It’s Gymbucks Lunacy Time

Posted on 03 23, 2006 under Her by Noodad |

It"s that time of year again. You thought you started to see the warning signs but you weren"t sure. The look of determination in your wife"s eyes. The increased time at the mall or online. Sorry fellas but it is Gymbucks redemption time at Gymboree again. The time of year where mothers and grandmothers everywhere flock to the Gymboree stores like each location is their very own Burning Man. If you didn"t know any better, you would think Gymbo himself was holding a bubble wand to their heads demanding their Gymbucks or he would smother them with the parachute.

Let me first establish that I do not really have a problem with Gymboree. They make great clothes. They also offer great classes. For me, the biggest problem with the Gymbucks program is that it is brilliant. So brilliant that it suckers women to fall into their trap. I ran the numbers. I"m in favor of companies making profit but the admiration wanes a tad. Especially when it is at the expense of the fund I set up to get one of those home soda machines. Let me decipher it for you so that you can get to know it as intimately as me.During special times of year Gymboree will give the customer a $25 Gymbucks Coupon for every $50 you spend. That"s great. You get it for half off right? Not so fast. First off, you can"t use those Gymbucks right away. You have to keep the coupons with the receipt (more on that later) for special Gymbucks times of the year. Presumably during the time of year when they do the least amount of business.

So now you can just go and spend that $25 right? Not so fast. You can apply that $25 coupon towards a purchase of $50 or more. So the net experience financially is you get $100 worth of clothes for $75. Not bad.

The main problem with this scenario is the Gymbo Mind Meld disallows any otherwise level-headed woman from spending just $50. And even better Gymboree now convinced them to make the initial purchase and then come back 3 months later. Didn"t I tell you it was brilliant? If Gymboree just told you you had a 50% off coupon when you spend $50 most people will just forget about the darn thing. But because it is $25 it is regarded like it is actual money burning a hole in the pocketbook. Our wives hold onto them in their purses ready for the exact moment they find out it is Gymbucks time. I bet your wife has some Gymbucks right now in her purse.

Here"s a major issue with Gymboree though. This pertains to the fact that your Gymbuck must be accompanied by a receipt. This is to ensure employees don"t raid the supply closet and sell them in nickel bags at the local Kidgits. Or that queen lunatics buy up tons of clothes and sell the Gymbucks on eBay (It still happens quite a bit). This presents itself with a problem when you try to get a gift and require a gift receipt. There have been instances where Gymboree will simply not give a gift receipt or if you demand one, will not give you your Gymbuck. It sucks man.

So Noodads, here"s what you need to know. Let your wife spend the money. Don"t try to argue that Gymboree clothes are too expensive and you could buy twice the amount of clothes at the Gap. It is not worth it. You wives will be happy that they held onto their precious Gymbucks the whole time and your kids will look adorable.  You could do a whole lot worse.

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Viewing 9 Comments

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    The attitude I am sensing in this category is one of appeasement. :p If I am getting it all wrong please accept my apologies, but let me offer another point of view. If you are independently wealthy, congratulations, you can stop reading now. For those that aren\'t let me play a little devil\'s advocate here.

    Why would you let your wife buy whatever she wants for your child just to save yourself some grief? Okay, I know that answer but it\'s not always the right answer. There is absolutely nothing wrong with shopping a Gymboree as long as it falls into budget. You know, that same budget that you are expected to follow. This applies to both of you, shopping for yourselves and/or the children. Don\'t get me wrong, there\'s no hard line here. There are times to splurge and spoil because it does feel good and you want to do it. Especially in the beginning, more so if it\'s your first. Just remember they aren\'t dolls and they do grow...too fast.
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    Bigdaddy, the attitude is not of appeasement. It is of knowing which battles to fight.

    I\'m not saying to let your wife buy whatever they want for the sake of buying. I am saying that if your urges are to dismiss the purchase (in budget or not) just because you don\'t see the value in it, you should chill.
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    ONE slight correction needed here Noodad. ;-)

    \"So now you can just go and spend that $25 right? Not so fast. You can apply that $25 coupon towards a purchase of $50 or more. So the net experience financially is you get $100 worth of clothes for $75. Not bad.\"

    Actually, for EVERY $50 you spend, you use ONE $25 Gymbuck! So, rather than as you explained above... If you spend $100, you only pay $50. That is what makes it great. If you spend $1,000 and have $500 Gymbucks, you save $500. See.. lol :roll
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    Don\'t forget that you spend $50 to get the Gymbuck - they don\'t just give them out. So Noodad is correct!
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    Don\'t forget that you spend $50 to get the Gymbuck - they don\'t just give them out. So Noodad is correct!
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    Actually, Noodad IS right. You spend $50 to get the coupon. Then you pick out $50 worth of clothes and pay $25. So essentially, you ARE spending $75 for $100 worth of clothes.

    Trust me. I\'ve been one of \"those women\" for year :)
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    Hi - what im feeling here is that it is not about men letting women spend money. I don\\\'t need permission to spend money. Men don\\\'t let or not let their wives spend money ... you should find a new husband if that is happening. I am a resonsible women/wife/mother. If I choose to spend my money on Gymboree, I do. I know how much to spend and how much not to spend. If you have budget issues they should be mutually agreed upon. However, this is not an issue of being allowed or getting permssion from ones spouce ... later for that! If your overspending, then it is more then just gymbo and gymbucks causing your habit. I could never be with a man who has to let me spend money. I didn\\\'t leave my brain or my self respect at the alter!
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    I got gymbucks for enrolling my child in a wonderful gymboree music class. However their clothes are overpriced. I prefer to get clothes from childrens place or carters for $2 or less.

    To me spending $50 to get $25 off is a loss of $25 unless I can sell those gymboree clothes off for a good profit.
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    i love gymbucks...i am a responsible wife/mother/women myself...and i am the bill payer in my home...when i go to gymboree i know what i can spend and what i can't...and i would rather my kids have less outfits in there closet of better quality than 100 outfits from walmart.....come on how many times have you picked up a shirt thinking it looks well made in target or walmart and it is only 8 dollars...wow what a bargain...then you wash it and it gets shorter and gets wider...ruined garbage...gymbucks rock!!!

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