Would you buy dress off ebay unseen or ex-shop stock?

I think i would be inclined to go for the dress that has been worn for 9hours. You should ask her if it was brand new when she bought it if so the chances are its going to be in better condition than one that has been in a shop for months, and tried on by countless amounts of brides to be.

The ebay dress will have been worn by a bride for one day then has been dry cleaned and taken care of so she is able to sell it. If she says there are no marks, tears or stains and it arrives and there are, are you able to return it?

Its your call, but id go for the ebay dress rather than one that its obviously dirty and worn by many different people.

x

I'd say to the shop you will buy the dress if THEY dry clean it and as long as it is in good condition you will pay for it including the dry cleaning costs. Who knows if 9 hours of wear is better than a shop sample because the sample of my dress was in terrible condition whereas my friend, also a hitcher, got a sample dress that had never been tried on so only you can guage from the real life sample to the ebay one.

You do have the protection of paypal if you pay for it that way on ebay and that's the only way I'd pay tbh. I'd also pay using a credit card on paypal instead of a debit card.

Does the ebay seller have a good reputation or is this her first sale?

x

Ask the ebay seller if there are marks on the train or neckline so not just visible marks. I took tons of care over my dress and it was still flithy on the train.

I'm finding it strange there were no alterations to the dress as I'd have thought some would have been necessary so was it ordered in a standard length etc

x

Some good points to consider, thanks. The ebay dress did have the shoulder straps moved slightly, but thats ok. She did say that no other alterations were made. She is 5ft7 & had 2-3inch heels, so didnt need the dress shortened apparently. I tend to agree that someone planning to sell their dress would take better care than being tried on in a shop for months. The ebay seller has a 100% record & sold more than 100 items, so think I will go with her. Also have the back up of paypal & credit card. Might ask her few more questions & go for it.

Thanks for great feedback.

Let us know how you get on, maybe even a wee flash.....

If it makes you feel any better, I did bought my dress ex-shop sample off ebay and it was exactly as described (some slight pulls on the beading). Is always going to be a bit of a risk, but for me it paid off and I saved a fortune. Was very nervee racking waiting for it to arrive in the post though, and my mother thought I'd cracked!

Hi, i sell on ebay , my dresses are end of line or ex shop stock , i always offer people who are intersted to come and see and try on my range of dresses,

if yuo can go and see it , please do

I was going to buy a dress from shop stock and they were going to steam clean it for me and send it to the seamstress for touching up.

If I had the choice I would go for the one that the bride wore for 9 hours, because this would of been HER dress and she would have taken care of it, IYSWIM

I work in a dry cleaners and can honestly say its really quite hard to get marks out of wedding dresses, although believe it or not some can be machine washed and they are the ones that generally come up really well.

Fake tan doesnt come out at all!!!

If you think the one that has been worn for 9 hours looks ok with in the pics then i would def go for that one, cos you dont know what sort of stains are going to be the ex shop one.

Good luck and let us know how you get on

Thanks again for all the tips & advice. Will let you know how it all goes x

Mine was bought in a shop closing down sale! There were some dresses that wer really marked, but mine was very clean. It does need fixed a wee bit here and there though, as a couple of the wee sequins have come off, but all very doo-able! I havent had it sleaned just yet, but I am going to have the alterations done before that! It is all going to have to be very soon mind you as my mum is panicing! lol

For everyone that wanted an update, my ebay dress arrived today. Didnt go with the ex-shop stock one after peoples advice. It is absolutely fantastic. The bride said she had always planned on selling the dress so made no alterations & kept it pristine. Am so happy and saved £400 to put towards something else. Thanks for everyones suggestions & ideas x

I was just reading this thread - glad the dress worked out ok. I wanted to buy a dress 2nd hand but my mum refused to let me so I have spent far too much. Have you got a pic of the dress??

New dress would have been fine, except dont have 6mths to wait for it to arrive, plus extra cash is handy. Havent taken a pic of me in dress as yet, and mine is diamond white, not silver like the photo. Wanted something fairly plain. It has diamonte straps & on the hip & actually looks better on than in this pic. Am so happy.

http://www.maggiesottero.com/dress.aspx?keywordText=vivien&keywordType=any&page=0&pageSize=15&style=R1007

My friend has a dress shop and she sells her sample stock and has it cleaned when she sells it, she says it comes up like new. Ask the shop if you buy it if they could have it cleaned for you even if you have to pay extra.

Ooo - it's beautiful - you are going to look gorgeous xx

I got my dream dress off ebay, brand new it was £1200 and i was'nt paying that so i looked on ebay for a 'preloved dress' found it for £300 no bids and 30mins to go. i panicked and bid and won yipeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! i was a bit worried till i got it in my hands but when i did it was just as described and more. she had also sent me pictures of her in it so i knew it was the correct dress. so yeah id say risk it if the they feel like a good seller.

As mentioned in updated post, I ended up getting the ebay dress and its perfect. Just as described and better. Saved £500 too!