My Dear Warehouse Sale (25th June - 5th July 2009)

Mommy went to the My Dear Warehouse Sale again (the last time was here) to see what's in store this time and also if possible, to look for a rocking horse for Juan Or. This warehouse sale is situated at Taman Meranti Jaya Industrial Area, somewhere deep in Puchong. Because it's an industrial area, the parking is free, but depends on your luck - if there's vacant parking, then you get to park. However, overall, it is not a busy area.

Upon reaching there, there were basically 3 sections to the warehouse sale: one is a third-party seller getting a 'lift' from My Dear company, the second are the My Dear items put outside their shop building (but under the canopy, of course) selling smaller items (e.g., baby bedding, spring cot, baby carrier) and display units of bulk items (e.g. display units of baby walkers, tricycles), and third are the My Dear bulk items displayed inside their shop building (these are brand new units and not display units). Mommy will review each section in as much as what Mommy can remember:

1. The third-party seller's section

This third-party seller sells toys, baby/toddler clothes, Bumbo chairs, baby toiletries, baby gift packs and baby souvenir items. Overall, the things in this section are not cheap at all, so Mommy didn't pay much attention to this section. For example, a toddler boy's suit set costs something like RM13.90. Other examples are like in the photos below:

(Baby rompers selling for RM15 per piece!? Got to be kidding! RM15 is still expensive! The worst part is that the seller purposely 'cancels off' the RM20, instead put RM15 - as if the discount is genuine!)

(Top shelf are Bumbo chairs, selling for RM145 each [normal price is RM199 or RM200]. Bottom shelf are baby clothes gift packs, each box selling for RM25.)

(Baby toiletries, each at 500 mL selling for RM21 or RM24 per bottle, depending on whether it's baby shampoo or baby bath or baby lotion. Mommy thinks the prices are exorbitant!)

2. My Dear's outside (canopy) section

Basically, the prices did not differ from the last warehouse sale's price. The baby items under the canopy are largely categorized as brand new items and display units (i.e., those recalled from displays in supermarkets). Here are some of the prices (or price ranges) that Mommy remembered:

• Baby bedding and mattresses: RM30, RM75, RM104
• Spring cot frame: RM83-RM130
• Hammock (the sarong): RM10
• Mosquito net for the hammock, with zip: RM15
• Playgym: RM55, RM70
• Clip-on fan: RM15
• Baby pillow: RM2 - very cheap!
• Baby bolster: RM3 - very cheap!
• Baby walker (basic type): RM20 (display units)
• Baby walker (with electronic press buttons): RM40 (display units)
• Display units of tricycles: (No price tag)
• Display units of electric baby motorcycles/cars: RM100, others had no price tag

Here are some photos of other items under the canopy:

(Baby changing table with the baby 'seat' for RM80, display unit.)

(Cloth type of baby car seat which is put over the adult car seat, selling for RM46. Mommy thinks this is very expensive for a warehouse sale because Mommy saw a similar one sold in Hytex Warehouse Sale for RM15 only!)

(Moses baskets selling for RM10 each, which is very cheap, probably are display units.)

(Cushiony type of baby carriers, selling for RM53 or RM50-something, depending on design. However, those simple types of baby carriers are selling for RM19.)

(Moses basket with the standing frame plus the frills for RM200 or RM300 - can't see clearly.)

3. My Dear brand new bulk items (inside the building)

Here's how it looks like when Mommy stepped in.

(On the left side are mostly baby walkers, stroller, rocking animals and tolo cars, the right side are huge items like slides and swings, and the middle section are baby cots, playpens, tricycles, bicycles and electric cars.)

(Simple type of safety gate selling for RM91, the more sophisticated gate for RM173 and extension bar set for RM26.)

(The simplest high chair sold in My Dear, selling for RM68 if Mommy did not remember wrongly, other more sophisticated ones selling for RM80+ or RM100 or RM100+.)

(If Mommy didn't remember wrongly, the price was RM173.)

(If Mommy didn't remember wrongly, the price was RM300 where the bottom cushion part feels smoother.)

(Mommy spotted this boy sitting on the electric buggy, not wanting to leave despite his parents pestering him to come out. This kind of cars are selling for RM200 plus and above. Mommy saw one children go-kart car sellling for RM190.)

What you see in the photos are just some of the bulk items Mommy saw. Actually there were more varieties than what you see in the photos. For example the car seats, there were several designs available. Other things sold in this section:

• Tricycles: RM29-RM98
• Police motorbike (electric): RM100
• 'Tricycles' that have detachable small wheels: RM100
• Playpen: RM150
• Infant car seat basket: RM78
• Infant car seat basket with swing base: RM128
• Infant car seat: RM104
• Baby monitor set: RM160
• Safety locks for cabinets: RM6, RM10, RM12, RM20
• Potty in the shape of a kiddy chair with backrest: RM39
• Baby walkers (sophisticated designs): RM50 to RM90-something
• Baby cot package (with bedding set): RM400-something

So, did Mommy find any rocking horse for Juan Or? Yes, there were 2 types: first was the one with furry animal body (RM75) and the other one was all-plastic body (RM60). For the all-plastic body type, it came in 2 designs: giraffe (yellow body) and horse (white body). So Mommy chose the rocking giraffe because Mommy didn't like the horse to be white in colour because soon it would become dirty white. Also, Mommy didn't like the furry animal type because the fur collects dust easily and cannot be washed. The rocking giraffe is actually a 2-in-1 in that it has the rocking function and the wheels function. The original price showed RM79.90. Mommy also recalled seeing similar rocking horse in Giant selling for RM79.90 and to date, Mommy has never seen the rocking horse at sale price.

(Here's the collection bay area after Mommy had paid for the rocking giraffe at the cashier counter. However, credit card is only allowed for transactions worth RM100 and above.)

(This is the rocking giraffe that Mommy bought for RM60. It's still in the box - will get Papa to put it together this weekend and let Juan Or rock on it!)

Actually, when Mommy was making up the mind whether to buy the rocking giraffe or not, Mommy managed to have a short chat with a tall and burly Chinese man wearing My Dear's staff T-shirt. From the conversation, Mommy reckoned probably he is one of My Dear's 'top people'. He mentioned that My Dear products can never be found in hypermarkets because My Dear does not want to succumb to hypermarkets' pressure to lower their prices. He particularly mentioned that in the past, My Dear only had one experience with Tesco and that Tesco 'forced' them to push their prices down, so My Dear got scared already. He said that if you deal with Tesco, in the end, Tesco will control you. So what does that mean to end-users like Mommy? Obviously, who controls who in the end is not the end-user's problem, but what it implies is that My Dear products are highly unlikely to go super-cheap unlike some baby products you see on offer in hypermarkets. He also mentioned that most My Dear products are sourced from China and Taiwan (i.e., they pay the China or Taiwan company to manufacture and put the My Dear brand name) except for few items that My Dear manufacture by themselves. Self-manufactured items, as far as Mommy can remember, are spring cot frame and one model of toddler car seat. He did mention a few other self-manufactured items, but Mommy can't remember.

By the way, My Dear holds lucky draws three times in a day - 11am, 3pm and 6 pm. For each session, there will be 5 draws. No purchase is needed. All you have to do is just to request for the lucky draw slip from their staff to fill in your name and be qualified for the draw. However, Mommy's name was not picked.

What's Mommy's conclusion about this sale? Well, choose wisely because not all things are cheap, but not all things are expensive too. But then, in this warehouse sale, there are more things expensive than cheap. So better be prepared with knowledge of the market price or store sale prices first to know whether you are getting a good deal or not.