Think twice before buying from Internet Stroller Boutique-Rant

[lmarcam]

My Valco stroller and bassinet were purchased from a stroller queen recc. boutique located a long distance from me, and thus far, my experience has been pretty negative. Both were ordered in willow, but the bassinet arrived in box marked "plain navy." After freaking out that I had received two different color products, I eventually opened the bassinet box to discover that a willow bassinet had been repackaged in the navy bassinet box (both boxes came from the retailer, and were not drop-shipped from the manufacturer).

Two days later, I realized that the repackaged bassinet was sent without the parts necessary to attach it to the stroller (I believe that the insect screen is also missing). I'm sure (hope) that the retailer will address this in short order, but am a little at a loss as to why I received the bassinet in something other than its original packaging without all of the parts present.

Further, in transit, the stroller had a ball bearing fall out of the wheel, which I didn't realize until the stroller had been assembled, resulting in a jammed wheel. I spent all Friday on the phone with the manufacturer and others trying to find someone local who could fix the problem, so the stroller didn't need to be sent back (which would have put it out of commission for several weeks). Obviously, this wasn't the retailer's or manufacturer's fault, but would have been a lot easier to deal with if I could just bring the stroller to someonle locally and have them deal with it.

In short, if I had to do it all over again, I would have purchased the stroller locally because all of these problems would have been much quicker to resolve. I haven't mentioned the retailer's name because mistakes happen to everyone, and I want to give them an opportunity to address the problem. Also, I am one week from my due date and not sure that I'm not unreasonably annoyed by these issues because of the late stage of my pregnancy. Still, I hope others can benefit from my experience.

[strollerqueen]

Wow, I am sorry! {{{hugs}}} Is there anything I can do to help?

[lmarcam]

Oh, thanks for the offer, but I did talk with the store today, and I think I should have the missing part by the end of the week. I didn't mean to suggest that the store was bad; I know that things like this just happen, particularly when things get busy. However, all of the relatively minor issues I've had would have been a million times easier to resolve if I could just get into my car and go see the retailer (I'm sure I'd still be equally annoyed that they occured but I'm blaming that on pregnancy hormones). As a newbie mom, however, the value of ordering from someone within driving distance, instead of the other coast, didn't occur to me, I thought the reputation of the store should be the overriding factor, but in retrospect, it probably shouldn't have been.

[jesseandgrace]

Sometimes local stores can be worse! I bought a brand new stroller and when I took it out of the box the wheel was broken off. I went back ASAP, and they gave me a hard time about returning it, and this was a store with good customer service in general! It sounds like your store is working hard to correct the problem, hang in there! I'm sorry you had to go through such a hassle with a new, expensive product, that is very frustrating. But, on the plus side that willow color looks gorgeous, I hope you will get to enjoy it soon.

[dietre_g]

I have just been debating the same thing!! I have chosen a stroller and was considering ordering it online to save 10% or so. My husband suggested that I order it at a boutique in town that has been particularly helpful and reminded me that if I had any problems, they would be easier to solve if the store was here. We did just that, but of course I have been second guessing my decicision all weekend. Now, you have helped me put to rest my anxiety over the decision. I am sure that my hormones are also at fault for my worrying and chronic over thinking, but I feel much better now. Thanks for sharing your experience.

New Mom to Be,
Dietre F.

[strollerqueen]

Yeah, I have to agree with Jennifer. I bought a stroller from The Right Start locally, which broke after using it three times! They refused to take it back, even though I had bought like a million things from them, was an excellent customer, and had never tried to return anything before!

So I guess it just depends on the store. I am glad they are working it out for you, and I hope it is resolved quickly.