Runaway Bride: Bridesave closes

[lilkate]

Got it too...waiting to hear back from manufacturer. There are federal regulations that mandate getting money back, but I am just dreading possibility of needing a lawyer.

[alandenisefields]

Yes, this is true. We are sending out this email to our readers tonight:

Bridesave.com, one of the largest internet sellers of bridal apparel, is closing, the authors of the book BRIDAL BARGAINS have learned.

Bridesave.com sent emails to its customers late Friday announcing the closure:

“We regret to inform you that we have closed our business. Since 1999, BrideSave has faithfully served thousands of brides and their wedding parties. We extend our sincerest apology. We cannot fill your order.�

Repeated calls and emails to Bridesave.com’s headquarters were not returned. A notice on Bridesave.com’s web site says the site is “temporarily unavailable� but there is no mention of the closing.

In the email to customers, Bridesave.com provides details about customers orders and directs brides to contact dress manufacturers to obtain their gowns.

Bridesave.com is headquartered in Midland, Texas and was one of the most prolific sellers of bridal apparel online.

Also: three dress discounters in our book, RK Bridal, Pearl’s and NetBride, have offered to help out stranded brides. Contact these stores directly for info.

We will post info on our message boards as it becomes available,

Alan & Denise Fields
Authors, BRIDAL BARGAINS
http://www.bridalbargainsbook.com

(Please feel free to post this message on wedding message boards in order to spread the word about this situation).

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Please use this thread to discuss your efforts to get refunds or dress deliveries.


---

Update 9-25-06:

A quick FAQ on this topic:

Q. How do I get my money back?

A. If you paid by credit card, contact your credit card company ASAP. Consumer protection laws allow you to dispute a charge (and possibly obtain a refund) if the merchant fails to deliver what is ordered. If you paid by cash or check or debit card, your options are more limited. Consult an attorney.

Q. Can I contact the dress manufacturer to receive the dress directly?

A. It doesn't hurt to try. But most will not deal directly with consumers. Consider contacting the discounters we mention above (Pearls, RK, NetBride) to see if they can help. If the wedding date is tight, your dress order may be hanging in a manufacturer's warehouse---and it might be able to be rescued with help of another retailer like Pearl's, NetBride or RK.

Q. I'm nervous about ordering online now that BrideSave has gone out of business. Is it safe?

A. We can understand that---but there is risk with ANY bridal order, whether from a brick and mortar store or online discounter. Plenty of bridal retailers have gone out of business in the past year, some of whom took deposits from brides and never delivered any merchandise. Bridesave's failure doesn't mean that all 'net gown sellers are going to go out of business, just like a bridal store's failure doesn't mean all retailers are on shaky ground.

The best course: protect yourself by leaving plenty of time before your wedding with any dress order, put the deposit on a credit card and ALWAYS get all the details in writing.

--

Update: 9-27-06:

David's offers Bridesave a 20% discount, takes swipe at internet gown sellers.

David's Bridal issued press release offering a 20% discount for Bridesave's customers, but also taking a swipe at online competitors:

"With the ever-growing popularity of online shopping, people are becoming accustomed to getting anything and everything with the click of a mouse," says Cindi Freeburn, Vice President, Public Relations for David's Bridal. "While there may be advantages to shopping online for some products, for others, there are significant risks, which has been demonstrated by the closing of two of the major online bridal discounters within the last fourteen months. We want to caution brides-to-be to make informed choices when purchasing their bridal and bridal party gowns -- some of the most important items of the wedding -- so that they are not left in the lurch."

Our thoughts: David's is taking a not-so-veiled swipe at the closure of Discount Bridal Service in 2005, by saying Bridesave was the second online seller to close in 14 months. Nice, but not true: Discount Bridal Service NEVER sold gowns online---while the discounter did close in July 2005 and did have a web site, DBS only sold gowns through its network of nationwide dealers.

So while it is great that David's is offering discount (we note that no other indie retailers have offered such an incentive), the cheap shot about online buying is not acceptable. But what else can we expect from a chain that advertises $99 gown sales---only to barely have any $99 gowns on hand during the sale?

David's is locked into hand-to-hand combat with 'net gown sellers and appears to be losing the battle, judging from their recent same store sales declines. David's Bridal poor sales performance led its parent to put it on the chopping block recently---and it looks like it will be sold this fall to an investor group.

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We will update this thread as new info becomes available!

[JanineM]

Oh my! That was a wonderful site! I am so very sorry to all those effected! I am about to email Julius at www.Juliusbridal.com . I met him on my Ebay China thread on the wedding Channel, but I do know that his wife Mimi has been on here a couple of times. Any way, I have found them to be of good people so far. So I will let him know what is going on. If you are in the middle of this situation and want to check out the Ebay China site on the wedding Channel or the Julius Bridal on the wedding channel it may be of some help to you if you have enough time left. It is on their message boards under dream gowns. We also have a thread or two here on BBB about them.

If you are part of this emergency and need a gown you can also try www.craigslist.com . It is a free online classified list. So look in your area. The advantage with this site is that you can look for commutable sellers and try on the gown first. Go over it with the fine tooth comb, maybe even bring a fiend. There is also David's Bridal in the worst case scenario.

Good luck to you all!

Janine

[elegantgowns]

Does anyone know if their store-front in Texas is still open, or did that close too?

[klm5]

I had been planning on ordering a gown from Netbride or a similar online service. DBS and Bridesave both closing now makes me nervous about doing so. Should I have reason to be concerned about ordering from Netbride?

[avengleia]

I'm also considering ordering my gown through NetBride...but, it is scary how many discount bridal sources are going out of business. I may still give NetBride a shot if it is substantially cheaper than I can get the dress locally; but, I do admit I have some hesitation...)-: I don't want to take too much of a chance on the dress of my dreams (-: Does anyone have any advice if I know my dress is going to be discontinued on 01 Oct 2006? Should I go for the buy at my local gown shop or should I give NetBride the chance to make it happen? I'm not sure what it means if a gown is not yet discontinued...does that mean that orders cease as of 01 Oct 2006; but, if you order before that date they will still make it for you -or- does it mean that they will only sell dresses that have already been made until the gown is no longer available?

[elegantgowns]

Usually a designer gives the salon a date that they must have the order submitted by for gowns that are being discontinued. When I sold designer label gowns (I was a DBS rep) I always told my brides that I needed the order at least 2-3 days before that date just to make sure I was able to place the order and receive confirmation before the deadline.

It is really scary. Maybe BrideSave went under because they accepted returns? They spent a lot of money on advertising on-line, but they were such a great company I am shocked that they went under. One of the best things about their company was the ability of brides to look at pictures of the dresses on-line & view the price. Very sad.

Netbride claims that they own their building and it is paid in full. SO their overhead should be lower, making them less of a risk to order through. BUT, as we've all seen, no one thought DBS or BrideSave would go under, and they did. Who knows if this is the beginning of the demise of the "big" on-line discounters. And they all get good reviews, so who the heck knows!?!?!

And to make the decision even harder, local salons do go out of business all the time. Bridal is a really tough industry to stay ahead in - salons spend upwards of $50k a year on sample dresses alone. That doesn't count their rent, utilities, advertising, employee costs, insurance, etc.

So no matter where you purchase your gown (unless you walk out the door with an off-the-rack gown) you are somewhat at risk. As the Fields ALWAYS tell us, put EVERYTHING on your credit card! And try to order your gown AS SOON as you have decided, just in case something happens & you must re-order elsewhere.

Sorry for the novel =)

[micarter]

I got a hold of Venus, the dress manufacturer, and they had my dress in their warehouse. They are shipping it out today (Mon), and I should receive it Thurs 9/28. I will post again when I receive it. I am very relieved they had not shipped it to Bridesave yet. So I am crossing my fingers that everything will be OK! Meanwhile I am disputing my deposit with Mastercard, so hopefully I will receive that back too. I saved about $100 ordering it from Bridesave, and I don't think it is worth it, all the stress this has caused. But hopefully everything will work out.

[Britjan]

A friend just lost her order. I can tell you that now I live in New Orleans and am familiar with Pearls Place. They have an excellent reputation in the financial industry for their credit position and worthiness. I just booked my wedding there locally and was very pleased. I logged on to read about bridesave but wanted to mention this. Pearls is working to help my friend and I can suggest them highly.

[avengleia]

>Usually a designer gives the salon a date that they must have
>the order submitted by for gowns that are being discontinued.
>When I sold designer label gowns (I was a DBS rep) I always
>told my brides that I needed the order at least 2-3 days
>before that date just to make sure I was able to place the
>order and receive confirmation before the deadline.
>
>It is really scary. Maybe BrideSave went under because they
>accepted returns? They spent a lot of money on advertising
>on-line, but they were such a great company I am shocked that
>they went under. One of the best things about their company
>was the ability of brides to look at pictures of the dresses
>on-line & view the price. Very sad.
>
>Netbride claims that they own their building and it is paid in
>full. SO their overhead should be lower, making them less of
>a risk to order through. BUT, as we've all seen, no one
>thought DBS or BrideSave would go under, and they did. Who
>knows if this is the beginning of the demise of the "big"
>on-line discounters. And they all get good reviews, so who the
>heck knows!?!?!
>
>And to make the decision even harder, local salons do go out
>of business all the time. Bridal is a really tough industry
>to stay ahead in - salons spend upwards of $50k a year on
>sample dresses alone. That doesn't count their rent,
>utilities, advertising, employee costs, insurance, etc.
>
>So no matter where you purchase your gown (unless you walk out
>the door with an off-the-rack gown) you are somewhat at risk.
>As the Fields ALWAYS tell us, put EVERYTHING on your credit
>card! And try to order your gown AS SOON as you have decided,
>just in case something happens & you must re-order elsewhere.
>
>Sorry for the novel =)

Thank you so much for this wonderful information! Your advice was extremely time-critical knowing that my gown will be discontinued on October 1st! Thanks so much again! I LOVED the novel!! The more I learn the better!