Ebay wedding dresses

[Littleballerina]

Apart from feedback how do you know that you aren't going to get a terribly shaped piece of rag rather than the stunning wedding dress in the photos? Or is that just the risk you take with a cheap dress?
Has anyone risked it and it's turned out okay?

I bought 2 exceptionally cheap dresses from china.
Both were very oddly shaped.
The seller offered a discount if I left positive feedback (but worded the request very oddly so Ebay would not intervene even though it was very obviously breaking the rules imo)....and refused any other.
I bought them for the fabric (which worked out cheaper than buying by the yard) and ended up just accepting the dresses and leaving negative feedback.
So, my first thought is that I would not accept the feedback at face value. Second: I couldn't have bought the trimmings for what I paid for these dresses. If you can sew/correct the defects yourself you can get a bargain. Third: if you are a slim bodytype (they are made to Asian patterns) then the dress may fit well.
Do not expect them to look like the picture. You can get a lot of dress for not a lot of money: but do not expect it to be anything like a wedding dress shop type of quality.

What's your budget? I bought my dress off the rack at Wed2B for £600. Great price.

Thank you, both very helpful.
Twist, I'm short, skinny and lacking in the chest area so they may fit Interesting to know about the feedback!
Vivienne, I think around a grand but it seems silly to pay lots for a dress when it could go elsewhere. I looked at wed2b website but didn't quite understand it.

I wouldn't buy one from China, I've never seen them turn out well.

My sister bought 2 wedding dresses from ebay, from UK sellers, neither of them fit properly and you never know what they will look like till you try them on. She ended up going to a bridal shop and getting a last season dress for £600 including alterations.

If your on a budget I would personally buy second hand. You will get a much better quality Dress. A good dressmaker will be able to Taylor the dress to you and add/take off to your choice. A second hand dress will more then likely be around £2/400.
Just make sure you buy it a Size bigger then you normally would as it would of been fitted to someone else so you will need an little extra to play with

I got a gorgeous silver dress with a bit of a train - beads etc but not too ott. Fit lovely and was gorgeous to wear /walk in!!
£25!!!!

Littleballerina you can't buy online, you can only buy in store. Is there one anywhere near you? They were so lovely, whereas the traditional shop I went into made me feel so fat and unattractive with not a single dress that fit me. This way, I tried on all dresses in my size and walked out with the one I wanted the and then. No ordering and guessing what it would look like in 6 months time.

2nd hand does sound like the better option.
Vivienne, it looks like we have one about 2 hours away which is ok.

Quite a scary thought, trying on dresses. Getting a size bigger is a great tip, thank you.

I'd look on the second hand websites and also scout samples sales for that budget. Far less risky

My dress was a sample at a local bridal shop, big a line strapless cost me £195, less than the bridesmaid dresses.

If you do go for an eBay dress get at least one size if not 2 bigger than you need so you have plenty to play with re alterations

I bought mine online, but from a seller in California, via Etsy. It was perfect and made to my measurements. I too wanted to avoid traditional shops as I'm a larger size. The Etsy seller was Dreamers & Lovers

Thanks, I'll take a look!

I've just bought mine from Ebay however not from one of the Chinese rip off sites but from a bridal shop that sells samples off at half price. I went in to traditional wedding dress shops and tried on all different designers so I could get an idea of sizing and then I trawled eBay selecting the designers I liked the sizes I wanted and the features I liked such as long sleeves, sweetheart neck etc and viola dress purchased. The seller I used also let you return if not what you wanted. It was lincsbridal and they were fab. I've heard of other budget brides finding the dress they like in a shop and then getting the name or code to then try and source second hand. One of the dresses I liked in the shop was Ronald Joyce Robyn and that is such a popular dress I could've easy sourced a second hand one for a quarter of the price.
Good luck searching. Pre loved and sell my wedding are also good sites to have a look at.

When I saw one on eBay I hunted down a bridal shop which stocked it and tried it on.
I did end up buying it. All good.

I tried on a Mori Lee dress in a bridal shop costing £1500 then found a replica online for £200.

Website was Dressilyme and it was gorgeous, an almost identical dress to the Mori Lee one (can't legally make it exactly the same).

They kept in contact with me to discuss alterations as I requested a longer train and were very accommodating.

The dress looked so expensive and well made and I told no-one it was a fake!

My cousin got her wedding dress on ebay a few years ago (12?) and was happy with it. Mine came from Oxfam!

Have you thought about high street dresses? I've just bought a beautiful dress from Phase Eight; and I looked at some very pretty dresses in Monsoon. Asos do some as well.

I got mine second hand from EBay so not from China. It was stunning. Cost about £70 for the dress and £25 for alterations.