Sozo USA: Too Cute, Too Expensive, Hard to Resist
Written: Oct 13 '04 (Updated Jan 10 '07)
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I recently found absolutely adorable bedding for babies made by Sozo. I first saw it on line with several merchants then at a baby boutique near my house. The quality was high and, although it is expensive, I really liked it and decided to splurge. I bought my first three items from Baby Universe because they were significantly cheaper than ordering directly through the manufacturer's site (www.sozousa.com). The problem with ordering from Baby Universe is that it took five weeks to get my items and I couldn't tell on the Baby Universe site which crib skirt I was getting since the pattern I chose came with two options. I ended up getting the wrong crib skirt and decided to go right to the manufacturer so I could get the crib skirt I wanted without waiting another five weeks.
MERCHANDISE
Sozousa sells the Sozo brand of baby bedding. They also recently introduced baby apparel although the sizes are only for the smallest babies. The themes are too cute: there are sumo wrestlers, jungle animals and koi fish to name a few. I own a bumper, sheet and crib skirts and find the bumper and crib skirts to be well-made and very high quality. The sheet is just a standard percale sheet and, while it matches the other items, I didn't find it particularly soft or special. If you want really high quality sheets, consider Garnet Hill. I have used the flannel crib sheets from that company through three children. The only downside is that Garnet Hill doesn't always have matching bumpers and crib skirts.
WEB SITE
Sozo has definitely invested quite a bit in their web site with all the cute graphics. The web site does a good job of showing the merchandise and, unlike other web merchants that carry Sozo bedding, this site offers all of the coordinating pieces.
ORDERING
The ordering process was not that easy. I had to enter my billing address. For some reason, even though I checked the box that billing and shipping were the same, I had to retype all of the same information for shipping. I also had to choose a password, which is pointless, since I am unlikely to order from this store in the near future, and when I do, I will never remember my password.
Another pain is that the store indicates that they ship items immediately if they are in stock. The problem is that the web site does not tell you whether any particular item is in stock, so you have to either call them or gamble. There is no online chat to ask questions.
SHIPPING
This is the thing that most bothered me about this company. I ordered one crib skirt from them and they charged me almost $10 to ground ship it to my house. I found this to be completely ridiculous since they obviously were charging a significant mark-up on the shipping and it took me a week to get my item. Many sites offer free shipping on baby items and Sozousa does not have this option.
The only reason I put up with the charge is because I wanted my crib skirt quickly. Other sites carry Sozo products for less money and no shipping costs, but they are special orders and you have to wait for them to get it in stock. Apparently, you have to deal with Sozo directly to get anything quickly but you have to pay the mark-up as well.
SozoUSA did move my item out of the warehouse quickly. My item was delivered to Fedex the day after I placed my order. I got my item 8 days after I placed my order. This is quite slow considering I paid almost $10 to ship a crib sheet. Sozo has faster delivery options for more money, I just couldn't see spending any more than I was already spending.
CUSTOMER SERVICE
I got an email confirming my order. I got another email when my items shipped with a fedex tracking number.
RETURNS
According to the web site, they will replace your item, exchange it for another, or refund your purchase within 30 days of purchase. They also say that shipping charges are non-refundable. I didn't make a return so I don't know how well their return process works.
STEALS AND DEALS
I looked on the internet and couldn't find any coupons or promotions for this company. I signed up for their email notification list and haven't gotten any emails yet although I haven't been on it that long. The company doesn't seem to participate in any rebate sites. Basically, if you want this merchandise cheaper, check out the other web merchants that carry it. I found some items on sale with free shipping at Baby Universe.
FINAL RECOMMENDATION
I think this is a great site to check out Sozo products. However, you will save a lot of money if you actually order the products elsewhere. The other thing to remember is that almost every other merchant that carries this line has to special order the items. This can mean long lead times. I am giving this site two stars because the shipping costs and prices are high and you can get the products elsewhere much cheaper.
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; Gymboree; 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; Baby Universe.
Miscellaneous: 1-800 contacts; Movie Tickets.com; Drugstore.com.
Rebate Sites: Upromise; Ebates.
NEW BABY? HERE ARE SOME BABY PRODUCTS I HAVE REVIEWED:
GEAR: Maclauren Techno Stroller; Graco MetroLite LE Stroller; Skip Hop Diaper Bag; Evenflo Snugli Baby Carrier; Infantino EuroRider Baby Carrier.
SLEEPING: Pali Sabrina Crib.
NURSING: Bravado Nursing Bra; Lansinoh lanolin; Lansinoh nursing pads.
BATHING: The First Years Bath Tub/Bath Seat Combo
BABY BOTTOMS: Burt’s Bees Diaper Ointment; Desitin Creamy; Balmex; California Baby Diaper Rash Cream.
BABY SKIN: Mustela Hydra-Stick for lips and cheeks; Burt’s Bees Apricot Baby Oil.
TOYS: Tiny Love Symphony In Motion Mobile; Soft Teething Beads; Sassy Teething Wing Butterfly.
BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENTS: Baby’s Here Birth Announcements.
Recommended:
No
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