A short rant about buying a wedding dress on eBay

In my head right now I am singing ‘here comes the bride’. Take a minute if you will to do the same and get into the right mood.

(Note that I am singing the ‘here comes the bride, all fat and wide’ version, because that’s the only version I know.)

(Another thought – does it even have words?)

Anyway, that’s the kind of mindset I need you in, as today I am sat at home waiting for the arrival of my eBay wedding dress. I have never bought a wedding dress from eBay before; in fact I don’t know if I have even bought a regular dress from eBay before. It’s jolly exciting anyway.

I wish I could tell you all about it and post a picture, but that would rather spoil the whole ‘groom not seeing your dress’ thing wouldn’t it? I could ask him not to look, but what groom is really going to think ‘sure, I’ll let the whole of the internet look, but I’ll be sure to avoid that one blog post.’

I’ve never been into wedding dresses as a thing, so have no idea if it’s even going to suit me. I’ve never looked at wedding dresses for fun, never even tried one on before, even just to pretend. I am a complete wedding dress virgin. Today will be my actual first time.

Shopping for a wedding dress on eBay however was actually much harder than I thought it was going to be. What’s with the pictures?? It’s almost like the sellers don’t actually want any bids.

This is how I imagine these people must be thinking:

“Hmm, let’s see, I need to take some really amazing pictures to show off my ‘only worn once’ wedding dress, so I can get a good price for it and try to offset the thousands of pounds I spent on personalised wedding favours that nobody remembered to take home with them. What shall I do? Shall I post a professionally taken picture of me in it on my wedding day so that people can get a really good idea of how it looks? Nah, I know what will work better, I’ll just hang it up against this white wall in semi-darkness.”

wedding dress ebay

 

Or worse still..

“I’m not sure I can be bothered even to find a coat hanger, so how about I just drape it on the bed? These white sheets will be the perfect backdrop. Even better, how about I just chuck it on the floor? Lying it in a heap leaves so much to the imagination doesn’t it? How magical!”

wedding dress ebay

No, people of eBay, you are wrong. 

You are trying to sell a white dress. Do not, I repeat DO NOT, take your photos against a white background. DO NOT just lie the dress out on the floor and stand over it and think that this will become the stuff of dreams for any bride to be. It will not. There is nothing fairytale about cheap laminate flooring.

A bride imagines herself actually IN the dress for a start. No one shops for a wedding dress thinking ‘I must choose something that I know is going to look amazing when I take it off and drop it on the hotel floor at the end of the day.’

No.

Just no.

Follow:

11 Comments

  1. 22 July, 2015 / 1:02 pm

    The pictures help say it all don’t they? I do hope that the wedding dress you have bought online works out. Fingers crossed.

  2. Keshia Esgate
    22 July, 2015 / 3:39 pm

    Ha! this made me laugh! Hope your dress is amazing when it arrived!

  3. Chris Hutson
    22 July, 2015 / 8:20 pm

    I went with my daughter in law to a local shop. She was looking at sample sale dresses as she was on a tight budget. The woman selling the dresses kept dragging them across the floor like they were sacks of potatoes. Yet other shops treated the dresses like Princesses in their own right.

    Even though they were in the sale the dresses were still quite expensive but were dirty and had holes in the lace etc. She never bought from there in the end.

  4. caroline mccracken
    22 July, 2015 / 8:55 pm

    That is just so bizarre – I have just finished putting my wedding dress onto Ebay two minutes ago and used my wedding photos! I tried hanging it up and it just didn’t do it justice! I hope your dress looks amazing! x

  5. 23 July, 2015 / 1:00 pm

    That dress on the floor photos is a classic!!!

    ‘Comes with free dust…

  6. 23 July, 2015 / 6:54 pm

    Don’t buy one from China – heard horror stories about trying to get them to work from a friend who alters dresses.

    • Chris Hutson
      23 July, 2015 / 7:10 pm

      Have heard of one good wedding dress sale from China but a lot of research went into it. But a work colleague bought bridesmaid dresses that were unusable as they were way too short and couldn’t be lengthened in any way. She ended up going to a high street department store for new ones.

  7. DANIELLE VEDMORE
    23 July, 2015 / 10:29 pm

    Lol I love the one on the floor! My friends daughter in law bought one from ebay from China – I thought uh oh! I would have bet money on it being awful or them being ripped off! It was gorgeous! I was so shocked – it fitted perfectly, was made of decent fabric and looked just like picture. I cant wait to see yours (if you share them!)

  8. 26 July, 2015 / 12:42 pm

    Haha classic! Hope the dress was great when it arrived :)

  9. 6 August, 2015 / 1:22 pm

    Oh my word how do they expect to sell them when you can hardly even see what they look like at all?! The one thrown on the floor looks like it may have a pretty part that goes over the top…or it may not. The one I got from ebay years ago was stunning and shown off a lot more than these.

    Stevie x

  10. Elizabeth Roberts
    12 April, 2016 / 4:52 pm

    Hello! I so loved your story and still cracken up over the photos and of course you humor…

    I sell “new without tags,” pre-owned, and new old stock wedding dresses and veils on eBay. I sure hope the potential buyer does not view my gowns like this. I do my best with what I have to take very good photos. Or, I should say my husband does the photo taking. Bless his heart!

    My greatest rant is as low as my prices are, which includes ‘free shipping,” I get so tired of of ladies sending me emails wanting to know can I lower my price to $30.00 and still get “free shipping.” I was like, “Well! No!!! Of course being sensitive to their hearts. These ladies must think the sellers get our items for free.

    So, if any ladies who view this blog, I am on eBay under “victorianrose08.” If the bride to be really loves the gown, but a bit out of her budget, and I understand this, I don’t mind negotiating even if I don’t have it listed as “Best offer.”

    I am also looking for another selling website if anyone has any good suggestions. I am open. If the truth be known, I am getting a little tired of eBay these days.

    I certainly hope your dress was within your hearts desire.

    Best Wishes!

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.