Did you sell your wedding dress? Was it easy?

[dibden]

Ladies I'm looking for some wedding dress advice.

I'm trying to stick to my budget but of course once you start looking things can get out of hand. I haven't found a dress yet but I was wondering if I see a great dress I love can I justify the cost by planning to sell it afterwards? Does that work? Are they easy to find buyers for? Have many of you been able to sell the dress after and recoup some (half??) of the cost?

Is it realistic to plan to sell if after or should I just stick to my oh so small budget.

Would love to hear from the forum voices of experience

[Bellenden Belle]

No. I looked at selling my wedding dress many times - looking at ebay at similar dresses and suchlike.

There are hundreds for sale out there and mostly I think you are better to stick to your budget, find something you absolutely love, and treasure it.

I gave mine to Mind last week. It cost almost two grand, and was in almost perfect condition....if you're 5 ft 1 and a size 10 you could be in for a treat!

[Convex]

Also try wedding shops which sell vintage gowns.

You never know, you might find the perfect one there!

[etta166]

I've often thought about selling my wedding dress. I'm not sentimental, so I am not particularly attached to keeping it. However, it's not that easy to do as most people want a new dress. I have actually listed it on eBay a couple of times, but it has never sold. Now that I have daughters, I'll keep it for them to dress up in. I used to like wearing my Mum's weddng dress when I was younger, but it was a cream mini-dress so a bit easier to pull off!

What about buying a second hand dress if you want something specific but have a smaller budget? I know that Oxfam has a special wedding dress shop and eBay is full of second-hand dresses.

[THEO313]

Why go over your budget and then try to sell it?

Go over your budget and keep it!

[MrsAk]

I found my dream claire pettibone dress in a shop in blackheath. I felt I couldn't justify the price so went online to a website either preloved or sellmywedding dress.com - I amazingly found my dress, in my size being sold brand new by a lady who had simply changed her mind and bought a different one. I got it brand new for half the price so it is worth having a look!

[Goodliz]

Sold mine on ebay. I bought it new for ?500 (was on a strict budget) and sold it for ?50. I have 2 sons so there was no point keeping it - took up too much space in wardrobe.

Like others have said there are loads and loads of 2nd hand dresses for sale. ebay was last thing I tried after listing it with some online sellers with no interest.

[jennyh]

I spent a fortune on my dress and have tried to sell it without luck. Had a couple of people come but no-one took it. Prob seems to be that if you are in the market for a second hand dress you don't have the sort of money to spend on an expensive second hand, or you may as well get a new dress, if that makes sense. I was asking 50% the price and it attracted people but when they came I think they were wanting a brand new dress for the cost...rather than a dress hat appeared as new but had obviously been worn. I reckon it's tough to get much over ?1k for a second hand dress...

[dibden]

Thanks all for your posts and private messages. I really appropriate your thoughts.

I just love this forum!

[ladyruskin]

If you have a small budget you could try the Oxfam wedding dress shop in Leatherhead. They have a large selection of dresses upstairs, not all of them second-hand some are designer samples which are donated. Mine had the original price tag in it of ?1000 and I got it for ?300...

http://www.oxfam.org.uk/shop/local-shops/oxfam-shop-leatherhead