Post # 1
Member
2 posts
Wannabee
Hello ladies!
Here’s my situation: I bought a second-hand wedding dress over a year and a half ago (right after I got engaged). I was absolutely in love with the dress at the time, but my tastes have changed a bit and now that we’re planning on eloping somewhere warm, I’m planning on getting a new dress.
I’m wondering if anyone has had any luck selling their dress on any of the used wedding dress sites where you have to pay to list: stillwhite.ca, preownedweddingdresses.com, etc. I’ve posted on free sites (like here on Wedding Bee 
) but am wondering if you get more exposure, or the process is smoother using a paid site.
Any advice/feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks 🙂
Post # 2
Member
134 posts
Blushing bee
danigetsmarried: I am currently selling on preowned, 75 percent off a Baracci gown and have no luck..
Post # 3
Member
1418 posts
Bumble bee
- Wedding: September 2014 - Turf Valley
I had the exact situation as you. I was able to sell mine on preownedweddingdresses.com, but it took about 5-6 months if I remember correctly. I did sell it for a lot less than I paid… I think I paid ~$900 and got $500 even though it was unaltered and never worn.
Post # 4
Member
446 posts
Helper bee
I’ve listed mine in a few places, including preownedweddingdresses.com and have had no luck. I began posting in September/October and have had few bites. I included accessories and my gown has never been worn and never been altered. Still no sale.
Post # 5
Member
305 posts
Helper bee
I sold a dress on preownedweddingdresses.com in less than a week. It was a popular David’s Bridal style and I bought it on sale for $450 and sold it (still new) for $400. I feel like I got pretty lucky. With a less popular/well-known design, you might be better off listing it on craigslist and preownedweddingdresses.com to increase exposure.
Post # 6
Member
6 posts
Newbee
I listed a new/unaltered dress last November at 30% off of the original price on preowned, oncewed, tradesy, hustle your bustle, and craigslist. My listing got lots of views but no inquiries for a couple of months, so I reduced the price to 50% off of the original price about a month ago and I finally sold it this week. It ended up selling through oncewed using a premium listing (I think it cost about $25). It seems like dresses that are deeply discounted (50% off or more) and/or $500-600 or less move faster. Good luck selling your dress!
Post # 7
Member
2 posts
Wannabee
inspireme: How long have you had it posted?
Post # 8
Member
1541 posts
Bumble bee
I posted mine on preowned (Used but good condition). My dress was a hayley paige dress, originally new $3500 plus tax, sold it for $1,400. I had a couple messages and then the ultimate buyer contacted me about 2 months after posting. I originally posted it for $1,900 but I said “price negotiable”. which I think was good. I have seen my dress on that site listed much higher and never selling.
You have to know your market… I figured mine would need to be reduced at least 50% because if a girl has 2,500 to spend on a dress, she can likely scrounge up a little more to buy it new. i thought I would end up selling to someone who had tried it on in a store but really couldn’t afford it, which ended up happening
it may be hard if your dress is older- I was in a rush to sell mine because I knew once stores no longer carried it as a sample, I would be much less likely to sell it since prospective buyers wouldn’t have any way to try it on.
Post # 9
Member
2969 posts
Sugar bee
I did! I had my dress listed on preowned wedding dresses and a girl that was looking for my particular dress contacted me and then we started emailing privately. She ended up flying in from Chicago (I live in NY) to buy the dress in person. I sold my dress 3 months after my wedding. 🙂
My dress was $4000 and I had it listed at $2750. The buyer and I went back and forth for a long time and just really hit it off. She reallllly loved the dress and she had been looking everywhere for it. She wanted to spend MAX $2000 but was willing to go up higher but would need more time to get that money together. She was so emotional talking about the dress and how she felt in it and that was how I felt when I found my dress too. I ended up selling it to her for $2000 and I gave her all of my accessories to go with it.
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This reply was modified 4 years, 9 months ago by
MissJulianna.
Post # 10
Member
471 posts
Helper bee
I sold a lot of dresses both on EBay, Tradesy, and on preownedweddingdresses.com. (Oh gosh, at least 6 or 7? I did a lot of “buy a dress, don’t like it, sell it, buy another”. Makes me look crazy but I didn’t lose any money!). I think most brides simply don’t drop the price enough. It’s a risk to buy preowned, and there are thousands of dresses online now. Plus, if the dress has already been worn, the bride may have to pay to clean it, which is expensive!
My tips would be:
-drop the price (most of mine sold at 50% or below retail) (unless the dress is something super popular, like BHLDN, or an Inbal Dror or something)
-have clear, nice-looking pictures of the actual dress, not just the model pictures (and take a picture of any tags if they are still in the dress)
-be clear in the listing about the alterations and dress measurements
I always sold fasted on EBay, but got the best price on other sites, FYI.
Post # 11
Member
134 posts
Blushing bee
danigetsmarried: Its been listed for four months..
Post # 12
Member
5365 posts
Bee Keeper
I’ve had my unworn/unaltered Pnina Tornai sample listed for 49% off on preowned, tradesy, and the bee for about 3 weeks now. I’ve only had 1 scam person interested. I’m thinking about taking it to a bridal consignment shop to see what they would list it at.
ETA: I did have it listed on Ebay and had someone ask a question. But it was for about 75% off. I’m trying to be patient because when I bought my second dress from Bridal’s by Lori they told me I could get a good amount for my Pnina if I would just be patient and not get frustrated.
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This reply was modified 4 years, 9 months ago by
ksn1219.
Post # 13
Member
613 posts
Busy bee
danigetsmarried: I listed my brand new (unaltered, unworn, tags still attached) Maggie Sottero dress on pretty much every website ever and paid to get extra exposure. I wanted to get that thing GONE because it was from a failed engagement. Guess where I ended up selling it? Ebay. I had only listed it on those sites at first then finally broke down and said “what the heck” and listed it on ebay and it sold very quickly. I got really fast payment as well. I also listed the engagement ring lots of places and it sold on ebay as well. They do charge like a 10% sellers fee which is annoying but just listed it for a little higher. Good luck
Post # 14
Member
931 posts
Busy bee
I sold a sample dress I purchased for $99, for $500 on preowned. I hated the dress and was going to use it as a costume. It took only 2 months to sell.
i have had a second sample dress for 75% off. It’s in really good condition and no one has even msg me…been several months.
i purchased my Wtoo Olivia second hand for $750 usd. It was listed for $850 but had been dry cleaned.
Good luck!
Post # 15
Member
543 posts
Busy bee
- Wedding: December 2014 - Maui
I listed the first dress I ever got from David’s Bridal on a few sites, and I sold it on Tradesy. Its original price was $215 and I sold it for $130 I think. It was a recently discontinued dress so it sold in a month or two.
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