Selling A Wedding Gown



Chances are, you are either reading this article because you are following our "What To Do.." Series or, more likely, you have a wedding dress you need to sell. There are many reasons why you may want to sell a wedding gown. Some brides will purchase a gown, then for one reason or another, decided to buy another one and then you are left with a new gown you can't return. Other brides simply do not want to hang on to it after the wedding and know that they can use the money from the sale. Either way, having never sold a gown before, you probably have a lot of questions.

There are two basic groups to choose from: Local Sales and Online Sales - and each have their benefits and draw backs. With a used gown, you need to find someone who has both the same size body and style tastes as you do, and is willing to save money by buying second hand. With local sales, you have the benefit of being able to offer the brides a chance to try on the dress - but of course, online there is a much much bigger market and a higher chance of finding someone who matches the style and size. So, here we will share tips for both options.

Local Sales

Successfully selling a gown local depends mostly on the size of the market (small town vs big city) and the amount of exposure you can get. If you want to do the work yourself, you can advertise in local papers, online local classifieds and wedding planning sites, or by putting up flyers. If you prefer to keep it simple, look into co-signment sales. Many larger towns and cities have bridal and clothing stores that will sell your gown for you. Try to avoid shops that request a sum of money from you up front - instead, look for shops that will either purchase the dress from you up front, or charge a set commission AFTER the dress is sold. For a co-signment shop, make sure you have a written contract that includes the minimum sales price that you would be willing to accept as well.

Online Sales

There are many many places online to sell a wedding gown - some are better then others. I will start with a list of things to look for before listing a dress online, some tips for avoiding scams, and then a list of some of the most popular places to sell a wedding gown online.

Things To Look For:

- Sites with high traffic, you need a lot of traffic in order to be able to make a sale
- Look for great sites that have very low upfront fees, or are free to list. Some are completely free, some charge a commission on the sale price of the dress when you sale. Avoid sites that require a large set up fee or a commission before the dress is sold because if you change your mind, you loss your money.
- Sites that service your area - most brides try to find dresses in their area, or their country. Chances of an American bride making a sale on a mostly UK site, for example, are slim.

To Avoid Scams:

- send payment only when the gown is paid for unless you can ship COD with the post office collecting payment before they hand over the dress
- If you are paid by cheque or money order, make sure it clears first
- Make sure you ship with insurance, don't make it optional. You need to be sure the dress is fully insured so that if anything does happen, you are not liable - and you need tracking so you can not be accused of not sending

Popular Places for Online Sales (high traffic, well ranked in search engines)

http://ebay.com
http://freeweddingclassfieds.com
http://partypop.com - Message boards are full of brides looking for gowns, especially if you have a popular expensive designer gown
http://sellyourweddingdress.com
http://handmegowns.com
http://thedressmarket.com
http://preownedweddingdresses.com

So, there you have it. Before we leave, I will also give you a few tips to help you make your sales hopefully, a little more effective:

- Be reasonable with the price. Yes, you paid a lot for it, and you are emotionally attached to it which makes it even more valuable in your eyes. Not in the customers. Realistically, what would you have been willing to pay for that same dress if it wasn't new? For most gowns, you can expect to get 30-50% of the original price. So, if you only spent $600, you probably won't get $500. You could reasonably ask $300 and accept offers. Of course, if you have a expensive gown that is very popular and in high demand, you can expect to ask more. For example, a Melissa Sweet Lia, which sells for $3400 in stores might sell for $2000 used because it is a very very popular gown, depending on the condition.

- Get it cleaned and stored. Sure, you aren't planning on keeping it, but you will be able to show prospective buyers that you have taken care to make sure the dress is in good condition. The more expensive the dress, the more important this is. For more expensive gowns, you may want to make sure lace, beading and other small damages are repaired as well.

- Use photos - both professional photos from the designer of that style, as well as photos of the actual dress on you at the wedding. The more great pictures you have, the better.

And here we are, at the end of Part 5. Part 6 will be coming soon, don't miss it:)