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Wedding Dress Industry -- A Scam All Women are Buying Into
Hey Ladies:
Are you REALLY okay with these Bridal shops robbing your money if you buy a dress and a few days, later, for whatever reason, you decide to return it in its impeccable state. Because this is EXACTLY what happened to me with La Vie en Blanc -- another one of these scam stores dressed-up as a fairy-tale for all brides. I am not okay with this sort of merchant behaviour. $3000 is a lot of money. That feeds hundreds of families in Syria.
For those of us not in this scam of an industry -- and by scam I mean, a company whose sole intent is to squeeze a huge profit out of your fairy tale dreams. For those of us who never grew up with those fairy tales in our heads, it's disgraceful and shameful to sweep this bad behaviour under the rug. Shrug it off as, "Oh, that's crappy but I can't change this crappy industry."
Oh but you can. Vote with your dollar. Ask about their return or exchange policy if the dress has not be altered or worn. And if there is none, move on. Make the damn dress. I would have done that.
It's time we all say -- NO. THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE.
And while I'm at it, The Knot is complicit when it suggests we sell our brand new dresses on NearlyNewlyWed. I wonder -- what stake does The Knot have in the online wedding dress company? Scams, I tell you.
Be mindful and vigilant, ladies. Don't fall for the fairy tale crap story.
Are you REALLY okay with these Bridal shops robbing your money if you buy a dress and a few days, later, for whatever reason, you decide to return it in its impeccable state. Because this is EXACTLY what happened to me with La Vie en Blanc -- another one of these scam stores dressed-up as a fairy-tale for all brides. I am not okay with this sort of merchant behaviour. $3000 is a lot of money. That feeds hundreds of families in Syria.
For those of us not in this scam of an industry -- and by scam I mean, a company whose sole intent is to squeeze a huge profit out of your fairy tale dreams. For those of us who never grew up with those fairy tales in our heads, it's disgraceful and shameful to sweep this bad behaviour under the rug. Shrug it off as, "Oh, that's crappy but I can't change this crappy industry."
Oh but you can. Vote with your dollar. Ask about their return or exchange policy if the dress has not be altered or worn. And if there is none, move on. Make the damn dress. I would have done that.
It's time we all say -- NO. THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE.
And while I'm at it, The Knot is complicit when it suggests we sell our brand new dresses on NearlyNewlyWed. I wonder -- what stake does The Knot have in the online wedding dress company? Scams, I tell you.
Be mindful and vigilant, ladies. Don't fall for the fairy tale crap story.
Re: Wedding Dress Industry -- A Scam All Women are Buying Into
I mean, there are several large purchases that don't have returns. I'm sorry this happened to you but it's just bad drills to spend £3,000 without asking about the returns policy. It's hardly a scam.
It's like a car. Once it's off the lot it's considered used.
Hahaha! This is hilarious!
I mean, maybe be concerned about giving money to children in Syria BEFORE you spend the money on the dress. It just seems so emotionally manipulative to say 'Give me my money back or else you are stealing from refugee children. '
So why didn't you donate that money to feed families in Syria instead of buying a $3,000 dress? Because "dreams" and "fairy tales"? Perhaps the wedding dress industry is not the largest problem our culture faces....
But... you didn't.
Also, regardless of how much a traditional frou-frou wedding gown costs, it's still probably only going to be worn once, so there's also that. So.... I also don't understand your "feeding families in Syria" is at all applicable to.... any of this. Because, let's be honest here, that money was never earmarked for a charitable cause. You're just sour grapes because you spent money you can't get back now.
THIS.
Also, the Syria comment had me thinking of OP like:
Someone's pissed that she was foolish enough to spend $3,000 on a dress.
Didn't you read the paperwork before you signed? I know car salespeople who would love to talk to you!
This is hilarious. You brought up the "no returns" policy as one of your biggest problems, despite the fact that it is quite common. Then you appropriated a cause to justify your anger. What good would a printed receipt have been? You still read the policy AFTER you purchased the dress, not before. You still MADE THE PERSONAL CHOICE to buy a $3000 wedding dress instead of donating that money to an aid group. The onus was on you to be informed about your purchase. Everything PPs said was logical and based in common sense. Your comment about it reflecting "bride humor/insanity" is also nonsensical, just like trying to pretend you're outraged about Syria and the wedding dress industry.
Wedding dresses being non-returnable is basically industry standard. I've never heard of a boutique where you can order a $3,000 wedding dress in your custom size and return it for a full refund, no questions asked.
I'm not a betting woman, but I'll bet you ignored physical signs, conversations, and language in the contract when you signed the form that had your measurements and information. THEN you pay/get a receipt. If a high-end shop like the one you're talking about was shady or non-transparent about their returns, they'd have way worse reviews online.
I'm curious though. Now that your attention has been turned to Syria, how much money have you donated?
Your problem is one that was created by YOU. You chose the order an outrageously expensive wedding dress. You chose to spend a large amount of money on a custom ordered item without inquiring about a return policy. The shop did nothing wrong.
It is OK to vent, but you are refusing to accept responsibility for your own actions. Using Syrian children as an excuse to justify your actions is incredibly delusional. Go take a hard look in the mirror. Not a pretty sight.
I don't understand the receipt issue. Receipts are given after the purchase as proof you paid for x item, so seeing it after you've paid wouldn't do much good.
Feel free to rant about how the wedding industry makes people feel like they need a $3000 custom dress, but your complaint about not getting a refund has nothing to do with bad business practice.
It also has nothing to do with charity, since you weren't donating that money anyway. You intended to spend it on a dress. You just had second thoughts about the custom product you ordered. That's too bad, but it's no one's problem but yours, and I'm pretty confident that the change of heart you had about the dress didn't involve feeling the impulse to take your refund and donate it straight to charity.
By the way, my mom made my dress, so I have no stake in your bridal salon ripoff claims.
Forgot this earlier. In regards to the bolded, you do realize this is literally everyone in retail ever, right? Every single industry out there is out to part you from as much of your hard-earned money as possible. It's why when you give a budget, places typically show you stuff at the very top end or slightly above your budget (or sometimes stuff significantly above your budget) as well as stuff within your budget. It's why all sorts of companies offer stuff on payment plans and "no interest for one year!!!!" It's because they want to get you to spend more than you want to. And if (general) you buy into it, that's on you.