baby has these sales, but one caveat, some people have had problems with USA Baby stores.

As for white unless you really really want it I would go with a stained wood. Cheaper manufacters use white most often because they can use a cheaper grade of wood or even MDF (medium density fiberboard) called "paint grade". This happens in all sort of construction and carpentry (if you look at newer houses today they often have banisters, doors and floor baords which are white not stained wood because it's cheaper, they don't have to use as high quality of wood because the pain hides the ugly grain etc.)
Also, white tends to get smudgy and dirty in my opinion. With baby furniture the baby is going to be putting his hands and mouth all over it, getting it sticky etc. Fingerprints and marks are more likey to show (although dings and scratches show more with the very dark woods like cherry). Plus, depending on the brand if the baby chews on the rails he might remove chips with his teeth (of course any paint used on baby furniture would be non toxic, I hope!) but I just don't like the idea of painted baby furniture, personally. If you like the "light" baby furniture look you might want to try "natural". Almost every piece of baby furniture will come in this colour, it's easy to match and easy to find (its one of the colours stores are more likely to have in stock).

Sorry I went on forever =)

Imperia

[amp]

We have a white Sorelle Nico crib and *love* it. It cost us about $240-$270 (I can't remember exactly) at USA Baby during the Once a Trimester Sale last January, which is almost always going on. I can't speak to the difference in quality between white and natural colored woods, but we are completely pleased with our white crib. It looks great in the nursery!