Post # 17

Member
185 posts
Blushing bee
@Elky: Thanks for the advice. Yeah I kinda felt bad about judging the grammar at first too, but then the girl I was speaking with wanted me to deliver the dress to a reshipping facility.
I emailed her that I felt uncomfortable about sending it to a reshipping facility since I read it could be a scam too. She offered to give me a residential address of a friend of hers that I could ship to. I said ok I feel better about that and let me know the address so I can calculate shipping. She never replied. Oh well.
Post # 18

Member
11376 posts
Sugar Beekeeper
@bellaingenue: but I think they warn that bad grammar is a sign of scammer on POWD. I’m sure that’s not always the case, but it is one of a few things to watch out for.
Post # 19

Member
1004 posts
Bumble bee
@bellaingenue: WOW! yeah its really sad that there are people out there looking to make a buck off a wedding dress. It amazes me what people will scam for, just sick.
Also I agree with what
@Elky: said, def get a tracking # and insurance if you do end up shipping to someone you feel is legit, paypal or any of those sites typically want to see that delivery confirmation because it proves it was delivered which means it is no longer your fault if the receiver doesn’t receive.
Post # 20

Member
3370 posts
Sugar bee
@bellaingenue: Just wanted to add that wanting to have something shipped to a reshipping service/parcel forwarder doesn’t *necessarily* mean the buyer is dodgy…A lot of sellers don’t ship internationally so I often use a parcel forwarder like Shipito. But I make sure that when I pay with Paypal, the address of the parcel forwarder is one of my confirmed addresses.
Post # 21

Member
185 posts
Blushing bee
@peonyinparis: Thanks I’ll keep that in mind! I do think (and hope) when I get a legit buyer that I have a good gut feeling about I could consider such a shipping method.
Out of curiosity, how does that work if you have something forwarded to a reshipping facility? They have people that sign for you and inspect the goods too? Or they just take the parcel and ship it as is w/o opening and checking?
Thanks so much for the advice. ๐
ETA: Haha I think I may be the only bride who wants to sell her dress who is more paranoid about the safety/cleanliness of the dress than any potential buyer!
Post # 22

Member
4 posts
Wannabee
@bellaingenue: I sold my dress on POWD and had a good experience. Did you know you can email them for advice on any email that you receive that is suspicious…they also have good info here: http://www.preownedweddingdresses.com/for-buyers/recommended-payment-methods.html
Post # 23

Member
185 posts
Blushing bee
@MeredithM: Yes I did actually send them some of my emails with another buyer and they were very helpful. IMO their customer service is pretty good, well worth the $25 I paid to list the dress.
Post # 24

Member
4 posts
Wannabee
@bellaingenue: Be patient. The right girl will find your gown and love it like you did ๐
Post # 25

Member
6 posts
Newbee
@bellaingenue: Hi, It’s Lee from PreOwnedWeddingDresses.com. I’m sorry to hear about your issue.
We do work hard to filter our scammers from our inquiries, but it is sometimes difficult to definitively rule an inquiry a scam based on a single communication.
Here’s what we suggest to ensure a safe and happy transacation
1) Always tell inquiriers that you will only accept paypal or escrow.com. We don’t recommend any other form of payment (you can read why here: http://www.preownedweddingdresses.com/for-buyers/recommended-payment-methods.html) Qualified buyers will continue to correspond after you tell them these payment terms.
2) If you ever have a question or concern about an inquiry – send us an note and we’ll give you our advice. We typically respond in 24 hours (or less!)
3) If you know you’ve been contacted by a scammer, email us and report it. We’ll block that sender from the site – making it safer for all sellers
And you can reach us any time with questions or concerns at [email protected]
Post # 26

Member
185 posts
Blushing bee
@PreOwnedWeddingDresses.com: Hi Lee! Nice to see your here on WB! You were the one who replied to my direct emails to POWD customer service too. ๐
I still haven’t had a buyer that agrees to my terms or that I feel good about,but your guidelines definitely helped so thanks for posting that here as well!
I have a question about reporting scammers: What exactly can you report?
In my experience I’ve had several scammy-sounding inquiries and follow-up emails but none of these transactions have gone through so of course I can’t really tell if they are scammers since nothing ever happened. As PP’s said, not all of them could be scams so I’d hate to point a finger at someone who may be totally legit.
Post # 27

Member
6 posts
Newbee
@bellaingenue: Thanks for your reply. You can report or email us anything you find to be suspicious…and we will monitor further. When we find evidence of a scam, then we will block the user from the site.
Honest inquiries come in many shapes and sizes and non-response doesn’t indicate a scam.
We’ve seen buyers who first come on the site and send many inquiries months before they actually purchase, and we’ve seen brides come on the site and buy within their first week. So it really just does depend.
But like we’ve written on our site, we only ever recommend paypal or escrow.com for payment, both because they are safe and because they offer a recourse in the unlikely event there is a dispute over the transaction. (Cash can be acceptable for in person transactions only).
No system can stop 100% of scam inquires, but our goal is by educating our sellers on what to look out for and what payment methods are safe, and by employing our filters and site blocks, we can help buyers and sellers have successful sales.
And as I said in my earlier note, we’re always available to answer questions via email. Just reach out to [email protected]
Post # 28

Member
19 posts
Newbee
I was trying to sell my dress on the site and while the customer service was great (they got back to me right away when I reported suspicious users), I ended up selling my dress through a local consignment store instead.
I think the site is great for buyers but not as great for sellers. It was starting to feel like a waste of my time. I was getting mostly inquiries that weren’t serious, suspicious, really low ball offers, and users asking if they can return the dress after purchase if they didn’t like the fit/style. But that’s sort of the reality of selling online.
If you have a lot of time and patience, then the right buyer might come along. At the end of the day, wedding dresses are a horrible investment and I knew I’d be happy if I could even get a bit of money back through reselling somewhere.
Post # 29

Member
185 posts
Blushing bee
@mshappygolucky: Thanks! Yes you’re definitely right about having patience and waiting for the right buyer. I just sold my dress to a lovely girl in Australia, but boy did I have to deal with some shady or frustrating inquiries along the way, and that’s up to us sellers to weed out the good from the bad.
Post # 30

Member
185 posts
Blushing bee
@PreOwnedWeddingDresses.com: I just want to say thank you again for the great customer service and for your words of wisdom on this site for us Bees. Another happy customer here. ๐