So Get this....

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Posted by lilacwine

makes one wonder...
which vendors complained?

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IMO:
The ones that want you to COME in to DO ANYTHING, even if you WORK out of state, work more than 40 hours a week, and haven't dreamed about a wedding your whole life...and have a STRICT budget and VERY limited time! LOL...at least that's my experience...

I agree newnybride2b..for example there's a photography studio with really high prices, but the reason is that they do their own printing have excelent turnaround time and BEAUTIFUL work..and you wouldn't know that if you just saw the price on LIW..you'd just be like 'wow..yoo expensive' and not know what you're getting for the $$.
And if you go for price over service, you might not even KNOW what else is out there..the all digital studios are talked about a LOT on here, and they have great prices..but compared to studios that actually have fi;m and much better printing, the price really isn't that good...so I can really understand the vendor POV on this one

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Posted by ChristineAEid

I THINK WE'RE ALL A LOT MORE INTELLIGENT TO KNOW THAT THOSE PRICES WERE NOT FIXED AND TO MAKE A DECISION BASED ON JUST THOSE VENDORS...

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Don't assume that! There are dummies everywhere...

And there are people who read the site whoa ren't even memners, so they don't care who they get in trouble and will ay 'oh, marymoon said she was getting 5 5X7's and you're only giving me 3'..and that's pretty stupid, but people do it!!

Anyway I hope you do decide to stay on LIW

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Posted by marymoon

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Posted by ChristineAEid

I THINK WE'RE ALL A LOT MORE INTELLIGENT TO KNOW THAT THOSE PRICES WERE NOT FIXED AND TO MAKE A DECISION BASED ON JUST THOSE VENDORS...

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Don't assume that! There are dummies everywhere...

And there are people who read the site whoa ren't even memners, so they don't care who they get in trouble and will ay 'oh, marymoon said she was getting 5 5X7's and you're only giving me 3'..and that's pretty stupid, but people do it!!

Anyway I hope you do decide to stay on LIW

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Good point! I won't assume from now on...there's the saying 'Keep it simple, stupid.' Didn't come from nowhere. I'll stay on LIW...but I'll be VERY careful going foward...

Ya see...you try and do something good, and they just 'ish' all over it....Just not right!

The fact of the matter is that there are those of us who can afford to 'stretch' our budgets and those of us who can't. These vendors are for those of us who can, since (like you said) they want to sell themselves to you for more than you went in there wanting to spend.

If a vendor will not tell you their prices over the phone (or even a range) and price is the most important thing for you (and it was for me), then they're not the vendor for you. That's just the way they run their business - and that business model cost them you as a customer. It's the way they want to run their business though, and that's their choice. Don't chase after them. There are many, many vendors who will tell you their prices, and those are the people you should work with.

And there is beautiful work at all price levels.

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Posted by nsgraham

The fact of the matter is that there are those of us who can afford to 'stretch' our budgets and those of us who can't. These vendors are for those of us who can, since (like you said) they want to sell themselves to you for more than you went in there wanting to spend.

If a vendor will not tell you their prices over the phone (or even a range) and price is the most important thing for you (and it was for me), then they're not the vendor for you. That's just the way they run their business - and that business model cost them you as a customer. It's the way they want to run their business though, and that's their choice. Don't chase after them. There are many, many vendors who will tell you their prices, and those are the people you should work with.

And there is beautiful work at all price levels.

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AMEN SISTER! LOL! THANK YOU FOR UNDERSTANDING MY OBJECTIVE! WASN'T REALLY SURE IF I WAS GETTING THAT ACROSS IN THE CORRECT MANOR.

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Posted by SeptemberBride03

I've heard this many times before on this site, I can't say I'm surprised. They also take down bad reviews... Thats one clue to bad vendors - you'll get tons of results when you search for good vendors reviews and few on bad ones (b/c they've been removed!).

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DITTO! This annoyed me so much that I left the site for a while, I mean why keep good reviews but not the bad?...and even now I unfortunately censor myself because apparently raves are welcome but rants are not. Their reasoning that a rant is an opinion and not true is not a logical reason because raves are the same...but whatever. Sorry this happened to you...FM works, just use that.



And if you want to know about which limo company I had a horrible experience with feel free to FM me... Hint...they don't quote over the phone? Sound familiar?

christine... i agree with you. i think it is soooo helpful when people post prices or fm me with price information, and i would do the same for anyone else who asks. Weddings cost an unbelievably ridiculous amount of money... and i think anything we can do to help each other out is great. Having a general and specific idea of prices has helped me gain leverage in negotiating enourmously. And in my opinion if u ask for a price and the vendors simply cannot do it they will say so...
Trust me.... the vendors are a business and they are making tons of money and we are the ones shelling it out so we should be open with the prices we have been able to get. (whether it be due to the season or to having a special friend). Thank u for your post and i am sorry you had to take it down. thanks to all you girls - this website is great!!!!!!

Actually, I was pretty surprised to see that your post lasted as long as it did...(only from past experience here)

But, honestly, I can see how a vendor would get upset about prices being posted. I am sure there are different prices for different times of year, different packages, etc. So, if they offered a better price to you, which you then posted, and then they got a bunch of calls from people who didn't get such a good price, they of course would be upset.

Here's an example: I am planning a surprise party for DH. It will be big. I am getting GREAT prices because it's a Friday evening, THIS November. The hall that I choose had ZERO parties that night. So, they are giving me a great deal (I also know someone who worked there, so that helped)

But, aside from that, they definitely would have come down on their price because it's only 6 months away and they have NOTHING booked. At this point, what's the likelihood that anyone will book there?

So, if I were to then post my great deal, and someone wants to book the same hall for a Saturday night, in June of 2006, they are NOT going to get the same price, but then will start a lot of grief because of the price that I'm getting...

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Posted by newnybride2be

I kinda am siding with the vendors on this one. I understand you were trying to do a good service to help out other brides, however, not everyone shops around the way you do and puts price before service. Working for a company where service is a major factor in price, I could totally understand their reasoning for not wanting that type of information posted. If a price is too high, it definitely would steer certain individuals away without them even giving the company a chance to explain the reasoning for the price. All services are definitely not the same.

I totally agree that giving a price range could help, but this doesnt only hurt the vendors but it could also cause hard feelings among other brides. It has already been mentioned that there have been past brides that were charged more than others for similar services by the same vendor. How would you feel if you found out that a vendor you already had a contract with gave someone else a much lower price?? Im sure not so good. I often think its better not knowing.

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As an outside example... i recently joined a gym for 70 bucks a month and 130 down and later found that they were giving my friend 65 a month and 0 dollars down. (just 2 weeks after i joined) After asking around there were people there paying as low as 40 bucks. I did not feel good knowing this. The gym explained to me that different people had different promotional rates. I told them that i thought this gym was a legitimate business and that i had not realized that i had to negotiate my rate the day i joined. I told them that i would gladly pay the 50 dollar cancellation fee to cancel my one year contract b/c i was not happy with their business dealings. Without batting an eye they gave me a much lower rate. So to make a long story short... i felt bad for knowing but i was all the smarter for knowing and my pocket was a lil bit heavier!! Truth is knowledge = power. If they could not give me a lower rate i would have just decided whether that gym was worth the money or not. As a consumer that is my decision to make.

I appreciated your idea about making a vendor-information-page.
Some of us brides don't have the time to interview dozens of vendors. It is nice to have an idea of everyone's prices and packages before you schedule meetings.
Maybe you should still do it, but just not in LIW. Perhaps you could provide a link to a personal website or something.

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Posted by busybee705

I appreciated your idea about making a vendor-information-page.
Some of us brides don't have the time to interview dozens of vendors. It is nice to have an idea of everyone's prices and packages before you schedule meetings.
Maybe you should still do it, but just not in LIW. Perhaps you could provide a link to a personal website or something.

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I was just going to say that, just like nsgraham's page. I give you props for trying to help others because unfortunately not all of us can afford to have a super expensive wedding. Also, just because you only have a set amount of money, it doesn't mean you can't expect the best and the same that other people who have more do.
You can still have the wedding of your dreams with what you can afford, it just takes a lot of research and thinking outside the box.

Hang in there.

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Posted by nsgraham

The fact of the matter is that there are those of us who can afford to 'stretch' our budgets and those of us who can't. These vendors are for those of us who can, since (like you said) they want to sell themselves to you for more than you went in there wanting to spend.

If a vendor will not tell you their prices over the phone (or even a range) and price is the most important thing for you (and it was for me), then they're not the vendor for you. That's just the way they run their business - and that business model cost them you as a customer. It's the way they want to run their business though, and that's their choice. Don't chase after them. There are many, many vendors who will tell you their prices, and those are the people you should work with.

And there is beautiful work at all price levels.

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I totally agree. And not just the wedding field since I had a similar gym experience this weekend at a new local gym that refused to price quote over the phone. The place is not even finished and will not be completed for at least 60 days. I could see all three levels from the lobby and there was construction tape roping off all but a 250 sq. foot area with a few machines.

I got a low rate of $59/month with no initiation fee and April free when I arrived but when I refused to sign a contract that day I was told the 'sale' was over at 6 p.m.and the price would go up to $299 initiation and $79/month. Needless to say I will not join this gym just like I will not deal with certain vendors for similar reasons.

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Posted by newbrideOct

I recently went to a wedding at one of the more well known catering halls and it was a disaster. The food was bad and the service was worse. I didn't post cause thought it might have just been an 'off' night. All the other posts of this hall are great. That's probably why vendors will take their bad reviews off because nothing is perfect and they could be seriously harmed with one bad review. Don't see any harm with posting a range of prices. I find it helpful. But, JMO.

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THANKS TO ALL OF YOU FOR CHEERING ME UP! I WILL EITHER HELP NSGRAM W/HER PAGE OR START MY OWN. TO BE CONTINUED....

I completely agree with nsgraham. I understand where the vendors are coming from with this one, but frankly, too bad for them. The wedding industry already ROBS brides as it is. So if they lose business because someone sees their price posted and crosses them off their list based on that alone - I don't feel an ounce of pity for them.

Some people ARE looking for price first and don't care about all the extra frills vendors add to their packages so they can charge lots more. And there's nothing wrong with that, IMO. And, if a vendor doesn't want to share their prices over the phone, there's usually a good reason why -- which is that they want you to come in so they can sell you their line of BS to justify the exhorbitant price because you'll immediately know you can probably do better elsewhere.

Plus, I think we aren't giving ourselves enough credit as consumers. If I see a really high price for say, a photographer, you better believe that I am going to research WHY that photographers feels he can charge that much, before I cross him off my list. Well, I know I would anyway so then I would be better informed as to the difference between expensive vendor A and less expensive Vendor B.

Also, if a vendor is justified in charging above average prices, they shouldn't (and won't) be afraid to quote you over the phone. Perfect example is Oheka - DH and I called and negotiated with them over the phone. And they felt no qualms in telling us about the $10,000 site fee over the phone and discussing $200pp++ fees -- WHY? Because they know they are worth it!

On the flipside, I called another hall located out east that refused to give us prices over the phone. Then my FH called and put on a busy rich business man act and they gave HIM prices . Well, guess what -- I wouldn't give that hall a penny of my money after that kind of treatment and, as it turns out their prices were very competitive, but because they insisted on being pr!cks on the phone with me, they lost us as a customer.

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Posted by JimmysBride

I completely agree with nsgraham. I understand where the vendors are coming from with this one, but frankly, too bad for them. The wedding industry already ROBS brides as it is. So if they lose business because someone sees their price posted and crosses them off their list based on that alone - I don't feel an ounce of pity for them.

Some people ARE looking for price first and don't care about all the extra frills vendors add to their packages so they can charge lots more. And there's nothing wrong with that, IMO. And, if a vendor doesn't want to share their prices over the phone, there's usually a good reason why -- which is that they want you to come in so they can sell you their line of BS to justify the exhorbitant price because you'll immediately know you can probably do better elsewhere.

Plus, I think we aren't giving ourselves enough credit as consumers. If I see a really high price for say, a photographer, you better believe that I am going to research WHY that photographers feels he can charge that much, before I cross him off my list. Well, I know I would anyway so then I would be better informed as to the difference between expensive vendor A and less expensive Vendor B.

Also, if a vendor is justified in charging above average prices, they shouldn't (and won't) be afraid to quote you over the phone. Perfect example is Oheka - DH and I called and negotiated with them over the phone. And they felt no qualms in telling us about the $10,000 site fee over the phone and discussing $200pp++ fees -- WHY? Because they know they are worth it!

On the flipside, I called another hall located out east that refused to give us prices over the phone. Then my FH called and put on a busy rich business man act and they gave HIM prices . Well, guess what -- I wouldn't give that hall a penny of my money after that kind of treatment and, as it turns out their prices were very competitive, but because they insisted on being pr!cks on the phone with me, they lost us as a customer.

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I'LL BE ELVIS RIGHT NOW...THANK YOU, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

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Posted by JimmysBride

I completely agree with nsgraham. I understand where the vendors are coming from with this one, but frankly, too bad for them. The wedding industry already ROBS brides as it is. So if they lose business because someone sees their price posted and crosses them off their list based on that alone - I don't feel an ounce of pity for them.

Some people ARE looking for price first and don't care about all the extra frills vendors add to their packages so they can charge lots more. And there's nothing wrong with that, IMO. And, if a vendor doesn't want to share their prices over the phone, there's usually a good reason why -- which is that they want you to come in so they can sell you their line of BS to justify the exhorbitant price because you'll immediately know you can probably do better elsewhere.

Plus, I think we aren't giving ourselves enough credit as consumers. If I see a really high price for say, a photographer, you better believe that I am going to research WHY that photographers feels he can charge that much, before I cross him off my list. Well, I know I would anyway so then I would be better informed as to the difference between expensive vendor A and less expensive Vendor B.

Also, if a vendor is justified in charging above average prices, they shouldn't (and won't) be afraid to quote you over the phone. Perfect example is Oheka - DH and I called and negotiated with them over the phone. And they felt no qualms in telling us about the $10,000 site fee over the phone and discussing $200pp++ fees -- WHY? Because they know they are worth it!

On the flipside, I called another hall located out east that refused to give us prices over the phone. Then my FH called and put on a busy rich business man act and they gave HIM prices . Well, guess what -- I wouldn't give that hall a penny of my money after that kind of treatment and, as it turns out their prices were very competitive, but because they insisted on being pr!cks on the phone with me, they lost us as a customer.

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Very well said jimmysbride!!

It's funny because if you search, you will find that girls have posted their package prices all over this site. It's just that they were all lined up that made it obvious.

The way I see it, if you don't want people posting the prices you gave them, you have something to hide!