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Sorry to burst your bubble, but before you buy your wedding dress read this!

Sorry to burst your bubble, but before you buy your wedding dress read this!

Sorry to burst your bubble, but before you buy your wedding dress read this!

 

If you are planning on selling your dress after your big day, bare in mind it’s not an easy process. It’s a great idea and we encourage it, but bare in mind it’s not as easy as you think.

  1. Shops don’t buy them back. Even preloved specialist don’t have the budget or the room to buy and store all the dresses we get offered on a daily basis. 
  2. Dresses depreciate, a pre owned or ex sample wedding dress is normally sold for 1/2 or less than the original price, then you have to take in to account that the store selling it needs to make a commission 
  3. The amount of commission depends on the store, the designer of the dress, the condition and the age of the dress. 
  4. There are around 250,000 weddings a year in the U.K.  As well as about 2 million new dresses that are designed, made and on the market each year (for a new audience that wasn’t in the buying market for all the previous years new dresses that are now being replaced with new designs), there are currently enough dresses in the pre owned market to dress a new bride in not one but 3 dresses each. 
  5. There are more dresses available than brides… so supply is higher than demand. Your dress and advert needs to stand out. Great condition, great photos, great description… really sell it. 
  6. Dresses can take time to sell, like years. Not everyone who has your taste is going to have your exact measurements or see your advert on Facebook marketplace or Vinted. The best place to sell is in a specialist area for wedding dresses like Bridal Reloved or stillwhite for example, this is where the majority of potential buyers go to look for them. 

That all being said, there are rare cases where someone tries to sell their dress and it sells quickly or for more than half … you might even find a shop willing to buy it (but probably not for the price you may be hoping for). What we are saying is:  please prepare yourself for the long road. Especially if you plan to spend over budget thinking you will get your money back fast. 

Whether you know before or after your big day that you want to sell your dress we applaud you, regardless if the reason is simply to make some money back (no judgement here) by doing this you are helping to slow down fast fashion which is brilliant. And also, you are  giving someone the chance to buy their dream dress who didn’t have the budget or intent to pay full price. It’s a great thing to do and we hope we can help you. 

@BridalReloved

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