Tips and Tricks For Selling Your Wedding Dress

My poor wedding dress has been relegated to its original packaging since my big day in November 2021. I remember feeling like such a princess on my wedding day in my gorgeous, boho style wedding dress, however, I feel so sad to know that it’s now somewhere in the loft, unloved and unseen.

I know that somewhere out there, there’s a bride to be looking for a dress exactly like mine. There’s a lady who wants to feel like a princess and walk down the aisle feeling confident and elegant. It seems such as shame then, that my wedding dress is sat alone in the attic when it could be someone’s dream. With that in mind, I decided to do some research into secondhand wedding dress sales, and I thought I’d share my findings with you! 

If you’re considering selling your wedding dress too, take a look at the tips below. Following these helpful tips should help you to make the most amount of money back from your wedding dress and sell it with relative ease.

Timing is critical if you want to generate the most profit from selling your wedding dress.

If you’re looking to sell your wedding dress, you will need to make your decision within the first two or three years of having bought it. This is especially true if you’re looking to sell a designer wedding dress. Second-hand buyers are often still looking for the latest designer dresses within this period; buyers are searching for the latest styles and designs for a discounted price, therefore listing your dress for sale as soon as possible will give it the greatest chance of selling for a high price. 

After three years, the buyers that you’ll likely be reaching are less likely to concern themselves about the designer or style of the wedding dress. They’re probably more interested in finding a dress that suits their body shape and fits them well – all for a good price that doesn’t break the bank. Because of this, these buyers will likely be less inclined to pay the same sort of prices as brides to be would within the first three years of the dress’s production. 

As with everything in life, there are, of course, exceptions, and the same goes for selling your wedding dress! Vintage wedding dresses and retro gowns that are non-traditional will be unaffected by the passing of time. Buyers looking for this type of dress will be searching for a certain aesthetic, therefore the passing of time won’t be a contributing factor when pricing up your listing. 

If you’re selling your wedding dress, make sure to have it professionally cleaned before listing it.

The next step to ensuring you get the most out of selling your wedding dress is to make sure you’ve professionally cleaned it before attempting to sell it. No one wants to buy a dirty wedding dress – that much goes without saying! Weddings are messy affairs and it’s pretty likely that at some point during the day, some food or drinks will land on your dress. In fact, as soon as I sat down for our meal, my 3-year-old waved his hand and knocked over an entire pint of beer all over me! Dirty wedding dresses are even more likely to occur now that weddings are beginning to stray from the traditional wedding breakfasts and introduce catering services such as BBQs and hog roasts. With this much food and drink flying around, it’s imperative that you get your wedding dress professionally cleaned before selling it.

There are other benefits to having your wedding dress professionally cleaned too. Firstly, if your dress has been freshly cleaned, it’ll be looking its absolute best for when you start taking photos for your listings. This is imperative when it comes to selling your wedding dress because cleaner, brighter, and fresher photos attract buyers far more than dresses that don’t look quite as polished. Another reason to get your wedding dress professionally cleaned before listing it for sale is that it makes it easier for you to spot any rips or tears that may affect your pricing. 

Always be honest about any rips, tears, or damages that your wedding dress has accumulated. It may not affect the pricing as much as you’d expect!

We all know that wedding dresses are a big deal; people are willing to part with a lot of money in order to buy the dress of their dreams. When people are willing to part with a significant amount of money, they’re going to want to know that the product they’re getting matches the description you gave them. You may be surprised, but minor rips and tears are unlikely to affect your ability to sell your wedding dress as much as you may think. Obviously, buyers want to buy wedding dresses that look beautiful, clean, and detailed, but often there are small marks that can go completely unnoticed due to the way the fabric falls. That being said, you are going to want to point these marks or tears out to any potential buyers when selling your wedding dress – you could even offer them the chance to try the dress on for themselves – this way you can point out the imperfections and the buyer can judge whether they’re likely to be noticed by guests. 

Selling your wedding dress is a big deal, but if you’re sure you’re ready, here are some great places to start listing. 

If you’re absolutely sure you’re ready to sell your wedding dress, here are some tips on getting it up and listed on sale sites. Firstly, make sure you’ve taken lots of pictures that show case the shape, style, and design of your dress. Ensure you have accurate measurements and give as much detail as possible about your wedding dress – for example, designer, RRP, condition etc. Next, start listing your dress on sites such as Still White, Nearly Newly Wed, eBay, Vinted, Depop, and Facebook Marketplace. 

You can also take your dress into your nearest Secondhand Bridal Boutique – be aware that all second hand boutiques operate differently, so ensure you know whether you’re going to get money up front for your dress, or whether you’re going to earn money back after the store has sold it and taken a cut.