Wedding Dresses off Etsy, Opinions?

Knottie3480828

Hello all!

I have been searching through Etsy and have found gorgeous dresses for a much cheaper price than similar dresses found in boutiques. Particularity I found a shop named Autumn Silk Bridal based out of California. However, they just opened their shop a month ago and thus have no reviews and one sale. They say they have been making dresses for European designers for over 20 years but are now trying their hand at selling their dresses straight to the consumer under their personal label. What worries me is I can not find anything about them online aside from the Facebook and Pinterest accounts they made around the same time as their Etsy shop. The dress I am looking at is $750 thus a significant amount of money to lose out on if this is a scam.

Any advice?

msuprincess04

Contact them and asked if there's a number to call and speak with someone. That's probably where I would start. Honestly, though, I likely wouldn't give money over the internet to someone without reviews.

amelisha

I wouldn't buy from an online company without a lot of photos and reviews, honestly. I know it's tough out there when you're just starting out, but with online sales those photos and reviews are your only way to assess quality (if you can't see the dress in person) so it is too big a risk to take in my opinion.

I know not even reviews are a perfect system, but Etsy does do some regulation and I have never had a problem ordering from an Etsy seller with a lot of positive feedback. My engagement ring was purchased through Etsy and it is perfect, but I chose a seller with a long history and many, many great reviews.

blabla89

I wouldn't chance it. For $750 you can get a nice dress from a reputable store without worrying about whether it's legit.

mikenberger

You can get a wedding dress at a salon for $750. Don't use Etsy. Go and try on your dress.

hyechica81

do not buy from a seller with no reviews no website with a brick and mortor adress sounds like a china nockoff website. yes most all designer gowns come from china but they are from shops that are exclusive to that designer they are the only ones with the pattern to those dresses. all those china websites you see offering 1000 dresses for 150 are scams most of them say the original retail is around 500-600 when i know for a fact a few dresses i saw on those websites were well over 1000 the images were stolen and they are going off the front and back of the dress to try and make it look the same facebook bridesbeware and you will see known examples of china dresses gone wrong 

google bridal consigments in your area the ones near me mostly carry sample gowns they get from designers discontinueds and shops that consign with them and 30% of the inventory is gowns that brides wore and want to consign. you can often find dresses in the 2000-5000 range for under 1000 i know the place i visted all the plus size gowns were in the 300-550 range and they were older style dresses from around 1-5 years old from bridal collections,  but i ended up going to a bridal salon and ordering a dress from them because i didnt find anything at the consigment 

you could also call up salons and see what sample stuff they have that they are discontinuing.

these are lower end designers that start at around 500-1500 with a few gowns in the 2000 range but not very many

mori lee ( my mori lee from the julietta line style 3098 was 925.00 added a second lace strap to the gown and tax i ended up paying 1060 for the dress.

venus

bonny

allure

jasmine

and if you need plus sizes mori lee bonny venus and allure all have plus size lines as well as regular lines 

CMGragain

Buying from Etsy is no different than buying from ebay.  Each seller is independent.  You are trusting an unknown seller with your money.  I would discourage this idea.
Davd's Bridal is your best bargain dress source.  They stock dresses differently than other bridal shops, and have sales and discontinued styles more frequently.  Other bridal shops carry labels like Mori Lee, Alfred Angelo, DaVinci that have styles in your price range.  Remember, good lace is expensive!  A plainer style will be more budget friendly.