Baby Bargains: Secrets to Saving 20% to 50% on Baby Furniture, Equipment, Clothes, Toys, Maternity Wear, and Much, Much More! [Paperback]

Alan Fields (Author), Denise Fields (Author)

Book Description

Series: Baby Bargains: Secrets to Saving 20% to 50% on Baby Furniture, Equipment, Clothes, Toys, | Publication Date: May 1, 2005

One of the thorniest questions new parents ask themselves is how they are ever going to pay for baby expenses. With the average cost of a baby topping $6,000 for the first year alone, expectant moms and dads need all the creative solutions and cost-cutting ideas they can find. Baby Bargains is the answer. The book lists great deals and money-saving strategies for a wide variety of must-have items, from maternity wear, baby clothes, and diapers to furniture, bedding, and toys. Extensive charts allow parents to compare and contrast name-brand cribs, strollers, high chairs, child safety seats, baby monitors, and more. Now in its sixth edition, the book has been completely revised and updated to include website addresses for all major baby product manufacturers, reviews of parenting websites, and listings for mail-order catalogs and outlet stores. Additionally, the book offers important safety tips for affordably baby-proofing the home.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Denise Fields and Alan Fields write a monthly column for Baby Talk magazine. They have written several best-selling books, including Baby Bargains and Bridal Bargains. They live in Boulder, CO.

Product Details

• Paperback: 576 pages
• Publisher: Windsor Peak Press; 6th ed. edition (May 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1889392197
• ISBN-13: 978-1889392196
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 3.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (193 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #638,994 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pros and Cons, June 17, 2006

By 

Reading Mama (Mililani, Hawaii) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Baby Bargains: Secrets to Saving 20% to 50% on Baby Furniture, Equipment, Clothes, Toys, Maternity Wear, and Much, Much More! (Paperback)

I'm not sure what's going on with the melodrama in some of the other reviews, so I'm just going to give it to you straight. There are some great things about this book and it did save me a lot of money. There were also a few things I didn't like about it. I'd recommend that anyone in doubt go to a bookstore, and try to decide on a stroller or carseat based on what they find in the book. It really was helpful to me.

PROS-
1. The absolute best thing about this book is how it helps narrow down the choices in the loads and loads of available baby products. This was especially helpful with strollers and carseats. It tells you what options are available and what the good and bad in each option is. They include stuff that you might not think matters but really does, like how heavy an item is, whether or not you can take it on a plane, etc. Before you become a parent you don't think about how tired you can get lugging a too-heavy seat around or how uncomfortable it is to sit next to a huge carseat on the plane. I ended up picking my carseat based on the safety rating and price, and I picked my stroller based on features (basket, parent tray) and price. Once I decided those factors were what was important to me, the booked helped me to narrow down the options and make a choice. I've been really happy with everything I bought on the book's recommendation.

2. They usually tell you what the customer service from each company is like. I'm willing to pay a bit more for a product when I know that customer service won't be crappy if I run into any problems.

3. It reads well. They're funny.

4. It defines things that non-parents might not have a clue about. I had no idea what a onesie was until I read this.

5. Backup support. When I was putting our crib together, I found out I had no casters. I called the crib company to tell them they were missing, and they informed me they didn't give them out anymore unless consumers asked for them. New mom, hormones, I freaked out. I wondered if this shoddy service meant they made a crappy, unsafe crib, and I wondered if adding on the casters made it unsafe. I emailed the Fields and they kindly calmed me down and answered my questions. The "baby" is three now, and the crib was perfect for him.

I also love the boards they have. I popped in there to ask about a jogging stroller that I saw on clearance and I got a ton of informative answers from the other parents there.

6. I worked in a bookstore while I was pregnant, and I'm kind of a research girl, so I'd spend my lunch hours sitting on the floor in the pregnancy/parenting section reading through every book on the shelf. Yes, every book. This one ended up being my favorite for registering/buying purposes.

7. They review a lot of stuff! I ended up NOT buying a lot of things because of them giving a bad review (the one that comes to mind was a wipes warmer).

CONS

1. The books saved me money, but not by pointing out the cheapest stuff. Instead, it saved me money by pointing out the BEST stuff so I didn't have to replace things like a lot of my Mom Friends had to. Point in fact, some of the stuff recommended here is extremely expensive. I usually bought the item that they recommended as a good buy and passed over the expensive Peg Perinos, Britax, etc.

2. Guess I only had the one con!

And to the reviewers who are complaining that the authors don't even have a baby, I wanted to add that they do have kids. They USED to have a baby. Two, in fact. But ya know what, kids grow. Do they have to continue to have babies in order to remain a credible source?

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I am not the author, March 17, 2006

By 

Heather Arcand (Thermopolis, WY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Baby Bargains: Secrets to Saving 20% to 50% on Baby Furniture, Equipment, Clothes, Toys, Maternity Wear, and Much, Much More! (Paperback)

I learned about this book from my prenatal class and bought it at a bricks and mortar, so I was stunned when making my essentials for baby listmania list to see the controversy surrounding this book on Amazon.

Simply put, I think that the negative reviewers say very little negative about the book, but say negative things about the authors. I was on bedrest for nearly 2 months before my son was born and live a very rural area of Wyoming, so I was not able to shop for my nursery items in a traditional way. This book ensured that I bought safe things that I needed. We made wise purchases with the help of the baby bargains book. I think that the real value lies in the fact that we didn't buy things that we don't use.

Good luck deciphering though this reviewing mess, but I think the book is a great help if you aren't able to get out and hit the pavement, or are a first time mommy and don't know what you need.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Buy! Worth every penny and so much more!!!, June 1, 2006

By 

Denna "(Mom to Tyler)" (Sacile, Italy) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Baby Bargains: Secrets to Saving 20% to 50% on Baby Furniture, Equipment, Clothes, Toys, Maternity Wear, and Much, Much More! (Paperback)

If your like me you read reviews before you buy products. And since your reading this right now that shows that this is a GREAT book for you. Obviously you are concerned if you are buying the best product and that is EXACTLY what this book does for you. My mother-in-law had a patient that HIGHLY recommended this book to her and I must admit I was a little skeptical at first. I personally have never been big on 'eck' research! But when it came to my child I wanted the best and safest products! Without this book I would NEVER have been able to find that. My husband and I took this book EVERYWHERE we went shopping and I was constantly flipping through it while I was shopping online! It is well written, easy to follow, and even has great anicdotes. If you read the book you'll see its not just the writers' opinions but they have done the research (you can even verify their safety data websites provided in book). When I had issues or needed help with a product. I typed in baby bargains on google and found windsorpeak.com! Here I was able to email the authors w/ my questions (about new baby stores, products, etc) and I always got a quick EXTREMELY helpful response! I am so thankful that this book was given to me that I have bought SEVERAL copies for my close friends that are expecting/have children!!! GREAT BOOK!!! *I think the negative reviews HAVE to be written for a different book!