Baby Land

With the exception of my stroller and car seat (both items this store didn’t carry), I bought everything for my newborn at Baby Land while I was pregnant. This is not because they have high-​end fantastic products or exceptional service. These days Toys R Us carries pretty much the same stuff and just as helpful when it comes to product knowledge. I chose to spend thousands of dollars at Baby Land to support a small business in my area instead of a big box store. However, clearly that was a mistake. Out of the hundreds of items I bought I had an issues with two products and both issues where handled very poorly. My first issue was with a bassinet (the most expensive one they carry). After assembly, I discovered that a detachable part i.e. vibration didn’t work properly. I contacted the owner, Abdul, the very next day after purchase. He told me to send it in to the manufacturer and deal with it under warranty. Really?!? I told him that since I just bought it, maybe he should exchange the broken detachable part and deal with the manufacturer himself. He said, he didn’t have another one to give me and didn’t offer to order one. Instead, he asked for photos, videos of the problem which I sent to him. There was no follow up. I contacted him again after I gave birth. He said he didn’t hear back from the manufacturer. Needless to say, my daughter outgrew the bassinet and I’m yet to hear back from the owner. My second issue was with a bottle warmer. The warmer didn’t warm. I brought it back for an exchange. A woman at the counter said «I’ve never heard of this issue before, so I will need to test it». «I’m sorry this happened» should have been a more appropriate response. After she filled it up with water and confirmed that it didn’t work she was ready to proceed with an exchange. I asked her to test the new one to make sure it was working. She responded with“We don’t test products as they are brand new”. I said «wow, since I already paid for it, may I use your washroom and I will test it myself». Nice going Baby Land. Sadly, I won’t be coming back as you do not deserve my business.

We were very disappointed with Baby Land.

Staff did not acknowledge us from the moment we walked in to the moment we left, despite the fact that we walked by them several times, while they stood at the counter.
Selection was decent, mostly higher-​end items. I was in looking for some cloth diaper accessories, which I expected would be easy to find given the nature of the store. They sold Kushies only, pretty much the lowest-​end cloth diaper possible. (or at least I think so — no one made themselves available to ask, and that’s all they had on the shelf) I was surprised that a store specializing in baby gear didn’t carry something so essential to most stores servicing that market.
Prices were a little higher than most specialty baby stores, but pretty closely aligned.
We won’t be back, though, based on the poor service.

This is a good place to shop for baby products for those who are not interested in Kijiji or Craigslist (best way to save money). The staff is knowledgeable and friendly (well, they better be, it’s all about babies). We’ve bought 2 strollers there so far. They also price matched with a competitor from Toronto. Overall, our experiences in the store have been very good.