New dresses with tags on Ebay for half price?

aniluisa

Hi ladies,

I have my heart set on a certain gown, but it's twice what I wanted to spend (and then I would also have to bustle it, which costs even more). I was googling it to see if I could get a used dress, and lo and behold, there it was on Ebay (in my size!) for half of the retail price! The seller on Ebay says that the dress still has the tags on it, but there's a mark through the tag to prevent returns to the store. I took a look and there are lots of sellers on Ebay doing the same thing that seem to have a wide variety of dresses from lots of different designers/stores.

Maybe I'm just super ignorant about Ebay, but how is this possible? Where do they get these dresses? And has anyone bought their dress from a seller like this? I can return the dress to this particular seller within 14 days, but I just wanted to ask for some feedback before I take the plunge!

hnkirk81

My guess would be that they either a) bought it at a sample sale or b) bought it for themselves and then found a dress they like better. Once you take dress out of the store it's almost impossible to get back what younpaid, so maybe they're just trying to get back what they can? I'm actually buying mine off eBay... I wish she had knocked off half the price I did ask for a photo of the tags next to something showing the current day's date so I knew they really had the dress, even though eBay has buyer protection and what-not.

[Deleted User]

I know with David's Bridal their terms are once you bought it, that's it. So if someone changes their mind on the dress, wedding is cancelled, or even looses a lot of weight and doesn't want to pay for the alterations, they are stuck with the dress, ebay is a good route. I actually found a BM for my MOH on ebay w/tags, the wedding she was asked to be in was called off. Her friends misfortune was our fortune, got the dress for $75 that was sold in the store new for $140.00.

Just check out the persons profile, see if by chance they have any reviews on them from past sales. If you have any questions, you should be able to send the seller an email. One thing I would ask, even though it still has tags on the dress, have any alterations been made, unless they address that in their ad.

marshmallow1982

is this particular seller selling any more wedding dresses? if its just one and they have good feedback it might be legit

aniluisa

@marshmallow1982 - this seller has quite a few new bridesmaid/wedding dresses that are all from J Crew. That's why I was concerned about them being knockoffs, but I did a little searching and it seems that some people buy up sample or wholesale gowns and then turn around and sell them on eBay. 

I went ahead and bought the dress - I'll let you all know how this turns out. Luckily if it's not as advertised, I have 14 days to return it. 

This is the seller, by the way: http://www.ebay.com/usr/klassycollections11

CrazyCatLady3

J.Crew has a clearance warehouse in VA where they send all their unsold merchandise.  The strike through the tags so people don't try to buy the items there for super cheap and then return them to a retail store.  This eBay seller probably lives near the warehouse, buys up their stuff for cheap and resells on eBay.

aniluisa

Ah, that makes perfect sense! I just could not figure out how this person had such great stuff! I thought I was getting a good deal getting my dress for 50% less than retail, but apparently those warehouse sales sell wedding dresses for $40 (!!!)

http://i.imgur.com/f4BC8Wg.jpg

lovesclimbing

Oh, it's definitely possible to get some good stuff.  My sister bought a formal gown new with tags a few years ago.  The tags said it was a $250 dress.  I don't remember what she got it for but I do remember that the cost of the dress was less than the shipping.

I also have gotten good deals through Ebay (although not quite as good as that).

CrazyCatLady3

Wow, $40 for a wedding dress is pretty crazy.  Most of JC's wedding dresses are made of natural fabrics too--silk or cotton.  I guess it pays to live near the JC warehouse!

JLynG09

Hi!  I bought my gown on eBay and had an awesome experience.  The gal I bought mine from had her gown custom made and then her wedding was cancelled.  Do not be discouraged just because it is eBay!  I definitely recommend giving it a try.  Look at the seller's feedback or contact them, see how helpful they are.  Good luck!

aniluisa

Hi everyone - just an update to let you know that my dress arrived today and it is PERFECT. If you're looking for a J Crew gown, I highly recommend looking on eBay!