Designers Wedding Gown Rip-Off

Photo by Devin Young

I was looking at designer wedding dresses the other day…just for fun…and came across something that made me really MAD.

A very famous wedding designer site (which shall remain nameless) made the following statement:

“We recommend not purchasing on the internet…Buying gowns on the Internet for a discount is a gamble.  We support full service brick and mortar bridal salons because we know they will provide you with the service you deserve and the product you expect.

Purchasing from an unauthorized retailer on the Internet presents many problems including the following reported issues:

• Receiving the incorrect size gown.
• Receiving the incorrect color gown.
• No support through the unauthorized website retailer you purchased the gown through.
• A gown being damaged in the shipping process.
• Losing money to a website that has gone out of business.”

I’M FUMING!

It’s fairly common knowledge that most designer gowns, even the “custom-made” gowns, are manufactured in China for a fraction of what it would cost to make in the United States.  Translation: HIGH MARK-UP before it even gets to the U.S.  Then, those designer wedding gowns are sold to warehouse distributors (ANOTHER MARK-UP) before being sold to bridal shops (THIRD MARK-UP) where they are sold to brides (FOURTH MARK-UP.)

The mark-up on designer gowns sold by bridal shops is 100% to cover the costs of rent for the shop, heat, and all the other overhead for the business.  It’s justified as a way to make a living according to this article at HubPages.com.

Hey, I’ve got nothing against making a profit.  But for a designer to say that buying off the internet is more of a gamble than purchasing at “brick and mortar” bridal salons is a CROCK.

There are risks, sure.  But if you’ve been around the wedding industry block a few times, you won’t go far before finding the exact same complaints–ordering the wrong dress, wrong color, no service, damaged gown, bridal salon going out of business–about those same precious “brick and mortar” establishments.

Who do they think they’re kidding?  Buying your wedding gown on the internet is a SMART OPTION that reaps huge discounts when you buy from a reputable seller.  By cutting out the middle-man, you cut out the mark-up, which is what makes those discounts possible.

Who do you think is paying the designer top prices?  Yep, those “brick and mortar” (or vinyl-siding, cheap facade) bridal salons.  So isn’t it in the designers best interest to scare brides away from discounted internet purchases…and keep lining their pockets with the cash of poor brides like you?

It really ticks me off!

Fortunately, I know the truth.  And I’d love to dish out all those secrets they don’t want you to know about saving on the designers wedding dress of your dreams in my eBook.

Has the wedding mark-up got you fuming?  Leave me a comment.