Tips to Sell Your Wedding Dress

The wedding is over with, so now what do you do with your dress? You can professionally package your dress with the hopes that your future daughter will love the vintage style enough to give it a second round.

Or you can sell your dress and let another future bride enjoy her big day looking as beautiful as you did. Not to mention the fact that your fiscally responsible husband will love you if you can get back some of the money you spent on that perfect dress.

We have some key tips to help you sell your wedding dress in no time.

Professional Photos are Key

Gorgeous photos are going to sell your wedding dress. You more than likely have an overwhelming amount of beautiful, professional photos from your wedding day. Put those beauties to good use when getting ready to sell your wedding dress. As you know, a lot of emotion goes into finding and buying the perfect dress. Potential buyers will have an easier time envisioning themselves in the dress, if they see how fabulous you looked in it on your big day.

Be sure to include shots from different angles, and really play up unique details of your dress. Brides have an endless sea of choices when choosing the perfect dress. Accentuating key details may be the difference between selling your dream dress to the right buyer.

If for any reason you don't have photos from your wedding, or would rather not share photos publicly, make sure you are still posting high quality shots. Don't just hang your dress up over your closet door and take a quick picture. Choose a clean setting with great lighting. In the end, great photos are going to sell your wedding dress.

Dry Cleaning is a Must

This goes without saying, get your dress cleaned right after your wedding. Throughout your wedding, you may have had little things spilled on your dress here and there. The bottom of your dress usually takes a beating also from spinning around on the dance floor all night. You want to make sure you get as many of these blemishes out of your dress asap after you wedding.

Even brides who are buying a used gown, want that good-as-new feeling when they get the dress. If you get your dressed cleaned right away, it will keep it looking as beautiful as it did the first time around.

Now, dry cleaning your dress is an investment that might sting a bit. But you have to keep in mind that a future bride will be willing to pay more for a dress that looks in tip top shape. So dish out a little extra cash to get that dress looking shiny and new again, you will be glad you did.

Do Your Research

Now a days, it is really quite easy to find the resale value of your dress online. Browse through dress resale sites to see what your dress is selling for. Compare to past sales and price your dress accordingly to stay competitive. If you can’t find your exact dress, look at dresses by the same designer and in similar styles. That will help you gauge where you need to price.

Remember the more competitively you price your dress, the faster it will sell. If you try to price too high over the resale value, you dress will most likely sit untouched for some time. The longer you dress sits, the harder it will be to sell. So be competitive out of the gate, and you will find the perfect buyer in no time!

Be Timely, Fashion is always Changing

This goes along with doing your research. It is important to remember that styles change, especially in the world of weddings. A dress that everyone is dying for one season, may be old news the next. Designers and dresses that are highly sought after, will sell much faster. Other dresses that aren't quite as trendy, may take a bit longer to find the perfect buyer.

A good rule of thumb is to try to list your dress within 2 years of your wedding. Remember, if you have a dress that is trending, you will want to get a jump on things and get your dress up as soon as possible.

Get Social

Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Snap chat - your options are endless. Wherever you are on social media, your dress should be too. Post the best photos you have of your dress with details of where you have it listed. When posting images from your wedding day, tag anyone you can - hairstylist, photographer, caterer, bridesmaids. You never know who is in the market for a wedding dress, and who might see your post.

Like we talked about before, great pictures are going to sell your wedding dress. Even when posting on social media, make sure you are using the best photos possible, so that when potential buyers see them, they will know they just can’t live without your dress!

Answer buyers’ questions, before they even ask them

Be sure to answer any questions that buyers may have within your ad. The more descriptive you are, the better sense they will get when looking at your dress. A bride may think that a dress style looks uncomfortable, but will be pleasantly surprised to hear that you had no problem dancing the entire night away.

One big thing to include is any alterations you made to your dress. This is something that potential brides cannot always tell from looking at photos. If you are only 5'2" and had to take up your dress quite a bit, that is important information to know for a much taller bride. You don't want a bride having any big surprises when trying on your dress.

Any damages, or imperfections are great to include as well. A bride is not going to expect your dress to be perfect, she is buying a used wedding dress, but you still want to be upfront about any issues.

Follow these key tips, and you will have your dress listed and sold in no time! There is nothing better than knowing that another bride will be spending her perfect day in the same dress that you have already made so many memories in. Your dream dress can be someone’s “something old” that will help make their wedding day perfect in every way.