WelcomeMrBaby.com, the retailer with the [insert regional name here] Nania car seat/stroller, was new to me, so I surfed around a bit to see what else they had. Two things jumped out at me:
1) The site seems to have sprung fully formed, straight from the E-commerce team's PowerPoint presentation to the CEO:About Us
Welcomemrbaby.com is the new B2C online community that is rapidly becoming the reference point in Europe for people seeking baby items.
It is the website where you can securely purchase brand-name quality products, without leaving your home or office.
According to a study produced by our Marketing Department, there is the need for more investments in this market. Not more than a handful of online websites provide users with an extensive catalogue of baby items. For these reasons Welcomemrbaby.com has decided to take action.
Our goal is to transfer the experience of "Culla Del Bimbo", the 30-year old Italy-based retail owner of this site, to the internet. We have learned that customers value outstanding service offered and rigorous price transparency over a strategy of incessant "special offers".
...
Shipments
...We implemented a mathematical algorithm that calculates a reasonable shipment contribution from the customer. It is based on the type of goods that will have to be shipped, the country they will be shipped to, and is inversely proportioned to the total euro amount of the order...2) The mid-range baby furniture mass produced in Europe is every bit as cheesy as the mid-range baby furniture mass produced in the US. [Here's one example, but you could click on almost anything, I swear.] See? Our cultures aren't that far apart after all. I think this calls for a hug.
Oh, and kudos on the English, but there's also no mention of non-EU shipping. [update: except for the "just email us, we'll ship anywhere!" line in the faq. Hopefully, the kid inherited my wife's reading ability.]
Gotta love the cool lego-like highchairs though... I've never seen this brand:
http://www.welcomemrbaby.com/detail.asp?art=3879
Still looking for a lower cost alternative to the Svan... Greg, while you're in Japan, wanna pick up one of these and drop it out of the plane as you head anywhere remotely near western canada? :)
A ha! I knew I'd seen something on there about worldwide shipping...in the FAQ bit,
22. Is it possible to organize delivery in a country not listed in the order form?
..in a nutshell yep!
They're always quick to respond when I have emailed them, and very helpful too.
Hi Cameron,
That high chair is also available on the welcomemrbaby website. Check out the high chair section, foppa pedretti brand.
I have purchased strollers from the original Italian site--very good service and better prices than babycare.nl, the defacto American stroller-importing site...
Nah, it's not the same chair... Kitagawas are a lot more clean and modern looking, other than the cheesy fabric choices.
Besides, it'll cost even more to get the European one; if I really want the Japanese one, I'll have one shipped over or bring the damn thing back myself next time I visit... :)