Magic Beans

Amazing store w an exceptional staff and customer service. I buy all my baby gear and toys for my nieces and nephew here. They have thoughtful gifts and well sourced baby products (smaller items for smaller spaces).They will help you set everything up (strollers, car seats etc) and if something doesn’t work the way you expected it to (like my baby monitor) they will happily take it back.

Sadly lacking in customer service. I prefer to support smaller businesses and avoid big box stores, but this place makes it hard. I tried to buy a high-​end stroller from Magic Beans, but floor models aren’t available to try out in the store, and they don’t take returns for «special order items” – not sure why this should be special order, since they’re immediately available on their website and don’t require customization, like a piece of furniture. Gentleman on the phone was curt and unknowledgeable about compatibility with car seats, and email inquiries prompted slow, unhelpful responses. Odd attitude in general toward a new mother trying to find her way amid a sea of gear. Reluctantly taking my business elsewhere.. ..

Thanks so much to you, opening manager at Magic Beans. We learned at 9:30am this morning that at 10:30am, our beloved former employee was visiting our nearby office with her newborn, and we needed presents. You not only opened early for us (thank goodness I caught you with your opening keys at 10 am!) and you not only advised me, but also wrapped our presents. All before your official opening time! Thanks, and bravo – THAT’S customer service!

My mom and I went to this store to buy a gift for my niece’s first birthday. This review is more for the awful service than for the overpriced toys. We went to the store 2 weeks before my niece’s birthday. The store had free shipping when spending over $ 70 or so and we opted to ship the gift to my sister and niece in California. This initially seemed like a great service. About a week and a half later, my mom realized that she never had received a shipping confirmation and my sister had not received the gift. My mom called the store the salesperson said «oh is it the one wrapped in purple? We lost the shipping slip and didn’t know who it belonged to.» So they did not attempt even to look up their credit card statements and find who had bought the gift. So we gave the shipping information and they said they were «sorry» and that they would expedite the shipping. At this point there were about 3 days before my niece’s birthday and getting the package there on time would be feasible if they had opted to send the package via two-​day shipping. That is what we thought they meant by «expedite.» When we still did not get any confirmation my mom wrote another email. The reply included the tracking information which revealed that the package had been picked up a day later than they said it would and that it was not scheduled to arrive until 3 days after her birthday. So they did not expedite it to arrive on time. Remind you that we bought the gifts 2 weeks before her birthday. Yes she may not remember this incident but the point is that this store is an expensive store and part of what you pay for is service. Completely unreliable, though. In the future I will not be buying my gifts here and will not recommend anyone to do so!

I found the staff helpful and nice and we were able to take the stroller we were interested in for a road test. It’s pretty nice to take the stroller out of the store into elements other than the store floor since that’s where you use a stroller. Unfortunately it was pretty cold out so we didn’t go far, but still appreciated getting the chance to try it out. I was a little bummed they don’t carry any Britax strollers (carseats only), I would have liked to check out also, but I’m happy with what we got. I agree with another reviewer, they need another real mom working there who can speak of real life experience.
I was excited they sell mittens for infants which I have been looking all over for! There are a lot of cute infant outfits, but I prefer Cater’s prices as it feels like disposable clothing at this age.
I think this is an average toy store, but I know 3 stars skew a little negatively on Unilocal

Really knowledgable staff & I loved the idea of supporting this local business when we registered. (Even more important to do with the recent demise of Isis). The Huron location is my favorite as it doesn’t feel as hectic as the Coolidge Corner one. Good selection and I feel confident that they’ve done some of the research for me in the crazy & neurotic Baby Gear Business. They need to get a better way to track gift card sales which is why I’m knocking them down a star. They log them by who buys them but not who for which has caused us an issue or two.

Well organized store, helpful staff, quality merchandise, and prices comparable to
. I love having this store only three blocks from my home and I hope they remain in Huron village for a loooong time!

I’ve never stepped foot in this store, so how am I giving this a coveted five star review? I have used the store’s Baby Basket builder and have been exceptionally pleased with the process! It also helps when you get rave reviews from the recipients of the baby baskets as well. I’ve found this to be a perfect solution for out-​of-​towners, when I want to send something and have all the details taken care of (it’s not being lazy, it’s skillful delegation).
The Baby Basket builder allows a ton of flexibility. You are able to choose a theme (perhaps «Hungry Baby», «Little Mozart», or «Sugar and Spice» to name a few), add the amount of money you would like to spend, the gender of the child (can also select neutral), a gift message, gift wrap and you are on your way to impressing a new mother.
The website is extremely easy to use. Once you have placed your order you will receive a confirmation email. A little later (likely within the next 24 hours), you will likely receive an email showing you a picture of the finished product before it is sent out. Additionally, once the package is delivered a UPS confirmation email will be sent to you as well. Talk about taking care of all the details. I will continue to use this service as a way to creatively give baby gifts to my friends and loved ones.

I was so grateful to find this store after agonizing over which double stroller to buy online, and I am so glad I didn’t buy online! At Magic Beans, the staff were incredibly helpful and knowledgeable, I could actually physically place my son in different strollers to see which ones fit him the best, and I could ask the 434 questions I had about each stroller and their similarities and differences. I got lessons in folding and unfolding the stroller, didn’t have to assemble it myself (they did that for free!) and learned how to use all of the features from a person instead of the manual. And even though I thought it would be cheaper to buy online, it turned out to be cheaper to buy from Magic Beans, and I have an actualy person to go to for customer service etc. I will definiely go back even though it’s a bit of a trek from my suburban digs. I even got a nice thank you card with a gift card from them afterwards!
ps-​the staff also carried the heavy stroller out to my car for me, an added bonus!

I love this store so much that I made a special request for folks getting us baby gifts to shop here. The staff is super helpful and I even got a thank you card in the mail from someone who works there just for signing up on their mailing list/​rewards club.
If you’re looking for strollers, go here. You can take each model they have out for a test drive and they even have a weighted baby doll to make the ride more realistic. We got our BOB Revolution here on sale and they often have sales on last year’s models. Really great shop.

Looking for a way to chew up some time in Cambridge with a small (or medium sized) child in tow? I recommend the Cambridge Common (if the weather is nice), followed by a meal at the Full Moon (as long as you actually like kids, that is — it can be noisy!), and a browse around Magic Beans! Exercise, child-​friendly dining with decent food for grown-​ups, and a nice selection of toys… What could be better?
The merchandise is well organized, presented, and of fantastic quality. Prices are a little higher than what you’d find at larger scale chain stores but it’s nice to support local business and I like that there are no «filler» toys but instead there seems to be a focus on items that encourage imaginative and educational play. I have no wee ones of my own but I’ve been a nanny for a while now (and have adopted a niece and nephew) and everything I have gotten from here has been an immediate hit! Their toys and supplies cover a variety of ages — great for baby gifts and beyond! (If it is in your price range and you’re looking for a carseat/​stroller system I highly recommend the Orbit brand — which they sell. Your kid may have to go to community college instead of an Ivy, but the installation is so easy and intuitive the headaches it will save you may be worth it.)
Other reviewers seem to be bothered by the staff for various reasons. In my experience they are indeed young and service isn’t always prompt. However, everyone has always been quite friendly to me and they are very patient with having kids roaming around the aisles browsing for a few minutes short of an eternity.

in principle i am happy to have a children store in huron village with this wide selection of products. you can find most anything here you need. my problem with the store is the staff. they are all nice, but they are all very young, non of them has any experience with kids or the products they are selling. so there is nobody here to really give you advice. as a first time parent i miss having someone who can talk from experience. a few times when i ordered things they forgot to call me or the wrong thing came. i got a very expensive car-​seat there and while i was carrying my baby i also had to take the car-​seat out to my car (which was outside the door 5steps maybe and it was winter). nobody offered to help! since having a baby i have come to value these little things of service much more, helping the parent have time to shop and look around, help with carrying things, quick and reliable responses to questions regarding availability of products etc.
oh and also the door doesn’t lock from the inside which is kind of a nightmare because the street is very busy and with the high shelves everywhere it is easy for a kid to run out unseen.
anyways. i could go on. overall only 1 star.

a great addition to huron village. they have a huge selection of quality toys and something for every age. kudos for their website and registry, too, which is all really easy to navigate.