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Comment by Splines | Hacker News Reader

My wife and I ordered our baby formula for about a year or so from diapers.com, no complaints. They even re-shipped a furniture tie that we thought they missed (it turned out we misplaced it - they said don't bother with sending the extra one back).

Diapers.com's customer focus is slightly different than Zappos - eventually at some point in time Diapers.com's present customers will no longer have any reason to continue shopping there (it's true for us today - we don't need anything from Diapers.com), whereas Zappos can potentially sell you shoes for a lifetime.

As an aside, I personally find purchases clothing (including shoes) online in the not-quite-right category. How can you ascertain the fit and aesthetic of a shirt or a shoe without actually holding it in your hand or trying it on?

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"Diapers.com's customer focus is slightly different than Zappos - eventually at some point in time Diapers.com's present customers will no longer have any reason to continue shopping there (it's true for us today - we don't need anything from Diapers.com), whereas Zappos can potentially sell you shoes for a lifetime."

I am now approaching the one year mark with new twins, and I will have spent more on diapers and other baby supplies than I will spend on shoes in the next 20 years. I generally buy 2 pairs of ~$50 shoes a year, but I spend >$100 on diapers, wipes, bottles, etc. every month. And the stroller -- my mid-level, non-fancy double stroller was $200.

Other families that space out their children spend thousands of dollars over the course of 4-6 years. If they're happy, they'll be loyal. They'll tell the other parents they know about the site (parents do love to talk about such things). I can see how this will be amazingly successful. People seem to be spending more than ever on their children, too.

Even though Diapers.com's customers "cycle-out" after their kids grow up, I think the potential lies in the advisory aspect in their word of mouth (i.e. brothers and sisters, friends, co-workers who are expecting kids/have them). People are always having kids or know someone who is.

In regards to purchasing clothing online, there are some startups making inroads in that category--Fits.me, the one that won the European startup competition, Plugg, comes to mind.

Therein lies the beauty of free shipping & generous return policies.

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