Has Anyone Ordered BM Dresses from Online Discount Retailer??

OBX2011 · April 2011

Just curious if anyone has ordered their BM dresses from a discount online retailer vs. the actual designer? I found some really pretty BM's dresses at Alfred Angelo but they are on the higher side and I was hoping to keep the price within the ladies budgets. I have found the dress at several discount shops online and was curious if anyone had taken the chance and ordered before? If so, were the dresses as described....sizing...return/exchange policy?

I could have posted this elsewhere but trust your opinions much more...he he he.

This is a P&R but will check back later this evening.

Thanks ladies

sherrbearr22 · April 2011

One of my bridesmaids did just this and it was about 20 sizes too big! She could put it on over her sweatshirt/pants and it would fall off of her. She had even been guarenteed it would be fit to her specific measurements and this still happened. It was also supposed to be knee length and it was dragging on the floor.

The company said that if a product came and it wasn't as described or was the wrong size, etc. they would offer a full refund. Well, that did not include shipping. The cost of shipping the dress back would have been almost as much as the dress.

That was just my horror story. We ended up getting dresses from DB instead.

AllAboutTheBenjamin · April 2011

I think lots of knotties will tell you that this is a pretty risky way of getting dresses - mostly because usually, when something seems too good to be true, it probably is. If it looks like you can get a really awesome dress for a fraction of the price you'd pay the designer, well - just be ready to get screwed somehow. Not saying it's a guarantee that you'd get screwed - but really, you get what you pay for (or don't pay for) when dealing with discount sites.

ZombieNates · April 2011

Yep, I did. Netbride is fabulous. I bought my bridesmaid dress for the wedding I'm in this week and it was exactly what I ordered (my friend ordered also, and hers was right, as well). TBH, I ordered them for this wedding as a test run for my own BMs. My cousin just ordered her dress from Netbride and my MOH will be ordering from them as well.

The dress was exactly as was described and it definitely wasn't a cheap knockoff, which was my fear. The only thing I'd make sure to do is go to a tailor and have them measure you, so you know exactly what size to get. Also, Netbride doesn't do returns, so it's safer to premeasure and get it right. But all in all, I had an awesome experience with them and I know a ton of people recommend Netbride all over the boards.

rak123 · April 2011

http://www.bestbridalprices.com/

My sister ordered her BM dress through here with no problems. The size, color, etc were all perfect.

MandK9 · April 2011

If you're going to do it, make sure you check out the company on Better Business Bureau first. My cousin had us do this, and our dresses all look great and are true to size. But she checked them out first, so that's something.

noodle_oo · April 2011

I did Netbride as well and they were awesome! They are not a discounted manufacturer, they are a legitimate seller of dresses from the designer and they have a real store somewhere (Louisiana I think?). Anyway, they sell online and due to the volumes, I think they can offer huge discounts vs a local store. We ordered Impression dresses and they were like $169 at local stores. Netbride's price was $109. I ordered 4 at once, they came in exactly on time and they were perfect. We did try them on in a local store so we could figure out the sizes (that is very important to get the sizes right). I felt bad not buying them from that store, but it was such a huge savings I really couldn't pass it up.

They are very well recommended on the attire board, that's how I discovered them.

OutOfTheBlue612 · April 2011

You can also try Bridal Mart based in Burlington, NC. They have a physical store, which is actually where my BM ordered their dresses from. But they do a lot of national business on their website, where they ship the dress to you. They dresses are definitely cheaper there than other stores we looked at. But they are the real dresses, not knock offs.

Celles · April 2011

We had great experiences with plussizebridal.com (which carries normal sizes, too!) and horrible ones with houseofbrides.com. I recommend the former, and recommend that you stay far, far away from the latter!

OBX2011 · April 2011

Thanks for all of the tips...I will make sure to stay away from houseofbrides.com which is actually the site I was looking at so thank goodness I posted this.

I will definitely have the BM's try the dress on in the store to make sure the sizes are correct. I feel bad for not ordering from A. Angelo as well but hey, if this saves the girls some mula then why not

OBX2011 · April 2011

Thanks MilkDuds.....I'm glad you weighed in too b/c somewhere last week in CC or WP thread, you had mentioned this and it really got me thinking. It was hard to track you down and I hardly check my PM's so figured I would post a thread and hope you caught it.

Like all websites, stores, etc. there are good and bad reviews so I will make sure I do my research

J&K10910 · April 2011

Have you checked ebay at all?

OBX2011 · April 2011

No I haven't yet but my only concern there is if I had any problems with the dresses and then seller turns into an a-hole.

Thoughts?

OutOfTheBlue612 · April 2011

You could also just pick a cheaper dress if they don't want to spend the money on this one.

J&K10910 · April 2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_anyone-ordered-bm-dresses-online-discount-retailer?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:17Discussion:c89ddce6-52cd-476e-9dd4-ce50485f3330Post:93385702-63a6-4754-b704-f99f2be7a3ba">Re: Has Anyone Ordered BM Dresses from Online Discount Retailer??</a>:
[QUOTE]No I haven't yet but my only concern there is if I had any problems with the dresses and then seller turns into an a-hole. Thoughts?
Posted by OBX2011[/QUOTE]

Just make sure if you did order you do it from someone with a high seller rating. I won't order anything off ebay or Amazon from someone with lower than a 97% positive rating, and if it's less than 99% I read the comments to see what the issues are. Plus Ebay is good about resolving those things, so as long as you order with plenty of time, you would be ok, I think.

OBX2011 · April 2011

Thanks J&K

Finding their dresses have been more stressful than mine. You wouldn't think a teal or peacock blue chiffon dress would be that difficult but ohhhhh noooo....that certainly hasn't been the case.

I found one we all like and the price is right, was just hoping to save even more money for them at a discounted online store.

OutOfTheBlue612 · April 2011

I get that. But sometimes you have to acknowledge that the potential to save money isn't worth the risk or headache. Because there is only a potential of saving when you use sites like what you've mentioned. If something goes awry, you are out more money than if you'd just bought the dress at retail price.

Sorry that I'm being kind of preachy. Like I mentioned in the UO thread, I have an ethical dilemna with knock-offs like those mentioned here. That said, definitely check out the few reputable online retailers that are actually selling the real dress from the designer.

J&K10910 · April 2011

Can you post the dress? I'll help you look

OBX2011 · April 2011

OOTB....I get what you are saying and I appreciate the feedback. That is why I posted this b/c I have never worked with any of these sites and wasn't sure if it was a good move or not and I'm still not sure really. I want to save $ but not at the risk of the dress being the wrong color, size, etc.

I am actually considering both of these dresses in Teal. The 2nd one, the belt will either be teal as well or tangerine...havent decided yet.

Knowing me, I will probably go ahead and just buy directly from designer b/c the last thing I would want is the headache of the dress being wrong.

Thanks J&K I have found a lot of great prices, as low as $119 for #1 and $122 for #2. With the 20% discount from A. Angelo since my dress came from there, it brings it down to $144 directly from the store. Still not a bad price though. It's a beach wedding and the wind would blow up a short dress easily and I like long anyways since it's more "evening-ish"

Style #7140

Style #7093

J&K10910 · April 2011

Neither of those are on ebay right now, but this afternoon I can look for some similar styles, if you want. I really like both of them!

OBX2011 · April 2011

You are too sweet

OutOfTheBlue612 · April 2011

Did you call shops that carry AA in your local and ask their price specifically or just an AA store? Some stores will give a discount for buying multiple dresses. You can always ask about that too.

OBX2011 · April 2011

I called the actual AA store that I bought my gown from and they are giving entire WP 20% off.

That is a good idea to call around other shops to see who carries AA and maybe their price will be cheaper AND offer a discount too...thanks

Has Anyone Ordered BM Dresses from Online Discount Retailer??

Re: Has Anyone Ordered BM Dresses from Online Discount Retailer??

Choose Another Board

Search Boards