interesting post: removing dress tags

alliecarrie41

http://talk.theknot.com/boards/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=61893599&forumid=15legal or not, i cannot stand salons who think they are so smart removing tags, lying to brides, pushing the sale... UGH!! 

emt16

I know when I went to the salon the tags weren't on the dresses but they would write down the designer and style on a card for you to take with you. I agree that it seems shady to me though, why not just be upfront

Laurms15

Most of the places I went to did tell me but it really bugged me and took a lot of detective work to find out who the designers were of some dresses I liked. It really bugged me when a place would say oh its an in house design then I would find the same dress on another knottie or in another shop!

I <3 Seabass

I can see both sides. If the salon provides competitive prices and good service they shouldn't have to worry about brides shopping around and just using them for their samples. However, with all the internet salons out there now you have a lot of brides that will go and try on dresses in the store knowing full and well they plan on purchasing the gown online. In that case it's really not fair to the brick and mortar store because they can't compete with the online prices, since they don't have the same overhead costs.

alliecarrie41

the shops i loved were the ones who told me exactly what i was putting on as i was putting it on.  designer, name, whatever.  helen bohn's did this, which is why i ultimately bought from there.  i believe so did chrissy o's, park ave, and RK, all of which i recommend because of just that reason. 

alliecarrie41

seabass, i see that point, but idk, i try to relate it to my job (publishing).  i give professors the price for the book, the pacakge price, and the code-alone if buying just the technology or ebook.  of course i want the sale for the standard text, but giving all the info upfront gives me credibility and the consumer trusts i care about their choices and the students, not just the bottom line.  if i lied about pricing, or hid the fact there were less expensive options and they found out later?  i'd hate me too! 

uppereastgirl

I only went to two bridal salons, neither of which did this.  Why do they do this?  So you can't find out the name and model of the dress and then go to another store to find it?  And then they only tell you the brand after you buy the dress?  If that's what you're talking about, that seems completely ridiculous to me.  How can they expect you to buy a $500+ piece of clothing without knowing what brand name it is?  Sometimes it doesn't matter, but there will be differences of quality across brands that will matter to people (and that may explain price differences).As a much lower-priced analogoy, I wouldn't want to buy a t-shirt without knowing whether it is Gap or Club Monaco (in this case because they probably feel the same in the store, but the Club Monaco probably costs more but based on recent experience will fall apart after being worn twice).  I would want to know whether I'm paying too much for low quality, too much for name alone, or am paying a premium that is worth it because the brand is known for quality).

Laurms15

I can see the point of wanting to protect themselves but the dresses I ended up choosing between were the ones I could take a photo in and go home and think about and look up online. I ended up purchasing my dress from the designer's store. I agree with the way allie is looking at it to though. In my line of work I put together a proposal for a client of everything I will do what my price includes and all the other relevant information. Most people do look at a few bids in my line of work but thats how it is in many industries. You put somethingh out to bid then choose. Do I get annoyed when I do all the work and don't get the client? Yes but it happens. Someone was probably cheaper then I was but there's always someone more expensive.

cherylanddan0706

Ditto allie I went to one store and I didn't see tags, they wouldn't give me any info at all and to me that put theor credibility to crap, I under stand the reasoning but I wound up purchasing from another store that was more open gave me all the info, sure I could have found it for cheaper but I was loyal.

DMLJ

Wow... all 3 stores I went to told me the designers: Bridals by Roma, Affordable Elegance, and Bijou Bridal.

JerseyGirl83

The salon i went to had the designer name and model# on the tag.

VeryZen

To be honest, I wouldn't buy anything from a store that wasn't willing to give me information on the dress.  I would wonder what else they were trying to hide.The boutique I went to gave me all the info and I ultimately bought it from them because of the great service they had given me.

caketime

I can't remember if I saw the information on the dress itself.  However, when I asked the salesperson at Roma and Bijou they told me right away which designer and model # it was.

ShanaJune2010

Wow. I'm surprised. It seems silly to remove tags. I mean, I went dress shopping recently and I recognized all the dresses and styles because I had obsessively looked them up online (also I have a photographic memory). When the saleslady brought out a specific dress, I immediately got excited and told her it was the one I had been eyeing in magazines so I recognized it (and that's THE DRESS). My point is, they wouldn't have been able to fool me.The store I found my dress at kept all the tags on. That being said, I am wondering now if the first two stores I went to removed their tags since I don't remember noticing the tags and I would have (they always itch me). But they had their dresses grouped by designer so it wasn't like they were hiding the information from the customer. Plus, when I went in I had a list of some styles I wanted to try on and they pulled all the ones they had in the store.