Straw Poll for Brides on a Budget

I think there's a good chance you'd get either of them sold!
Didn't get a pre loved dress myself but would have definitely considered it and I know loads do!
I think it'd be worth putting on gumtree / ebay or other selling sites maybe wedding ones..even on the buy/sell section on here?
Your daytime dress is beautiful and I think it'd definitely sell

I would but only a high end (Jenny Packham, Temperley London, Matthew Williamson, Belle & Bunty etc) dress at a MASSIVE discount ? To be honest there are a lot of dresses on ebay that dont sell or that go for peanuts. I am going to charity shop mine after the wedding as it is not a designer number - Oxfam have a specialist wedding store/website.

This!

I think you can get very good deals on brand new or sample dresses but people will still buy second hand but I am not sure how much you would get back.

I am hoping to buy a second hand dress. Mainly because the ones I have fallen in love with are stupidly expensive though!

Are yours by any particular designer?

I was very interested in getting a second hand dress but fell in love with a style that had only just come out so there's none out there and unlikely to be on my big day so I bought it. I would have considered otherwise though.

I'd have bought second hand regardless of the designer or original price tag just because I like a bargain and the thought of spending thousands on a dress I'd wear once made me feel ill! I was on the look out for a second hand Kitty and Dulcie and their brand new prices are low in terms of wedding dresses. Why pay full price when you can get what you want for half price when it's only been worn for a few hours? I would have rather done that than take the risk of buying a designer rip off from China. I did buy new in the end but still paid less than the majority of second hand dresses go for.

That's what I thought. I don't think it's a big name one at all: the label says Alice James. The dress wasn't the most important thing to me by any stretch, so I went in a bridal shop on the last day before it closed down, bought a dress I liked and took it away, kept it for a year and dieted into it. I never had alterations. I guess I was wondering whether I'd find anyone a bit like me (just happy to look vaguely bridal and not have to to spend hundreds of pounds) and they'd give me £100 for it. I might go down the charity shop or Freecycle route route but I'm not paying to have it cleaned. I only wore it for six hours and if I was buying second hand I'd want to have it cleaned after I bought it anyway.

Looking at your dress, if it popped up on my ebay search with a buy it now of anything between £100 and maybe £225 I'd have gone for it. It's very classic, looks lovely quality, isn't OTT and like you say, is enough to make you feel bridal. I can't be doing with bidding wars, I'd just want to buy it and get on with it. Top end figure I'd probably want it dry cleaned, bottom end figure I'd be happy to do it myself as long as there were no tricky looking marks. The fact it's unaltered should be a bonus.

What about listing it on a site like preloved where it doesn't cost you.any fees.& if it doesn't sell then no harm.done. I would definitely have considered a preloved dress, especially if it hasn't been altered.

I was going to suggest trying Preloved too

I would have definitely considered buying a pre-loved dress. Especially if the dress is quite expensive brand new. They are quite expensive to clean but I imagine you should definitely get the money back for that.

This is really good to know as i am planning on selling my dress after my wedding too. Its just too pretty to sit in my loft gathering dust, i would rather someone else make good use of it - plus would be lovely to recoup some of the money back and treat my OH to a weekend away.

I looked on preloved for my dress but as it was new out at the time and couldnt find it on there, but it was an option for me. I know someone who got their dress for £600 cheaper then in the shop on preloved, in perfect condition.

I bought my dress on preloved for a third of the price I was quoted in a bridal shop. It's gorgeous, already dry cleaned & boxed. I loved meeting the bride, talking about her day and seeing her photos and how she accessorised the dress!

It's the only dress I really liked the look of, so I set alerts on ebay, preloved, sellmyweddingdress, gum tree... And religiously checked my emails until one was listed close to where I live.. 2 weeks later an advert appeared and off I went to try the dress on, fell in love and bought the dress there and then!

I could never have afforded the dress new, and would definitely recommend brides looking around for a preloved version of their dream dress.

Good luck selling.

We have a plan. I'm definitely going to try my day dress on pre-loved and see how it goes. My evening dress, hmmm, might just be a straight to charity shop job. My friend died while we on holiday, so I might see if any charities that were important to him have a charity shop.