Yesterday I began a review of the 10 Tips for Creating a Wedding Registry, an article on Bankrate.com. Wedding registries have become big business, and many couples waste a lot of time, and money (both their own and that of their guests) by registering for unnecessarily expensive items, or catchy products with high expenses. Here are tips six through ten, and my commentary.
6. Do Check for a Completion Package. Some retailers will offer a discount on unpurchased registry items. I never knew this, but it sure makes sense. The retailers just want to sell you their stuff. If someone didn't buy it for you, they will sweeten the deal and get you to buy it. I like this idea, but should be used with discretion.
7. Do Become a Connoisseur of Household Essentials. The advice recommends that you become an expert in things like thread count. This is nonsense. Most people register for things way nicer (and more expensive) than they would normally buy for themselves. Why is a wedding considered a time to suddenly become very materialistic in your household items. If the "bed in a bag" worked before you got married, why do you need to buy 1000 thread count Egyptian cotton after your wedding day.
8. Do Ask That Your Address Remain Hidden, But On File. This is a good idea. Wedding registries are very public, and anyone can find you by a simple name search. There is no reason they need to know that you registered for some fancy silverware, crystal vases and live at 111 Elm Street.
9. Do Appoint a Reliable Person to Check on Your House While You Are Honeymooning. "You don't want a bunch of Crate & Barrel boxes sitting on you porch," the article reminds us. Again, good advice.
10. Do Consider Keeping Duplicate Gifts. Consider? Maybe. I guess it depends on what type of gift they are talking about. Fragile wine glasses, as they mention? Sure. Mostly, I would want to haul it right back to the store. I'm not interested in incurring the opportunity cost of sitting on extra stemware, as well as the storage for who know how long.
We registered with Crate and Barrel and they offer 10% off your registry items after your wedding. This ended up working great because we had been given a number of CB gift cards as gifts, so we were able to use those and the discount after our big day!
Posted by: Amanda | July 13, 2006 at 10:47 AM
Thanks for the comments Amanda. I didn't even think about the gift cards that we will likely receive. Good idea to take that opportunity to take advantage of the discount.
I love the idea of registering at Target. We'll probably do C&B and Target. Everyone I know registers at Macys and C&B. I like C&B's stuff, and they are fairly reasonably priced. Macys is kind of pricey. Target kicks butt!
Posted by: lamoneyguy | July 13, 2006 at 04:03 PM
Interesting tips - having gone through registering recently, these are the two I'd add:
1.) Start online - you can do a lot of the "set-up" on your own, then go to the store and add whatever you want without having to wait for the employee to enter all your info.
2.) Have some idea of what you want beforehand - otherwise it can get really overwhelming in the store, and you don't want to end up in a fight with your FI over the color of towels.
3.) Know the store's return policy - some places are much better than others. You may end up with duplicates, or you may just change your mind about things. A store with a flexible return policy gives you many more options.
One more note - be careful with Target. They don't have the best reputation with their registries. I'm sure lots of people have used them successfully, but they are known for discontinuing things quickly, items not "counting" when purchased (online or in the store) and they don't have the best return policy.
We registered at Bed Bath & Beyond, and LOVED it. They've got a fantastic return policy and treat you SO well. Best of luck wherever you choose to register!
Posted by: Karen | July 14, 2006 at 09:06 AM
Great tips Karen. Good to know about Target. I love shopping there, but you're right, actually registering there might be a different story. I have also considered BB&B. I hear you can return items for cash, true?
Posted by: lamoneyguy | July 14, 2006 at 09:36 AM
Oops... I originally had two tips, then went back and added the third. I CAN count!
If the item was on your registry, then yes, you can return it for cash. No gift receipt needed - your registry is your receipt. We had no problem returning anything to them, and if something broke, they let us exchange it, no questions.
BB&B also offers a completion discount of 10% - plus those constant 20% off coupons (and you can use up to 5 at a time). I definitely recommend them!
Posted by: Karen | July 14, 2006 at 12:12 PM