Registry Consultants

I don't have any experience with Macy's or Williams Sonoma, but I completely understand what you're saying about BB&B. We happened to be there one weekend while another couple was completing their registry and saw the consultant pressuring them into items they didn't want or need. We registered with them online and downloaded the app to our phones. The app has a built in scanner that works just like the store's scanners. We went and added all of our items without any hassle.

We registered at B,B,&B and we were able to tell our "advisor" that we were good to go, once she showed us how to use the scanner thingy, but some people are more tone deaf to the "leave us alone" vibe. I think it just depends on the store/"advisor" - sucks that you had a bad time with it though. As I recall, we were able to add/delete/change things at home, so that may be the best way for you to do it, since people at your store are pushy. I don't know about Macy's or Williams Sonoma, as far as requirements though.

Yeah we were taken aback by the experience too! Kinda felt like a waste of time! Halfway through, we just told her, hey we're going to wander around by ourselves for a bit and she left us to do our own thing and that's when we really got the registry work in. I went back a second time and told them it was just to do a refill and they just handed me the scanner and let me do my own thing! Try to go back and just do it on your own! You'll get so much more done!

Also I disliked how she kept telling us to register for the most expensive of everything because it was our wedding and people would buy it for us. We are inviting 278 guests, but only 27 items are over $100 because we didn't want people to think we were greedy haha!

Weird. I didn't have that experience at BBB (maybe because I went by myself?). My hubby would have freaked out if we were there more than 20 minutes... let alone 2 hours. I would just be blunt with the sales person that you'd like to explore on your own and will come back for help. Macy's was the same experience...I got the instructions on using the zapper and was then left alone to explore.

Daughter registered at Macy's (as well as Kohl's, but they discontinued their registry since then). We went to both stores on our own to look and she chose what she wanted. At Macy's we briefly worked with a "consultant," but she basically set up the registry site and gave daughter a bunch of freebies/discounts/coupons, and then let us do our own thing -- absolutely no pressure. Daughter set up the Kohl's registry online since they didn't even have an option to do it in store with an associate. As time went on, she added and subtracted stuff online from both sites as she wanted to. Overall, she was really happy with her experiences with both (except for the fact that the Kohl's site did a terrible job of tracking what was actually purchased, so she ended up with some duplicates -- I think that was a big factor in them discontinuing their registry; they just didn't have the computer infrastructure to do it well). She considered Target for some of the less expensive items, but decided against it because she read a lot of feedback that they change their stock so frequently that things on registries are frequently no longer available. She didn't consider BBB because she'd heard they were really pushy, and because she thought they were kind of expensive. The good news about Macy's is that they have huge sales and tons of coupons constantly. (The regular price on the one item was about $400, but an aunt got it on sale with additional discounts/coupons for $135....) Also, Macy's carries a LOT of name brand china, crystal and flatware, etc., so they had a much better selection on those items than the retailers she considered.

I've heard this several times from people that used Bed Bath and Beyond. That's why we used Amazon, I didn't need help with the registry at all and just wanted us to do it online.

We did BB&B, but out "advisor" literally just asked if we had any questions or wanted our help, and then left us with a scanner to roam the store. We also did Amazon, and honestly, I like their registry way better - letting people donate toward a high dollar item is really simple, which is nice since we've been living together for 5+ years and don't need many small things.

We are using BB&B too! we started the registry through the app and when we had gone into the store we used their scanners but told them we were all set with an advisor so they let us do our thing. I mean walking around with a stranger advising you on what kind of stuff you need really takes the fun out of it.. Just go back and be honest with them tell them your all set just to give you the scanner so you guys can enjoy it and not feel pressured

Well your first problem was setting up an appointment with an adviser to begin with lol. You can go in anytime you want and set up the registry without an adviser walking you around. The guy who set us up tried to push buying singular plates and to add "this many items" but we told him we were walking around alone. They just want money. You can go back any time yourself with just your FH and add to it or rather just add stuff online.. They think they're the only store you're gonna order from but really most people have more than one registry these days. Honestly my walmart registry has more stuff on it than BB&B.

I had heard about this prior to registering, but honestly, we had a great experience with BB&B. The adviser handed us a scanner and told us where to find her if we needed help. At the end when we turned in the scanner, we asked her a few questions and that was it. We ended up adding more afterwards online that they didn't have in store. Overall, I would recommend BB&B. I also like how the app notifies you whenever a gift is bought (not sure if other stores do this or not).

I HATED Bed Bath and Beyond for this reason alone. We did the same exact thing! My poor husband wanted to die walking around that store. We thought it would be so fun and like the movies. We registered for a ton of things in store we felt pressured into as well then we actually decided to delete the whole registry and go elsewhere. We ended up with Target and Crate and Barrel. We felt the pressure from our consultant to register for a bunch of crap we didn't need or want and I'm SO THANKFUL we didn't register for the navy blue china we were pressured into, we never would have used it.

We didn't make an appointment, so there wasn't an "advisor" there. Just an employee who showed us how to work the scanner, and was available to help if we had questions. She did kind of ignore FH, but I think that's because she was flustered and not used to the department.

We probably should have utilized her more, but we went in the evening and didn't want to take too long.

Yeah, we had the same experience. It was terrible. I know they're just trying to help, but after 3 hours of the lady we got stuck with, I wanted to scream. Wish we would have just done it online!