PBC Expo Feedback

[bubhub]

Please let us know what you thought of the Melbourne PBC Expo in the thread below...it helps to shape the show for next year and ensure that you get to see the products and services you want.

Thank you!

[PhAnToM]

Hi Hilary. It was great meeting you at the PBC Expo.
As the mother of bored 4 year old, I was hoping to find more about child friendly places in Melbourne, that I could take her to keep her stimulated.
I think other than the music school and the gymbaroo, there was nothing that let parents know about where we can take our children throughout the year.
It would have been good to have a stand about places of interest for toddlers and preschoolers. :yes:

I also noticed that this year, it seemed to be much more about selling merchandise than providing samples for parents to try. I'm sure when I went a few years ago, the majority off the expo was about experiencing and sampling products.

[MummyCharmzy]

I liked all the stalls but specificially:

BubHub it was great to meet some more mummys from here

Baby Beehinds - Davina is lovely and adore all of her products

Baby Hands - so interesting to learn more about baby signing and I purchased there pack of book, flash cards and poster

Infant massage stall - so many helpful tips were given to me on massaging all of the children not just my bubs

Lindam - got myself a bargain 2 bottle electric sterilzer for $10

Baby Mum Mum - what a fantastic new product for 1-5 year olds, its like a cruskit made of rice and can be mixed with formula to make a rice cereal for bubs I ended up buying 6 boxes lol

Practical Parenting - allowed me to reknewmy magazine subscription and get some freebies with it

Mother and Baby - BRILLIANT 'showbag' this year for $10, love my tupperware container and sippy cups lol

Out and About with kids (think thats what its called) magazine subscription stand with magazine subscription, 2 years for the price of one with a spin on a wheel for a free toy or DVD (I won a cute toy)

Baba Slings for helping me find more ways to use the sling I already own


Things I didnt like:
2 of the 3 days I was there I ended up having to sit on the floor to feed Savannah as there were just not enough chairs! The other day I didnt have her with me so no problem

I think they need someone walking around selling drinks as it will ease the queues in the food area and just help make it a more pleasent environment rather than dying for thirst lol

There were more stalls I really loved but thats all I can think of off the top of my head, will update later :)

[*Sparkles*]

I thought it was good and would go again next year. It was nice to meet some of the bubhub ladies on the stand too.

I would have liked more free samples though.
I also noticed that alot of places had marked up their prices and then discounted them to make them look on sale, but really they weren't!! (Baby Co was shocking for this)

It was very informative and I have never seen so many pregnant ladies in one place before :laughing:

[Chickadee]

I am probably not going to give completely objective feedback as I just browsed most of the stalls. But as mum of a toddler I did also find the focus of the Expo to be on pregnancy and infant stuff. In addition to the music school and gymbaroo I did notice the swim school stands though (2 I think). I was disappointed that the Montessori Association was not there.

The activity stations for toddlers & kids were a great idea, though we didn't get to try many. We did go through the animal petting zoo. I was put off initially by the line up but it was actually a very short wait and I was really pleased by how it was run. It was clean, I liked having the native animals to look at (though the animals didn't look too happy). Not having to pay for the feed was nice and having a set time inside meant that the waits were kept short and there were no arguments with my toddler about having to leave. One of the ladies even spotted that we hadn't held the bunny and made sure my DD got a chance. Big thumbs up for the people who ran it.

It was great that there was a book stand there. But as at other shows I've been to, the stand was very crowded and I gave up trying to fight to see books. I did want to buy one of their show special bags but they were not clearly labelled as to which were toddlers and which were baby bags, and I couldn't figure out who to ask. That business (I forget who) needs to use more space and reorganise their stand so that it is easier to get through and pay.

Thumbs up to the stand selling the Chaos Cubic Puzzle (might have been Uniquc Product Marketing Group?). Their show special of $40 for 3 sets of the building blocks was a great deal and I love this product!

Could the expo next year be in one of the halls closer to the main entrance of the building? ie closer to the main baby change toilet, as trying to take a stroller into the nearer ladies toilets was impossible.

[KarniF00l]

I am probably not going to give completely objective feedback as I just browsed most of the stalls. But as mum of a toddler I did also find the focus of the Expo to be on pregnancy and infant stuff.

:yes: I thought the exact same thing. The PBC expo is focused mainly on pregnant women/expecting parents and newborns but other than that it was okay i guess. It was my first time going this year and i don't think it was so great that i would go back again next year. Although, i did pick up some great buys but it was things that i wouldn't normally want or need. I just wanted to spend money as per usual :rolleyes:

[lucyrose9]

I went to the expo last year and came home with heaps of free samples of baby food, nappies, creams etc.
This year you had to buy everything with no samples this was bad if your child doesn't like it then its a waste of money.
I did enjoy the day and managed to buy a few products and meet some of the bub hubbers:smiliedance:
My highlight was getting my daughters photo taken by the organisers to use next year to promote the expo.

[1+1=5]

the place was way too crowded and i couldn't get a good look at half the stalls. there were a LOT of prams and people being pushy so we came and went pretty quickly.
i did find the bubhub stand but whom ever was there was busy so we left with our crancky 3 yr old for lunch. i did get a pink ribbon but then lost it so i'm really dissapointed in that :(
i don't think i will go next year.

[bigglet]

Last year I was extremely impressed with the amount of samples and products I got to try out - this year I didn't get half as much and there wasn't as many "bargains" as I had hoped for.

I went with a friend who is pregnant for the first time and she was just overwhelemed with the amount of choice and products. I think it just confused her even more :o

Also - I went on the last day and maybe by that time people manning the stands were bored by it all but I was surprised by the lack of service I got and it wasn't because it was busy!! Many times I had to get their attention (they were talking among themselves) and in a few instances after "hovering" I ended up walking away! :(

Loved the water cooler idea but there wasn't enough water to go around but I guess it was just too popular :p

I would go again and recommend it but had it not been for the free bubhub passes I would have been disappointed had I paid for entry.

[Lollie86]

I noticed it was really muggy inside (not sure if the air con was on?) But otherwise a really good day.

It was my first time and I'm looking forward to next year. :)

Not sure how it will be with the new addition though! :eek:

The information was really good, we picked up a whole heap of info but found it a lot easier to just get all the brochures and go through them at home.

[kymmy]

It was my first Expo and it was okay. I mainly wanted to go to see cloth irl. But it was too busy by the time we got to the end. I liked that there was a varied amount of products and some of it was very interesting. I wasn't impressed with the plastic toys etc and I didn't get any samples :confused: But I think it was good in that it gave an idea of what is available to pregnant women in particular (though it would have been very overwhelming to me!)

[steve]

Wife and I had a good time found a lot of useful information and got a lot of great samples. How ever it got really busy and a lot of people where pushing and getting upset. I hope this year they will make it bigger or have a better lay out.
But well worth the time :)

[lilly]

Hi, I enjoyed it, second time I have been. Though it is kinda stressful and you feel you can't stop and look at a stand for too long without moving on because of the amound of prams etc. behind you.

Some times there was gridlock in the aisles with prams heading in all different directions and people having to back up etc. so the flow could get going again.

Crazy idea, probably, but would it be possible to suggest a direction for crowd flow,and divide the lanes into two,like you would a road. Just might make it easier.

cheers,
Lilly

[MummyCharmzy]

Loved the expo as always, was rapt to see prembaby there even if it did bring up some strong emotions for me and sands was great having a stand there. Quite a very nappy choices came in handy! Lots of cheap baby wipes at the swisspers stand.

Savannah loved the playarea in the centre, she wanted to take one of the dolls home lol

Was VERy busy though especially in the safeways section so I bypassed that the first day and only ducked in the second day.

SO much tupperware in the bags!! Did anyone else notice that? definitely not complaining about it I was rapt lol

Couldnt believeeeeee the 'instant milk' machine.. :o who would have thought of a machine to make instant formula like that lol

Love going to see lots of new inventions, learn some more about products and organisations i was interested in and gather some information to give me some things to think about at home.

[ecw]

i thought it was great although i agree with the fact that it didnt cater really for the toddlers and they definaltley need more seats available!!

and there used to be more givaways........

[MummyCharmzy]

I think this year they gave away a lot if you bought something first. So not so good if you werent going to buy anything but I went to purchase things and I got a LOT more for my money than I would have instore/online :)

[Milliner]

I enjoyed it again this year, went Sat and Sun. I did spend to much money on a nappy bag.

[Jif]

Enjoyed it and would go again next year. We were there 3 hours going around. The water coolers were great as we took our own bottles so could keep browsing and shopping.
I'm pregnant and I think there was more geared to preg and newborns than older tots. It was crowded and we missed a few bits due to congestion and giving up on getting through. I think a bit more space and lanes for traffic would help.
Didn't bother with the safeway bit as the queue was HUGE!
Saw a good range of prams, nappies, cots. Joined the Breastfeeding assoc.

[jbie]

i only got there at 3 pm on the first day. i really really would have liked it to stay open a bit longer? surely there're pg mums or mums of older kids, or mums like me who went without baby, who would have stayed much later than 4pm.
zoomed around, so there were quite a few stands i didn't see.

i didn't get any samples at all, even though i bought a few things. no sample bags either. why is that? maybe i didn't stop at the right sort of stands.

the safeway section was insanely and unpleasantly crowded. i thought they should have anticipated that.

def very difficult getting around with all the prams. i like the idea of 2 one-way lanes..

i bought quite a lot of things, from displayers who had expo specials. quite a few people didn't have any specials, which i can't understand.

i would have loved a cloakroom, as i got so weighed down with shopping. not everyone brings a big pram..

my favourite displayers were - darlingsdownunder, and the bookshop

ok that's my 2c. i def will be going next yr