Monday, June 28, 2010

More thoughts on opening a cloth diaper store....

So this whole cloth diaper store thing is taking off in our household.  Hubby has ALWAYS wanted to own his own business, it seems like a GREAT time to jump into the retail game for cloth, we LOVE cloth and want everyone else to love it, and Hubby hates his job...like HATES his job.  So we need to do more research and Hubby is starting on a business plan...

To my precious readers...Please take the time to answer a few questions for me.  Pretty please with a cherry on top?


  • If you had a store near you, would you prefer to buy from a B&M store or would you prefer online?
  • If you prefer online, would you choose to support a local store or stick with your current online fave?
  • How many of you actually CAN buy cloth from a store near you?
  • What brands of cloth would you hope to find in such a store?
  • What other products would you hope/expect to find?
  • What services would you hope/expect the store to offer?


Thank you all a million times over!!

8 comments:

simplymerry said...

i would prefer to buy from a B&M store, and it would be fabulous to be able to refer new-to-cloth to such! i usually buy deep sales from various online stores, though.

i can't buy cloth locally, unless i moved closer to denver (i'm near cheyenne, wyoming).

a B&M *has* to carry bumGenius products (including Flip - that's mandatory. ;)
other brands i'd recommend to have as staples are Rumparooz, GroVia, Fuzzibunz, and Thirsties duo wraps (with prefolds and snappis). Others I'd suggest carrying would be Smartipants, BumEssentials and/or Softbums, BabyKicks (definitely carry their Hemparoo doubler!), and Kissaluvs. And Applecheeks.

I would expect to see prefolds, snappis, diaper sprayers, wetbags, and detergent, rash cream, and liners.

and i would want a diaper store to have a used section, and a rental service (some kind of trying cloth program and a newborn rental)

Cindy @ This Adventure, Our Life said...

If you had a store near you, would you prefer to buy from a B&M store or would you prefer online?
--I would prefer to buy local!! We have one little in the home store here, but she refuses to carry any BG's, etc.. because they have a synthetic material...so it makes it hard to shop from her.

How many of you actually CAN buy cloth from a store near you?
-- Not really, have not found one yet!

What brands of cloth would you hope to find in such a store?
--BG's, Flips, Grobaby

What other products would you hope/expect to find?
-- Liners, diaper sprayers, wetbags, diaper creamsafe from CD's, Inserts of different materials, maybe even detergents, anything to do with CD's

Expanding--organic clothing, supplies, green baby stuff,

What services would you hope/expect the store to offer?
I would like an online option, services could be teaching people to CD, how to care for them, etc...

Jessica Anne said...

I would prefer B&M store. I think it would be easier to compare, especially when I was first starting out. I'm not aware of any B&M stores I can currently buy at in my area.

Brands--Happy Heineys, Bum Genius, Fuzzibunz

Other products--liners, doublers, hemp inserts, other green baby products, acceptable laundry detergent, wet bags, sprayers, all your basic cloth diapering needs, maybe breastfeeding supplies (pumps, covers, etc.) and baby wearing supplies (different wraps, carriers)

Other services-- info or classes on the care of cloth diapers and using cloth diapers, maybe multi-brand pre-made sample packs of diapers, maybe info, classes, or sources for breastfeeding support

Great idea!

Dani said...

I live in Los Angeles and sadly do not have a B&M store nearby, but I really wish we did because I would prefer to go in and see the products before I buy. Also I'd like to avoid the expensive shipping.

I am new to cloth (still building my stash) so I can't really speak to which brands but I would hope to find a wide range of choices (prefolds, covers, pockets, AIO, hybrids etc) and accessories (wetbags, cloth wipes, detergent, liners, CD safe diaper cream, etc).

As far as services, I would also hope to find cloth diapering workshops for new mommies like myself. maybe a trade-in program where you can try out new products and buy gently used diapers.

I hope that helps. By the way, I am a new follower to your blog and would appreciate if you would check out my blog and follow me too! Thanks!
http://littletandme.blogspot.com

Karen said...

I wish we had an actual, physical, store close by here, but we don't. I'd like it so I could go see, touch, pick up the diapers. It would make it so much easier to pick something out! Plus...no s/h!!

I'm a fuzzibunz fan, so I'd want that, but all of the popular brands and styles. (So maybe some not quite as popular, but unique syles. Does that make sense?)

Other products: cloth wipes, liners, mixtures for the cloth wipes, diaper sprayers, wet bags, pretty much anything I'd need to set up cloth diapering with all the frills and whistles.

I'd hope to have someone there who has tried all of the diapers, so they can tell me what that diaper has to offer and what it is lacking, so I can choose the diaper that will suit me and my needs. (ex: I want to sacrifice the ease of using velcro in favor of having more durable snaps)

Karen said...

ps -If you'd have rash cream, get the stuff that's cloth diaper friendly, and make sure to recommend the users still use a barrier between the diaper and cream.

Tina said...

Thank you all so much for your comments!! We're fast at work trying to flesh out our business plan. This is all happening so fast it's crazy!!

Lisa said...

I generally prefer to buy from a B&M store, although if I've already had the chance to see a product in person I sometimes don't mind ordering things online, as long as shipping is free.

I could buy from a store near me, but it's a 30-45 minute drive, and their prices aren't as good as a lot of other online stores.

I would like to see Fuzzi Bunz (both Perfect Size and One Size), Bum Genius, Flip, Rumparooz, and Apple Cheeks.

I would also want the store to carry various inserts and doublers, cloth wipes, wet bags, and pail liners.

I would want the store to have a great return policy, such as allowing returns within 60 or 90 days. Sometimes you buy diapers in advance for a baby only to find out after they are born that the particular brand doesn't work for your child for some reason.