Have You Seen This Dress?

I believe this whole thing falls under the "I think I`ll cut off my nose to spite my face" category. Do you really have this much time on your hands? If you`ve seen the gown at a reputable store, why not buy it there? What makes you think you`re being ripped off????Check with the Better Business Bureau. Has this store had complaints?If not, what makes you think they have singled you out to screw? Just read other posts on this message board. You`ve got a bunch of people who also wanted a "great deal" who are now having all kinds of problems getting money backed because they got screwed. Just remember, the cheapest price is not always the best deal.

It`s not that I want the cheaper price or the best deal. I can deal with the price they`re asking, no problem. What I can`t deal with is a dishonest retailer with something to hide.

What makes you think this shop is reputable? The whole problem is that I haven`t found the dress at what I consider to be a reputable store. To me, shops that remove tags are NOT reputable, they`re dishonest. If they are NOT ripping people off, why remove the tags in the first place? What are they trying to hide? To add insult to injury, when I asked them why there were no tags, they lied about it and said the gowns come in that way. Baloney.

And no, they haven`t singled me out to screw. However, I do feel that they`re screwing every bride who walks in the door, so I`m simply screwing them back. If they did business in an ethical manner, I could easily spend a couple thousand dollars there between the gown, shoes, bridesmaids dresses, etc. But I`m just not going to do that. Even if they want to sell me the stuff at 75% off, I wouldn`t buy anything from them. They`ve taken away my right as a consumer to comparison shop, so I`m using my right of taking my money elsewhere.

If they did not have this policy of removing the tags, I would buy the dress from them in a heartbeat. I`m just talking with my pocketbook to say that I disagree with the practice. Yes, this will take more time, but I`m willing to do that to make my statement.

I don`t know if this store has had complaints with the BBB, but I`m considering making the first one if they haven`t.

K

I would not do business with someone who will not tell me who makes the dress either, that`s crap. You should be aware of the quality.
The dress you describe sounds like a Mon Cheri to me??

Hi there,

I did look at the Mon Cheri website and didn`t find it yet. But I`m going to keep looking! Thanks for your input!

Regardless of what Sharon seems to be thinking, I`m really not trying to rip off the salon. I do believe it would also be wrong of me to use up the time of a reputable bridal salon with the idea of purchasing the gown online once I found it. There are two reasons that I won`t buy from Winchester`s Bridal and Formals - 1. They rip out the tags, and 2. They lie about it.

I really think it`s unreasonable for a shop owner to think that I`m going to spend $1,000 on a wedding gown and not know if it was made by a well-known designer or the shop owner`s niece named Betsy who`s trying to make it as a fashion designer. These people are even ripping out the fabric information on some of the gowns, you don`t know if what you`re trying on is high quality polyester or silk. So no way am I going to buy from a company who does business that way. I wish that more brides felt the same way, so that they can stop getting away with ripping out important information from your very expensive gown.

K

Hey ,
If you can find a picture of it anywhere , get in touch with Discount Bridal service.They can order it for you from the manufacturer, at 20-40% off retail prices , so the bridal shop can be undersold!!!

Thanks for the input Michelle.

I`ve been combing through bridal magazines trying to find it, but no luck yet. And the Discount Bridal service route isn`t really useful for me, as I am in Canada. As far as I can tell, all online retailers are in the US, and when you figure in taxes, exise duty and US exchange rates, there just aren`t any bargains to be found that way.

Besides, it isn`t the price that`s scaring me off. It`s about $835, which is pretty average for the gowns I`ve been looking at. Sure, I`d love to save money, but if that`s the price I end up paying, I can handle that. I just want make my purchase from a more reputable business than the one who rips out the tags and lies about it.

Thanks!

K

Whoa.....when did I ever say you were trying to rip off the store? All I said is why would you want to spend all this time to try to "comparison shop". I never ever questioned your integrity. Your point you made in your second post are very valid. I don`t know that I would want to do business with a shop that cuts out tags and lies about it. And you are right, as a consumer you have every right to shop around. My whole question related back to a time and energy issue. In your first post, you seemed incredibly frustrated that now you can`t find this same gown elsewhere. This is supposed to be a fun experience, not something on the level of writing a thesis.

I have a friend who owns a bridal shop. She does not cut out the labels in her gowns but has gotten to the point of considering it. Many girls think nothing of coming into her shop, trying on a dozen gowns, using her facility, lights, air conditioning/heat, knowledgeable sales staff, and expensive samples to make a decision, and then going on line to someone who has no expence related to running an actual storefront and ordering a gown. She has said over and over that she has no problem with someone ordering a gown on line but don`t come into her store and use it as a try on facility. Order your "discounted" gown on line in the same manner that the dealer presents it. NO FRILLS. Don`t expect to use someones shop for your "frills" with your no frills gown. It is extremely unfair. Most shops are owned by people like my friend who has invested tens of thousands of dollars into sample gowns, employee training, a nice facility, and she can`t afford to be a try on stop. The full price you pay at a full price retailer covers all those "frills" (like being able to try on a gown before you buy). And I agree with your Kimberly, there are dishonest retailers in the bridal business, just as there are in real estate, banking, and corporate america. But if you find a shop you`re comfortable with, has been around for a while, and has a great reputation with people you`ve talked to, just buy your dress. I say again, check the other posts on this message board to see how people who think they are getting a deal that seems too good to be true, have found out it usually is. :-)

Hi there again,

I know it must be frustrating to bridal retailers when people just try on their stock and don`t buy it. I understand that they do spend a lot of money to have stock, etc.

But these are the risks that all retailers face, bridal shops aren`t a special case. I can certainly go into a camera store or shop for a car, have a salesperson spend a few hours helping me to make my decision, then go elsewhere to try and find a better deal. The Jaguar dealership isn`t removing hood ornaments, saying they`ll tell you who makes the car only after you agree to buy it. After you find the car you want, show pictures to your friends, you`re free to go to the discount car auction and buy it there.

My problem is that some bridal retailers seem to think that they`re above all this, somehow more important than any other retailer and will do whatever they think it takes to make sure the sale takes place in their store and not someone else`s. These retailers really make the whole industry look shady.

K

I think the way any business place earns my business is by being honest, up front, and most of all, with over the top service. To me, I`ll pay top dollar for service because I hate to shop. I must have missed that gene.

I`m sorry you`re having such a horrible time. I wish you were closer to us. I`d take you to my friends shop. You`d love her :-)

The dress you`re describing sounds like a Tuto Benne.
It sounds like you`re one of those prissy brides who has to have every detail right on.....like if a bead fell off your dress on your wedding day, you would sulk the entire time. If you really like that dress, just go buy it. Who cares if it has no tags. Suck it up. I don`t blame the store for cutting tags out since many brides are the same way you are....spending months shopping around and barterring just to save an extra 10-15 dollars. I own a bridal salon and I don`t allow pictures to be taken. I don`t cut tags off, but I have considered it because of people like you. You sure have a lot of time on your hands honey. If you don`t mind spending the money, go describe the dress to a seamstress and have it made. People like you make me nauseous. Why don`t you step away and look at the whole picture and just how idiotic you are being. If the dresses are still that big of a deal, go fork out hundreds of dollars to have them made. I don`t think morals have anything to do with your situation----you`re someone who probably likes to get something for nothing.

Sorry `honey,` but you`ve made a mistake about me. I`m hardly `prissy,` and I`m not `bartering around, trying to get something for nothing,` as you so eloquently put it.

If you had bothered to read my earlier post, it`s not the price that I`m bothered by. It`s the ethics, or the lack thereof. I can afford an $800 dress. But I personally don`t believe that my $800 should be put in the pocket of a company that has something to hide.

I have other reasons for wanting to know the designer, etc., and none of them have anything to do with saving $10 somewhere else. Do you honestly think that people go shopping for something as important as a wedding gown and don`t bother looking beyond one shop? Or that $10 even makes a difference if you`ve found `the gown`? I bet what you`re hoping for is the bride who goes shopping and doesn`t care how the retailer does business. I`m sure there are plenty of shoppers who don`t care, and those are the folks who shop in salons like yours. I have no problem with that. If people want to do business with companies who engage in shady business practices, they`re quite free to do so. But in spite of the fact that it may make you nauseous, I`m also quite free to choose with whom I should or should not do business.

I think the price they`re asking is fair. But it`s not fair for me to fork out money without knowing if it`s made by a well-known designer, or if it`s a knock-off of someone else`s work.

If I can find out the designer, I can find it online and no, not so I can order it from an el cheapo mail order or internet company - it`s so I can send the pictures to my mom, who lives over four hours away and is unable to be here to help me. It`s important to me that she be able to see the dress too before I purchase it.

And this issue is important enough to me that I just won`t buy from a company who does this. If I don`t find that dress, so be it, I will find another, at a shop who isn`t afraid to tell me who made it.

Contrary to what you may think, not all consumers are out there with a goal of ripping you off, however much you may deserve to be ripped off.

As far as time on my hands, well, I have six months before my wedding. It`s not hurting me a bit to be choosy about who I do business with.

However, I would bet that opinions like mine hurt retailers like you. I notice that you haven`t identified your shop, and I don`t blame you a bit, since your attitude would surely prevent anyone from shopping there. Best of luck in your future charades as a reputable business.



K

Kimberley, I support your decision wholeheartedly. I am getting my dress online and it is saving me about 900 dollars! Not just 10 or 15 dollars. There is nothing wrong with trying to get value for money.
If people read the message properly, they would see you appear to be quite happy to buy from a reputable and ethical bricks & mortar bridal shop. You don`t even claim to be after a bargain, you just want to know what you`re buying.
My local bridal shop doesn`t rip tags out and I was happy to buy from them until my mother drove 2 hours to look at the dress which they sent away that same morning, knowing we were coming to see it and when we got there, they weren`t even apologetic. As buying my wedding gown is my one opportunity to spend a ridiculous amount of money on one dress, is it too much to ask for a little honesty and customer service? If this makes me `prissy`, I would rather be prissy than naive and gullible.
Kimberley, I hope you find your dress and a place, whether it be on the internet or a retail shop where you are happy to purchase it from.

Thanks for your support Danielle! I was rather surprised to see those other comments. Yeesh, you`d think I`d tried to rob her! She`s sure mad about something.

I feel exactly the same way you do about customer service. This is probably the one time in our lives that we`re going to spend anywhere near this amount of money on a single dress, unless we end up as movie stars and have to purchase our gowns for the Academy Awards! :) Hmm, I wonder if those designers rip the tags out before they sell their gowns? Anyhow, if we`re spending this much money (with the possibility of spending so much more on bridesmaids, accessories, etc.), then we should be insisting on the best in the customer service department. That means NOT removing tags.

After much deliberation, I think that I`ve finally made a decision on my wedding dress. I had visited a rental place yesterday (for the third time, they had gotten some new ones in). There was a new gown there that was nice, but it wasn`t the best one I had ever tried. It`s less than half the price of buying.

However, I`ve decided not to go that route, as I want to wear something special on that day, not just settle for the lower cost. So I`m going to buy one that I liked better in another shop - a shop where they keep the tags in! I made my decision with mom`s help, emailing the photos and seeing what she thought, which was a large part of why I wanted to know who the designer was.

While it`s not the one I was hunting for, it`s still beautiful and I will still look smashing on my wedding day. Best of luck to you for your wedding too!

K