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

Rating:
Summary: Extensive Resource
Review: I highly recommend this book. I bought this and Consumer Reports at the same time, figuring I'd compare the products each recommended. I found that Baby Bargains had A LOT more detailed information on the advantages and disadvantages of the different products it included. They also gave good reasons why they rated the different items the way they did. In addition, each section gave a Good, Better, Best product so you could choose the best product in your price range. Not only did they review an extensive list of products, but they also gave great sources for locating them, as well as sources for finding the various products at a discount. Definitely go for this guide for preparing for your baby and skip Consumer Reports.

Rating:
Summary: Great resource for first time parents
Review: This book is really helpful, each chapter is broken down by categories of things you need, then those items are rated by price and quality. Each brand/item is given a grade from A-F so it is easy to make a judgement. They alo list their top recommendations at the end of each chapter.
This book is fantastic- especially if you don't know all of the things you need for a new baby. If you just go into a baby store you will be inundated with items you need to purchase and you won't know which ones are good. And believe me, there is a lot of junky crap out there for kids. I have made a few mistakes buying baby items without checking them out first. Of course they crapped out, and when I checked in this book to find a good replacement I found the thing that just died had gotten a bad rating in this book. So, read it through before you just buy baby stuff, you will save a lot of time and money.

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Summary: a MUST have
Review: I bought this book when I had my first daughter. I happened to be registering for my baby shower and another lady who had a newborn mentioned it, so I went out and bought it. I was so happy with it, the ratings and how well they managed to put everthing into one book with the good and bad ratings, as well as websites (which I am a big fan of). Sure, you might not need or want everything that is rated in this book as one rater stated. I didn't co-sleep and I don't use cloth diapers, but rating a mattress and a crib are very important to those of use who use them. The biggest thing for me about this book, as well, was the ratings on car seats. I am a big fan of that! As well as highchairs. I just got rid of mine from my firstborn (whose now 6 1/2 and whose 22 month sister used it up until now) and it was one The Fields' recommended in their book way back in 1998. It was money well spent. I, again, purchased this book when pregnant with my 2nd child and, again, it was as helpful as the first time, even though I still had many items that were in still working condition/good condition that could be used for my 2nd child. Some people don't like research, the time or energy for it, so this makes it so much easier for those who want or need a "quick fix" as to information. I highly recommend this book!!!!!

Rating:
Summary: Must have for a new parent
Review: This book was our guide through understanding the wide world of baby products. While it was not the absolute authority on specific items to buy (for that, we also relied on advice from friends and product reviews on Amazon), the sections of the book gave us the overviews we needed both to understand any given product category. For example, for strollers, it let us know the various categories all-in-one, umbrella, jogging, as well as the main manufacturers, their advantages and disadvantages. Armed with that background, and their input on what we should buy based on our preferences, we were able to make good, informed decisions.

I now never buy anything without getting the point of view of this book. It grounds my research into the category, and helps me put other input (advice from friends, Amazon reviews, web sites and message boards) in context

However, I don't exactly rely on this as a means for saving money. If anything, it has got me to spend more money, as I realize why I might want to buy the higher end version of a product. While they generally warn you away from the highest end products, you don't need a book to tell you that you can avoid such products to save money. The one area they did really save me money was in the crib mattress recommendation. Taken as a money-saving resource, I think it may fall short of its goals. Taken as a product guide, I call it a must-have.

Rating:
Summary: I realize I'm in the minority here...
Review: I thought I would weigh in, since all the reviews here are glowing. I expected to find this book helpful (Bridal Bargains by the same authors was excellent), but for several reasons, this book was a waste of my money. We live in a big city without a car, so the car seat discussion was not helpful; we co-sleep with our baby so we didn't buy a crib; we are using cloth diapers and so sections on diapers and diaper pails (the company provides this) weren't relevant either; etc. It was depressing, reading all the sections on expensive must-haves, when really you *don't* need to buy so much for your baby. The authors give advice on ways to save money (mostly by buying quality items that will last, a no-brainer) but ultimately, you could just reject the notion that most of the items in here are necessary and be a lot happier.

The sections I could have used help on, maternity clothing and baby announcements, were missing a lot of good sources.

Rating:
Summary: A great book for those who have no idea what to buy
Review: I bought this book because I received great comments. I loved it. I had more or less 150 items on my baby registry (which BRU said were "essential" ) I ended up having less than 70 items (from toys to the crib).
The book tells you things no one will tell you at a store and no parent will know everything about everything you need to know on babies. Everything has an explanation whether you need it or not.
What I like the best is that you can decide which brand to buy based their recommendations (bathtub, stroller, high chair, toys, breast pads, bottles, you name it!!
You also get tips on which are the cheapest places to buy items under every category, and how to make more out of your money.
I will call it my BABY BIBLE. Buy it.


Rating:
Summary: Great book!! Very helpful, but u won't find all in one place
Review: I had no idea about what features to look for, or brand, etc. This book outlines everything out there! It was a great reference to find items that had the features that, as a first time mom, you would never know about. The only fustration is you will not find all of their "A" rated items in one place. So you'd have to go to about 10 different stores/online stores (they give you all the web addresses, info., etc.). What I did was take the features they reccomended, and purchased the closest comparable thing at Babies R Us, where we were registered. This worked out just as good. Great book for a first time mom!!!!