NOTE: This is an outdated post. Husbabies.com has closed down and is no longer into business.
This is a review of the kids online shopping site hushbabies.com, which is based out of New Delhi, India. You can shop in INR or USD currencies through they take international orders only in special cases (details below).
WHAT I LIKED ABOUT HUSHBABIES.COM
Hushbabies.com offers a good variety of baby products at great discounts. I have compared their prices with other online businesses and found them really good. The packaging of items is really rich and impressive (see pictures further below). There are great offers going on continuously, which you can check through their Facebook page or by subscribing to their promotional newsletter through their website.
They also hold a GOODNIGHT sale between 10 pm and 6 am every night where 20 items are offered on great prices. The items keep changing every 2-3 days.
REWARD CASH POINTS: Another great feature I found was besides the discount, you also accumulate some cash points when you shop. I don't know (haven't checked) the exact calculation, but they did show my points at checkout and I could use a good number of those points to further discount my first bill. Wow! The remaining points are still in my account and will add up with my next order.
Hushbabies.com has a Toll Free number 1800-102-2297, which they do not advertise but is mentioned on the order box. Otherwise you can contact on +91 9250792507 or email support@hushbabies.com. The phone is sometimes very busy but emails are answered promptly.
My first experience with them was spoilt a little by the courier company but I am satisfied with all other aspects of the business. Read to know what happened!
MY SHOPPING EXPERIENCE WITH HUSHBABIES.COM
As this was my first order with them, I ordered only 3 items which I urgently required. I called them up in advance to check on the courier service and they offered Blue Dart and DTDC. Since I wanted Blue Dart (DTDC being the worst service here), they asked me to email the order number with the request for courier of my choice. I did that.
Dec 5, 2012: Order Placed
Dec 8, 2012: Partial order received
Dec 12, 2012: Remaining order shipped
Dec 21, 2012: Remaining order received
I was very happy to receive my order exactly in 3.5 days through Blue Dart, along with my Hoopos.com order. But when I opened the box, I found only two items. It was mentioned in the attached paper bill that a part of the shipment will be sent later. THEY SPLIT MY ORDER WITHOUT INFORMING ME!
I called up customer care and was told the item is temporarily not available and will be shipped in approximately 8 days. They shipped it exactly one week later from the first shipment date and I received an email with the tracking number.
When I did not receive it for 5 days, I called them on Dec 17 and was told it is still in transit. I called again on Dec 19 and the guy said it has already been delivered on the 15th??? WTH!!! I gave them a good piece of my mind and asked them to check and call me back as I had not received the remaining order.
They took further 3 days for the investigation. In the meantime, I received a few calls 48 hours after my complaint and they were waiting for the proof of delivery sheet. I had demanded they send me a scanned copy of the signature of the person who received my order.
On Dec 21, I wrote them a sting email. The missing item was for < Rs 200 but it became a question of my integrity when they kept asserting I have received it already! 2 hours after my sting email, the DTDC guy came to deliver my order. Despite requesting and confirming in advance, they sent the 2nd part of order through DTDC!!!
I received the order from DTDC and refused to sign till he first showed me the sheet, where according to them I had received the order on Dec 15. The man made numerous excuses and I gave him a good verbal thrashing. DTDC has done this to us many times before, so I never shop from any business that ships only through DTDC.
Anyways, I informed hushbabies.com about the courier guy and they were shocked. At every step DTDC kept telling them they delivered when they did not. It took 9 days to receive my remaining order and total 16 days from order date.
A SWEET RESOLUTION FROM HUSHBABIES.COM
A particular person from hushbabies.com team has been assigned to my account. They have put a note in my account to ship all future orders through Blue Dart only (they better do that!). For split order problem, the lady said I can check with her in advance before placing the order and if anything is about to go out of stock, she will block one for me. That's really sweet of them and I am happy with the resolution.
PACKAGING:
Impressive and very sturdy. I have saved both the cardboard boxes to store other stuff :)
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| Nicely laminated! |
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| See the cute lamination! |
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| Hard cardboard box |
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| Each item was further sealed to ensure it reaches you untouched |
SHIPPING
- They ship only within India, but it is mentioned in their Shipping Policy that they do consider international orders sometimes as a special case, provided you contact customer care in much advance. You can shop in INR or USD currencies.
- Also they do not ship to certain areas in West Bengal, but always check with Customer Care first.
- Free shipping on all orders above Rs 249.
- Rs 50 shipping charges for orders below Rs 250.
- Standard shipping takes 3-7 days like all other online businesses.
- Expedited Shipping: This is an additional feature where you can pay to get your order delivered in 2-3 days through express shipping. Both shipping options are shown at checkout.
- If you are in a remote area, you may face problems with this business because of courier. So, before placing an order with any online shopping site, always contact customer care first, to check the delivery options in your area.
SCOPE OF IMPROVEMENT
Besides the courier incident, I have heard other customer complaints about items going 'temporarily unavailable' and then shipping them late. Some businesses clearly show the quantity left for each item and if something goes out of stock, where many people are ordering simultaneously, your order should not be processed.
Hushbabies.com has no such provision. They take all the orders and check the quantity later at the time of shipping. So if a customer needs something urgently, this will make a very poor shopping experience. Definitely a scope of improvement when there are so many other businesses in competition. Also, they should inform the customer immediately when splitting an order.
I will shop again with them to see how they deliver on the promises of service they have made me, before completely striking them off my list. I am happy with all other aspects of the business.
