Bridal Store Scams.....ILLEGIAL to remove Designers Tags!!!
Dear Stephi,
I had been hearing so many horror stories about
wedding vendor scams and the 'wedding premium'
placed on ordinary services that happen to be
sought for a wedding that I put off even
beginning to plan my wedding for several months
because it seemed so time consuming and
overwhelming.
After reading your advice, I finally decided it
was time to get started. I actually hired a
wedding planner (ok, so it's the opposite of the
title of your book, but I found one that passes
her vendor discounts onto her brides and who
plans weddings because she loves it, not because
she needs to make money - I also got her to give
me a huge discount right from the start!).
Following your advice, we have overcome several
scams already, but I will share two that most
brides will encounter most often - the 'anonymous'
wedding dress designer scam and the 'it's going to
cost you extra because you are shorter/taller than
the average girl' scam.
I found a beautiful dress at a salon that rips
the tags from the dresses - not such an uncommon
thing, unfortunately, but illegal and unethical
nonetheless.
Although I had done and continued to do my
research, I could not find that dress anywhere
(not even on theknot.com or weddingchannel.com).
I even got a photo of the dress while at the shop
(which, as you know, is frowned upon, but I told
them 'this is THE dress' - I just failed to
mention that I would buy it only after I made
sure I was getting the best price and good
quality), but I still could not find it.
So, I called the shop and said that I refused
to spend that much money on something when I
really knew nothing of the quality or designer.
They said I should come back to try 'my dress'
on again and get measured and then when I ordered
the dress all that information would be on my
receipt. So, essentially, it was going to cost
me a non-refundable $500 deposit to learn what
I was buying. Unacceptable. After some prodding,
I got the designer's name, but still could not
find that dress on the designer's site, which
caused me some concern.
Another call to the shop, and a casual comment
that I was a lawyer and that I wasn't sure, but
isn't it illegal to rip all the information about
the dress out?, got me the style number. A
simple search on google.com and there it was -
a full size color photo of THE dress - at a
discount web site.
The scam continued. I'm 5'9', so unless I wore
flats, this dress would be too short. I was told
that I needed hollow to hem and the extra length
was an extra $150.
Every bride I have ever met, regardless of height,
has told me she had to pay extra to either
lengthen or shorten her dress, plus 'normal'
alterations to make it fit everywhere else. I
always thought it was a rip-off, but I thought it
was just something I had to plan on paying.
Well, the website I found said right under the
picture of my dress 'no charge for hollow to hem'!
I did not even know that was an option - but as
you tell your readers, nearly everything in life
is negotiable!
So, you can tell all your brides that they should
negotiate with their dress shop to exclude
unnecessary 'hollow to hem' charges - most dresses
are made to order anyway, and they are likely
still going to have alterations done, so why can't
it all be included?
Many Thanks,
Bethany LaFlam'
>>> MY COMMENTS
Wow...I'm sooooo proud of you!
This is EXACTLY how to handle those dishonest
bridal shops!!!
For the record, it is ABSOLUTELY ILLEGAL for
bridal shops to cut tags and withhold information
about their dresses from you (they can be fined
$11,000 per instance!).
Specifically, this falls under the 'The Textile Act'
and FTC's 'Care Labeling Rule', which you can read
about here:
FTC Care Labeling Rule
Be sure to 'quote' these laws if you ever encounter
this tag cutting scam again!
Now for my readers who are just getting up to speed
and becoming a savvy bride like Bethany, let me
explain why Bridal Shops continue to pull these
scams (they've been going on for decades!):
1) Why Do Bridal Shops Cut Tags?
There are two basic reasons:
To hide the 'make and model' of the dress so
you can't comparison shop (they know you'll find
it cheaper than their marked up price! This is
also why they don't want you taking pictures!).
Or
Because the dress is a 'knock off' from China
(which they make a huge profit margin on) and
they want you to think it's a real designer dress!
Either way, these shops seem to have an irrational
belief that they don't need to compete on price
like every other business in the world and that
you're wasting their time if you dare step in
their shop, spend time trying on dresses and then
don't buy from them.
How ridiculous!
2) Why Do Bridal Shops Oversize Your Dress?
More profits, of course!
Alterations net them even more money and they
think you're too stupid or naive to know any better
or to challenge their sizing recommendation...they
are the experts on your dress size right? Not!
3) Why Do They Require A Non-Refundable Deposit?
These are experienced sales people we're talking
about here!
They're very aware that you're most easily taken
advantage of when you're making an emotional
decision rather than a logical one, so they attempt
to take full advantage of your emotional attachment
to 'the' dress you've been dreaming about your
whole life and just tried on!
They also know that you're 100 times less likely
to buy from them if you walk out the door without
purchasing. So they use 'fear based' logic to try
and convince you to lay down your money... (the
dress will gone if you don't put a deposit down
today, or it's a model that's been discontinued
and this is the only one left etc.).
Okay, you're totally empowered girlfriend!
Now don't fall for any of this nonsense okay?
Remember, You're spending the money, so you're
in charge (not them). It's up to you to make
the rules!
I had been hearing so many horror stories about
wedding vendor scams and the 'wedding premium'
placed on ordinary services that happen to be
sought for a wedding that I put off even
beginning to plan my wedding for several months
because it seemed so time consuming and
overwhelming.
After reading your advice, I finally decided it
was time to get started. I actually hired a
wedding planner (ok, so it's the opposite of the
title of your book, but I found one that passes
her vendor discounts onto her brides and who
plans weddings because she loves it, not because
she needs to make money - I also got her to give
me a huge discount right from the start!).
Following your advice, we have overcome several
scams already, but I will share two that most
brides will encounter most often - the 'anonymous'
wedding dress designer scam and the 'it's going to
cost you extra because you are shorter/taller than
the average girl' scam.
I found a beautiful dress at a salon that rips
the tags from the dresses - not such an uncommon
thing, unfortunately, but illegal and unethical
nonetheless.
Although I had done and continued to do my
research, I could not find that dress anywhere
(not even on theknot.com or weddingchannel.com).
I even got a photo of the dress while at the shop
(which, as you know, is frowned upon, but I told
them 'this is THE dress' - I just failed to
mention that I would buy it only after I made
sure I was getting the best price and good
quality), but I still could not find it.
So, I called the shop and said that I refused
to spend that much money on something when I
really knew nothing of the quality or designer.
They said I should come back to try 'my dress'
on again and get measured and then when I ordered
the dress all that information would be on my
receipt. So, essentially, it was going to cost
me a non-refundable $500 deposit to learn what
I was buying. Unacceptable. After some prodding,
I got the designer's name, but still could not
find that dress on the designer's site, which
caused me some concern.
Another call to the shop, and a casual comment
that I was a lawyer and that I wasn't sure, but
isn't it illegal to rip all the information about
the dress out?, got me the style number. A
simple search on google.com and there it was -
a full size color photo of THE dress - at a
discount web site.
The scam continued. I'm 5'9', so unless I wore
flats, this dress would be too short. I was told
that I needed hollow to hem and the extra length
was an extra $150.
Every bride I have ever met, regardless of height,
has told me she had to pay extra to either
lengthen or shorten her dress, plus 'normal'
alterations to make it fit everywhere else. I
always thought it was a rip-off, but I thought it
was just something I had to plan on paying.
Well, the website I found said right under the
picture of my dress 'no charge for hollow to hem'!
I did not even know that was an option - but as
you tell your readers, nearly everything in life
is negotiable!
So, you can tell all your brides that they should
negotiate with their dress shop to exclude
unnecessary 'hollow to hem' charges - most dresses
are made to order anyway, and they are likely
still going to have alterations done, so why can't
it all be included?
Many Thanks,
Bethany LaFlam'
>>> MY COMMENTS
Wow...I'm sooooo proud of you!
This is EXACTLY how to handle those dishonest
bridal shops!!!
For the record, it is ABSOLUTELY ILLEGAL for
bridal shops to cut tags and withhold information
about their dresses from you (they can be fined
$11,000 per instance!).
Specifically, this falls under the 'The Textile Act'
and FTC's 'Care Labeling Rule', which you can read
about here:
FTC Care Labeling Rule
Be sure to 'quote' these laws if you ever encounter
this tag cutting scam again!
Now for my readers who are just getting up to speed
and becoming a savvy bride like Bethany, let me
explain why Bridal Shops continue to pull these
scams (they've been going on for decades!):
1) Why Do Bridal Shops Cut Tags?
There are two basic reasons:
To hide the 'make and model' of the dress so
you can't comparison shop (they know you'll find
it cheaper than their marked up price! This is
also why they don't want you taking pictures!).
Or
Because the dress is a 'knock off' from China
(which they make a huge profit margin on) and
they want you to think it's a real designer dress!
Either way, these shops seem to have an irrational
belief that they don't need to compete on price
like every other business in the world and that
you're wasting their time if you dare step in
their shop, spend time trying on dresses and then
don't buy from them.
How ridiculous!
2) Why Do Bridal Shops Oversize Your Dress?
More profits, of course!
Alterations net them even more money and they
think you're too stupid or naive to know any better
or to challenge their sizing recommendation...they
are the experts on your dress size right? Not!
3) Why Do They Require A Non-Refundable Deposit?
These are experienced sales people we're talking
about here!
They're very aware that you're most easily taken
advantage of when you're making an emotional
decision rather than a logical one, so they attempt
to take full advantage of your emotional attachment
to 'the' dress you've been dreaming about your
whole life and just tried on!
They also know that you're 100 times less likely
to buy from them if you walk out the door without
purchasing. So they use 'fear based' logic to try
and convince you to lay down your money... (the
dress will gone if you don't put a deposit down
today, or it's a model that's been discontinued
and this is the only one left etc.).
Okay, you're totally empowered girlfriend!
Now don't fall for any of this nonsense okay?
Remember, You're spending the money, so you're
in charge (not them). It's up to you to make
the rules!
