Blueberry Minky Diapers and Wraps?

[kitmama]

I was drooling over the minky wraps from Blueberry, but know nothing about whether they work.
( http://www.blueberrydiapers.com/ )

So I hunted for some information. At first, it seemed like there are no reviews simply because the company and diapers are very new. But then, I found a series of threads at diaperswappers.com that are pretty bad:

http://www.diaperswappers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=149134
http://www.diaperswappers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=168913

But I am confused on two points:
- Many people are referring to a bunch of $5 "trial" Blueberry minky diapers, not to the regular product. Is there now a difference?

- People seem to be referring to Blueberry and Swaddlebees companies interchangeably (especially in regard to poor customer service). Anyone know why?

If everything is as bad as it appears, then I'll look elsewhere for a minky wrap. But it's all so muddled, that I hate to jump to conclusions. Does anyone here have any experience or knowledge about this?

[lizajane]

i know nothing about the diapers. i only know that minky is polyester. i don't think it would hold well as a cover and it most certainly would not absorb as a diaper.

[kitmama]

The minky is only the outer layer, to be pretty. The waterproofing comes from a layer of PUL. Apparently some minky diapers have a separate layer of PUL inside, while others have the PUL laminated to the minky.

[american_mama]

Biased and incomplete info. from me, but it seems like some people on Diaper Swappers dislike "big" diaper companies like Swaddlebees and easily get really unhappy with any problem, real or perceived, in their product or customer service. There is some relationship, don't know what, between Swaddlebees and Blueberry. I have heard some raves and some pans of the Blueberry stuff on DS, but haven't followed it closely. But I think it's individual enough that the only way you'll know if it works for you is to try it.

BTW, I think (not sure) that Berry Plush also sells minkee products.

[o_mom]

Would it work like fleece?

I was eyeing these too, but I can't find anything on the sizing on their website.

[new_mommy25]

Just got this email today:

A huge thanks for all those that had participated in the drawing for our new One Size Deluxe Pocket diaper. If your name was selected, you should have received an email notification by now.

If you didn't win, you may still be able to get the diaper at a huge discount. For the rest of the month of July, we are offering a BUY 2 GET 1 FREE promotion on any item from our store (except inserts and doublers). Choose any 2 items and get a third one FREE. You can get a One Size Minky, a diaper cover, and get a Wet Bag free! Or get any 2 pocket diapers, and get a third one free. Valid until July 31, 2007 or while supplies last.

http://www.blueberrydiapers.com/

To the OP, from what I understand, Blueberry diapers were created by the owner of Swaddlebees so they are sort of the same company. I'm not really sure though because I only lurk on diaper forums occasionaly these days.

[kitmama]

Thanks for the coupon code!

The one thing that seems most concerning is that their return policy specifies that leaking will not qualify a diaper for return. . . so if the minky laminate doesn't work well (as some people have complained), they won't accept a return. The return policy seems pretty strict. I think I'll e-mail them for some clarification.

[kitmama]

Here is the email I have sent to Blueberry- I'll be interested to see what she says!



Hello!
I am interested in purchasing a wrap and possibly a diaper or two, but I admit I have some concerns. I have read quite a bit of bad "press" on cloth diaper boards concerning the quality of the product and the lack of customer service. I know that these are not necessarily a fair representation of your company, however- so I wanted to write and ask you myself.

Regarding the quality of the product, I have seen an alarming number of people say they have had difficulty with seams that come unstitched, and several people state that the the minky-PUL laminate wicks. Understandably, these problems usually don't surface until after the diaper has been washed a couple of times. I notice that washed items are no longer eligible for return, so that concerns me. Also, 30 days is not very long when you must factor in the shipping time.

Which brings us to the customer service complaints- I know that many return policies seem very strict when read literally, but that most WAHMs are more liberal than the policy states. The strict policy is simply to give them some "wiggle room" in unreasonable circumstances. However, many people have stated that there was no concern for the quality of the product or for the customer's satisfaction when they were dealing with your company. If that is the case, I am worried that I may end up with an unusable product and no recourse to salvage the transaction.

Before accepting what I've read without question, I wanted to give you the opportunity to address my concerns.

Thanks so much for your time!
Sincerely,
Kit

[mudder17]

Good letter! I'd love to hear her response.


Eileen

http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_amethyst_36m.gif

http://www.tickercentral.com/view/6wrn/5.png

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[new_mommy25]

Sounds good. Please post the reply.

[kitmama]

Very quick reply from Blueberry! Here's what they said:


> Kit:
>
> Good Evening!!!
>
> Thank you for your honest email, comments like yours help us be a
> better company. Unfortunately, there is no magical wand I can wave to
> convince you that we have corrected all the problems that you have
> read about. As far as the reviews you have read, I will try to explain
> how they happened. Just to let you know, by no means am I trying to
> make excuses for what has happened in the past. It did happen and we
> are a better company because of those circumstances.
>
> A lot of the negative reviews for Blueberry stems from the infamous $5
> Trial pack. We had some diapers made in China for a really good price
> that we could offer to introduce cloth diapering to families
> considering cloth diapers. We thought that after several sample runs
> that we had done enough due diligence before ordering the diapers to
> be made. Unfortunately the actual diapers that were made and sent to
> us were not constructed properly and we had a lot of problems that
> ranged from elastic breaking within the first wash to wicking issues.
> The other problem you refrenced to was minky diapers leaking. We did a
> trial run of these diapers through our sister company (Swaddlebees)
> and sold a few dozen of them. The difference between those diapers and
> the new Blueberrys is the way they are manufactured. The Swaddlebees
> limited edition diapers was made with an outside layer of minky then a
> layer of PUL sewed in the middle. The PUL acted as the waterproof
> barrier. It worked well, but we did have two registered complaints of
> wicking with them. On the other hand, the Blueberrys actually have the
> Minky laminated, so it is no different than a regular PUL diaper. If
> you look at the new Minky reviews, you will see that they work
> exceptionally well for a pocket diaper.
>
> Now on to customer service. For the longest time, the company was
> soley ran by the owner, Margarita. As the compnay grew so did the
> demands of customers and retailers. We hired our first employee 10
> months ago, and since then have brought on three more. One dedicated
> to handling nothing but customer service issues. Growing pains was
> felt this year as we had to transition from a one woman company to
> having a total of five people in the company. As stated above I am not
> making excuses for our mistakes, just giving you the timeline of
> events that transpired into the BlueBerry fiasco. Our American made
> version of the trial diapers will be out within weeks and then the
> true test of our company will be at hand.
>
> The warranty period of 30 days is pretty standard in our industry and
> we mimic our fellow manufacturing peers. We are evualauting the
> warranty, but for now it is the same as stated on our website. There
> is always circustances that has to be considered with customers, but
> we feel very confident in the quality of our American made products.
> As far as shipping goes, if you order by 3PM Monday-Friday your order
> will ship out that same day. Depending on what zone you live in, you
> should have your diapers between 1-3 days. At least that way, you will
> have a good test of the diapers to see if they work for you and your
> baby.
>
> I hope this helps with your decision, but we understand that we have
> much work ahead of us to regain the trust that was lost. Have a
> stellar weekend and please do not hesitate to contact me with any
> questions or comments.
>
--
Casey McClure
Director of Sales
Blueberry Diapers




Well, that does clear a few things up! I do feel a little more comfortable giving the diapers a try- but I sure hope there's not a problem with them, because they still sound a bit rigid on the return policy. At least they were very prompt answering my email, and it sounds like they really want to regain a good name in the CD world.

Anyhow, I hope this is helpful to anyone else who was curious.