Mothercare Baby Plan - is it worthwhile?

gingois

Hi,

We've just started trying to get our head around the things we need to buy before our first baby is born.

The staff in Mother Care told us about "Baby Plan" - basically we can commit to getting everything from Mother Care, pay for it all in dribs and drab until the week of the birth when the balance is due.

In return you get £100 of vouchers.

Are these as good as money, (like a gift voucher or club card voucher) or are they odd buts of money off things that we don't necessarily need?

Has anyone used the scheme?
And should I even be buying stuff at Mothercare anyway - are there places I can get the same stuff cheaper?

Sorry if this has all been asked and answered elsewhere, but I didn't feel I join in on any of the other pregnancy thread conversations as they seemed for the mums to be not the dads to be (no criticism, just an observation!).

Cheers

shellsuit

NO they're not straight forward vouchers - they are money off coupons really.

I received some and they were for £5 off a £30 spend on baby clothes/£10 off a travel cot etc etc...

I looked at mine and put them in the bin.

I used the scheme, it was fine, was simple and the goods were delivered promtly on the expected date (you choose the date for delivery, but it must be after the balance has been paid).

One more thing - you can't actually place an order with them for everything you want - it's only certain items than you can put on the baby plan. (Large items mainly, you couldn't, for example, put baby clothes, or nappies on it)

I ordered a pram, car seat, cot, cot top changer and a cot mattress on mine.

You can find stuff much cheaper, it just depends on what you have your heart set on buying.

Hope that helps

shellsuit

Here's a link to the baby plan info online :

http://www.mothercare.com/baby-plan-Other-pages/b/197669031

Link to the online catalogue which has in it what you can put on the baby plan

http://content.yudu.com/A11g4p/BabyPlanJan2009/resources/index.htm?referrerUrl=mothercarewebsite

elainew

I wouldnt personally. You really "dont" need all the things people say you need and especially out of Mothercare. Get ebaying or car boots--ive seen the most beautiful moses baskets and baby baths going for a few quid there--all in perfect condition.
Charity shops are another place to get some blooming good bargains.
I gaurentee you dont need half of what you think you do xx

fernliebee

Personally I wouldn't bother. I managed to find a lot of really good quality second hand items, and got given lot's of stuff from friends etc. I find mothercare very expensive and so usually order from kiddicare or similar online. Only a guess, but I'm sure you could save more than the £100 they are offering, if you bought it elsewhere! I did go into mothercare and babies r us to find what I wanted so I could properly look at it and see if I liked it, then ordered it online. I also loved trawling round different places and 'collecting' all the baby bits together, I think half the fun for me would have been taken out of it had I bought it all in one shop. Whatever you decide have fun preparing for your new addition! x

Glamazon

You can probably get things cheaper online and using cashback sites will also help. Why not price up the things you would want from Mothercare, see where you can get cheaper and whether the £100 in vouchers is worth it?

I have been buying things second hand as we are not fussed about getting everything new just mattresses and car seats.

We have some dads to be on the MSE pregnancy thread - they just ask questions when they want some advice. We don't bite, you can just bob on and ask a question we won't be offended if you don't chat EVERY day like we do!! Also, some of the girls who already have kids have some real 'essential' lists and things for hospital bags etc. Just ask.

Good luck with it all - I'm expecting my first as well.

myaccount08

I'd also say buy online, even if you want new items you can still get them from ebay - just click the 'new' option in the search bar.

I like the quality of clothes from next and mothercare so i sometimes type them in and search baby and all new items come up from those stores from only 99p, much better than £15 in the shop!! The money you save from doing that would far outweigh any savings you could make from their coupons.

sismith42

One place to get the same (or better) stuff cheaper is http://www.kiddicare.com (that's where we got our pram system, and)... They do seem to be the same price as Sainsburrys for things like nappies, wipes, etc (but without the Necter points or the ocasional sale), and if you're looking at real nappies, their Smart Nappy system is supposed to be quite good (waiting for my first to arrive so can't really comment!). Can't help with the money-off thing, nor the savings plan thing (but I suspect it'd make sense only if that was the cheapest, or if you didn't have a 0% APR credit card to use).
Steph

RLH33

I have used kiddicare.com quite a lot and have never had any problems, they usually work out cheaper than anywhere else on things as well - especially car seats.

Look for your local NCT (National Childbirth Trust) sales as well. They are really good for bits and bobs, clothes etc. I have saved a fortune from these sales.

gingois

Thanks very much for all the good info, especially for links to kiddicare and for the info on the vouchers (they sound pretty useless!).

I was already thinking of Mothercare and Babies R Us (which is next door to my local mothercare, how handy) as being a showroom for me to test things before buy online, so I'll be going down that route.

Thanks a million guys - and all our best wishes to those of you who are expecting at the moment as well.

squashy

Hmm I'd be cautious about paying in advance for ANYTHING in the current economic climate...