DBS Dealer will be out about 10,000 dollars

[rimmerette]

I'm an bride that went through Dori Anne veils to purchase my gown. The owner is a great lady. She's more than helpful in this time of crisis.

If it wasn't for Dori Anne Veils, I would have been clueless to the DBS bankruptcy notice.

This really shows that dealers are in the same boat as the brides since this really came as a huge shock for all of us.

Thank you Dori Anne Veils!!

[Totally surprised]

I can see your angry, would you be the same person who accepted all those free trips, gifts of computers and sat in a restaurant with a birthday cake under your nose while the DBS staff sang happy birthday to you? Way to kick a man when their down. No one wanted this to happen and I agree it's been awful and caused a lot of grief and pain and loss of money all around but at least admit you were friends once and maybe think before you go screaming like a fool. I have too much respect for your wife to sign my name but I was at that table and don't want her to think badly of me for the rude way I responded to your outburst. Sorry dorianneveils, this must be very hard for you and we all truly loved you at the service center, you are a true professional and will continue to be a great success.

A secret admirer

[Debra Goldwater]

My husband is just seeing what I have been going through and if you read my personal posting earlier you would see what I wrote. He is venting.
Please understand that this has been a nightmare for many of us, and we are truly out thousands of dollars. And as the free trips etc. I really earned those, I worked my butt off to get them, so please do not make me feel badly for accepting things that were part of the package at the time. I thought that was the way it worked, I sold well over a million dollars worth of dresses while with DBS. Please email me directly, [email protected]. I am not wanting these outbursts and I am just trying to get through it like the next ex-dealer out there.
And I know who you are! so please write me????

[Debra Goldwater]

My husband is just seeing what I have been going through and if you read my personal posting earlier you would see what I wrote. He is venting.
Please understand that this has been a nightmare for many of us, and we are truly out thousands of dollars. And as the free trips etc. I really earned those, I worked my butt off to get them, so please do not make me feel badly for accepting things that were part of the package at the time. I thought that was the way it worked, I sold well over a million dollars worth of dresses while with DBS. And I have not been paid for training expenses, etc. not to mention commissions for awhile here??
Please email me directly, [email protected]. I am not wanting these outbursts and I am just trying to get through it like the next ex-dealer out there.
And I know who you are! so please write me????

[rimmerette]

Totally Surprised, those are what you call "incentives and bonuses" in the business world.

Please don't knock the DBS dealers they're victims as much as brides are.

[caligirl]

Dear Totally Surprised:

I feel a need to say something here....When Debra trained me back in January, she did so under very stressful circumstances.

1) First of all, she had 4 of us waiting to learn the DBS ropes sitting around her desk all the while....

2) She was accepting deliveries

3) The phone rang constantly off the hook.

4) The fax machine was non-stop

Oh and did I day that she had 4 of us sitting there, with tons of questions needing to be answered about DBS!

She was working her tail off, making more money for DBS! She was a Top Seller for DBS and she earned it!

I feel it is entirely unprofessional and just plain cruel to throw "what she earned out of hard work" in her face like that. If that is the general low life attitude of DBS , then I could see why they went down. I do not blame her husband one bit!

I cannot believe how low one can go....Again, people there are no winners here! It was such a wonderful business concept (and still is), it is so sad that this is what has become of it. Very Sad!

Sorry Debra, just felt the need to tell my thoughts, I did not mean any trouble. : )

[Totally Surprised]

My attack was not at Debra (who I love) and yes she worked her butt off. Not many worked as hard as she did and continues to do. Everyone else is allowed to vent but I'm not? You have said most of the meanest things I have read so far and I know who you are and I was surprised (again). I expected more from you. You were a total professional with only your customers interest at heart. I truly appologize to Jeff because what I said was low down and dirty. I am so hurt, as we all are, by the way this has all turned out and felt I had to defend myself. This is all turning out badly, I only decided to finally speak because I thought I maybe could help some people and I should probably just mind my business and keep my mouth shut before someone shuts it for me. Thank you for putting me in my place and reminding me that personal, below the belt attacks aren't productive and can hurt both ways. I'm ashamed that I let my emotions get the better of me, of course you all know that's how I am. I will appologize to Jeff under separate e-mail and I wouldn't accept my apology if I were him.

You know who I really am

[caligirl]

Totally Surprised:

I have no clue as to who you are, really! I am not into the game playing thing either...I am just here to vent like the rest of my fellow dealers.

I have been put out financially too! Thanks for saying that I treated my brides professionally, I do appreciate that comment. I took my little developing biz very seriously. I really liked working with the brides...I was so blessed with really wonderful girls too! In fact, I would still like to to work in this industry if the industry will allow for it?? Not sure about that though.

As to me saying the "meanest things" I hardley think so! I have read alot worse.

If you go back a few threads....I suggested to the fact that maybe the owners are ill! Which I hope is not the case. That might explain some sudden change of plans...I am too new to really speculate.

I will say that there were actually 2 really nice gals at the service center, I said 1 earlier....I forgot about Marika, sorry Marika. I really spoke to Jean the most : )! Jean and Marika were very, very kind and helpful to me! I did not get ALL CAP emails from them as well!


Take Care

[Debra Goldwater]

I am not mad at all!!!!
I understand that emotions are high, mine are too!
He is my husband and he was really doing it out of love for me and he is not angry at your reply either. He just let out everything!

I have been working very hard to resolve this situation and move forward and you know how I feel about everyone there??? You know the good times we have had from the chocolate martinis to the horse fish???
I will always cherish those times with you guys!!!!!! You know that could never change, and I am sad, I am sad that I will not talk to you every day, well almost every day :)

The good news is my brides have been wonderful, I will not leave them, you know that, so please remember that and I plan on coming out on top again :)

Jeff really likes Lenny and Sandy, but we feel abandoned, we feel like we were always honest and up front with them to the end.

[U.S. Bridal Shop Owner]

Mr. Fields,

I must reply on this site and hopefuly set somethings straight. My wife and I have been a "mom & pop" bridal retailer for 17 years. We have 2 simple rules - "Treat your customers as you would like to be treated" and "Take care of your customer TODAY or somebody else will tommorow". By living by those two simple rules, we have had a successful business. We are not the Trumps but we are living the american dream - Working hard and owning our own business.

We got into the business because we ourselves got married. Both myself and my wife came from different jobs but we thought that there had to be a better way of planning a wedding. It wasnt just the prices but the overall planning of the wedding. So we decided that we would venture into the bridal busines, using our experieces from our previous jobs and adding that into our new store but with more. Shops in our area didnt offer the services that we do now - Gowns,shoes, jewelry, invitations, alterations, favors, all wedding accessories, tuxedos - everthing needed for the wedding. The main thing we give every customer is personall servive. We know every bride's first name. We treat them like family. We feel that's our formula for success.
We also can find our brides travel agents, florist, entertainment, resturaunts, limos, jewelers, hair stylist, even doves & buterflies. And we have been doing this for 17 years. Now we dont carry every bridal gown or designer and not ever bride buys their gown from us, but we treat every bride the same. Even today, we are trying to help every bride who has bought through DBS. Now we can not match the DBS price, but we try to do the very best for them. To make 10 or 25 dollars a gown is is why Martins is closed today.

As far as the bridal indusry goes, to be an authorized retailer, we have buy samples from each designer, 2 times a year. We carry over 50 different lines from bridal, BM, FG MOB. With each desinger you have to purchase about 12 bridal gowns, twice a year along with BM, FG, MOB etc. So as an average, we spend anywhere from $3000.00 to $10,000.00 per designer - twice a year for the new styles or season. Do the math. No add in all the other itmes needed - shoes jewelry, veils, headpiece, slips, bras, etc. Then you have to pay rent, taxes, utilies, advertising, payroll (if you a busy enough to afford employess), insurance, etc. But we knew this going into business. I even thought of being a DBS dealer, but after reading into them, I was concerned that I would not have direct contact with the deisgners. Meaning I was solely depending on DBS/Martins, which scared me. So we started with a couple of bridal lines, then added some more lines and went from there. It was a struggle at the beginning but we are still here, thank God after 17 years. Even today, we still worry about every gown order. Just last month, Bridal Originals, after 58 years in the business, decided to close. But the difference was that they sent us a letter on 6/14/2005,informing us that they would not be accepting anymore new orders after 6/24/2005 and that all orders would be completed by 9/15/2005. That's the way to do it. We will miss this compnay and we applaud them on how they are handling a very sad situation for the owners of this US bridal designer.

So Martin's comes up with this buiness plan and on paper it sounds great. "If Avon can do it , why not us". But in the bridal industry, "trans-shipping"- one authorized dealer selling to an unauthorized seller - is prohibited by just about all designers. This rule was in place BEFORE DBS was born. Martins new this but did it anyway. As far as the designers go, many knew what Martin's was doing and did nothing to stop them. I aggree, the designers are partially to blame for DBS beginning. They saw extra sales coming in and turned a blind eye to it. Some designers like Bridal Originals, stop doing buiness with Martiin's in 1997 because of DBS. But then internet came along. This was a way for FSBS to combat against DBS. Offer discounts on gowns that they WERE authorized to sell. No middleman. Now the designers have two problems - DBS and the internet. Over the past 5 years, designers have been pulling lines from Martins with the latest being Alfred Angelo and Maggie Sottero. Two major bridal designers that they can no longer offer to their DBS dealers. That hurt them. They are DBS dealers who have struck a busniess agreements with FSBS to buy some designers from them. The way this worked was the bridal shop, authorized dealers would sell the gowns to the DBS dealers, adding 15-20% onto the wholesale price plus the shipping. Sometimes this was a better deal that what DBS offered. But again, the DBS dealers were relying on a middleman and not directly working with the deigners. Many bridal shops closed and again left these DBS dealers out in the cold. Now the designers are prohibting prices of gowns on the internet and the sales of gown on the internet. Many designers are now instituting MSRP - Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price- Just like Sony does for their PS2. And we the retailers have no other choice to abid by these rules or lose this designer.

So now we have the problem today. Martin's Bridal closes, closing its retail stores and DBS, leaving all DSB dealers left to handle brides and their orders. And you have the people here, Mr. & Mrs. Fields, blaming the full service bridal shops and the deisgners. Let me tell you something Mr. Fields, and I am sure that just about every bridal shop owner in the U.S. will agree with me when I say - We feel for every bride today who is having a problem receiving their gowns. We hope that EVERY bride receives their gown that they choose and paid for in time for their wedding. But for Mr. Fields to demand that FSBS offer gowns at cost is ridiculus! Mr. Fields, are you selling your books at cost? Are you making a profit on your books? Of course you are. You sell your bridal book for $14.95. Seems fair. But do you tell your customers when they order your bridal book that your wholesale cost of $7.98! Of course not. You are in business to make a profit, just like us and the DBS dealers. We also feel bad for the DBS dealers who now have to pay the desingers AGAIN for the order so that their customers can receive their gowns. How is this fair to these people? It's not. And we feel for them because we as FSBS could be in the same situation if a designer decides to close down with no notice like Martin's.

So in closing, we hope every bride receives the gown of their dreams. Contact your DBS dealer, who I know will do everything humanly possible to help you. If they cant help you, please know that many FS Bridal Shops will help you the very best they can.

As far as Mr. Fields, I hope you change your attitude towards the FSBS as we are not the enemy. You attacks against us is unethical may maybe illegal. I noticed that you changed you posts regarding all the designers. You have done a diservice to all involved causing fear and panic when its not needed. Granted, many DBS dealers and DBS customers had no idea on what was going on and your post informed them but to say "Dont give the bridal shops the biz" is wrong!Plain and simple and it may come back to bite you!!

Again to all brides, we wish you all years of happiness and hope that you get to wear the gown of your dreams and please know that we the retail bridal shops are professionals and are willing a ready to help you on one of the most important day of your lives!

A U.S. full service bridal shop owner

[dbsdealer05 2003]

To "Real Bridal Shop Owner" & "U.S. Bridal Shop Owner" you make some very valid arguments and points that I either agree with or understand. The problem is that by copying & pasting your letter in multiple threads (which have nothing to do with your letters' content), this is a clear case of just trying to annoy people and dis-credits your entire post.

Also, I have to say that I loved every single one of the service gals - even the one that wrote in ALL CAPS - she was wonderful just like the rest of them. Maybe she wasn't always as "friendly" as some of the other girls, but you must realize the tremendous amount of work that was expected from these ladies. I know I was demanding at times to get problems fixed (i.e. bride paying for a rush cut, the designer shipped the dress to another salon, and she ended up still getting it in 18 weeks!) After speaking to almost all of the manufacturer's that DBS used this week I have an even greater appreciation for their time, efforts, and friendships, and I will miss everyone dearly. After only 2 years with DBS I am proud to call everyone in the Service Center my friends.

DoriAnneVeils & husband - I too am out about $10,000, this has been a sad week for us all!

[jgoldwater]

Dori Anne Veils Former dbs dealer is paying out of pocket for their Brides to get there dresses. We have already paid dbs for the gowns and now we are paying out with our own money to keep our customers happy.

Cannot beleive that these people are so cutttroat, but we should have seen it coming.

Husband of DBS Dealer and mad as hell

[Reak Bridal Store Owner]

My muti post is not to annoy but to get truth out there. The Frields have taken a very serious stand and making statements that are false and will come back to hurt them.