Short Rant: Obnoxious Bugaboo Article

AbsoluteLM · July 2009

Have you guys been to ParentsConnect.com? My mom just forwarded me the site this afternoon and I came across this annoying article about a woman wanting a bugaboo: https://www.parentsconnect.com/spills/I_want_my_bugaboo.jhtml

I just had to comment on it even though the article is from a while ago. Maybe I'm crazy, but I can't sympathise with people who want a bugaboo as a status symbol while we and many other parents out there fret over how we can afford the basics such as daycare. Angry

Sorry to be negative!

Lizzerd13 · July 2009

What a snotty little brat!

jenny1980 · July 2009

There is an inexplicable allure of a status-symbol stroller. I was thisclose to insisting on a Bugaboo or UppaBaby but think we may go with a less expensive (but still cute) stroller.

I get the author's Graco-hate.

sgrl · July 2009

I really don't get the stroller as status symbol thing. Is this an urban thing? My most label-conscious friend considers her Chicco Cortina stroller "very expensive." Is it just the area in which I live?

AbsoluteLM · July 2009

sgrl:
I really don't get the stroller as status symbol thing. Is this an urban thing? My most label-conscious friend considers her Chicco Cortina stroller "very expensive." Is it just the area in which I live?

I think it totally depends on where you live. 12-year-olds in NYC walk around with Coach bags and Burberry scarves. Don't get me wrong, I love these things too because they are well made and often really cute, but the way in which the article written--how she needed the Bugaboo because she needed to impress her neighbors--made me mad!

Rogue Lily · July 2009

Meh. At least a Bugaboo Stroller has an actual function. I own a few dresses that cost around $300- ea (regular day dresses) and a pair of chanel sunglasses. That doesn't mean I'm all around ridiculous, I just think it's nice to have a few luxury items if you can afford it. Plenty of people choose to carry a Louis Vuitton bag that can cost a lot more than a Bugaboo.

I'd never ever buy a stroller that cost that much, because it's not important to me. It's all about choices.

FLVintageBride · July 2009

I'm actually pretty surprised how popular these strollers are. Obviously there are some people that can afford to drop money for status symbols, but there are plenty more that do it even though they really can't afford it. We could easily afford it if such things were a priority, but I'm one mom that's going to choose my kids' college educations and my own cushy retirement over frivolous things like $850 strollers.

libertadw · July 2009

I have to admit that I had a short moment where I felt like that. I wanted one really bad, but I thought to myself how stupid it would be for me to spend the amount I could spend on the entire nursery on a stroller. Also, with my son, we got a stoller and a playpen at 75% off at target, he turned out fine and I was no less of a mom for buying things on a tight budget.

TarheelsInNJ · July 2009

Well, I will say, her line about "being the only mother on the Upper East Side without one" is spot on. In the city, there are pretty much three strollers you see most often - a Bugaboo, a Maclaren, or a jogging stroller. Sure, sometimes a travel system or snap 'n' go will go by, but it's more rare. Still, I don't really understand the "keeping up with the Joneses" hysteria!

We are planning to get an UppaBaby, but not as a status symbol! We are really happy with the features, and prefer it to the Bug (and also prefer that it is $200 less!). I do have moments where I think we'd do just as well with a jogging stroller, but honestly, if we're going to spend $400, we might as well spend $600 and get the one we really want.

I really do think that, being in NYC, the stroller is our major "investment" and we'll use it every day, a lot more than our car.

NotEve · July 2009

I'm with you on this. Anyone willing to pay that much money for a stroller obviously has too much money! I looked at the Bugaboo at first because I liked the reversible seat but then I balked at the price tag.

I'm going with the Kolcraft Contours Options - it also has a reversible seat but only costs $150.

teeah22 · July 2009

It's just like any other luxury good that someone chooses to buy. Sure, it's for the baby but really what's the difference? I doubt so many women carry Louis Vuitton bags because of the wonderful quality. Or drive a Mercedes because it's just such a great car. People spend money on whatever they please and if you have the money then so what? It's not like a Bugaboo is a bad, death-trap stroller.

SaraRose20 · July 2009

Eh, I totally get what she (the woman who wrote the article) is saying. She knows its a ridiculous amount of money to spend, but that doesn't stop her from wanting it...I happen to live on the UES like the author, and I can confirm that pretty much every stroller that goes past seems like it is a Bugaboo. That doesn't make it a reason to get one, but I don't think there is anything wrong in wanting what everyone else around you seems to have as the standard.?I will most likely be getting a Bugaboo. ?I don't feel bad because some people can't afford it - just lucky that I can! ?Or rather that my MIL's friends can....

sgrl · July 2009

Heh, I have a Maclaren - that I got for $125 at a consignment shop. Yeah!

sspyles · July 2009

If you can afford a Bugaboo, and want to have one, I see no problem with it. I own a few luxury items that I like having just because they make me feel good to have on (dresses, sunglasses, one nice purse). DH and I aren't loaded, but I've always been of the mindset that I'd rather have a few really good items rather than a bunch of things that I don't really like but got because they're cheaper.

teeah22 · July 2009

NotEve:

I'm with you on this. Anyone willing to pay that much money for a stroller obviously has too much money! I looked at the Bugaboo at first because I liked the reversible seat but then I balked at the price tag.

Really? Just because someone isn't necessarily bargain shopping doesn't mean they have too much money. It's just what they choose to spend their money on.

TarheelsInNJ · July 2009

teeah22:
NotEve:

I'm with you on this. Anyone willing to pay that much money for a stroller obviously has too much money! I looked at the Bugaboo at first because I liked the reversible seat but then I balked at the price tag.

Really? Just because someone isn't necessarily bargain shopping doesn't mean they have too much money. It's just what they choose to spend their money on.

Totally agree with this. We all have our priorities when it comes to baby-spending. In our case, we'll spend a lot for the stroller, but our crib was $179 at Target!

AbsoluteLM · July 2009

Its definitely a valid point that people can and should choose to spend their money on the things they want. I think that, in my case, this article struck on chord about how DH and I are not feeling the big city thing anymore. Keeping up with the Joneses, having our kid rigorously interview for spots in kindergarten, not being able to afford a place with a backyard, etc. really isn't our style. That doesn't mean that city life is bad, its just not for us anymore. Looks like its time for us to consider other options (and not just for strollers!)

tigergreen · July 2009

TarheelsInNJ:
teeah22:
NotEve:

I'm with you on this. Anyone willing to pay that much money for a stroller obviously has too much money! I looked at the Bugaboo at first because I liked the reversible seat but then I balked at the price tag.

Really? Just because someone isn't necessarily bargain shopping doesn't mean they have too much money. It's just what they choose to spend their money on.

Totally agree with this. We all have our priorities when it comes to baby-spending. In our case, we'll spend a lot for the stroller, but our crib was $179 at Target!

exactly.

one person's overpriced stroller is another person's wipe warmer, diaper genie, & any other "convenience thing." i'm opting not to get a few of those extravagances, but if i decide i want an almost $400 stroller, and i can afford it, i'll get it.

there's a difference between getting these items, & expecting someone to buy them for you.

tigergreen · July 2009

sgrl:
I really don't get the stroller as status symbol thing. Is this an urban thing? My most label-conscious friend considers her Chicco Cortina stroller "very expensive." Is it just the area in which I live?

probably so. i'm just across the state of tennessee from you, but bugaboo, uppababy, all the "high end" brands, get talked about a lot around here.

i've already had a friend in town tell me not to get a bugaboo (i wasn't anyway), because she thought she just *had* to have one, and now that she has one, she thinks it's the most overrated stroller ever.

i'm getting a peg perego, & i feel like it's overpriced, and it's about half the price of some of them!

AFwife1106 · July 2009

AbsoluteLM:

I can't sympathise with people who want a bugaboo as a status symbol while we and many other parents out there fret over how we can afford the basics such as daycare.

Thank you for posting this.

DH and I will only be able to afford daycare while he is deployed (because of his hazard pay). The last thing I care about is how "cool" the baby's stroller is. I really wish I could smack some sense into people. NO ONE NEEDS AN $850 STROLLER. Sorry. I know military families that couldn't even afford a stroller AT ALL.

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