Baby Showers
No gift receipt vent!
Small vent... Is it really that hard to provide a gift receipt?! Had a shower today and none of the gifts had receipts nor were from registry. We got a ton of clothes and for some reason people love to buy hooded baby towels-- I received 7 of them!!! Most of it is Carter's brand-- any experience returning this stuff w/o receipt or registry to BRU, Target, or Carter's store?
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Re: No gift receipt vent!
That sucks! I hope your shower went well other than that. I'd call ahead and ask them about their return policy and if they carry those items, so you don't waste time driving out there for it. I'm sure one of those places will take them back and give you store credit with no problem.
This. I think you sound like a brat. It's your child so if you didn't get everything you wanted or needed then buy it yourself.
They can purchase whatever they want for you. These are gifts from them. It is not their responsibility to provide what you need for your baby. It's your responsibility!
You probably need to go ahead and delete this post, because you sound like more than just a little brat. I'd LOVE for your friends and family to see this post and hear you sounding like a such an ungrateful little twit. You're lucky as hell that anyone bought ANYTHING for you, since it's not their job to provide crap for your baby. They spent their hard-earned money on you and you sit here and whine. If you got crap you don't want, then donate it because there are a lot of families out there that would love to have those items.
This post really got to me. Seriously, do you think you sound like a nice, humble, thankful person in this post? No, you sound like a b!tch with some entitlement issues.
I agree with the others. As someone who just hosted a baby shower yesterday, and spent all of my free time over the past two months planning it, I would be upset if my BF (for whom I hosted the shower) posted this. Not that she would. You should be happy that someone hosted a shower for you, and that your friends and family were nice enough to come and bring you gifts.
If you need a receipt that badly, ask for one. Maybe people held on to them, but forgot to include them with the gift.
Obviously I said I was being a BRAT about it so I recognize that. Obviously I KNOW I don't sound like a nice, humble, thankful person. Hence the word VENT in the subject. So don't judge, because I put in out there already!!!!
I guess you all are just BETTER than me and would have no issues AT ALL with receiving multiples of things you don't even need and have no way of returning them.
The point of my post was how hard is it to provide a gift receipt.
Well, next time, maybe you should do your own invitations and include a request for gift receipts on them.
It's not that you sound like a brat. It's that you are a brat if you're even thinking this way. The emphasis on your words is a little much. No I wouldn't have issue with it. I had it happen to me. I donated it to people who could use those things I didn't need/weren't my style. I wasn't worried about getting the monetary value out of them. They were gifts, superfluous items, and they went to people who would use them. I purchased what I needed myself. The gifts were just extra.
And I think the reason people don't provide gift receipts is because you don't typically give a gift expecting the person to take it back because they don't like it. It's a gift...and up to the discretion of the GIVER, not the receiver. They went through the trouble of picking something out for you, and a lot of people don't think "hmmm, well she'll probably hate this so I better give her a way to take it back and get the value out of it." I think gift receipts are nice, especially in the case of duplicates, but a lot of people also don't want you to know exactly what they spent. So I understand why they're hesitant to include them.
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THIS!
Adding the word vent does not excuse you from the judgement you're going to receive by posting something stupid on the internet.
If you knew you were going to get flack over it, you should have just bitched about it to your mom or your s.o. You're trying to say that because you pre-warned us that you were a entitled self-centered twit doesn't mean we can't roll our eyes and that's incorrect. You present us with the worst possible first impression of you and we will judge it accordingly.
He's the single greatest thing I've done in my life and reminds me daily of how fun (and funny) life can be. He's turned out pretty swell for having such a heartless and evil mother.
As I posted in another thread, let's remember what we (hopefully) learned as 3-year olds: You get what you get, and you don't get upset.
Try to get over the horror of people buying you presents. Return, donate or sell what you don't want. Stop complaining that people tried to do something nice for you.
Ditto what everyone else has said about your attitude.
And, just so you know, we received about 10 hooded towels... we use all of them.
Maybe they thought that as a first time mom, you don't know exactly what you'll need so they're giving you things they used or things that made their lives easier because they care about you.
Or maybe they're trying to piss you off because they felt obligated to come to a shower for such a self-centered, arrogant little b!tch.
People responded to what you put out there. Have you looked at what you wrote and realized why people said what they did? If you're looking for someone to say, "poor baby, why couldn't people just give you what you want", then your in the wrong place. You need to readjust your attitude, not try and get us to change ours.
We're not trying to be bullies, but you should keep in mind your audience. I'm sure there are people on this board who did not get anything when they had a baby. And others who won't get to celebrate their pregnancy/baby with their family, so when you complain about vain, superficial things like "getting too many hooded towels" or receiving presents that weren't on your registry, then those people will be justifiably offended.
How hard is it to include a gift receipt? About as hard as it is to donate the extra items to goodwill.
To the OP just think a little about your wording next time. The ladies on this board can be pretty harsh sometimes. You probably would have received more of the responses you were looking for had you just asked about returning duplicates or things that you were unsure of their place of purchase.
As for your actual question I'm with the PP who suggested you ask for receipts. While people may not give you a receipt because they do not expect you to return anything, I (and this is just me personally) would much rather you ask for a receipt instead of storing it in the attic or giving it away.
?BFP #1 3/27/11, 1st US Mono Mono Twins, 2nd US 2 HB's, MMC@8w6d 4/25/11, D&C 4/27/11 ?
BFP#2 9/17/11 1st US HB 171 10/13/11 EDC 5/23/12
I know it's frustrating to be stuck with gifts you don't want or need, but like the other ladies said, you just gotta be grateful for what people give you. I'm stuck with several gifts I don't want myself, but I chalked it up to not being able to control what other people do.
That being said, do you have a Buy Buy Baby near you or one that you would be willing to drive to? I'd start there first as they are really easy about returns. They take anything back as long as they carry it in the store. So does Wal-Mart.
I'd try them first and then go to Babies r Us. People say they are a little stricter about returns but they didn't give me any problems.
JC Penney also carries Carters.
Hey Aunt Sue, you know that gift you so generously gave me that I didn't register for so clearly I didn't want, well, you forgot to include the receipt. Can you just send that on over to me so I can take back your useless gift and get something I really need. Thanks!
Yeah, how do you politely ask for a receipt? "That gift you got me -- I actually got 2 of them so I've decided to return yours. Can you just dig up the receipt and get that to me ASAP so I can use the money to buy other baby things?" If I wanted to give them money to spend on baby stuff, I would have given them a GC. Asking for a receipt to buy other baby crap is the same thing as telling people what to buy and there's no polite way of doing that.
All i can say is "know your audience". I had more patience with you than I normally would with this kind of post, but I find your defensiveness of your position intolerable. When so many people comment in the same way a small part of you must know they're onto something. It's time to put your big girl hat on and at least silently acknowledge your behaviour.
Damnit! I missed the pity party.
He's the single greatest thing I've done in my life and reminds me daily of how fun (and funny) life can be. He's turned out pretty swell for having such a heartless and evil mother.
WalMart is probably the easiest place to return (as long as they carry the item) but no reciept = store credit.
What do you think people did before there were registries? A lot of us got duplicates. I seriously don't think I took anything back. A few blankets I put away and actually used for my other kids (they had new things without a shower). I know my family though and know they normally don't purchase expensive things and only half look at the registry. We already had most everything that was an absolute must when we had our first so what we got for gifts were just an added bonus.
People sometimes buy things that you don't have on the registry because they have used them in the past and found them to be useful or needed. I know for DH's cousin's shower, my MIL bought her a bouncy seat because there wasn't anything left on the registry that at the price point she wanted to spend. She noticed that the cousin never registered for one and thought but a bouncy seat is a great thing! Turns out 3 other people had the same bright idea. Oh and cousin had a bouncy seat that was passed on from a friend so didn't need/want a new one. Ooops.
Well judging by your response I'm guessing you don't know how to politely ask for anything! Maybe people are a little more laid back in my area but you could ask in a number of ways... Hey Aunt Sue just wondering if you still had a receipt for the whatever you purchased? We received two and I didn't want one of them to go to waste. Or Hey Aunt Sue just wondering if you had the receipt for the diapers you purchased? I forgot to include on the registry we are using clothes diapers I'm sorry.
I think these convos could be awkward but not as bad as Aunt Sue coming to visit and asking if you love the diaper genie she purchased that you really gave away or store in the garage.
?BFP #1 3/27/11, 1st US Mono Mono Twins, 2nd US 2 HB's, MMC@8w6d 4/25/11, D&C 4/27/11 ?
BFP#2 9/17/11 1st US HB 171 10/13/11 EDC 5/23/12
Honestly, this would be upsetting to me too. I grew up very poor, and the idea of having too much of one thing while not enough of another makes me feel bad, and makes me feel like the givers were wasting their money. It's not polite to feel this way, but it's how I would have felt.
Do I always get a gift receipt (or save the receipt)? Yes. But not everyone is the same.
These expenses are overwhelming for all of us, and it's understandable to be upset when what seems helpful (like a shower) is disappointing.
No, dear, the polite thing would be not to ask for the receipt at all. If you have two diaper genies how would she know the one you are using isn't the one she gave you? Unless she had it personalized. Sometimes a white lie is nicer than the truth.
If the expense is overwhelming, then a little tip is that your probably not in a place financially to be having children. Just a thought. It will only get more expensive from here. If a few hooded towels are breaking the bank then I feel sorry for your baby.
Pretty much.
You really like playing the victim! You're the victim of your inconsiderate friends that didn't provide you with a gift receipt, now you're the victim of internet bullies? Learn to take responsibility!