Avoid Buying a Counterfeit Wedding Gown

Shopping for your dream wedding dress should be fun, but counterfeit dress scams can ruin the experience. Shop for your dress in person at reputable stores and check for quality materials and good stitching. If you purchase a dress online, read reviews of the vendors you come across and avoid websites with spelling errors, unreasonable pricing, or unclear return policies. Call online vendors for more information and avoid overseas websites and pop-up advertisements.

Steps

Examining the Features of the Dress

1. Look for quality materials. Well-made wedding dresses are more expensive because they require a lot of quality material to make. Materials like silk or hand-made lace are generally a good indication of valuable garment. Avoid buying a wedding dress if it is made with cheaper, synthetic materials (e.g. polyester).
   • If you are shopping for a dress on a website that does not expressly list the materials used, it is likely that the gown is cheaply made and not a worthwhile purchase.
2. Examine the stitching. When shopping for a wedding dress in person, always examine the quality of the stitching. Note that good-quality dresses will have more stitches per inch and tight seams, indicating a high level of attention to detail during its construction. Look for any snags (loops in the stitching), which are an indication of poor craftsmanship.
3. Take note of unrealistic prices. When shopping for designer wedding dresses, note the price difference between the gown advertised and its price as listed on the designer's website. If the price difference is several hundred dollars, take it as a warning that the cheaper dress is likely counterfeit. Well-established designers will set their own minimum price for retailers to sell their gowns, so a large price discrepancy is not probable.

Shopping for Your Dress in Person

1. Shop for a gown in physical retail locations. It is always preferable to shop for a wedding gown in physical stores so that you can examine a dress to make sure it measures up to your expectations. Most bridal gown manufacturers do not sell their designs online, only in particular retail locations. Ask friends, family, and colleagues for recommendations for reputable, local bridal stores.
2. Only buy from authorized retailers. Most well-established designers will make a point of designating particular retailers to sell their creations. Visit the designer dress brand's website to see a list of authorized vendors for their products. Steer clear of stores claiming to sell genuine versions of designer dresses that are not acknowledged by the manufacturer.
3. Use the services of a bridal consultant. Enlist the help of a bridal consultant (through a bridal store or directly through a wedding coordinator) to help find your perfect dress and avoid counterfeit designs. Bridal consultants have the expertise and knowledge to find you the dress you want, or similar good-quality dresses within your budget. Show the consultant pictures of the dress you want and provide details such as the designer name and model number of the dress.
   • Be clear about your budget for the dress and stress your spending limits so that you are not presented with dress options that are out of your price range.

Playing it Safe Online

1. Read reviews of different websites. If you are looking at online wedding dress vendors despite the risk, consult reviews about the companies you come across to get a sense of how reputable and trustworthy they are. If you can't find any reviews for the website in question, do not buy anything from it. Disreputable companies are likely to change their names often as negative feedback mounts.
2. Look at the company's credentials. When looking at wedding dresses online, pay attention to the vendor websites themselves and not just the product. Visit the website's "about us" sections or browse the "frequently asked questions" page to get a sense of what the company is like. Compare details like company location to make sure they match to the manufacturer's information.
3. Check the website link. To make sure that an online vendor is not masquerading as a designer brand, look at the website URL for the pages you visit. Check for spelling errors in the company name, and make sure that it is a secure website. Web addresses that begin with "https:/" are generally safe and legitimate.
4. Read the return policy. Any reputable online vendor will have a clear and detailed return policy outlined clearly on their website. Be wary of any site that states that it will only refund a portion of the cost of the dress, or that lacks clear parameters for what constitutes an acceptable return. Information about how the dress will be returned (e.g. how it needs to be packaged and shipped) should also be included.
   • Make sure to take note of the restocking fees that will be charged upon return of the dress, and avoid making the purchase if they are not expressly listed on the website. Exorbitant restocking fees are a common ploy of counterfeit wedding dress sites.
5. Call the online company. Reputable online companies should have a phone number listed for customer service. Call the number for more information on the company (e.g. where they are based, how long they have been in operation), and get the name of the customer service representative that you speak to. Avoid the vendor if no phone number is made available.
6. Avoid overseas websites. Avoid purchasing a wedding gown from an overseas vendor that may offer prices much cheaper than local retailers. Dealing with overseas websites means that you have very little leverage or recourse if the transaction goes awry. In addition, beware of websites that may be obscuring their location (e.g. websites based in China that list North American or European addresses or phone numbers to mask their real location).
7. Ignore pop-up advertisements. When shopping for wedding dresses, avoid any pop-up advertisements offering steep discounts on the dress of your dreams. Many websites selling counterfeit wedding dresses will pay major search engines to track your online activity, making it easy to customize their advertisements for your specific needs. Be aware of these tactics and avoid seemingly perfect sales, which are not coincidental.

Sources and Citations

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