It wasn’t until 2020 that I realized a major void in the resale market with regards to bridal consignment. With the pandemic in full swing, so many COVID brides had gowns they no longer needed or brides that could really use the money. Of course there were the countless brides that had their stunning wedding gowns that were worn once and placed in the back of their closet. At the boutique I managed, we would get ~3-5 brides a week asking “Where can I sell my wedding dress after my wedding day?”. The only place we could recommend was NearlyNewlywed or Preownedweddinggowns or even Poshmark or Ebay. While these are great options for resale, it was not consignment- and it was not ideal.
Let’s start with the difference between resale vs. consignment. ‘Resale’ means a business will buy your item outright, typically for less money. This is not very common for bridal. On the other hand, ‘consignment’ means a business will attempt to sell the item for you and receive a portion of the sale, when it sells. With consignment, however, there is no guarantee of the sale. The truth is, in both options, you will never make all, or even most, of your money back. Sadly, just like a car, once the gown is taken out of a bridal boutique, it depreciates in value. That is the case regardless of if you had worn it, or not, altered it, or not.
With regards to bridal gowns, there are SEVERAL resale platforms for the owner to sell her gown to potential buyers. These platforms typically charge a listing fee and may or may not take a portion of the sale. They may also require you to do the grunt work of responding to emails and messages from potential buyers.
Conversely, bridal consignment, specifically Loved Twice Bridal, charges a listing fee and enlists experts to sell your gown for you. Your $50 listing fee covers shipping the product to us, housing and marketing your gown to potential buyers. You, the consigner would receive a portion of the agreed upon selling price.
So now I am sure you are asking yourself, “well why would I hire Loved Twice Bridal to do the work I can do to make less money?”
That’s a great question!
The answer is that it’s likely that you bought your gown from a trained bridal stylist so why wouldn’t you expect a trained bridal stylist to sell your gown for you? Also, brides are more likely to buy from a stylist that can help assure them that it will match their vision and actually fit their body.
Unfortunately, the same experience is just not present on other resale platforms for brides shopping second hand gowns.
This is where Loved Twice Bridal differs! We believe buying preworn luxury bridal dresses should not come at the sacrifice of customer service. Especially your dream wedding gown.
We are seasoned, trained industry professionals with years of experience in styling, alterations, construction and fit. Our experience in selling bridal gowns helps to increase your likelihood of selling your luxury gown. It also helps brides shop stunning dresses and buy second-hand gowns with confidence.
So how do we do offer exceptional customer service via the internet?
We offer live chat with our styling team to answer questions about the products in our shop. Secondly, we prioritize speedy email responses should you catch us while we are away. Additionally, we offer virtual appointments to discuss all things specific to a particular gown- even showing it to you over the call. This is possible because we house all the product. Lastly, and most importantly, our try at home program. The reality is brides would feel more comfortable purchasing a secondhand gown if they saw it first. With a virtual appointment as a starting point, Loved Twice Bridal will send the gown to a potential buyer for $60. Should she decide to keep the gown, the deposit is put towards her purchase. Your gown is protected by a legal agreement that states the potential buyer is held responsible for any damage incurred during her try at home feature.
While there are pros and cons to both to resale platforms and consignment, only you can make the decision on which is better for you.
A few questions to ask yourself:
Do you need the money right away?
Or
Are you okay with waiting a bit longer to possibly get more money?
Do you want to do the leg work yourself? Do you have time to answer inquires via email or messages and respond back to each comment?
Or
Would you rather leave it to professionals who would do the work for you?
There is no right or wrong way of selling your wedding gown but in both cases, you are doing what you need to do to give your once loved gown a second chance down the aisle.
