AIBU about second hand wedding dress

[mrsapril]

I have listed my wedding dress on an online auction for a second hand sale. The price is decent I think (35% of original price) and in any case lower offers will be accepted. It's been dry cleaned etc. The dress is from a famous brand and is a standard UK size. I have also provided measurements as well as lots of detailed photos on the auction listing.

AIBU to not be comfortable with buyers asking if they can come to my home and try the dress on?

I think kindly you are. A wedding dress is the one item of clothing you want to try on before buying!

It is a pretty individual item. I wouldn't want to buy it unless I knew either:
i) It fits
ii) I could slim down into it
iii) It could be altered to fit me.

How do you know without trying it on?

It might be a standard UK size but lots of brides-to-be aren't. Why don't you want them to try it on in your home?

Would you have bought a wedding dress, second hand or otherwise, without trying it on?

I wouldn't so it doesn't seem unreasonable.

It still a lot of money to put into something that might not fit. Would you refund if they tried it on at home and it didn’t fit?

Seeing as you are probably still charging several hundred for the dress, it’s not an unreasonable request. You have every right to refuse though, but you might not sell the dress.

It's not unreasonable that they'd want to try the dress on before buying it. Different styles suit different people so even if it was the right size, someone could try it on and not like it

Surely you thought this through before you advertised? Would you spend several hundred pounds on a dress that might not fit, or look awful on you?

Its actually better than the pita if they try to claim it doesn't fit etc after they get it. If you use Ebay or PayPal then you would have to refund.

Sorry, but you're offering a hugely significant and expensive item of clothing for sale but not the facilities for trying it on first? Yes, YABU!

When I bought a second hand prom dress (admittedly a very long time ago) I did try the dress on in the women’s bedroom. Felt a bit weird but why would we buy a dress that didn’t fit? X

I'm with you OP! I definitely would not want people coming to my house to try it on! For me, that's the just the way it is if you wanna buy second hand off the internet - you run that risk. Otherwise go buy it from a shop!

I bought mine 2nd hand without trying on. But it was 10% of the original price, had a laced back so I knew it would fit, and I still spent another £150 having it altered for length / train.

Of course yabu, I wouldn't have an issue buying a second hand wedding dress at all but no way would I buy it without trying it on.

I think it's weird if the dress is still available in shops, a friend bought her dress second hand (new wth tags , wedding cancelled, she's not superstitious), but had already tried it on in a shop before looking to see if she could find it cheaper. If it's an older design not in store anymore I think they'll want to try it on

I'm with you OP! I definitely would not want people coming to my house to try it on!

Which is fine, but presumably you'd post excellent photographs and specifically state in the ad that no tryings on were possible.

How is it unreasonable to know it fits before committing to spending a significant amount of money on it?

Would you have brought the dress without trying it on even if the shop had reduced it to the price you are selling it for?

I think if the price is £50 or less YANBU

To be fair, I'd probably invite the lady round, have a bottle of prosecco waiting, have a "bonding experience" as she pirouetted around the room admiring herself, end up a shoe-in maid of honour, marry her brother and then write a smash rom-com based on my experiences

Tricky one. I wouldn't buy something as important as a wedding dress without knowing it fits perfectly. But I wouldn't want to risk it getting dirty or torn with people trying on. Especially those who leave a trail of foundation on everything!

I don’t think YABU. You have given full measurements and the brand is known. Their choice whether to bid

I think you are being unreasonable. I actually went to someone's house to try on a dress (didn't buy it) and it was fine.

I would never spend over £50 on clothes online without trying it on, unless it was guaranteed I could return it with free postage if it didn't fit. Let alone a wedding dress!

The alternative would be you sell it through a dress agency where people try on at the shop (and the shop takes a percentage of the cost, obviously)

It is a big purchase and if it doesn’t fit or suit the bride then her money is wasted regardless of how much cheaper it was than buying new so it is quite reasonable of them to want to try it on. If you really don’t want them in your home a dress agency would be a good idea.

@livefornaps

To be fair, I'd probably invite the lady round, have a bottle of prosecco waiting, have a "bonding experience" as she pirouetted around the room admiring herself, end up a shoe-in maid of honour, marry her brother and then write a smash rom-com based on my experiences!

Do it!

I think it's a bit weird to expect people to buy it without trying it on! This isn't a skirt someone is buying (for a tenner,) for a meal out with friends. This is a costly (wedding) dress for their WEDDING DAY which is a big important day for people. Imagine spend multiple 100s on a dress and it doesn't fit?! And even worse, it's your wedding dress!

YABVU.

@mrsapril

Why did you not mention the price you are selling the dress for by the way? It would have made it easier to form a view/opinion. Most wedding dresses are the mid to high 3 figures £350-£400,) or more though, so I can only surmise yours is in that price range too.