Selling the dress

[Blenheim]

For those of you who successfully sold your dress (either after the wedding or because you were a two-dress bride), how did you do it? Specifically, how did you price it and how long did it take to sell?

I''ve been trying to sell mine and am just wondering what to expect and trying to figure out if I priced it appropriately -- I''ve had some interest but nothing''s panned out.

Thanks!

 

[E B]

Date: 11/17/2007 6:40:35 PM
Author:Blenheim
For those of you who successfully sold your dress (either after the wedding or because you were a two-dress bride), how did you do it? Specifically, how did you price it and how long did it take to sell?

I've been trying to sell mine and am just wondering what to expect and trying to figure out if I priced it appropriately -- I've had some interest but nothing's panned out.

Thanks!

I'm going to try to sell my dress soon too, so I'll be checking in on this thread.

I don't know if this helps your decision at all, but I'm going to price mine at a little less than 50% of the original cost, at $1000 (it was $2200 new).

 

[shimmer]

Wow, both of your dresses are TDF!!!

I would definitely be interested... and I''m sure that others here would be too. I think its against forum rules though? I don''t think you''ll have any problem selling those gowns! I think it''s customary to sell for about half of what you paid, from what I''ve seen so far.

Good luck!

 

[robbie3982]

I''m keeping the dress I actually wore to the wedding, but I sold the first dress on ebay. I had to list it 3 times before it actually sold. I also had it listed on preownedweddingdresses.com. Watch out for scam emails if you list it on preowned. I got a bunch of them.

I paid $500 for the first dress, but it was originally $1600. I sold it for $300 plus shipping.

 

[Blenheim]

Thanks for the compliment, Shimmer.

You''re right that soliciting is against forum rules, so I''m trying to be careful to keep this thread about the general process of selling a dress.

I''ve had my dress listed for almost 2 months now, at 50.8% of what I originally paid (984 down to 500). I chose that price because it was about half of the original and a round number, and have been trying to decide if I''m just not giving it enough time or if I need to reduce it by a little bit more. I haven''t tried ebay yet, so I''ll try giving that a shot first -- thanks for the suggestion, Robbie.

Has anyone had any success with Craigslist? I feel like that might work better in a larger city than here, but I suppose that it wouldn''t hurt to go ahead and list it.

 

[robbie3982]

Date: 11/17/2007 11:13:41 PM
Author: Blenheim
Thanks for the compliment, Shimmer.

You''re right that soliciting is against forum rules, so I''m trying to be careful to keep this thread about the general process of selling a dress.

I''ve had my dress listed for almost 2 months now, at 50.8% of what I originally paid (984 down to 500). I chose that price because it was about half of the original and a round number, and have been trying to decide if I''m just not giving it enough time or if I need to reduce it by a little bit more. I haven''t tried ebay yet, so I''ll try giving that a shot first -- thanks for the suggestion, Robbie.

Has anyone had any success with Craigslist? I feel like that might work better in a larger city than here, but I suppose that it wouldn''t hurt to go ahead and list it.

I would definitely try Craigslist if people in your city use it. People here don''t seem to be using it for wedding related things.
There was one dress listed from my area last time I looked and it looked like it was from the 80''s or 90''s.

 

[Blenheim]

Gar. I went ahead and listed it on Craigslist last night (hey, no listing fee, why not?) and got two emails overnight. I'm pretty sure that I already know the answer, but do you think that these are scam replies?

"hello seller, i will like to know if the item you advertised on
craigslist is still available and the conditons of the item and the
age. i will like to know the last price u are selling it. Thanks."

and

"Hello, how are you doing today... I saw your item which im interested
in, I'm ok with the condition and I will like to make an outright
purchase. I will want to know how you want to proceed but I will like
to issue (certified check/cashier check/ Money order ) to you upon the
confirmation and clearance of the check, my shipper will be coming for
the pick up of the item. So I will require the following information
from you for the payment asap. Full name, Physical address, Zip code
and Phone number. Thanks for your cooperation and hope to read from
you soon."

Referring to an "item" instead of a dress is bad, right, as is asking for my personal information like that? And "shipper"?? I've never used Craigslist (or ebay for that matter) before so I'm new at trying to weed out legitimate inquiries. And my listing included a pretty in depth description of the condition -- worn in 2007, professionally dry cleaned within a week of the wedding, the fact that a few small dirt stains are still at the hem, photo of the dirt stains, and how I've stored it and handled it since it's been cleaned. I'm not sure why the first guy would ask age and condition given all that info, but maybe I'm being cynical?

 

[larussel03]

Date: 11/18/2007 11:37:10 AM
Author: Blenheim
Gar. I went ahead and listed it on Craigslist last night (hey, no listing fee, why not?) and got two emails overnight. I''m pretty sure that I already know the answer, but do you think that these are scam replies?

''hello seller, i will like to know if the item you advertised on
craigslist is still available and the conditons of the item and the
age. i will like to know the last price u are selling it. Thanks.''

and

''Hello, how are you doing today... I saw your item which im interested
in, I''m ok with the condition and I will like to make an outright
purchase. I will want to know how you want to proceed but I will like
to issue (certified check/cashier check/ Money order ) to you upon the
confirmation and clearance of the check, my shipper will be coming for
the pick up of the item. So I will require the following information
from you for the payment asap. Full name, Physical address, Zip code
and Phone number. Thanks for your cooperation and hope to read from
you soon.''

Referring to an ''item'' instead of a dress is bad, right, as is asking for my personal information like that? And ''shipper''?? I''ve never used Craigslist (or ebay for that matter) before so I''m new at trying to weed out legitimate inquiries. And my listing included a pretty in depth description of the condition -- worn in 2007, professionally dry cleaned within a week of the wedding, the fact that a few small dirt stains are still at the hem, photo of the dirt stains, and how I''ve stored it and handled it since it''s been cleaned. I''m not sure why the first guy would ask age and condition given all that info, but maybe I''m being cynical?

I would require a money order and then a week to "process" meaning that you want to make sure it''s totally legit before shipping your dress anywhere when selling to anyone.

I tend to not trust buyers who are in such a rush and who act semi demanding in their email requests, try sending an email back thanking him for his interest and asking for some sort of information from him and see what the response is like. If you still feel iffy about it then, I''d say "sorry, it''s sold." When I sold my dress I got a couple scam emails (saying they were from Africa or someplace overseas) and they were pushy in the emails which to me was a turn off to the sale and a sign that it wasn''t legit (well that and one said it was to be sent to africa for a present for his sister on her wedding day which sounded odd). When I finally found someone to sell it to, she had no problem giving me her phone number so we could chat over the phone about the details.

 

[sumbride]

Date: 11/18/2007 11:37:10 AM
Author: Blenheim
Gar. I went ahead and listed it on Craigslist last night (hey, no listing fee, why not?) and got two emails overnight. I''m pretty sure that I already know the answer, but do you think that these are scam replies?

Hey Blenheim- Those ARE scam messages. trust your intuition. CL has an FAQ on scam emails if you''re ever not sure. I list a lot on CL and most of the legitimate notes I get are "Hey, I like the dress... I can''t come by until next week though... can you hold it for me?" That sort of thing...

Always add this to your listing: "Local buyers only, will not ship. Cash only." Of course, those are up to you, but it does weed out a lot of these scammers.

 

[Blenheim]

SP and Sumbride, thanks for the suggestions. I'll definitely add that to any postings in the future. Am I correct in thinking that it's safe to accept only cash and Paypal?

I'm just going to ignore those two emails.



Confession -- I'm suddenly getting impatient because I had been planning on using the money from selling the dress on jewelry, figuring that (a) I like jewelry, (b) instead of sharing my wedding dress with my future daughter(s), I could share the jewelry that I bought with the dress money, and that they'd be more likely to wear the jewelry. (Dress styles change, women usually want to buy their own, they probably won't be the same size as me, etc.)

My birthday was this month and hubby and I were out yesterday looking for a combined b-day/xmas present when we found a ring that I completely fell in love with -- 3.25 carat emerald cut citrine (beautiful color), mostly yellow gold (my fav) with a white gold bezel that helps to set off the color of the citrine, great filigree, from the 1920's, looks great on my hand, wouldn't even need to be sized. The problem is that it's about $200 more than he was budgeting, and even though we have the money, I feel completely irresponsible if we try to alter our budget for the month just so that I can get a piece of jewelry I like. (Doing some research, the price is actually very reasonable -- just out of budget) BUT, if I sell the dress, then I can get the ring without feeling guilty.

I'm awful.

 

[Julianna]

Date: 11/18/2007 1:06:13 PM
Author: Blenheim
SP and Sumbride, thanks for the suggestions. I''ll definitely add that to any postings in the future. Am I correct in thinking that it''s safe to accept only cash and Paypal?

I''d say that US Postal money orders are ok too as long as you get a chance to cash it before you send the dress. I''ve sold alot of stuff on Ebay and was accepting US Postal money orders until I decided that cashing it was too much of a hassle.

With Paypal, you lose money incoming. If you intend to use it, (which, I ADORE Paypal), you should adjust your price to make up for the chunk they take.

 

[Blenheim]

I''m bumping this to give an update and ask what probably is a stupid question. The good news is that I ended up selling it! I sold it on Ebay the second time that I listed it, for about 40% of the original price. I had some interest from listing it on preownedweddingdresses but nothing panned out, although I know that SweetPea successfully sold her dress there. Craigslist was a total bust.

And, for the stupid question. I said on the description on Ebay that I accept Paypal. Not having accepted payment through Paypal before, I''m not sure how this works. I know that I can accept a payment through my account. If I have the buyer''s email address, I can send them an invoice through Paypal that I''m sure would give them clear instructions as to how to pay, but all I have is their shipping info and ebay username. I can send them an invoice through Ebay, but I''m not sure what payment instructions to give. If I give them the email address tied to my Paypal account, is that enough information that they can pay me? Can someone help me?

 

[hikerchick]

I don''t know the answer to your Paypal question but just wanted to make sure you ship the dress with some sort of confirmation of delivery so you have proof that you did indeed ship it. Because another scam would be for the buyer to claim they never got the dress and then fight you for the money through Paypal, so make sure to cover your bases with some proof of delivery.

 

[Blenheim]

Thank you for the warning -- I''ll definitely do that now!

 

[trulyinlove]

I have a Bill Levkoff dress for sale size 12 and I dont think I am asking a lot for it I only want $200 any ideas how I can sell it? It is camel color with sable sash with pick ups. It is beautiful!!! I just got married Nov 10th I dont want to keep it in my closet. Please give me ideas!!! Thanks!

 

[Blenheim]

Update: I finally figured out the Paypal thing. It was pretty simple, and I was just being stupid.

Trulyinlove, welcome to Pricescope! I''d start by trying Ebay. Since it''s caramel and sable, you may have better luck labeling it as a bridesmaid or formal dress though. (It''s hard to say without seeing it, but dresses targeted towards brides tend to be white or ivory. If it were a more traditional bridal gown, www.preownedweddingdresses.com would be worth a shot.)

 

[trulyinlove]

Thanks for the info I never really thought of it that way!

I am interested in knowing since you sold your dress did you buy the ring that you and your husband were looking at?

I am scared about using ebay I have never done it before but I really want to sell my dress I can use it defintley with Christmas coming up!!!!

I have it on craigslist with pictures but I havent gotten any responses yet.

I wonder if consigment shops will work? I really dont know how they work though.