Advice on buying a store sample

plainjane0415 · August 2014

I went wedding dress shopping this weekend and completely fell in love with the Augusta Jones Jessie dress. However, it's about $500 over my price range. I thought about purchasing the sample that I tried on in store, because it was fairly close to my size, just a bit larger, and from what I can remember was in fairly decent shape. I'm just wondering if anyone else here has had any experience with buying a floor sample from a bridal shop and if you can offer any advice. Thanks!

manateehugger · August 2014

Did the shop tell you the sample was for sale? One of my "finalists" was a sample. It had some damage from being tried on repeatedly, so you'd have to look over the dress with a careful eye. Tons of brides have tried it on. You can also look at preownedweddingdress.com and tradesy.com to see if you can find a used one.

plainjane0415 · August 2014

They didn't say if it was for sale. I was going to call and see if they would consider selling me the sample because I know that some places do that. It may be a long shot, but I figured I should at least try. I have looked at preownedweddingdress.com and oncewed.com to no avail. I haven't tried tradesy though, I will give that a look.

Maggie0829 · August 2014

If they do say that they will sell you the sample, then make sure you go to the store and do as PDKH said and look it over super carefully. Take another person with you and when you try it on have them look for any issues (missing beading, tears in the fabric, dirty marks, etc).

Ven&Radio · August 2014

The dress I bought was a sample. You definitely want to give it a thorough inspection. I was lucky - mine was in surprisingly good condition. The store I bought from sent the dress out for cleaning at their expense - I'm not sure how common this is. The dress was 2-3 sizes too big when I bought it, but the seamstress was able to take it in without any problem. The bodice had alot of beading and ruching, so taking it in required alot of attention to detail to get it right.

missdelilah · August 2014

I'm not totally against it, but look it over really, really carefully. If the store is going to clean it for you, make sure to take a ton of photos of the dress before they send it out. I have no idea whether this is common or not, particularly if you're not buying from a store that specializes in selling samples. If you're taking it home yourself, then just be sure you're happy with it. Some minor defects can be corrected by a seamstress, so you might want to ask the shop if you can meet with their seamstress at the time that you come back to look at the dress.

And by all means, ring other stores in your area that carry Augusta Jones, and see if anyone else will sell you a sample if they have one that's suitable. I agree with ManateeHugger that you should take a look at those websites for both preowned and sample dresses.

I don't want to put you off this. I think it's a great way of saving money, but here's what happened to me in my naive first attempt to buy a dress without consulting other people's experiences. http://forums.theknot.com/discussion/1033990/vows-by-bridal-power-totally-devastated-by-my-experience-please-read-before-you-commit

plainjane0415 · August 2014

O my goodness.. I am so sorry that happened to you! Thank you for sharing though, something to definitely think about. I'm just between a rock and a hard place because, I have got to make a decision soon if I decide to order (wedding date is 4/30/15) with turn around time and everything. And the bridal shop I went to is the only carrier of Augusta Jones in Tennessee. :-/ I will figure something out one way or the other though! I may just have to suck it up and pay the $500 over budget. Ah, the problems we face when dresses steal our hearts!

Alikat9614 · August 2014

I bought my dress from a place that sells all sample dresses. Some of them are in pristine condition, some definitely had been rode hard. Mine had a few imperfections- there was a tiny pen mark under the right armpit and some of the crystals were loose or had come off around the waist, especially near the zipper in the back. Otherwise it looks great! My dress retailed around the $1200 range, and I purchased it for $350. With taxes and alterations, my dress was still under $400. My seamstress was able to whip stitch some of the loose crystals back on and some places still are missing them, but it isn't noticeable.

OliveOilsMom · August 2014

Try Pearl's Place. That is an online bridal salon that will only sell you a dress you have previously tried on. Their price may get you into your budget.

Also, for $500, did you try to get any sort of discount from the salon you went to? Did you tell them that you love the dress, but that its over your budget? Maybe they can work with you.

Pepperally · August 2014

I went to a bridal shop this May as soon as I got engaged to buy something for this October. I had no clue how long it takes for bridal gowns to be ordered, and initially I was going to buy a simple BM dress to wear as a bridal gown. But of course I fell in love with a bridal gown. She said I may not get mine in time if I ordered one, so she told me I could buy a sample there that day. I was surprised she so freely offered up for me to buy a sample. They gave me 10% off, which isn't that much, but honestly the dress was in such good condition I was fine with the price.

I had a fine experience (so far). She said they'd fix anything wrong with it. There were a few loose strings with beads (just under the arms so nothing too noticeable), there were a few missing buttons from the button up back, so a very simple solution for that. But otherwise, we looked it over and it is absolutely fine to wear. I will be taking it back in a few weeks for my first fitting when they will repair the beads & buttons and do alterations.

jenijoyk · August 2014

I purchased a sample dress. It had a tiny pull in the front, right about bouquet level, and another one on the butt, but it got me a fat discount and I didn't have much of a choice anyway because I unluckily fell in love with a discontinued dress. No regrets... I'm such a klutz I'm sure I'll end up stepping on it, spilling something on it, or pulling the fabric myself once I'm wearing the dress for more than an hour on my wedding day. And no one is going to be staring intently at my bellybutton or my butt close enough to notice the tiny pulls in the fabric. And that's even if they can't fix them in alterations anyway.

hyechica81 · August 2014

if its a newer gown or like one year older most salons wont sell the sample as it it is still in demand and if its a popular dress that sells well for them they will turn you down. they usualy only discount and sell older samples that they no longer wish to keep to make room for new gowns,
but in some cases like mine the gown i feel in love with was from the 2011 collection i got married this past june. it was her number one selling dress, and the designer mori lee was still producing the gown so i was still able to order it in my size..

have you tried nearby states ? not sure how far it would be for you to travel outside tn but
Kentucky has two places that carry her line

Couture Closet

Louisville

(502) 225 0305

Fabulous Bridal Boutique

Covington

(859) 291 9222

arkansaw

Proposals

Little Rock

(501) 661 4696

misshart00 · August 2014

Definitely make sure it's for sale. I asked about buying the sample when I purchased my dress and they said they would sell it to me but would only discount the cost of shipping for a new dress (about $20).

plainjane0415 · August 2014

Well now I'm back to square 1. The shop I tried the dress on at just got the Jessie dress in last week that I tried on (it has beading, and the regular Jessie doesn't) and because it's so new they won't sell it to me. The store clerk said that they typically like to have their samples for a few months before they will consider sellling them to anyone. I'm about to get really upset over this and I hate feeling this way over a dress! It just fit me perfect... and was so "me" as cliche as that sounds.

missdelilah · August 2014

I'm sorry you couldn't get the sample. I always side eye the sales assistants when they offer to sell their samples straight up, but I've never asked for one (mostly because the majority of samples I tried on were way too big). Can you try the other stores a PP suggested?

plainjane0415 · August 2014

I thought about trying the other stores, but those are both a 4 hour drive from me, and my weekends are about to be jam packed. I think I'm just going to have to sacrifice a bit on the budget and order it. I know myself and I know another dress won't do. I'm not normally this bratty! I guess it's true when people say you'll just know when it's your wedding gown, because I don't even remember the other dresses I tried on on Saturday.

missdelilah · August 2014

Are you sure it's not worth trying other things on? I really thought I'd found my dress when I tried to buy that sample, but I'm so much happier with what I have now.

It may be possible for the stores to ship to you, but if it's a new dress, they'll also be unlikely to want to sell their samples.

Best of luck with it.

missdelilah · August 2014

Are you totally against preowned? I noticed that there was at least one on www.preownedweddingdresses.com. I can't remember what size you were after.

plainjane0415 · August 2014

I'm not against preowned, I can't find one in my size. I wear an 8-10 in regular clothes and would need to order a 14 in the dress I think, and I have searched every preowned wedding dress website I can find and cannot find anything. I can find the dress, but it's always been tailored to a 2, 4 or 6. I would be open to trying other stuff on, but my only problem now is time. I literally have something booked every Saturday until the beginning of November, and if I wait until then to look and possibly order another dress it will be too late.

Dignity100 · August 2014

You can always call other stores in the area that carry the dress. With the dress I purchased - one place wanted $175 more than I paid and another shop wanted $400 (full 'list' price from the designer). It may be worth it to call around - if you already know the dress and size you would need, you may be able to just order over the phone. Try Pearl's Place as well (as already recommended).

Other things - you could go a little cheaper elsewhere in your budget on some details that people won't remember later. Could you go a little less on floral and linens? If you were offering a full bar, you could potentially offer a limited bar (beer & wine or beer, wine & signature drink). You could do a small cake and then cupcakes or a sheet cake in the back.

plainjane0415 · August 2014

Thank you ladies so much for all of your suggestions. I have decided to just go ahead and order the dress. After much research, I have found that Augusta Jones dresses are ordered to fit very close to your natural size, and many brides have said that minimal alterations were needed after having their dresses come in, which is a plus and potentially a good savings in the alteration department. We are still trying to hammer out the details of our reception, so I may have to make a cut there, and I may not. It just depends on what everything looks like after meeting with the caterer, ordering favors, etc.. I know I can make this work!

Dignity100 · August 2014

@Knottie43581280 - YAY!! Glad you decided to get the dress. If it makes you feel better, I went about $1000 over my dress budget (I had the $$ just felt bad spending that much on a dress at first).

plainjane0415 · August 2014

That's where I was at.. I can pay for it, I just have a hard time parting with the money... haha my Finance degree is really paying off I guess!

missdelilah · August 2014

Congratulations!

Maggie0829 · August 2014

Knottie43581280 said:

That's where I was at.. I can pay for it, I just have a hard time parting with the money... haha my Finance degree is really paying off I guess!

Let me tell you, if I were in your shoes I would have shelled out the extra money to get the dress that I love too.

You can always make up for the extra money being spent by cutting back or going less expensive on some other things like ditch the favors, get less expensive invitations, cut back on florals and do half non-floral centerpieces, etc.

Advice on buying a store sample

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