nursery furniture

[overwhelmed]

all of our friends told us to go to Bellini for furniture. But we really like the Generation next design made by Baby's Dream at Buy Buy Baby. Does anyone have this? Any comments?

[tinkerbell1217]

Don't have that furniture and I LOVE the looks of Bellini (we have two stores here in So.Fl.) BUT, their prices are outrageous IMO and the salespeople were a bit snobbish except for one lady the second time I went in to browse. She was very nice, but the other few times I looked around Bellini, snob city! Sorry if anybody loves Bellini, but I think they are overpriced for most things. I think $400, at the most, is an okay price for a crib and I don't think I could spend upwards of $1000 on other furniture. Don't get me started on bedding! They carry Nava's Designs and although they are beautiful, they are way too puffy and have so many ribbons and appliques I just don't think they are all that safe or practical. I also think some of them have to be dry cleaned.

I know you asked about furniture, I got OT, sorry! I would go with BBB. I wish we had a BBB here!

Kelly

[BeachBaby]

We have a Baby's Dream crib (Roma) and a Generation Next hi-low dresser/combo in Antique White. We don't have the baby yet to "test drive" the pieces, but both seem sturdy and well made.

My advice would be to go with what you like and what you feel comfortable with. Bellini certainly isn't the only manufacturer out there who makes safe and attractive furniture.

HTH,
Megan

[MilesSmiles]

Hi.
I saw the post regarding the snobbish folks at Bellini in S. Fl. My wife and I had an awful experience with these people that I'd like to share.
In addition to what you may have perceived there I can add that I believe that they are LIARS!!!
We were given some hand-me-down Bellini furniture. In order to match it, we went to the Bellini store in Aventura (on Sunday March 28th '04) to find a crib in the same color. They had one on the floor. We were told that if we bought that floor model that day, we could have it for $495 instead of the regular price of $700+ We bought it, putting it on our credit card but told them we didn't want it delivered until after our baby arrives in June. The next evening, I told my mother that we had purchased the crib and she had to "spill the beans" that my aunt and uncle (that had been at our home the week before and seen the hand-me-down furniture) had purchased a matching crib for us already (as a surprise) and had taken delivery on it. I called the store on Tuesday 3/30 to tell them that we wanted to cancel our order. At that point, we fully intended to go in and purchase several pieces of baby bedding and other accessories. I was told that the owner, Stanley, wouldn't be in until Wednesday afternoon and to call back the next day. After hanging up, I faxed them a formal letter to inform them of our order cancellation.
On Wednesday, my wife called and spoke with Stanley. He told her that he would cancel the order but that he would have to charge us a $70 "re-stocking" fee. He told her that the crib had been moved to his warehouse and that he would have to pay his movers to bring it back to the store and set it up again. After she told me this, I physically went to the store to talk with Stanley to see if I could work out something with him by purchasing other merchandise (rather than simply be out the $70). I arrived in the store 30 minutes after she had spoken to him on the phone. I was told that he wasn't in (he had just left) but the crib was still there and still fully "dressed" with the same bedding and the same sales tags in exactly the same position as we had seen it on Sunday.
I questioned the sales lady, Linda, about this and told her that 30 minutes prior, Stanley had told my wife on the phone that the crib was in his warehouse. At first, she said, "well the moving guys just brought it back and set it up." I pressed her and told her that I thought that she was lying to me and she got very flustered and said, "I don't want to get involved; you'll have to talk to Stanley." Then, another sales girl piped in and said that actually, the crib had been brought back and set up on Tuesday. I asked her what time and she said that they were setting it up when she arrived for work on Tuesday. Then I told her that I didn't fax the cancellation letter until almost 5:00pm on Tuesday. (They close at 5:30.) She became indignant and told me to talk with Stanley the next day.
In the end, after several phone calls over two weeks, Stanley finally told me that his accountant would credit my credit card for all except the $70.00 "re-stocking" fee. We are glad that they refunded the rest but "re-stocking" fee was a bunch of baloney. We will never do business with them again and I hope that any prospective Bellini furniture buyers in S. FL who read this will choose to take their business elsewhere.