Buying a discontinued/sample gown

Hi ladies!

So I just began my bridal gown search yesterday, and went into a bridal salon (which shall remain nameless for the time being) and I found a dress that I really like, it's a Paloma Blanca Style #3901. Having just started looking, I feel totally naive to the process which is why I'm looking to your girls for some advice!

When I was leaving I asked the girl what the process would be for ordering the gown and I now realize that she was basically telling me without really saying it that the sample gown that I tried on would be my gown. I've confirmed my suspicions because when I called another salon to see if they had the dress in stock, the woman was surprised because it was an older style number and hinted at the fact that she believed it could be discontinued.

So...I need some advice!!

1) Is it totally sketchy that the woman I worked with at the place yesterday didn't come right out and tell me that I was purchasing a discontinued gown and therefore the sample gown from the store?

2) Is it a good idea to buy a sample gown from the store, provided that it appears to be in good condition? Have any girls bought their gown as a discontinued sample?

3) As far as price, how much can/should I negotiate now knowing the deal about the dress. She initially quoted the dress to us at $2,600, then came down to $2,200, but later told my mom she could come down to around $2,000. Should I tell her I know that the dress is a discontinued sample and push even lower? How low can I go??

Ahhhh, I would normally totally be turned off by the fact that she was being 100% honest with me but I LOVE LOVE LOVE the dress. What to do??

something similar happened to a friend of mine. she found her dream dress and went ahead and ordered it. a few days later they contacted her to let her know the dress had been discontinued and if she still wanted it, she had to take the sample. after much deliberation, this was what she ended up doing. i don't think they realized it was discontinued when she first ordered it. (i don't think they were being shiesty.)

anyways, in the end i think she got like 50% off the ticket price.

in your situation, i kinda feel these people were being shiesty with you. sounds like they knew it was discontinued and didn't tell you from the get-go. that wouldn't sit well with me. however, i understand that you love it. it ain't easy finding a dream dress! (i tried on about a million dresses before i found mine!) are you 100% sure about it? do you love love love it? did you want to keep looking? if you are absolutely sure about it, i would definitely negotiate. you shouldn't pay anywhere near the price on the tag since it's a sample and been tried on by a number of women. if you aren't sure about it, ask them if they would hold it for you for a period of time, and get to as many stores as you can looking for an alternative. you could also bring a pic of it to other stores that are familiar with paloma blanca to see if they can suggest a non-discontinued dress that is simliar to it.

good luck and let us know what you decide to do!

Just be careful...if you're getting sketchy vibes, trust your instincts. There are some very dishonest people out there.

I ran into one at a small salon who was totally feeding me a line about a sample dress being custom made for her shop. Something seemed sketchy, and after a little research I discovered was a discontinued Anjolique sample that she had switched the lable in! Research the name of the salon online to see if there are any complaints - I did and I found she had done the same thing to another bride (who unfortunately fell for it and got totally taken) - and when I drove by the shop a week later it was closed and vanished!