Tips For Buying Your Wedding Dress From Ebay

Ebay is a fantastic place to consider buying cheap wedding dresses, particularly if you’re looking for a once worn designer bridal gown from a major wedding dress designer but the cost of the wedding dress new is just too much for your wedding budget.  With eBay and other auctions sites there are a few top tips tips you can follow to ensure that you bag the wedding dress of your dreams without breaking the bank.

Know Your Seller

Sellers come in two types on eBay – Private and Shops – Privates sellers tend to be people like you and me who have had their wedding (or perhaps not) and are looking to sell on their wedding dress.  Shops typically are managed by ‘professionals’ who may carry larger stock or custom make wedding dresses and have them delivered to you from abroad.

Ask Lots Of Questions

Before committing to bidding on any wedding dress on eBay ensure you ask the seller any questions up front.  Consider asking such questions as to size, colour and condition etc up front to ensure that the wedding dress you receive is exactly as described.  You should also find out if any alterations have already been made to the dress to ensure that you know what has been changed and whether any additional alterations can be made if you need to.

Original or Copy?

Don’t get too excited if you see that brand new Maggie wedding gown on eBay at £100 – more than likely this is not an original but in fact a similar design. If it looks too good to be true – 9 times out of 10 it will be.   Many brides swear by their wedding dresses ordered from these eBay wedding dress stores and they are known for making good quality gowns at a fraction of the cost.  Do remember however, they are not the actual designer wedding gowns you would buy for a high street designer bridal store.  If you’re looking at a once worn wedding dress from a private seller – this will typically be the real deal and the price for the designer wedding gown will be reflected in the bid price.

Country Of Origin

If the wedding dress you are after is custom made – look at what country the dress will be delivered from.  There are many wedding dress makers on eBay that are situated in the US or China.  You’ll find the prices amazingly cheap but you could be looking at additional custom payments being necessary and you will also be required to provide accurate details of your measurements.  You can of course look at getting your eBay wedding dress altered in the UK if you require any small changes.

Buy It Now Or Bid

If you’re looking at at private seller chances are you’ll be looking at bidding on an item.  It is all too easy to get carried away and before you know it you have spent more than you originally budgeted.  Also, when bidding you could be up against other keen brides looking to secure the wedding dresses of their dreams on a budget. The key here is to set a limit and the associated increments.  A bidding frenzy can occur towards the end of the listing, so look at the time remaining on the wedding dress listing and be ready to be online around the time it is ending so you can bid as you see fit.

Use Paypal

Paypal is the secure method for making payments on eBay.  For maximum peace of mind, you should always opt to make payments via Paypal.  You can use use credit or debit card to complete the transaction or set up your own Paypal account.  In the event that anything goes wrong during the sale process such as the item not arriving then you can follow a dispute process with Paypal who will investigate.  If they find in your favour your money could be returned.

Powerseller

If you’re opting for a custom made bridal gown from one of the many ebay wedding dress shops, then ensure that you check out the ratings and go for a powerseller.  Each seller will have reviews and customer feedback shown, enabling you to check out what previous customers have to say.  This is typically a good way to measure how reliable the seller is.

Factor In Postage & Delivery Times

One trick that many sellers on eBay try and pull is to add a phenominal amount for postage and packaging increasing the costs of the wedding dress quite significantly.  You’ll want to ensure that the wedding dress arrives as securely as possible and therefore paying a private seller any additional to ensure it arrives in prime condition is worth considering.  If you opt for a custom wedding gown – look closely at additional posting and packing costs.

Delivery times can vary, especially when ordering an eBay wedding dress from abroad.  If you want the wedding dress quickly, ensure the seller can commit to the timescales you require the dress by to avoid any disappointment.

Size Matters

Lots of brides opt to buy wedding dresses from eBay a size larger than they need.  This is one way to ensure that you are able to have the dress altered more easily.  Wedding dress alterations are simpler to make to reduce a size.  If you’re going made-to-measure on the wedding dress, ensure you know exactly what measurements you need to provide and get someone to help you so the measurements are as accurate as possible.

With all these tips in mind, brides on a budget can find some amazing bargain wedding dresses on eBay – happy wedding dress shopping.

Wedding Dresses On Ebay