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I love the site, although I am certainly not your market (male, don't want kids). However, a month ago someone posted an almost identical concept to HN. I thin

I love the site, although I am certainly not your market (male, don't want kids). However, a month ago someone posted an almost identical concept to HN. I think it was for wedding registries though. Overall, great concept, attractive website, and a real need. My only criticism relates to it being fairly obvious. What hacker hasn't bought a wedding/baby gift and thought "Wouldn't it be cool if there was a registry for any store?" My point is, I'm sure this has been tried hundreds of times. So you have to ask yourself, "Why didn't those become mainstream, despite solving an obvious need?" and figure out how yours will execute differently. I really don't know the answer, but it has a lot to do with the ease of saying "I'm registered at Bed Bath & Beyond" (which everyone knows) over, "I'm registered with a new universal registry, which shows you what you can get at any online store, it's Babyli.st BABYLI.ST" I'd really love to know your thoughts, because this same problem applies to a lot of different ideas where large brick & mortar stores still reign king, despite obvious inefficiencies.

natgordon 16y ago
I hear you. I think the one thing that makes this different is that I'm not going after the universal wishlist market, just the baby registry market. When you go to create a baby registry you're not like "oh, i need a wishlist of items for the baby". I'm just starting to market this with people in the pregnancy/baby space, and so far they seem to think this is a totally original idea made just for them.
- bdclimber14 16y ago
  One facet that I really like is the brand names listed. Not even for credibility, but for integration. I know that baby car-seat I saw at IKEA is probably available since the IKEA logo is there. Great job with doing this!
- bm98 16y ago
  FYI - I just received an invitation to a baby shower with a reference to www.amazingregistry.com. Your site looks much more pleasant than theirs, and you have a more narrow focus... but since their URL ended up on a real baby shower invitation, I'd say they are your competition.
  - pbhjpbhj 16y ago
    >since their URL ended up on a real baby shower invitation Sounds like there's an angle there for promotion - printable invitations, email invite list that tracks responses, free printed snail mail invites (team up with a print house that would take that opportunity) ...?
- nocman 16y ago
  I agree with at least one thing bdclimber14 seems to be implying. babyli.st is a 'cute' domain name, but I think it is an extremely poor choice for domain names you want people to remember. How are you supposed to pronounce that to someone? Baby - lee - dot - ess - tee ? (I know, that's terrible -- I can't come up with something better). I still think it is true, for better or for worse, that for businesses the best choice is still a good .com domain (or if you can't get a good one, a .net domain is a not-as-good second choice). Unfortunately for you, babylist.com is taken -- but babylist.net is available. I know it can be hard to find an available domain in the .com realm that closely matches what you want, but I still think it is important. I think those business domains which have succeeded despite having a .(something-other-than-com) domain name have done so despite that disadvantage.
  - marquis 16y ago
    That's a good point but to be fair anyone who is using a baby register is far more likely to post it to their facebook page, or email it to family members (who are most likely already on facebook), rather than spell it out directly. If you're visiting the new family personally you're not the target for a register anyway, necessarily (as you've got direct access to the source). Also, natgordon - great site. If it was useful outside of the US I'd point several friends to it immediately.
  - natgordon 16y ago
    I just tried to buy babylist.net and it's taken :) So there are 2 groups of people. 1. registrants (people having babies) - branding here is important and the name could bite me. Let me know if you have any suggestions for other names. 2. people buying the registrant gifts - BabyList doesn't even have search which is a default wishlist/registry feature. I think giving someone a pretty url slug and letting them email it/share it/link to it, is not going to be a problem.
    - bdclimber14 16y ago
      Try thinking of a baby shower concept/activity that participants have an emotional connection to. Usually the concept is a slightly slang term meaning there's a higher chance of the domain being available. If it were a wedding registry, I would suggest maybe HitchedList? It would be better than WeddingList since it's less general. Obviously this doesn't help directly, but maybe will inspire some ideas! I think the best startup names are those that relate to a market's pathos.
fleaflicker 16y ago
It hasn't been done well. The one company that has been dong this is myregistry.com. If you've ever used that service you know it's just begging for a better-designed competitor. I was really going to implement this when I got married a few months ago but couldn't find an elegant way to confirm when a guest had purchased a gift. Sending an e-mail is OK but it's not 100% accurate. This can lead to duplicate gifts which are a big pain.
- dgabriel 16y ago
  You can also do this with Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=200264210 http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=2...
- craigkerstiens 16y ago
  MyRegistry has done this, the big thing they haven't done it price comparison, and their design is absolutely begging for someone to do it better. We were on HN a few days ago, and hoping to do just that. We let users price compare while also integrating with traditional registries (registrystop). http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2136619 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2136619
SoftwareMaven 16y ago
Alta Vista had a great search engine in the 90's. Google could have easily said "search is obvious, it's been done." Obviously this is a very extreme example, but almost every business will have some aspect that's "been done." In fact, as an entrepreneur, you almost always want it to have been done before. It is much easier to say "Amazon wish lists specifically for expectant parents" than it is to try to define a totally new market. Start-ups are created and thrive in those pockets of inefficiency that large corporations leave in their wake. The best entrepreneurs use that as leverage rather than shying away from it.
- tjmc 16y ago
  I don't agree with this meme. Alta Vista had a terrible search engine in the 90s and so did everyone else. The need for better search was obvious and regularly called for at the time.
capstone 16y ago
You've hit the nail right on the head. I've had the same idea and articulated some of the problems here: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2176962 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2176962.

natgordon 16y ago

I hear you. I think the one thing that makes this different is that I'm not going after the universal wishlist market, just the baby registry market. When you go to create a baby registry you're not like "oh, i need a wishlist of items for the baby". I'm just starting to market this with people in the pregnancy/baby space, and so far they seem to think this is a totally original idea made just for them.

bdclimber14 16y ago
One facet that I really like is the brand names listed. Not even for credibility, but for integration. I know that baby car-seat I saw at IKEA is probably available since the IKEA logo is there. Great job with doing this!
bm98 16y ago
FYI - I just received an invitation to a baby shower with a reference to www.amazingregistry.com. Your site looks much more pleasant than theirs, and you have a more narrow focus... but since their URL ended up on a real baby shower invitation, I'd say they are your competition.
- pbhjpbhj 16y ago
  >since their URL ended up on a real baby shower invitation Sounds like there's an angle there for promotion - printable invitations, email invite list that tracks responses, free printed snail mail invites (team up with a print house that would take that opportunity) ...?
nocman 16y ago
I agree with at least one thing bdclimber14 seems to be implying. babyli.st is a 'cute' domain name, but I think it is an extremely poor choice for domain names you want people to remember. How are you supposed to pronounce that to someone? Baby - lee - dot - ess - tee ? (I know, that's terrible -- I can't come up with something better). I still think it is true, for better or for worse, that for businesses the best choice is still a good .com domain (or if you can't get a good one, a .net domain is a not-as-good second choice). Unfortunately for you, babylist.com is taken -- but babylist.net is available. I know it can be hard to find an available domain in the .com realm that closely matches what you want, but I still think it is important. I think those business domains which have succeeded despite having a .(something-other-than-com) domain name have done so despite that disadvantage.
- marquis 16y ago
  That's a good point but to be fair anyone who is using a baby register is far more likely to post it to their facebook page, or email it to family members (who are most likely already on facebook), rather than spell it out directly. If you're visiting the new family personally you're not the target for a register anyway, necessarily (as you've got direct access to the source). Also, natgordon - great site. If it was useful outside of the US I'd point several friends to it immediately.
- natgordon 16y ago
  I just tried to buy babylist.net and it's taken :) So there are 2 groups of people. 1. registrants (people having babies) - branding here is important and the name could bite me. Let me know if you have any suggestions for other names. 2. people buying the registrant gifts - BabyList doesn't even have search which is a default wishlist/registry feature. I think giving someone a pretty url slug and letting them email it/share it/link to it, is not going to be a problem.
  - bdclimber14 16y ago
    Try thinking of a baby shower concept/activity that participants have an emotional connection to. Usually the concept is a slightly slang term meaning there's a higher chance of the domain being available. If it were a wedding registry, I would suggest maybe HitchedList? It would be better than WeddingList since it's less general. Obviously this doesn't help directly, but maybe will inspire some ideas! I think the best startup names are those that relate to a market's pathos.

fleaflicker 16y ago

It hasn't been done well. The one company that has been dong this is myregistry.com. If you've ever used that service you know it's just begging for a better-designed competitor. I was really going to implement this when I got married a few months ago but couldn't find an elegant way to confirm when a guest had purchased a gift. Sending an e-mail is OK but it's not 100% accurate. This can lead to duplicate gifts which are a big pain.

dgabriel 16y ago
You can also do this with Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=200264210 http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=2...
craigkerstiens 16y ago
MyRegistry has done this, the big thing they haven't done it price comparison, and their design is absolutely begging for someone to do it better. We were on HN a few days ago, and hoping to do just that. We let users price compare while also integrating with traditional registries (registrystop). http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2136619 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2136619

SoftwareMaven 16y ago

Alta Vista had a great search engine in the 90's. Google could have easily said "search is obvious, it's been done." Obviously this is a very extreme example, but almost every business will have some aspect that's "been done." In fact, as an entrepreneur, you almost always want it to have been done before. It is much easier to say "Amazon wish lists specifically for expectant parents" than it is to try to define a totally new market. Start-ups are created and thrive in those pockets of inefficiency that large corporations leave in their wake. The best entrepreneurs use that as leverage rather than shying away from it.

tjmc 16y ago
I don't agree with this meme. Alta Vista had a terrible search engine in the 90s and so did everyone else. The need for better search was obvious and regularly called for at the time.

capstone 16y ago

You've hit the nail right on the head. I've had the same idea and articulated some of the problems here: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2176962 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2176962.