Don't need this white dress- do need $$

July 30, 2008 12:34 PM

Best way to sell my wedding dress. Face it, I am never going to wear it again.

I got married in Sept. and would like to sell my wedding dress. I am in the Atlanta area and have found very little in the way of consignment shops that take wedding dresses. I did find several online sites that for a fee of about $25 will let you post for a year.

I have posted on CraigsList 3 times with no luck so please do not suggest that. I do not do Ebay.

Has anyone used any of the sell your wedding dress sites and if so were you successful?

posted by shaarog to clothing, beauty, & fashion (9 comments total)

My mom sold hers at yard sale for $5. I'm guessing that since you say you do need money that probably wouldn't be enough.

But depending on the style (and I'll admit the only 2 things I know about wedding dresses are that they're traditionally white and are worn at weddings), you could try just listing it as a dress.
posted by theichibun at 12:49 PM on July 30, 2008

From what I've seen online (mostly on eBay), dresses will generally sell for about 25% or less of what you paid retail. I get the feeling this is a market where there are more sellers than buyers. Be careful not to overprice- I once tried to buy a dress on eBay (long story), and the seller was trying to sell it at 85% retail value (and this was a dress that already had alterations, which is something to think about- this dress may be almost "brand new", but it has probably been tailored to YOUR body, which will make it all the more difficult to fit someone else). I told her I would buy it for far cheaper, but she turned me down. That auction and her next slightly lower auction received zero bids. You might consider donating the dress to an organization and taking the tax deduction- not as exciting as cash, but at least it's guaranteed. Strike while the iron is hot- every month and every year you let it sit in your closet pushes it farther out of current fashion and makes it less likely to have any resale value.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 12:51 PM on July 30, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

You could donate it to the Mary Madeline Project, a charity that re-claims the dresses to make burial gowns for stillborn babies.
posted by Ostara at 12:59 PM on July 30, 2008

I think indiebride lets you list your dress to sell, you may also want to see if the Knot does too. Good luck!
posted by cestmoi15 at 1:31 PM on July 30, 2008

Weddingbee has classifieds where people list dresses and other items. I've not used them though so can't speak to the effectiveness.

I have heard of some success from brides using eBay - I know you don't want to do that but it might be your best option, revenue-wise.

I am guessing this is one of the $25 ones you found: www.preownedweddingdresses.com

For donation and tax writeoff, there's Brides Against Breast Cancer, the Bridal Garden, etc.

If you can't sell it, I seem to read about a lot of people repurposing their dresses. Bassinet covers, baby blankets, christening blankets, quilts, shortening them and/or dyeing them to make different dresses, etc.
posted by ml98tu at 1:32 PM on July 30, 2008

I've seen a section on indiebride that might be appropriate. Also worth checking similar "wedding" sites. (Haven't bought/sold from there just recall it from browsing.)
posted by ejaned8 at 1:37 PM on July 30, 2008

Also, wherever you end up posting the dress online, be sure to include as much information as possible, particularly the designer and the wedding dress style number, so if someone is googling for "David's Bridal F33", your listing will come up.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 1:47 PM on July 30, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

Also - I did a quick search and it appears that Bridal Sense in Atlanta, Bella Bellissimo Consignment in Atlanta, and Chelsea's Closet in Snellville accept worn wedding dresses.
posted by ml98tu at 1:59 PM on July 30, 2008

In order to sell on craigslist, you need a few very specific things - decent pics, price in the right ballpark, and a buyer.

This sounds pretty simplistic but I've found that when I wanted to get the top end of the price range for a certain item (e.g. I wanted $250 for a desk that was worth between $150-$275), I might have to repost over and again, even with great pics, until the *right person* saw it.

Craigslist is excellent for selling cheap things for cheap-ish prices. You'll have no problem realizing $30 on a $40 food dehydrator, for example. But it isn't always the place to sell things that are specialty or niche- even if your Parisien vase would go for $2k at an antique shop, you would be lucky to get a third of that (really lucky) on craigslist. Those items just don't move fast.

So my advice would be, even though you don't want to revisit it: craigslist or ebay. If you don't have *good* pics, with good lighting and measurements and stuff, get good pictures. Post them with a decent description. Assuming you've already done all of those basics, reconsider your asking price. If you haven't gotten even one nibble you may either have overpriced the dress or you just have to wait for the right buyer. Repost weekly. Save the description on your hard drive and it will take 30 seconds to do it. It will eventually sell, or you'll eventually lower your price to the point that it will sell.

I'd really recommend eBay, however, as that is a place that a LOT of people look for specialty stuff. Take good pics and write a good description and you'll do better (one hopes) than ThePinkSuperHero's estimate of 25% of the original price. If you don't want to sell it yourself, bring it to a drop-off place that will sell it for you (and write a description and take pics).

There is one it Atlanta, at 227 Sandy Springs Pl NE, Atlanta, GA and five more in a ten mile radius, which you can find by searching for 'eBay' under 'Atlanta, GA' on your google maps page.
posted by arnicae at 4:24 PM on July 30, 2008