Gymboree - Lots of great children's clothes - watch for the sales
Written: Apr 15 '04 (Updated Oct 02 '04)
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With two children and one on the way I have lots of opportunities to shop for children's clothing and lots of pressure to shop for bargains in a time-efficient manner since dragging two children through the mall is no fun. I have been a customer of Gymboree, both the e-store and mall stores for years.
MERCHANDISE
Gymboree carries clothes for kids from newborn to around age 7. The clothes are organized into collections of coordinating colors and styles. There are some shoes, baby blankets, toys and accessories but the vast majority of offerings are the clothes.
PRICES
Gymboree prices start on the high end but they mark clothes down frequently until they are up to 70% off. If you love a particular item - of course get it right away. However, prices drop as you wait. The first mark-downs might come only a few weeks after items appear in the store. Since there are always markdowns, this is a store you can shop for bargains.
WEB SITE
The web site does not offer as much as the stores do. However, there is still a decent selection. Like the stores, the web site organizes the clothing into collections so you can easily find matching pieces.
CHECKOUT (warning - contains a rant)
I understand that stores want to track my purchases. Under the guise of "convenience" for the shopper they save your profile and then sell your information to whoever will buy it. Gymboree is no exception. When I tried to check out, the site asked for my email and password. Of course, it has been several months since I last shopped at Gymboree and my brain can only contain about 3 passwords at any given time. So, there was no way I could remember. The site didn't offer a prompt or password reminder. I tried to bypass the password screen by registering as a new user, but the site recognized my email address and wouldn't let me register as a new user. Instead, the only way to proceed was to let the site email my password and then go retrieve it. I was forced to return to my email, log on there, wait 5 minutes for the email from Gymboree with my password, then return to Gymboree so I could complete the password process. I almost abandoned my shopping mission due to time and aggravation but ultimately forged ahead. After I entered my password, the site called up my name and address (that was all I gained for 10 minutes of aggravation). I still had to enter my credit card information. After that, I confirmed my order and was done.
SHIPPING
Another hassle with this store is that they don't clearly display shipping costs until the final screen. I searched the site and found the costs burried under "help" and then "shipping services." The costs from the site are as follows:
Purchase Amount Standard Delivery
$0 - $20 $4.95
$20.01 - $60 $6.95
$60.01 - $100 $8.95
$100.01 - $140 $10.95
$140.01 - $180 $12.95
$180.01 and over $14.95
I think the shipping costs are rather high, which is probably why they are so hard to find on the site. Occasionally, they run specials of free shipping on orders over $100.
STEALS AND DEALS
Gymboree runs various promotions. The promotions are listed on the web site and are open to anyone. If you sign up for email notifications from the site, they will let you know when a promotion or sale starts. The amount of emails is limited - maybe one every few weeks so you won't get bombarded.
I searched the web for coupons and didn't find anything that wasn't already listed clearly on the site. As far as I can tell, Gymboree does not participate in rebate sites such as Upromise.com.
CUSTOMER SERVICE
I got an email when my order was placed, confirming that it was received. I also got an email when my order shipped. My order shipped two days after I placed it. I received my items four days after I placed my order
PACKAGING
Each item was in a plastic bag and then everything was placed in a sturdy box. The box could be reused to return any unwanted items.
RETURNS
You can make returns to any store or you can mail them back to Gymboree.
FINAL RECOMMENDATION
I like Gymboree's merchandise and can often find sale items for good prices. The web site was easy to navigate although I didn't care for the checkout process. Shipping costs are high but items arrived quickly. I have been buying from Gymboree for years and would definitely buy from them again.
DO YOU LIKE TO SHOP ON THE INTERNET? HERE ARE SOME MORE REVIEWS OF WEB STORES:
Clothing and Accessories: Talbots; The Gap; CWD Kids; Hanna Andersson; J. Jill; Tote Le Monde ; Blu Pyxie ; Miniboden; One Hanes Place; Nordstrom; Simple Shoes; Sierra Blue.
Clothing and Home Goods: Land’s End; Bluefly; Soft Surroundings; Garnet Hill; Sundance; L.L. Bean.
Home and Garden: Smith & Noble; Restoration Hardware; Gardener’s Supply Company; Unicahome; Homeclick; FaucetDirect; Gardens Alive; West Elm; Crate & Barrel; MyKnobs.
Books and Magazines: Amazon.com; ValueMags; Magazine Values; Dover Publications.
Office Supplies, Furniture and Services: Staples; Officemax; Topdeq; Efax.
Electronics: HP Shopping; Buy.com.
Travel: Amtrak; Hotwire; Orbitz; Hotels.com.
Discount: Overstock.com; Target.
Photo Developing: Shutterfly; Snapfish.
Baby Stuff: Babystyle; Baby’s Here Birth Announcements.
Miscellaneous: 1-800 contacts; Movie Tickets.com; Drugstore.com.
Rebate Sites: Upromise; Ebates.
Recommended:
Yes
What product did you purchase or try to purchase? childrens clothes
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