BabyCenter
Shopping is shopping most of the time, but a trip to Baby Center will be memorable for it's differences. The shopping experience here is mediocre at best, but there is more to the site than purchasing, and that's where this site stands out and wants to be noticed.
Shopping-
As I said already Baby Center does offer an online store that I just recently purchased from. I found it effective but not efficient, selection was limited in some departments, and although shipping was reasonable, the gift wrapping fees were exorbitant.
Selection-
Limited to the lines of Zutano, Carter's and Just One Year for clothing is not a huge selection. They did seem to carry most of the products I could think of for a nursery or layette. Prices seemed reasonable to me, and actually seemed low for the Zutano outfit I selected.
Ordering-
Purchasing from the store was no more difficult than doing so at most sites these days. An account needs to be created with basic information such as e-mail address, name, shipping address, phone number, billing address and billing information.
Shipping-
Shipping ran a reasonable $5.99 for my order. This appears to be the flat rate for orders unless they are oversized or sent via Express delivery. Extra charges apply for these things, but after looking over the chart they don't appear to be excessive charges. My order arrived to it's recipient via UPS 4 days after my purchase. Very timely shipping in my opinion. Sadly there is currently no international shipping available.
Payment
Baby Center accepts Visa, Mastercard, Discover and American Express as payment. Cards must have a U.S. billing address.
Gift Wrapping-
In this area Baby Center not only can do better, but really must in order to be competitive. The fee to gift wrap my outfit (which was actually separate pieces) was going to be $8.50! That's right, because they wrap each piece separately in it's own box at $4.25 a pop, even though the two small pieces were clearly a set. They also had no gift wrap per se, but rather a gift box with ribbon and card. It's just too much cost for too little service there.
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The Rest-
The vast majority of this site is actually not the shopping site. The home page beckons visitors to click onto any of the main Stages to visit. These are Preconception, Pregnancy, Baby, Toddler, and Topics A-Z. Here is where information abounds.
As any new parent to be knows, reading and researching is one of the most fun and arguably important things in pregnancy. Find information on everything from what layette items to have on hand, to ear infections, to morning sickness. There are sections specifically for the Dad to be to visit too.
Community-
Want actual support and not just an article? Join the message boards or join in a chat sponsored by Baby Center for tips and talk from folks just like you.
This part of the site, is just so chalk full of advice, links and articles it almost makes me want to be pregnant again. I surely wish it had been around as a resource when I was expecting.
My Final Recommendation-
All in all Baby Center is not the best site I've done my baby shopping at, but it will do. You can find the basics and a gift if you need it. I actually prefer Babies R'Us for most things, but if it's information you seek, do check out Baby Center for it's collection of articles and resources. You won't be disappointed in it's offerings here.