Baby Equipment Shops

[Ashmanator]

Hi,

I am looking for the best place to buy baby equipment in Phuket.

Have looked at big shopping Malls, just wondering if there is anywhere else with a decent selection?

Or does anyone know any good online sites (thailand based) that have good range?

Thanks in advance

[Lannatyne]

ThaiVisa classifieds is a good place to start!

[fiddlehead]

Robinson's in Phuket town has a good selection.

What is it you are looking for.

Equipment is quite vague

[napalm]

Yes, what do you need ?

[petercallen]

Have you checked the main Tesco Lotus store, They did have a large range there and very reasonably priced

You will nearly always get better prices in chain stores for the same item you can purchase elsewhere.

[phuket Mike]

Try Baby Care in Chalong nice friendly little shop with a good selection, the owner can also source just about anything. To find it Google the name and see on Google map.

[Ashmanator]

Thanks for your replies.

Quite right "equipment" is vague.

This is the first child we will have so essentially looking for everything to get started... Strollers, car seat, play pen, feeding, bouncer and anything else that may appeal to excited first time parents!!

[madmitch]

Have you checked the main Tesco Lotus store, They did have a large range there and very reasonably priced

You will nearly always get better prices in chain stores for the same item you can purchase elsewhere.

You need to check the quality of Tesco Lotus/Big C stuff. It is not always good. You get what you pay for.

I've generally found Robinsons or Central to have the best quality items, and that includes looking at some of the small shops in Phuket Town. There are often special offers at these two stores but generally they are not that cheap.

Edited October 9, 2010 by madmitch

[petercallen]

You need to check the quality of Tesco Lotus/Big C stuff. It is not always good. You get what you pay for.

I've generally found Robinsons or Central to have the best quality items, and that includes looking at some of the small shops in Phuket Town. There are often special offers at these two stores but generally they are not that cheap.

I always check the quality before i buy, i did not check the quality of the baby gear just looked at it and it seemed the same quality you buy elsewhere.

Chain stores like Tesco Lotus, Big C and Carrefour here quite often have products manufactured under there own brand name in the same factories

as the more expensive brands, they buy large qantatys and can afford to sell them cheaper and still make the same markup.

An example in TL is a toaster they sell which is identical to several other brands and they are giving a money back guarantee if not satisfied with there

home brand, at least on there newer lines its printed on the package of the last home brand product i bought there.

There buying power is huge, that's why manufacturers look after them

[napalm]

http://classifieds.thaivisa.com/miscellaneous/baby-kid-stuff/baby-stuff-62950.html

[viciouskitty74]

Dont buy baby clothes yet. They wont wear them and might not fit. Do make sure there is no buttons at the back, where they will sleep and the buttons poke into them. Babies are on their backs a lot, so if you dont like lumps pressing on your spine. Think the same for your baby.

There is some same theory to babies and equipments too. You only need a carrier, lightweight enough to hold the baby and maybe fit into the car. Get those sarong type to hold the baby to your chest will do. The bumps on the roads, kerbs and so on in Phuket are not a comfy peaceful stroll for baby yet. Not to mention, the climbing in and out of cars, kerbs and so on.

1) Maybe start off with a crib for babies to sleep in with mosquito netting?

2) A tall sturdy enough table to function as changing station? Get one where you dont have to bend too much or your back is going to suffer. Try to make sure the changing station, your baby wont fall off.....preferably with railings at the side, especially when baby starts to learn to roll. I dont like those pre-made changing pad with wooden sideboards changing station wardobes.......babies grows much faster or can be bigger size and you might accidently land your baby head on the sideboard if you are harried.

3) And a netted playpen to put the baby down for naps or when you/someone need to be busy at the kitchen.....the netted playpen can be in the placed in the living area or near to the kitchen with ventilation and plenty of play mobiles which baby can look at while you are busy. Some prefer those spring type where it will bounce the baby to sleep. But I rather you get both. Babies cant play when they are in the bouncing sarong. Let them play with themselves, to explore the dexerity of their arms and feet.

4) Get the carseat and stroller much later, when baby can lift the neck, where its stronger against rolling and bumps of the wheels. And get some moon crescent shape neck cushions to secure the baby's head.

5) Maybe a horeshoe cushion to help your wife breast feed, or just to rest baby on, while you feed with bottle.

You wont be bringing the baby outdoors for some time, and babies sleep for most of the time till they are about 4-6 months, when they see, hear and feel/touch better.

Get yourself or wiffey some temporary help at home. Cooking, cleaning and wiping down places while you and wiffey enjoys the baby. Stay in help is good, when either of you gets too tired.

[viciouskitty74]

Then we come to the 4-6 months part.....Try not to rush to get these yet.

Babies should be sitting up, with their neck stronger, and can sit in the bathtub for baths and grabbing stuff. Did I mention a bath tub pail with non slip bottom?

They are also rolling or attempt to climb. Thats when your car seat will be necessary.....laughs.....strap them in! Something comfy, with washable covers, and when its stained...wash the whole dam thing, especially since the straps are not removable! And sun them!

Same with strollers and what you call it...child feeding high chairs? I rather you search for a kinda washable cushioned seat cushions that your baby legs and dangle thru, and yet you can simply grab baby and seatpads together kinda thing I saw in USA. I cant seem to find it or buy it. Maybe someone can kindly draw me a pattern, so I can sew it up and market it. Works at keeping your baby from being contaiminated by commercial or public strollers and high chairs so you dont always have to wipe down chairs at restaurants with anti septic wipes.

Some kids grow out of strollers real quick. Thats of course a lot of credit to daddy's strong back and mummies dislike of dealing with the kerbs and so on, especially in Asia.

If you want to ermm...change the baby on the floor. Maybe you should recarpet your home floor......bedrooms all the way to the living areas and get rid of any furnitures except for beanbags, so your baby can be tempted to crawl and explore. Keep glass panels close, with child safety clips . Electrical outlets covered, and maybe two grates/grills at the kitchen and living room door.

[viciouskitty74]

1) A clothes dryer. Dryer is good for the wet seasons. Even if you arent using cloth diapers. And a separate washing machine, should you be always washing really soiled adult clothing. The separate washer to wash only your wiffey, you, helper & babies daily clothing with baby laundry detergent. Babies like to suck off your clothes so detergent is a concern. And the throwing up......pooing and peeing......you will need lots of clothes on standby.

2) Portable radio and Cd player to play baby songs to soothe the baby.

3) Portable fan, to fan your baby.

4) A hot water dispenser. Electric hot water jug. and a spare water kette, to boil water in a hurry when the flask is reboiling.

5) A fridge to keep your baby's milk,food and teething items. Some cold compress thingy for fever and boo boos. Maybe even a water gel pillow. Lots of ice cubes in the freezer.

6) A pot to sterlise, boil your baby bottles, nipples or those sanitizer/sterliser thingy. But a big pot is cheaper and reuseable.

7) Either breast or formula milk, maybe a big enough thermos to hold the bottle to keep the bottles and its contents warmed up enough to feed, especially when you pull the ready mixed bottles of milk/pumped breastmilk from the fridge for late night feedings.

[steelepulse]

A few years back when we had a baby, we were quite shocked at how expensive stuff was here compared to Singapore. There is more competition here now, so maybe prices have come more in line than a few years ago. It seemed the imported stuff was real expensive and was probably due to Phuket being a relatively small market for the upscale imported stuff, hence the high mark up to pay staff, rent etc.

[madmitch]

You need to check the quality of Tesco Lotus/Big C stuff. It is not always good. You get what you pay for.

I've generally found Robinsons or Central to have the best quality items, and that includes looking at some of the small shops in Phuket Town. There are often special offers at these two stores but generally they are not that cheap.

I always check the quality before i buy, i did not check the quality of the baby gear just looked at it and it seemed the same quality you buy elsewhere.

Chain stores like Tesco Lotus, Big C and Carrefour here quite often have products manufactured under there own brand name in the same factories

as the more expensive brands, they buy large qantatys and can afford to sell them cheaper and still make the same markup.

An example in TL is a toaster they sell which is identical to several other brands and they are giving a money back guarantee if not satisfied with there

home brand, at least on there newer lines its printed on the package of the last home brand product i bought there.

There buying power is huge, that's why manufacturers look after them

Do you have a young child in Thailand? Answer: No.

Do I have a young child in Thailand? Answer: Yes

If the OP is interested, I would suggest she takes more notice of me than you but I would also suggest she looks for herself and forms her own opinion.

I cannot hope to compete with Vicious Kitty's advice, however.

And Steelepulse, totally agree and decent quality strollers/buggies/car seats are really expensive here.

Edited October 9, 2010 by madmitch

[viciouskitty74]

Another reason for the high prices of the baby strollers and car seats.

Thailand dont exactly have a legal requirement for your child to be in car seats, and those are only to cater to really safety conscious parents aka farangs. Thus there isnt any real demand for those goods to be moving off the shelves. So.......in short......I dont have to try to argue about businesses again.

Maybe should the thread starter goes back to the home country to show off the baby, can buy those strollers, car seats from home and bring back for use in Phuket? That will give the grandparents/aunts a decent excuse to buy baby presents too.

[napalm]

Also, I have a really good high quality child car seat for sale imported from Europe. PM me for more info, photos etc. I also have a bunch of baby stuff that you can have f.o.c.

[viciouskitty74]

Mitch, thanks for the compliment, I think.

I dont have children, and dont live in Thailand exactly.

But then, it common sense, when you dont see strollers, slopes/plenty of lifts in Phuket Thailand. Oh....and a small motorbike, with whole family, including family dog, 8 persons including babies......riding happily by with no helmets........

BTW, I saw and like this particular high chair combo in a mothercare kinda shop in Singapore. Cheap too....at S$149/-. Converts into a kids chair and table once baby outgrows the baby portion.

I was chatting with a old singapore grandpa of 80 years old, and we chatted about how we missed having those bamboo furnitures for babies and kids. From bicycle baby seats to high chairs that converts into high stools or low chairs.....they are environment friendly and cheap. Not like the new fangled stuff, where plastic and metal rods and joints rule supreme, along with the foams and special tailored cushioning. In the old days, we just rely on hardy pillow casings and cushions insets.

[petercallen]

You need to check the quality of Tesco Lotus/Big C stuff. It is not always good. You get what you pay for.

I've generally found Robinsons or Central to have the best quality items, and that includes looking at some of the small shops in Phuket Town. There are often special offers at these two stores but generally they are not that cheap.

I always check the quality before i buy, i did not check the quality of the baby gear just looked at it and it seemed the same quality you buy elsewhere.

Chain stores like Tesco Lotus, Big C and Carrefour here quite often have products manufactured under there own brand name in the same factories

as the more expensive brands, they buy large qantatys and can afford to sell them cheaper and still make the same markup.

An example in TL is a toaster they sell which is identical to several other brands and they are giving a money back guarantee if not satisfied with there

home brand, at least on there newer lines its printed on the package of the last home brand product i bought there.

There buying power is huge, that's why manufacturers look after them

Do you have a young child in Thailand? Answer: No.

Do I have a young child in Thailand? Answer: Yes

If the OP is interested, I would suggest she takes more notice of me than you but I would also suggest she looks for herself and forms her own opinion.

I cannot hope to compete with Vicious Kitty's advice, however.

And Steelepulse, totally agree and decent quality strollers/buggies/car seats are really expensive here.

Well i certainly would not shop at central or Robinsons for baby items.

They have huge markups to cover there running costs and in phuket never have sales.

We were in Bangkok last year and went to a genuine sale in Robinsons there 40% to 60% of

I bought a pair of sandals for myself and a pair for my Father inlaw for the same price as i paid for one pair in Robinsons Phuket.

THE SANDALS WERE ALL THE SAME BRAND not cheapo ones brought in for the sale.

No i do not have any young children but i have more young Grandchildren than you have children

I am sure the OP will check for themselves and form there own opinion

[Ashmanator]

wow, that's a lot of replies!!

Thanks to everyone for their advice/ suggestions.

It seems that there are not too many options locally, unless prepared to pay the huge mark up on most imported( therefore safety certified) items.

I was just surprised that there are not more online shopping sites available with less mark ups (overheads).

I will keep looking and as someone suggested, there seems to be a lot of second hand stuff around. However when it's your first child, it's kind of nice to have it all new and shiny!!!

Some good advice there, thanks to everyone again.

[SeanPhuket]

Hi, for our 2 kids (one two, the other 8 weeks), we bought from Central, Robinsons in town and one or two things from Lotus.

Its quite right whats been said about the mark-up in the quality stuff from say Central and Robinsons, however spending a little time looking around we was lucky to come across a few promotions which bought the mark-up down a little and back to reality.

But we, as young parents, found that best (more expensive) wasn't always best, for example we got one of those modern style cots with felt edges and metal frame that you are able to fold up and store easily, looking quite trendy too. It was ok for the first baby but as soon as it was folded, something made a noise and 2 years later when I attempted to to re-assemble it, it would was a health hazard. So off we, at more expense, went to buy a new cot for our second, this time we found a good and solid wooden cot at a mid price range. Less cost then the original, harder to take down but will last for years! (hopefully wont need years out of it though).

However we found the cheaper was indeed quite cheap, for example we got a more expensive and stronger buggy at first but my misses found it difficult to close down and put in the boot of the car. So we bought another, which was less then half the price I think and it was light and easy to fold and unfold, but of course we are now using the original again because the cheaper one is knackered and starts to close when moving along with it.

Things like toys, well, if you want toys to last then there is only one place to buy them, thats Central. People may disagree with me here but every time I have bought from anywhere else they brake after a week and then you have to consider about small parts of the toys in your baby's mouth. Central is more expensive, but the quality is a million times better!! And safer!!

My advice, if you are concerned about the price and value for money, is to think practical, things which will get lifted, moved and banged etc. it maybe worth spending a little mark-up and things that are more stationary it is possible to cut back a little.

Generally, keep your eyes peeled for promotions in any of the places above, for example yesterday; Thomas the Tank Engine set - the original price was 2400 but i got it for 2000, thats for christmas but saving 400 baht which brings the toy more in line with value and getting it now is worth it because these 400 bahts add up!

Cheers and good luck!

[seaeagle]

wow, that's a lot of replies!!

I will keep looking and as someone suggested, there seems to be a lot of second hand stuff around. However when it's your first child, it's kind of nice to have it all new and shiny!!!

Trust me - you're heading for the most expensive time of your lives, so far! Your hand is always in your pocket for nappies, food, toys etc etc. Your going to need every spare $, £ or Baht you can get - don't dismiss the second-hand market, especially where expats have brought quality items into Thailand themselves.

[steelepulse]

It never hurts to check the phuket gazette classifieds or post there looking for items. Child toys/ clothes are a very perishable item as kids grow out of them/it very fast.