Parents are furious after baby company adds subscription fees to its $1,700 bassinets
- The $1,700 crib helps babies get “one to two” extra hours of sleep
- It has sensors that detect a fussy baby and mimic the movements of a uterus
- The company’s subscription announcement has infuriated parents
Parents are criticizing Happy Baby, a company that makes a smart crib known as Snoo, for adding monthly subscription fees to access its features.
The $1,700 crib, which uses sensors to detect a restless baby and creates soothing womb-like movements and sounds to add “one to two hours” of calm to a baby’s routine, became a hit with parents when it came onto the market in 2016.
Parents justified spending their money on the crib’s high price tag and all the features that would help soothe their babies in the middle of the night because of its high resale value, with a used product selling for around $900.
However, the makers of the high-tech baby crib recently announced that customers who bought the crib second-hand would now have to pay more than $20 per month for most beloved features, like motion levels and bedtime sounds.
Following the news, parents took to social media to strongly criticize the company, questioning whether the practice was “even legal” as even those who bought the bed second-hand and were currently using the crib are forced to pay the subscription fee . .
Parents are criticizing Happy Baby, a company that makes a smart crib known as Snoo, for adding monthly subscription fees to access its features
The Snoo is also being marketed as “the first – and only – medical device to receive De Novo clearance from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its ability to safely put babies to sleep on their backs,” allowing parents even more willing to pay the $1,700 fee.
However, because babies grow quickly, parents can only use the crib for about four to five months, which means spending an extra $100.
Up websitethe company revealed: ‘We will continue to offer our premium features and settings to original owners who purchased SNOO directly from Happiest Baby (or an authorized partner). Anyone who purchases an SNOO from Happiest Baby or our authorized partners after July 15 will receive a free nine-month subscription to the premium features and settings of their Happiest Baby app. And families who rent SNOO from Happiest Baby (or get a free SNOO Rental from work) get the premium subscription for the duration of your rental plus an additional free month after you return your rental.
“Those who are not the original owners (who borrowed or purchased SNOO second-hand) will continue to have access to all free app features – and will be able to use the premium features for a monthly fee starting July 15.”
This means that even those who bought it outright may have to pay for premium features when they reuse it for their other children, with parents claiming they have to email the company and request free use.
The announcement sparked a flood of reactions as one mother took to TikTok to condemn the company.
Mom from Miami Liz June questioned whether the practice was even “legal” in a viral video, which has been viewed more than 700,000 times to date.
She added: “I’m honestly surprised there hasn’t been more of a fuss about it. I paid $1200 for a crib before there was a subscription…and now you want to pay a monthly fee for ‘premium’ features I originally paid for?”
Viewers flooded the comments section and echoed her thoughts, with many of them even taking to Reddit to criticize the company’s decision to throw out subscription fees
Viewers flooded the comments section and echoed her thoughts, with many of them even taking to Reddit to criticize the company’s decision to ditch subscription fees.
Someone said: ‘The fact that Snoos has been running for years without a subscription proves that it is not necessary! I loved mine, but might not have gotten it if this had been around at the time.”
Another user added: ‘Also reduces resale value! Many baby products are bought with the intention of selling them.’
Someone else wrote: “A crib subscription service is wild.”
“I hope you’re only planning one child because your Snoo only comes with a nine-month battery life,” said another user.
‘Horrible. I bought a used Snoo for $750. I used it and resold it for $850. They are just trying to milk a product to death,” one person said.
DailyMail.com has contacted Snoo for comment.