Weddingbee

Ebay can be a fantastic source for well-priced wedding gowns, with choices ranging from under-$50 bargains to couture gowns with prices in the thousands. However, there are a number of potential pitfalls to buying a gown you can’t try on, so it pays to understand the system before you look.

As it turns out, I bought not just one wedding gown on Ebay, but three! (There’s the probable actual gown, the one that was such an amazing deal I had to try it, and the vintage beauty I found while writing Part II of this post….) Guess that makes me about as much of an expert on the subject as any bride, so I wanted to share what I’ve learned.

(My “such a good deal I had to try it” dress — a new $1,600 BCBG silk charmeuse gown that I got for under $100. Turns out it’s not right for my pear shaped figure, but at that price it will remain a good deal for someone else when I turn to Ebay to re-sell it….)

• First, it helps to know what you’re looking for. The category “Clothing, Shoes & Accessories: Wedding Apparel: Wedding Dresses” generally contains well over 5,000 auction listings on any given day. You can find thousands of other wedding gowns or wedding-appropriate dresses listed in the category “Clothing, Shoes & Accessories: Women’s Clothing: Dresses.” Without some way to narrow your search, the sheer volume of possibilities will be overwhelming. (And, realistically, even using some of the following methods to narrow your search, you should be prepared for lots of browsing.)

(One example of a dress near the top of the Ebay price scale is this $2,150 Jim Hjelm gown (new, size 10) — perhaps pricey for what traditionally has been a “discount” shopping service, but still a significant markdown from the gown’s original $4,200 price tag.)

• One weakness of Ebay is that it offers no perfect method for searching these many options. You can try using the Search bar to enter the name of a particular designer, attribute (“silk” or “lace”), design feature (“empire” or “mermaid”), etc. The Search bar searches only the titles of listings, unless you check the small box underneath that brings in the text of the listings as well. Initially you will be shown results for auction and short-term fixed-price listings only. There are many more fixed-price items in Ebay Stores (thousands!), but you must generally click a link at the end of your results to view those listings. The major shortfall of any search, and particularly a search of listing titles only, is that your results are limited to the actual words used by the seller in her listing. For example, a search for “lace” gowns will miss those described as “lacy,” and a search for wedding dresses designed by “Watters & Watters” will miss listings by sellers who misspell the brand as “Waters.”

(Most common are the dresses costing a few hundred dollars rather than a few thousand. For example, this new Mon Cheri “spun gold” color dress size 8 is listed at a “Buy It Now” price of $150.)

• Another way to narrow your results is to use the “Dress Finder” menu on the left-hand side of the category page. This is often most helpful for narrowing the field to your proper dress size. However, not all sellers list their items using this feature, so it can be helpful to also run a title search using your preferred wedding dress size(s) to search for title descriptions containing that size number. If you look to the bottom left of any listings page, you will find a section that also lets you check boxes to narrow listings to only U.S. sellers, which will weed out most of the foreign tailors offering to sew knock-off copies of designer gowns, or narrow results by price — especially helpful in weeding out those pretty Vera Wangs and making you stick to your budget!

(And then there are the real bargains, such as these final examples that were all listed for less than $10! This new gown from an unknown designer has beautiful rosebud details throughout and was listed for only $9.99.)

• Dress sizes vary considerably, so the most important rule is to KNOW YOUR MEASUREMENTS. Take your bust, waist, and hip measurements as described here. This is not the time to be vain; in fact, it’s best to add an extra inch or two of “breathing room” between your own measurements and those of the dress. And (I know this battle from experience) be realistic when comparing your measurements to those of a dress that you love — you might be able to shave an inch or two off your waist with some shapewear or a last-minute diet, but 2 or 3 inches off the hips are unlikely no matter how much you love the dress!

(Casablanca A-line gown (size 12), store sample, listed at $9.95 with $38.70 shipping/handling.)

• Finally, as with all Ebay purchases, pay close attention to all descriptions in the listing and to all details of the photos. Check the shipping fees, because sometimes they’re unexpectedly high. Note the seller’s feedback rating and the comments of previous buyers to be sure this is someone you feel safe doing business with for such an important purchase. And don’t be afraid to email the seller to ask any questions. You can even ask the seller to email more/better photos if appropriate.

(New Alfred Angelo gown (size 12), bridal store sample, listed at $9.95.)

Coming up: Part II will address the 4 common types of gowns sold on Ebay. Stay tuned!

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