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Question:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->I noticed that a lot of people are registering at SM.  This is what we did, >with mixed results.  Make sure you register at C&B or some other store also, >because >(1) Some people will not check to see where you are registered.  C&B will >come immediately to mind when they think of a bridal gift.  I know it’s >expensive and you don’t want your guests to waste money, but the alternative >is an unwanted gift. >(2) Some people who know you are registered at SM may not have an outlet >near them and they may not want to try and mail order. >(3) Your Mom or your fiance’s Mom just may not want to let on that you’re >crass enough to register at SM.  We suspect my fiance’s Mom of doing this. >Every time we talk to her on the phone I tell my husband "ask her if she >told anyone where we were registered, just ask her, go ahead", but so far he >had convieniently forgotten. >Good Luck and may you not end up with two crystal vases, two crystal bowls, >two silver ice buckets and a bunch of "display china" like we did. >  Ewww!  Were you at least able to return things, I hope?

Sadly, no.  And I’m not tellin’ here what’s going to happen to them . The worst thing was a little figurine that came all the way from England. Don’t get me wrong, we were so happy to see these relatives that we took them to dinner a total of three times before the wedding (even after opening the gift!).   >Personally, I’ve HEARD of SM (because of game shows, no less), and I’ve HEARD >of C+B (but have never seen one or been to one); here in the northwest, the >only places I’ve ever heard of people registering are The Bon and REI.  I >know REI opened a store in the DC area; I have NO idea how far the Bon >extends..take that back; I know there’s on in Utah; it must be pretty much >most of the West, at least; does anyone know if there’s any Bon stores >further east?  

I would love to have registered at REI, but I don’t think my husband would have gone for it. Valerie

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- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – >I noticed that a lot of people are registering at SM.  This is what we did, >with mixed results.  Make sure you register at C&B or some other store also, >because >(1) Some people will not check to see where you are registered.  C&B will >come immediately to mind when they think of a bridal gift.  I know it’s >expensive and you don’t want your guests to waste money, but the alternative >is an unwanted gift. >(2) Some people who know you are registered at SM may not have an outlet >near them and they may not want to try and mail order. >(3) Your Mom or your fiance’s Mom just may not want to let on that you’re >crass enough to register at SM.  We suspect my fiance’s Mom of doing this. >Every time we talk to her on the phone I tell my husband "ask her if she >told anyone where we were registered, just ask her, go ahead", but so far he >had convieniently forgotten. >Good Luck and may you not end up with two crystal vases, two crystal bowls, >two silver ice buckets and a bunch of "display china" like we did.

  Ewww!  Were you at least able to return things, I hope? Personally, I’ve HEARD of SM (because of game shows, no less), and I’ve HEARD of C+B (but have never seen one or been to one); here in the northwest, the only places I’ve ever heard of people registering are The Bon and REI.  I know REI opened a store in the DC area; I have NO idea how far the Bon extends..take that back; I know there’s on in Utah; it must be pretty much most of the West, at least; does anyone know if there’s any Bon stores further east?     I hadn’t even thought about how my relatives on the east coast (not a lot of them, but they are the ones with the most money to spend) were going to know what we wanted.  Maybe I should ask them what store(s) out there they would think appropriate.  I know everyone who lives around here (most of our friends and relatives) will think of the Bon first, though; other people who have lots of relatives out here in the west might want to see about registering there, too, even if you don’t live near one.   -Sandy

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>I would love to have registered at REI, but I don’t think my husband would >have gone for it.

Gee, if my husband had known that one could register at REI, I doubt he would have brooked registering anywhere else.    ;-) —                                                 —  Michal Impressive amounts of material can be accreted in this manner.

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Yes, Crate and Barrel is in the northeast.  Frankly, I always thought they started there. They have a store in Boston, at Copley Place, and in Cambridge, at Harvard Square.  They also have a discount outlet in Woburn, Massachusetts. There may be more stores in New England, but I don’t know offhand. Julian C. Lander

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I keep seeing Crate and Barrel and Service Merchandise mentioned in posts. I live in Seattle, and we don’t have either of those stores in this area.  I had heard of C&B due to catalog sales, but on this newsgroup was where I first heard of SM.  I am mentioning this so that people will recognise that some widely spread out chain stores are not *everywhere*. If you do plan to register at one of them, I do reccomend checking if that store is in all the areas you have guests living in.  Of course, here in Seattle it’s so provincial, that we are still getting around in horse-drawn carriages…  :) On the other hand, I noticed that most of the out of town guests waited until they got here to shop anyway.  After we had registered at a store in my husband’s family’s area.  The people who sent gifts from out of town sent either items they selected themselves, or sent checks (what a pity ).  Only a few out of towner’s purchased at the out of town registry. We did check out Penney’s because they are in most locations, but I was very unimpressed with how they handle registry.  Why bother… We came close to registering at Pier 1 imports – also in most locations.   (For our casual dinnerware and table linens) They were wonderful.  But then we found dinnerware we prefered at another store.  I thought registering was alot of work, so I don’t advocate registering at lots of stores, but I do think registering at a good department store likely to be shopped at by "the relatives" while you are visiting is a good thing to do.  And I’ll also note that of the 2 stores (both with multiple locations) we registered at locally, most of the guests shopped at the one that is in all the major malls.  Sadly, it had the less interesting merchandise.   Oh well … Kaye Trimbath                   *   Data I/O Corporation            *   voice: (206) 867-6230           *

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– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->I noticed that a lot of people are registering at SM.  This is what we did, >with mixed results.  Make sure you register at C&B or some other store also, >because >(1) Some people will not check to see where you are registered.  C&B will >come immediately to mind when they think of a bridal gift.  I know it’s >expensive and you don’t want your guests to waste money, but the alternative >is an unwanted gift. >[other stuff deleted] >Interesting.  I’m from the northeast, and had never heard of Crate & >Barrel before a friend of my fiance’s mentioned that he was registering >there.  Apparently there are stores around the Chicago area, where >he’s from, but when we tried to find a location either in the northeast >or southern Michigan (where we’re living now) we had no luck.  Are >these stores nationwide?

We had to worry about Washington D.C., San Francisco and Chicago.  There are C&B in these locations.   I’m not sure about elsewhere. Valerie

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asks: > Interesting.  I’m from the northeast, and had never heard of Crate & > Barrel before a friend of my fiance’s mentioned that he was registering > there.  Apparently there are stores around the Chicago area, where > he’s from, but when we tried to find a location either in the northeast > or southern Michigan (where we’re living now) we had no luck.  Are > these stores nationwide?

I think the only Crate & Barrel in Michigan is in the Twelve Oaks Mall, in Troy (Detroit area). But they must also have a store in the Boston area; my brother and his wife got me some C&B stuff last Christmas. Last time I looked at a C&B catalogue (at my bro’s house — I don’t get one (yet)), they had a list of all their locations in it. It wasn’t a very long list, though. Maybe 20 stores nationwide. Don’t know if that helps or not.         Clare

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>I noticed that a lot of people are registering at SM.  This is what we did, >with mixed results.  Make sure you register at C&B or some other store also, >because >(1) Some people will not check to see where you are registered.  C&B will >come immediately to mind when they think of a bridal gift.  I know it’s >expensive and you don’t want your guests to waste money, but the alternative >is an unwanted gift.

[other stuff deleted] Interesting.  I’m from the northeast, and had never heard of Crate & Barrel before a friend of my fiance’s mentioned that he was registering there.  Apparently there are stores around the Chicago area, where he’s from, but when we tried to find a location either in the northeast or southern Michigan (where we’re living now) we had no luck.  Are these stores nationwide? We ended up registering ourselves at Service Merchandise too, as the databases across the country are immediately updated once someone makes a purchase from the registry.  One thing to watch out for, though:  when we got our list of choices from them in the mail after we registered, we noticed that many of the items we wanted were either unavailable or discontinued.  (It varies from store to store what they have available, though if they’re about to discontinue something from their catalog, you might have a hard time finding it.) They’ll list substitutes you may want to add to your registry instead.  If we hadn’t noticed this, almost 1/3 of the items we put on our list wouldn’t have shown up on the printout when people went to see what we’d selected.  Almost inevitably, the discontinued items were the least expensive ones, but the prices there are usually still cheaper than elsewhere. Sarah Lynn Lewis (on my fiance’s account) — Pete Nesbeitt               | "And what is good, Phaedrus, Computer Science Department |  And what is not good — Michigan State University   |  Need we ask anyone to tell us these things?"

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I noticed that a lot of people are registering at SM.  This is what we did, with mixed results.  Make sure you register at C&B or some other store also, because (1) Some people will not check to see where you are registered.  C&B will come immediately to mind when they think of a bridal gift.  I know it’s expensive and you don’t want your guests to waste money, but the alternative is an unwanted gift. (2) Some people who know you are registered at SM may not have an outlet near them and they may not want to try and mail order. (3) Your Mom or your fiance’s Mom just may not want to let on that you’re crass enough to register at SM.  We suspect my fiance’s Mom of doing this. Every time we talk to her on the phone I tell my husband "ask her if she told anyone where we were registered, just ask her, go ahead", but so far he had convieniently forgotten. Good Luck and may you not end up with two crystal vases, two crystal bowls, two silver ice buckets and a bunch of "display china" like we did. Valerie

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– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->Hey Gang — >Sorry I didn’t pay more attention to this when the thread went around >before, but I’m wondering what stores are good places to register. I >recall that when this was discussed before, it was mentioned that some >stores, even though they may be "nationwide" chains DO NOT maintain >nationwide registries (the wish list may be available nationwide, but >it’s not necessarily kept updated nationwide when items are purchased). >We’ve got friends and family on both coasts as well as the midwest, >so a nationwide chain would definitely be nice. We just registered at >Crate & Barrel (which DOES keep the purchase record updated nationwide). >But the truth is that I wasn’t really happy with what we had to choose >from (e.g., we didn’t register for plates, etc. — it may have been >the particular Crate & Barrel that was maybe smaller than others). >Please post or send email — I’ll post a summary of whatever mail I >receive. >Thanks! >    Clare

Hi Clare, Crate and Barrel is a good choice in terms of registry, since it is one of the places people think of first and they’re around everywhere.  (I wouldn’t necessarily shop there for myself, however – a little overpriced and faddish).  Besides that the only thing I can think of is to register as many places as possible!  If you go home on a visit, register at a bunch of places.  Register where you live at a bunch of places. We’re in the Chicago area and have relatives on both coasts.  We really liked the selection and prices at Service Merchandise and they have mail order so we registered there.  Then we registered at Crate and Barrel just to be safe.  Most of our friends went to SM.  His younger family members stopped by Crate and Barrel and found out we were registered there and picked presents up there.  His older family members sent us a lot of glass bowls and pitchers and silver things.  My family did the SM thing. The moral of the story is that you can’t always rely on people to check where you are registered, but many times if they shop at a particular store they’ll check to see if you’re on the computer.  Therefore, registering at a few major stores in each area is a good idea. Valerie

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 Just a quick note on the registry posts. Don’t be scared off by small local shops. We registered at a family-owned china/crystal/jewlery store here in Cleveland, and they are very willing to help out-of-towners over the phone. In fact, we’ve already gotten gifts from relatives who ordered everything by phone.  The prices at this particular store were great and the service has been even better, so don’t think you *have* to use only the big-name national stores. —

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>I recommend Service Merchandise.  They update their computers >nationwide and have a good selection of everything.  The only things

I am registering with Service Merchandise also.  Dan and I registered all the expensive, shiny stuff with a mail order china discount store in New Jersey called Nat Shwartz. I REALLY recomend this place.  It is a single store that does mail order, they have a 1-800 number and everyone I spoke with was very polite.  If you are registering, or have a registry question, you’ll talk with Marilyn, she knows all the registry stuff.  When people call to order for you they can talk with anyone there and, since it’s all computerized and in the same building, it is updated very quickly.  They have my china for $70 5pc place setting, including postage and insurance, while Macy’s had it for $105!  If you are hoping for china, crystal, and silver, call them (try 1-800-555-1212 ask for the number) So far, Service Merchandise has been ok, not great, not spectacular, but ok.  I was a little put off by the automated phonbe system but was relieved to know that if you hit 4 for "order from a registry" it asks you to hold and you talk to a person.  Knowing some of my family and they way they speak to answering machines I wouldn’t get any gifts (not that I’m expecting any, that would be pretentious)!  SM has most of the stuff we want at reasonable prices and the big bonus, a real-time-updated NATIONAL database for registries.  With family spread all up the eastern coast, that is the biggest plus.   Joan — Joan C. Maxfield                * "Je Crois que je vais cracher une

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Hey Gang — Sorry I didn’t pay more attention to this when the thread went around before, but I’m wondering what stores are good places to register. I recall that when this was discussed before, it was mentioned that some stores, even though they may be "nationwide" chains DO NOT maintain nationwide registries (the wish list may be available nationwide, but it’s not necessarily kept updated nationwide when items are purchased). We’ve got friends and family on both coasts as well as the midwest, so a nationwide chain would definitely be nice. We just registered at Crate & Barrel (which DOES keep the purchase record updated nationwide). But the truth is that I wasn’t really happy with what we had to choose from (e.g., we didn’t register for plates, etc. — it may have been the particular Crate & Barrel that was maybe smaller than others). Please post or send email — I’ll post a summary of whatever mail I receive. Thanks!         Clare

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Clare Bates Congdon writes: >…I’m wondering what stores are good places to register. I >recall that when this was discussed before, it was mentioned that some >stores, even though they may be "nationwide" chains DO NOT maintain >nationwide registries (the wish list may be available nationwide, but >it’s not necessarily kept updated nationwide when items are purchased).

I’m just now starting the registry process.  I first went to Penney’s, since they’re nationwide.  Ugh!  They were not helpful at all, the worksheet was confusing, and we ended up just walking out. I figure that if I’m going to bring them hundreds of dollars in business, I should get a bit more service. I recommend Service Merchandise.  They update their computers nationwide and have a good selection of everything.  The only things we’re not registering for there are linins, fancy china, and crystal. The best part is, they’re inexpensive.  A carafe I liked at Crate and Barrel was half the price at Service.  I can’t ask friends to spend more than I’d be willing to! Another registry thought…If you register for brand name china or crystal at a nice store, you may be able to return what you get and use the money to buy twice as much at an outlet store.  Of course I realize that this might be considered rather tacky. Robin

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