Let’s Talk About Scams: 6 Big Red Flags

Girl, we get it–you’re trying to find the dress of your dreams but you don’t want to spend your ENTIRE wedding budget on that perfect gown! And many times, this turns brides to online shopping. The honest truth is that the only way to be 100% sure that you are getting an authentic dress is to shop in-person at a bridal shop, but we know that everyone has a different dress journey. So, in an effort to protect brides (and anyone else shopping for a prom or bridesmaid dress online) from getting screwed over by scammers, here’s a list of the biggest red flags for online dress shopping–and pay attention, because missing one red flag can be the difference between having the perfect dress for your wedding, or not having one at all. 

Photo by Cascade Voyage Photography

RED FLAG #1 - DESIGNER DRESS DIRECTLY ONLINE

We know, you want to make sure you get a high-quality dress and one of the best ways to do that is to buy a designer dress! The thing is, most designer dresses are territory protected, which means they actually can’t be sold online. So, if you see a designer dress on the internet, be SUPER careful!! It might not be authentic, which means the dress that actually shows up on your doorstep will likely be NOTHING like what you saw online. These scammers attempt to recreate the designer dress with their own low-quality materials to cut their personal costs while selling the fake designer dress.

RED FLAG #2 - SUPER LOW PRICE

If the dress goes for $2,000 in a bridal shop but is listed for $500 or under online, it’s time to get suspicious. Realistic prices you’ll want to look for will be closer to the $1,000+ range, so just make sure if a gown is listed around $500, the reasons why are clearly visible on the dress listing. If you can’t see these reasons, check for a customer service phone number and give them a call to discuss the reasons behind the pricing. Which leads us to our third warning sign…

RED FLAG #3 - NO CUSTOMER SERVICE PHONE NUMBER

If there isn’t even a phone number for you to call to discuss dress details, this is a BIG BIG no-no. Count yourself lucky that you caught it–you just totally dodged a bullet!! You’ll always want to be able to talk to an ACTUAL human on the other end of the sale about dress details, price, where the dress has been worn before, and anything else you’ve got on your need-to-know list, like the return policy.

RED FLAG #4 - NO PUBLISHED RETURN POLICY

Whether the return policy says returns are allowed or not, you’ll want to know what you’re getting yourself into. If there’s no published return policy on the dress listing, just know it’s likely you’re about to get scammed, since if someone really wanted to sell a dress effectively, they would make sure the return policy was SUPER clear. If someone really wants you to buy something of quality, they’ll do their best to ease any anxiety in your mind about every step of the process, including things like shipping & delivery times.

RED FLAG #5 - SUPER WIDE DELIVERY WINDOW

You know how annoying it is when you order something online and it arrives WAY past its delivery date (or, you know, not at all?) and you’re sitting anxiously waiting for any news about the shipping process? Yeah, us too. If you see a super wide delivery window on your dress listing, know that the scammer is leaving themselves room to take your money and disappoint you with a late dress (or a dress that never shows up at all).

RED FLAG #6 - SUSPICIOUS PUBLISHED PRICES

Here’s a little bit of bridal industry info for you: most real designers are NOT allowed to publish their prices online. So, if you see a listing of a big name designer online with the price published, BEWARE–it’s either a scam or the dress has already been used or altered. If a dress is already used or altered, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re being scammed IF the seller is honest about its used or altered status.

BONUS TIP: If you’re buying a used dress, keep in mind that this dress has already been altered to someone else’s custom measurements, so it will no longer fit like the true size. It’s always easier to have a dress altered a size or two down to fit your measurements instead of trying to size up–which is possible, but A LOT more difficult and can change the way the dress looks. So, if you’re buying a dress that seems like it’ll need to be altered to your measurements, try to buy something that’s a size or two larger than you’ll need.

THE BOTTOM LINE - The only way to be 100% sure that you are getting an authentic dress is to shop in-person at a bridal shop, and you all know that we 100% support shopping under your budget. We also know that everyone has a different dress journey, and we don’t want ANY brides to get screwed over by scammers, so while we know that the easiest and most authentic way to get your dream dress is to shop with us in-person, we want to protect every single bride out there. We hope these tips help protect anyone buying any dress online!! 

P.S. Shameless plug – But wouldn’t it be so much easier to just come see us in-store? We’ve got you covered with dresses from $299 to $4,000! Give us a call at 541-330-7090 or send us a text at 541-368-2090 and one of our staff would be happy to help schedule your appointment on our calendar, or book an appointment online on our website here!

Cheers!
Your Bella Brides Fam