Heads up on FuzziBunz - Page 4

[aisraeltax]

im not as knowledgable as you guys, but can you please clear something up for me:
1. is MOE and FB the same co? if not, what is their r/s? (business wise)

2. i thought this was a FB requirement, not something that retailers (such as Mother of Eden) can chose NOT to do?

and i agree with the comment that is what FB was trying to avoid was competitors giving away free inserts, they could merely put that in the licensing agreement. it woudl be a very simple contractual provision and NOT cause customers to accept an insert they don't like.

i dont care about the insert but for some reason i don't like stuffing the pockets after the wash...,i dont like the way it feels. i much prefer the hemp and UTN inserts i have.

[AllyRae]

Mother of Eden is the company that makes fuzzi bunz--they aren't retailers.

[warneral]

Well my stastics are far from scientific I just threw that number out there

HOWEVER I would be surprised if it were less as I feel it is a generous number.

From spending 4 years on the boards it seems that most prefer hemp or cotton over microterry.

Hopefully, for the sake of MOE, their decision to put themselves and their retailers ahead of the CONSUMER, it won't bite them in the butt.

Originally Posted by AllyRae

I'm curious as to where you got your statistics... I *am* a retailer and 99.9% of my customers who buy fuzzi bunz buy the microterry inserts (and quite a few have bought more of the microterry that I was giving for free). Only a very tiny percentage buy the hemp inserts--I have 2 or 3 types of hemp inserts, and they've just sat on my shelves, whereas the microterry has flown...

Just goes to show you that there are a whole lot more CDers out there than just who reply to this thread, and many of them are quite happy with the inserts....

[warneral]

Originally Posted by mmacdo10

It will allow hard working WAHMs to actually make a profit on diaper sales instead of working for pennies.

You are talking about the retailers I assume.

But what about WAHM's who sew inserts and *don't* give them away for free (not that I have a problem with the ones who do)?

[mamamoo]

Originally Posted by Smullarkey

Any retailer who did that would have their retailer status revoked- not to mention it would be a backhanded way to undercut your fellow wahms

I understand that the sticker shock is hard to swallow- especially at first. But just a year ago (maybe a little more), FB were sold for 14.95, with no insert. You had to get an insert somehow- prefold, hemp, microterry, whatever. Then a few stores started offering free inserts to get a competitive advantage. All of a sudden, if you didn't offer a free insert, you could not sell a FB to save your life. I sold about a dozen a *month* at that point because the big stores were giving away free inserts and selling dozens a day. Eventually, most of us realized if we were to compete -at all- we had to jump on the bandwagon. And then started the FB arms race- first free inserts, then free shipping, then free wipes with a 12 pack, etc., etc., etc. I have lost count of the retailers I've seen close their doors in the last year. Many realized that working 40+hours a week for single digit margins was not worth the time taken from their families.

I think it is more about the lack of choices that the price thing...not that I use fb, but if I did I would be mad because if I was buying inserts I would want organic or hemp not Micro...

[aisraeltax]

Originally Posted by AllyRae

Mother of Eden is the company that makes fuzzi bunz--they aren't retailers.

thanks for the clarification! so who makes the microterry inserts? is that MOE also?

this just really rubs me the wrong way.

where can we find other diapers that are not FB? feel free to spam me with WAHMs, etc. i THOUGHT i was over when i found FB (meaning that i dont really look for other diapers..just go with FB) but right now im going to come out of my shell and look to branching off to other stuff b/c well..i don't like not having a choice and i don't like the taste i get in my mouth. no, thats not scientific, but its what drives the limited amount of consumerism i engage in!

[Trishy]

Yes, MOE makes the microterry inserts that must be sold with the diapers.

There are a lot of other pocket diaper makers. I don't have personal experience with any other pockets but Happy Hineys and Swaddlebees. I have been pleased with both products but find the sizing on the Swaddlebees runs a bit small.

[Lilangels]

Originally Posted by PatchyMama

I don't have an opinion either way about the inserts, but I just read something on diaper swappers that applied to this. The license fee for pocket diapers has been dropped considerably... the post I read said it was $50/yr for level 1 and 500/yr for level 2 (level 2 is for those WAHMs who make more than $10,000 a month in pocket diaper sales). Second that the no aplix rule only applies to level 2. WAHMs in level one are allowed to have a license and make aplix pockets.

Could someone show me a link saying this? The way I understood it is that it is ALOT more than that and I was only aware of 1 level. You will see less and less pocket makers if what I remember is true.........

[girl138]

Originally Posted by Lilangels

Could someone show me a link saying this? The way I understood it is that it is ALOT more than that and I was only aware of 1 level. You will see less and less pocket makers if what I remember is true.........

http://www.diaperswappers.com/forum/...per%2C+license

hth!

[ibusymomto5]

Originally Posted by mamamoo

I think it is more about the lack of choices that the price thing...not that I use fb, but if I did I would be mad because if I was buying inserts I would want organic or hemp not Micro...

I think the lack of choice is two fold. One is about not being able to choose which type of insert in the first place, and the other is not having a choice of buying just the pocket when you go to size up. It seems to me that plenty of people are angry at both of these things, and I do believe MOE will see a drop in sales over this. Even if you like the FB microfiber inserts, the simple fact is that if you already have a whole stash of them, why would you want or need a whole 2-3 dozen more when you go to size up. I've read over and over of people who have decided to not go with FB when it's time to buy the next size. Those people seem to be looking into other options, and I can't say that I blame them.

The way I see it, there are steps MOE could take to show that they had their customers' interests at heart. One, they could give options of different types of inserts. Two, they could give returning customers the option of buying only the pocket when they go to size up.

[mamamoo]

Originally Posted by ibusymomto5

I think the lack of choice is two fold. One is about not being able to choose which type of insert in the first place, and the other is not having a choice of buying just the pocket when you go to size up. It seems to me that plenty of people are angry at both of these things, and I do believe MOE will see a drop in sales over this. Even if you like the FB microfiber inserts, the simple fact is that if you already have a whole stash of them, why would you want or need a whole 2-3 dozen more when you go to size up. I've read over and over of people who have decided to not go with FB when it's time to buy the next size. Those people seem to be looking into other options, and I can't say that I blame them.

The way I see it, there are steps MOE could take to show that they had their customers' interests at heart. One, they could give options of different types of inserts. Two, they could give returning customers the option of buying only the pocket when they go to size up.

true...I guess people could sell the inserts with their used dipes when they are ready to size up...just seems like a bad business move.

[ibusymomto5]

Originally Posted by mamamoo

true...I guess people could sell the inserts with their used dipes when they are ready to size up...just seems like a bad business move.

I agree that it seems like a bad business move.

[nighten]

Here's what MOE has to say on it:

Click Link for Full Article.

Mother of Eden Announces MSRP Change
for Its Top-Selling, Patented-Fuzzi Bunz™ Pocket Diapers


NEW IBERIA, La., August 10, 2006 – Mother of Eden, the makers of the Fuzzi Bunz Stay Dry diapering system, today announces that the new manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of Fuzzi Bunz will be $17.95 as of September 1, 2006.

<snippage>

... However, just because Fuzzi Bunz come with inserts, many parents find that other inserts will work well too. While Fuzzi Bunz will come as a set, our customers can continue to use what ever “stuffing” works best for them.”

I cut out the bulk to less than 100 words, per TOS. Sorry mods.

And I bolded the section where they admit that many consumers don't/won't use the inserts we're now being forced to buy.

I wrote MOE and let them know that after our child outgrows her Mediums, we'll be forced to buy different diapers. I'm appalled at MOE's decision to punish consumers by forcing us to pay for inserts when not all of us will use them. (Want to let MOE know how you feel? Write them here.)

Yes, I understand the WAHM's needing more cash. I don't fault anyone for this. But I'm a SAHM and I need to save cash. Period. And I was very happy to find a WAH family business to buy our FB from. And yes, that included free inserts. And yes, that's the retailer's choice. As a SAHM, I have to look for bargains and knowing we're going to end up with twice as many inserts as we need if we continue to expand our FB stash later on, is wasteful and too costly.

I don't plan to resell my FB. I plan to reuse them for later children if possible.

And being forced to buy $3 gourmet drool towels is ridiculous, IMO.

[Elowyn]

Guess I'll be sticking with Ebay for my FBs. I think what MOE is doing sucks - there are other ways of protecting WAHMs without forcing the consumer to buy something she doesn't need. Yargh.

[mom2olivia]

The only justification I can see for doing this is that maybe they were getting complaints about the diapers not working when people weren't using terrific inserts.

If this change was motiviated by any other reason I say shame on them. Their little announcement doesn't really justify any reasoning for it other than they haven't had a price increase in years, whoopie do! They are adding an insert to the "package", of course that would result in a price increase. My guess is their sales for their inserts is way down because there are better ones out there and they want a piece of the action.

And like others have mentioned I can understand bumgenious doing it, but the insert grows with the diaper.

Hopefully they'll get enough negative feedback that they'll at least consider offering a hemp alternative to their "package deals".

[nighten]

Originally Posted by mom2olivia

The only justification I can see for doing this is that maybe they were getting complaints about the diapers not working when people weren't using terrific inserts.

If this change was motiviated by any other reason I say shame on them. Their little announcement doesn't really justify any reasoning for it other than they haven't had a price increase in years, whoopie do! They are adding an insert to the "package", of course that would result in a price increase. My guess is their sales for their inserts is way down because there are better ones out there and they want a piece of the action.

And like others have mentioned I can understand bumgenious doing it, but the insert grows with the diaper.

Hopefully they'll get enough negative feedback that they'll at least consider offering a hemp alternative to their "package deals".

The problem with the dipe not working great due to faulty inserts doesn't fly in my book, because it's my understanding the MOE inserts aren't as absorbant as some of the other types commonly used (including other brands of microterry).

I think they're getting greedy and it sucks. I got a reply to my comment I sent them:

Edited because apparently it's against the TOS to show a private, albeit blatantly generic, curt and IMO, rude email reply. Sorry, mods!

[aisraeltax]

do you think someone needs to be brought down a peg or two? I mean, really! i just don't get this. i was going to let it go and be on my merry way, but that comment from customer service? that is just RUDE (as my 8 yo says).

i WAS going to be quiet about it but now i think ill open my big mouth when someone asks for a recommendatino from me for cd's (not that im an expert..far from it)>

[mom2olivia]

That is a terrible response. I've got to imagine that they are receiving tons of feedback since this announcement and at the very least you would think they would have a "generic" response prepared to address the most common concerns from their customers.

Wow, just terrible!

I just decided right before this announcement to try out FBs as that is one diaper I hadn't tried yet and I did manage to get a couple before they decided to do this package deal. They are decent, but I won't be buying them w/ the inserts. I'm curious to see what will happen to their sales figures after this move. From the sounds of things the majority will be moving away from them. On the plus side the market for used FBs will be HOT

[mamanurse]

I still had my receipt for some large size fb that I bought two weeks ago. I just went and returned them out of principle. I've decided to buy Swaddlebees instead.

Oh yeah. I also emailed them a constructive, but bitter email. I'm sure I'll get the same generic reply.

[nighten]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought their reply (or lack of one, really), was rude.

I've been spouting the praises of FB nonstop since we started using them months ago. If MOE carries through with this, we'll be looking for new dipes. I mean heck, I could've gone with BumGenius or Mommy's Touch from the get-go with the price increase FB is planning, and have purchased far fewer dipes.