here is a mamabargains.com free ship code

[mykidsmom]

FYI:

I just used 123shipforfree and it worked!

[kellij]

It didn't work for me. :(

Thanks though!

[Melbel]

I think the code was only for the stroller deal. I tried it for the insulated bag but it did not work. I am often a fan of Mambargains' products, but find the shipping prices to be exorbitant. $7.50 in shipping for a $13 Euro-Baby - Red Castle Little insulated Bag? 50%+ shipping prices are absolutely ridiculous. Needless to say, I did not place my order. I also do not like that I have to go through the entire check-out process, including the inputting of my credit card number, before the shipping cost is revealed. While I like the concept, I think that Mamabargains could really improve in this area.

[ThreeofUs]

While I like the concept, I think that Mamabargains could really improve in this area.

:yeahthat:

I think their shipping costs are really high. Though I must say, I bought 2 TL diaper bags from them and got a decent (not great, but not double) shipping price for both.

[blastomom]

I got sucked in on shipping as well--$7.50 for a small $19 bag that was light and shipped in a poly bag. By the time I had negotiated the long check-out process I just went ahead and paid the price, but I don*t think I*ll be shopping there again unless they have something I really *need*.

[mykidsmom]

somehow the free ship code worked for me when I ordered the insulated lunch bags. I also think their shipping is way too high and did not like that they do not tell you till the end of the check out process how much it will be. I got in on the $19 Fleurville Escape Pod deal but did pay $7.xx shipping for 3 bags but felt better this round when I got free shipping on 3 lunch bag coolers.

[Melbel]

To provide some feedback to the company, I emailed mamabargains re. the high shipping prices, particularly for lower priced items. I also suggested that shipping prices should be revealed earlier in the process. This is the response I received from the owner, Jessica:


Please direct that sort of negativity to ups, we have absolutely NO control over shipping prices, actually, we are giving our customers our preferred rate, against their recommendation. They told us from day one, only three months ago, that most businesses, like 99 percent of them that use ups will not give their customers their business rate, but rather profit off of them.

We have only been in business for three months!!!!!!! You can never expect a brand new company to be perfect, also if you feel that 7.50 is too much for shipping for a bag that is priced at 13 dollars, which brings your total to just 20.50, please feel free to shop elsewhere to find a better deal. You will never find a better deal on the products that we carry, which is why we price them the way that we do. We could price the bags at 50 percent off and they would still sell, because they are still a great deal! We have competitors that notoriously price at only 50 percent off, and while they ship through the postal service which has terrible tracking, tthey are still making profit off of the shipping cost, which we refuse to do!

I appreciate your feedback, but also know that our programmer is working currently on a lot of upgrades for the site, which is why the checkout is bare bones right now, it makes his coding that much easier. We have a lot of upgrades happening right now, and our many, many loyal customers are patient with us, as they know that not only are we three months old, but we are also mom owned, just ME, that's it, no business partners, just my hubby and me, and everything costs money. A flat shipping rate is on the horizon, but not until the company can afford to absorb all that extra cost!!!!!!!

Jessica

[GB]

Wow! What a rude response! Don't know if I'd ever want to give them my business if that's their response to feedback.

[mspersnickity]

She clearly lost her cool, which is not at all a good business practice. But it seems like she has some valid points, and I'm not sure it's fair to post her response without providing the full text of the email she's responding to. I'm sure you weren't rude, but maybe there was something in there that made her feel attacked? Or who knows, maybe she's having a bad week. I've emailed her before with a problem in my order (I wanted it shipped to my mom's house, and their cart wouldn't let me ship anywhere but to my billing address) and she was very friendly and apologetic.

[Melbel]

She clearly lost her cool, which is not at all a good business practice. But it seems like she has some valid points, and I'm not sure it's fair to post her response without providing the full text of the email she's responding to. I'm sure you weren't rude, but maybe there was something in there that made her feel attacked? Or who knows, maybe she's having a bad week. I've emailed her before with a problem in my order (I wanted it shipped to my mom's house, and their cart wouldn't let me ship anywhere but to my billing address) and she was very friendly and apologetic.

The complete text of my email to mamabargains:


From: xxxx
Date: Sat, 23 Aug 2008 10:57:49 +0000
To: <[email protected]>
Subject: Shipping Prices

I am often a fan of your products, but find your shipping prices to be exorbitant. $7.50 in shipping for the $13 Euro-Baby - Red Castle Little insulated Bag? Your 50%+ shipping prices are absolutely ridiculous. I also do not like that I have to go through the entire check-out process, including the inputting of my credit card number, before the shipping cost is revealed. While I like your concept, I think that you could really improve in this area.

While my email was a bit blunt as to how I felt, I did take the time to provide valuable feedback. I do not feel that a company should respond in the manner in which she did. In response to her email, I sent the following:



From:xxxx
[Add to Address Book]

To:[email protected]
Subject:Re: Shipping Prices
Date:Saturday, August 23, 2008 10:25:35 AM

Jessica,

Thanks for the prompt reply (and long one from a Blackberry). Please do not take my constructive criticism personally, I am simply trying to provide some customer feedback. I know that others also feel that the shipping is high compared to other online vendors, particularly for smaller items. As you grow, perhaps you could offer different shipping options. Additionally, you may want to consider providing a chart with shipping charges on the main page. $20.50 for a cooler bag was more than I wanted to spend for that type of product, so I did not place the order. Like I said, I think you have a great concept, but there is still some room for improvement. As one more aside, customers do not like all caps and extra !!! because it makes it feel like you are yelling. Even if you are yelling on the inside, the customer should not know it! :-)

[mnosky1]

I too got a similar toned email (but totally different wording) about a month or 2 ago: "what makes you feel entitled to free shipping when you are getting items at such a huge discount!!" I had seen a code for free shipping and it didn't seem to work so I emailed to ask if they had any shipping discounts and that I would have liked to have been able to see the price up front. I was totally turned off and have stopped checking the site daily.

[BargainMomforLuke]

ETA: Deleted post

[ILoveLucy]

When you consider the total price, including shipping, these are without a doubt amazingly great deals. I'm glad to hear they are planning to improve their checkout so that you can see the shipping price before inputting all your info, as I judge the price based on the total, not the breakdown of shipping versus product.

I don't care how much shipping is if the total price is good to me, but I do want to know the whole price upfront without putting in my info, so I haven't yet ordered from them. However, as they say, they are a young company and I really love what they've been offering. I certainly never see these kind of deals anywhere else, so hopefully I will be able to take advantage of them soon!

ETA: Do people honestly need to be "tricked" into thinking they are getting a better deal with free shipping? I guess I don't understand why someone can't add up the total and decide if that is a good deal or not. What is the difference between a $15 product with $5 shipping and a $20 product with free shipping? I understand perception matters, but when they are offering, for example, a $150 diaper bag for $40, I certainly do not expect free shipping as well. If I demand "free" shipping, I can go to Zappos and pay full price, but with these discounts, I naturally expect to pay to get it to me.

[ett]

I just want to say upfront that I'm not taking any sides to this argument, but just wanted to point out how UPS (or fedex) calculates their shipping cost. UPS and Fedex both have a minimum shipping cost, which is probably around $6-8 now, especially given the high gas prices. Yes, $7.50 to ship a $13 bag may seem high, but if you are shipping by UPS, then this is probably the lowest rate you will get. To get a lower shipping cost, you would have to use USPS (which is what a lot of companies who provide free shipping will do.) If you were to take that bag to UPS yourself to ship, it would probably cost you the same or more. If they were to charge you only $2 or $3 to ship, then they would be losing money on the shipping. The lowest shipping charges for most companies start at $5 or more, even if you order 1 item costing $1 or $2. It is definitely more economical to ship more items together as opposed to 1 item.

Now I do agree that mamabargains.com's email was pretty rude and that is certainly not the way to respond to a customer. She probably did feel a bit attacked by your email, but still should not have responded this way especially since she is running a business. She could have politely explained how UPS calculates shipping and how the programmer is still working on the checkout code.

Just my 2 cents.

[ILoveLucy]

I just want to say upfront that I'm not taking any sides to this argument, but just wanted to point out how UPS (or fedex) calculates their shipping cost. UPS and Fedex both have a minimum shipping cost, which is probably around $6-8 now, especially given the high gas prices. Yes, $7.50 to ship a $13 bag may seem high, but if you are shipping by UPS, then this is probably the lowest rate you will get. To get a lower shipping cost, you would have to use USPS (which is what a lot of companies who provide free shipping will do.) If you were to take that bag to UPS yourself to ship, it would probably cost you the same or more. If they were to charge you only $2 or $3 to ship, then they would be losing money on the shipping. The lowest shipping charges for most companies start at $5 or more, even if you order 1 item costing $1 or $2. It is definitely more economical to ship more items together as opposed to 1 item.

Now I do agree that mamabargains.com's email was pretty rude and that is certainly not the way to respond to a customer. She probably did feel a bit attacked by your email, but still should not have responded this way especially since she is running a business. She could have politely explained how UPS calculates shipping and how the programmer is still working on the checkout code.

Just my 2 cents.

All good points regarding minimum shipping costs. Also, I feel receiving that e-mail would have put me in a defensive mode as well, as it reads a little less like constructive criticism and a little more like just criticism, regardless of the spirit in which it was sent.

At any rate, I really enjoy checking out the different bargains and hope this company can make it work for both themselves and their customers!

[ett]

ETA: She probably won't end up staying in business too long with this attitude. I understand it's a new WAHM business, but adjust the prices upwards a little & offer free shipping as an incentive more often so your customer's 'think' they are getting a deal on something. Also, hire more staff if the business is exploding so quickly. I wish her the best, but I feel she does also need to listen to her customer base.

Does that mean if the bag was $18 and shipping was $2, you would be more likely to buy the bag, versus if the bag was $13 and shipping was $7. The total is still $20, so what difference would it make? When I decide whether to order something online, I decide base on the total price including shipping.

[BargainMomforLuke]

ETA: Delete post

[Melbel]

When I posted initially on this thread re. shipping, I was annoyed that after I had just went through the entire checkout process, I was surprised by what I felt was a very high shipping charge for a $13 item. Whether justifiable, or not, I felt "tricked" due to the fact that I did not see the proportionately high shipping amount until after inputting my credit card information. Similar to PPs, I also make a decision on whether to purchase something based upon the bottom line price. If I had made a much larger purchase (i.e. $100), I would not have been so put off by a $7.50 shipping charge; on the other hand, $7.50 on a $13 purchase is beyond what I personally feel is reasonable. To be fair to the company, I essentially copied my post here into an email to mamabargains.com to give them the benefit of customer feedback and to provide them with an opportunity to respond. My annoyance was reflected in the tone of my initial email even though I was trying to provide constructive advice to improve what I believe is a great concept. A brief response thanking me for the input, apologizing that I felt the way I did and a statement that they were working on resolving the issues would have sufficed in my mind. I still do not understand why it would take a programming coup to list shipping charges on the main page, even if it is a range of charges within the Continental U.S. Both babysteals.com and tottlers.com provide the shipping amount on the main page. I do not feel that I was being "inpatient" with the company considering that I just recently discovered and reported the issue. I would certainly be willing to be patient with this growing company if mamabargains' response provided assurances that they were working on resolving the issues, rather than telling me to shop elsewhere.

[Jacksmommy2b]

Wow! That is enough to turn me off to MB entirely.

Yeah - they have pretty good prices, but it's normally for stuff I wouldn't seek out, just stuff I'd buy because it would be nice to have if it were cheap enough. (like more slings for this toddler wearing nutcase :))

I also have gone through the checkout process only to close the window before ordering because the shipping was too high.

I love to shop at mama owned businesses. I buy from esty, WAHMs and www.tinysoles.com is one of my favorites. Not only because her prices are awesome (for sale stuff) and she ships for free and gives coupons, but because when I had a problem (that was totally my fault) Jenny the owner went way above and beyond to help me out and make me happy. That is what earns my loyalty. I would even be willing to pay (a little) more to shop with Jenny b/c I know her customers really matter to her.

I'm sorry, but IMO that response was really rude and unprofessional. I'm sure MB is her baby, but this is business. A simple "sorry, can't do anything about the shipping prices, thanks for your business and we love to hear your suggestions to make our business better." is all she needed.

I'm not spending any of my hard earned money there!

I just wanted to edit to add, when I decided not to purchase based on shipping, for me, was two fold. One - the stuff I would be buying wasn't stuff I needed per se, but stuff I would like to have if the price was right. And two, pretty much along the same lines, I'm sure there are plenty of things I would like to own that I can get for a great discount and shipped for free. I do alot (too much per my DH :)) of shopping online and I can't really remember the last time I paid for shipping.

For me, it is about total cost. I might be interested in a fun extra like a new sling for say $30, but I wouldn't be willing to try a new brand for $37. If it was $37 free ship I wouldn't have even opened the window.

I won't shop at MB now based only on the CS. And, I will continue to shop at TS even if she charges shipping, as long as her prices are still a good deal.

Oh and for me, a business owner only has to tell me once to shop somewhere else. Not a problem. I don't think business owners have to put up with abuse, or give things away, but if you don't want my money there are plenty of WAHMs and mama businesses that do and I would much rather support them!

[veronica]

I too have been turned off of mamabargains, for high shipping as well as the risk of not being able to return. I got sucked in a few things in the beginning and have not returned since, don't even check out the site anymore. Seeing the response from them above, turns me off even more.

We are all internet savvy buyers here-we all know how to judge for ourselves whether we are getting a good deal or not and have our own "max points" for products. Irregardless of how we all chose to value a deal, I think we all agree we like to be treated well!

[kellij]

I ordered a Timi & Leslie bag there a few months ago. When I checked out I didn't get charged any shipping. My bag didn't show up. I finally emailed about a month (or so- I really don't remember) later to ask about the bag. She called and left me a message and I think she also sent an email. I called her back. She couldn't have been nicer. She said they had called me to tell me that there had been a mistake about the shipping costs (I never received a call, so I guess it might have been to the wrong number, or something else happened with that) and that she had a follow up call for the next week but that she checked her calendar and she hadn't done that (since it wasn't checked off), so at this point they were just going to give me free shipping. I thought it was really nice and she was very nice about the whole thing.

Just a different experience for you.

[richtesting]

Hey ladies, I'm the programmer over here at mamabargains. We're a small mom-and-pop company. I'm posting this because I'd like to give you my perspective as someone who doesn't have anything to do with the deals or prices.

Jess is up every night way past midnight packing boxes and printing shipping labels. I know because I'm actually in Utah right now working on some techincal issues. She works tirelessly calling vendors to get good high-end gear to offer on her site and does all of the paperwork herself.

Shipping is high right now with UPS. That's the unfortunate fact with higher fuel prices being passed on to businesses like Mamabargains. However, I've now added a shipping estimator to the first checkout page so you can put in your zip code and see around how much your shipping will be. We have also applied to get access to U.S. Postal Service shipping rate tools for the site. As soon as Jess gets the approval, we can start shipping through USPS which should offer cheaper rates on some things.

Now, I'm not trying to get into anyone's business, but Jessica really is a honestly nice person. As a mom with two kids and a wife I'm surprised how nice and gracious she is after working late into the night every night. She's always up when I e-mail her with technical issues with the website.

Just my opinion. It's unfortunate that you had a bad experience, but that really is the exception rather than the norm with Jess.

-Rich, site programmer, mamabargains

[Melaine]

I also had a bad experience with Jessica when I mentioned a problem with my Fleurville Bag, and I spoke to another customer who had the same complaint. Her response was completely unprofessional and somewhat rude. No offense to Rich, but the fact that she works hard every night on her own business doesn't play at all in to her customer service skills or whether that business is a good one for the shopper! There are always glitches to work out in a new business and I'm sure she is overwhelmed but there's no excuse for her attitude and I really think she is going to have trouble with her no returns policy as well. I won't shop there again and I want my friends on this board to realize that even if a product arrives flawed, you will be offered no solution, no returns, only a "I'm so sorry". Also, I think the way a company handles problems, complaints and glitches is how it earns it's reputation, even if those negative experiences are few and far between.

[missym]

Just a quick clarification since there have been a few questions:

According to the rules, vendors are allowed to post on our forums in response to a question or complaint. They must clearly identify themselves, and users are free to judge the response and agree or disagree. Vendors are not allowed to promote their products or sites on the forum.

[malphy]

I ust wanted to add my 2 cents here. I worked in Customer service management for many years in various industries and I agree that the email was not the best it could be. Any communication that is not verbal can easily be read the wrong way and seem worse than it is. I also know that many more people complain than give compliments. If you get bad service you tell everyone about it and if you get good service you do not usually say much about it.

I have never had a bad exp. w/mamabargains. I know the shipping is/was an issue but as someone else said I factor shipping into the bargain. Tottlers shipping usually erases any benefit you get from their discount. I have ordered from them as well when it has been the right deal.

As has been noted on this board before mamabargains is addressing the shipping issue, so I say don't rule them out yet. (computer programming is not as easy as people think) They are new and working out their kinks. this is not a huge company it is a regular mom like you and me. Sometimes we get cranky, hopefully as she grows and the kinks work out there will be less crankiness. Cranky or not there are good deals to be had.

Buy or don't buy, it is up to you but I say cut them some slack. Like I said I had no problems with them.

that's my 2 cents, thanks

[robertrose]

Please direct that sort of negativity to ups, we have absolutely NO control over shipping prices, actually, we are giving our customers our preferred rate, against their recommendation. They told us from day one, only three months ago, that most businesses, like 99 percent of them that use ups will not give their customers their business rate, but rather profit off of them.

We have only been in business for three months!!!!!!! You can never expect a brand new company to be perfect, also if you feel that 7.50 is too much for shipping for a bag that is priced at 13 dollars, which brings your total to just 20.50, please feel free to shop elsewhere to find a better deal. You will never find a better deal on the products that we carry, which is why we price them the way that we do. We could price the bags at 50 percent off and they would still sell, because they are still a great deal! We have competitors that notoriously price at only 50 percent off, and while they ship through the postal service which has terrible tracking, tthey are still making profit off of the shipping cost, which we refuse to do!

...
Jessica

Customer service should be a number one priority. Being a (VERY) frequent shopper, mostly online, I am pretty sure I will never shop at MamaBargains. Well, unless some sick deal comes up, basically giving it away. lol.

Bad customer service is my number one turnoff. You can usually blame it on crappy customer service reps, but for goodness sakes, this is straight from the owner. I tend to be very short-fused, but at least with email, you get a chance to look at what you are actually writing and can take it back. Doesn't seem she was too worried about the tone of her response.

It is true that people may tell a couple friends about great service, but they sure will tell tons of people about crappy service. Especially if they are a Mommy on this board.

[cheaperthanmost]

the way I look at is that when I am looking for a bargain and a site has the best deal, I don't mind if it has a no return policy. I check out each site I deal with before I shop there to find out what their policy is. The deal of the day sites that are out there sell in volume and get things cheap. What does bother me is if they are dealing in seconds and don't disclose that in the information on that item. That is a different ballgame. I would think that companys like Fleurville would have stringent inspection with regards to their bags. I googled Fleurville seconds and found that Fleurville does sell seconds. I also noted that they maintain on their site that they are very careful not to sell seconds as 1sts. In regards to her being rude to customers, well we are all up many nights with sick babies, so we know how it feels to go without sleep, but then I am not running a company. Maybe she needs to get a customer service rep that is getting more sleep.

[missym]

I also had a bad experience with Jessica when I mentioned a problem with my Fleurville Bag, and I spoke to another customer who had the same complaint. Her response was completely unprofessional and somewhat rude.

She has a facebook site for feedback from customers.

http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=16608923665&topic=4523

[bandklangley]

Thought I'd put in my two cents worth as well :)
I've only had good experiences with Mamabargains. No company is perfect and I'd rather deal with a small business that some huge company that doesn't really care about their customers and are making so much money from us.
I'll definitely be shopping from Mamabargains again. They have such interesting products and great discounts.
Great to hear they are trying to make the shipping cheaper. The price of gas is making everyone's shipping costs go up!

[TahliasMom]

I placed an order back in august 16th for a fleurville bag and just realized I never received it! thanks for remininding me ladies! i cna't seem to find my order confirmation but I guess i'll email them!

[ShanaMama]

Just wanted to add my experience. Firstly, they now have shipping rates available before you check out- this bothered me as well. I ordered the Red Castle from her when it was not featured online. I emailed to ask if she still had any & got prompt and polite emails back, including a phone number. I called and ordered by phone and was able to order the carrycot with the stroller, which is not how it was featured online. She was very clear and sweet to me, gave me explicit instructions about what to expect and what not to (shipping estimate, no return, she told me it would ship in separate pieces, etc.) I've been happy with her but haven't bought anything since because it has to be almost free for me to buy something I'm not shopping for anyway.

[TahliasMom]

I placed an order back in august 16th for a fleurville bag and just realized I never received it! thanks for remininding me ladies! i cna't seem to find my order confirmation but I guess i'll email them!

i'm frustrasted now. i used the paypal single use credit card. i guess it expired before they processed it so now i'm out of luck...