I received this email recently from a bride who just sold her dress on the site.  I loved her story about why she decided to sell her dress…and how happy she felt when she did.

So many brides tell us they want to sell their gown because a wedding dress should be enjoyed again instead of tucked away in a closet.  I couldn’t agree more.

The seller in her Priscilla of Boston wedding dress

“My reception dress sold in no time while listed on PreOwnedWeddingDresses.com, and now my gorgeous couture Priscilla of Boston gown, is off to a new loving home.

I have to confess, when I first shared with my girlfriends the news that I was selling my wedding dress, they couldn’t fathom why, and almost all of them said I would regret it someday. They brought up things like what if your daughter wants to see it, or you could cut it up and use it for a baptismal gown. All of their arguments made sense, but nevertheless I responded to emails from brides wanting to know more.

Finally, the day arrived when a bride and her girlfriend made the 6 hour drive to try on the dress. I wasn’t sure how I would feel seeing another girl try on something that only months before had meant everything to me. However, after seeing how much another bride loved my dress and how beautiful it was on her, I never doubted for a second that I made the right choice. I was happy the dress brought her as much happiness as it brought me, and to see it go home with her just felt right.

I know for sure that my beautiful (and very pricey gown) will be loved, photographed, and admired once again, and isn’t that what we all secretly hope for for the dress we waited our whole life to wear?

Now instead of storing my dress for the next 30 years and hoping for a daughter to pass it on to, I am using the money to buy my hubby and I a new hot tub to enjoy for years to come.

In the end, not only did I earn a little much needed cash by selling my dress, I made a new friend.”

Tell us.  Why did you decide to sell your wedding dress?

Hopefully, anyone who uses PreOwnedWeddingDresses.com is aware that we recommend Escrow.com for all transactions.  Simply put, it offers the most protection for both the buyer and the seller. (Read how and why here).

I’m always glad to share a bride’s personal experience with the service.  So when I received Trudy’s sold notice and comments about her escrow.com experience, I asked her to share it on our blog.  Here is what she said…

Trudy's dress will soon be part of another big day.

“Escrow.com was the key to my transaction on PreOwnedWeddingDresses.com.  The gown I was selling had some minor damage that would need to be repaired, and that understandably made it a little harder to buy sight unseen.  The buyer wanted to send me half of the money up front and then half after she saw the dress, which made me a little uncomfortable.

Luckily, I had seen that PreOwnedWeddingDresses.com recommended using Escrow.com, so I decided to look into it.  It turned out to be the perfect solution to our dilemma!  The buyer and I simply agreed that she would have 7 days to inspect the dress, and I would pay for the service as long as she decided to keep it, and then Escrow.com did the rest.  We both felt comfortable and fully informed throughout the process, and I got my check in just a couple of days.  Thanks to Escrow.com I was able to sell my wedding dress in less than a month, and I even got my full asking price!”

Escrow.com’s fees are comparable to paypal’s, but the protection for the buyer and seller is better.  We’d love to see every online buyer and seller experience the safe transactions it offers.

Note: PreOwnedWeddingDresses.com is not affiliated with escrow.com in any way.  To help decrease fraud, Escrow.com does not accept credit card payments for apparel purchases.

It is a fact. Today, more brides are selling their wedding dresses than ever before.  They (smartly) want to recoup a big chunk of what they spent. And they also want to share their dress with another bride – saving it from a lifetime in the closet.

Just check out what these recent sellers said:

I love the idea of letting someone else be as happy in it! I think of it as some sort of “sisterhood of the traveling gown!” (Chiara M)

In addition to getting some money from the sales (which is great), I am so very happy to have my wedding items be enjoyed by other brides. It makes me smile to know that instead of languishing in storage, they will be sharing someone else’s special day!! (Allison M)

I asked that the buyer send me a picture of her in my dress so I could include it in my scrapbook! (Christian W)

If you are thinking of joining these modern women and sharing your dream wedding dress with another happy bride, pricing your wedding dress properly is the first step to selling it successfully.

Here are our guidelines (based on the age of your gown) for best pricing:

Of course, in the dress has any marks or defects, the reduction should be in accordance with the imperfection, but these prices represent a good starting point.  See all of our tips for selling your wedding dress or check out our gallery of recently sold gowns to see how your pricing compares.

Now just imagine the smile on the bride’s face whose dream dress is about to be listed for sale!

This story is what PreOwnedWeddingDresses.com is all about.  It is about one stunning wedding dress being a part of 3 beautiful weddings. Its about 3 modern brides knowing that a wedding dress is better shared, then stored in a closet for 20 years. And it is about 3 savvy women wearing a designer wedding dress at a fraction of the cost.

Meet Sarah, Kate and Grace.

Why Sarah loved this dress:
The Pronovias Estefania gown was my dream dress from the minute I saw it in the boutique. I fell in love with it but it cost more than twice of what I had in budget. So I went ahead and tried a lot more dresses to try to find another one that would fit me as great! But this didn’t happen. So I decided to buy it with the condition that I would later on sell it. That way I would spend what I had initially planned to spend on my wedding dress.  Thanks to PreownedWeddingDresses.com I was able to do just that…plus I helped another bride find her perfect dress!

Sarah passes it to Kate
Back then, making the decision to sell the dress was easy because after all, I was not planning on getting married ever again! Letting go of the dress on the day I went to ship it to California to the other bride I sold it to, was the hard part. I did drop a few tears I must admit! Thank God I retained the veil! I say I want to keep it for my daughter if I have one!

Why Kate loved this dress:
I had looked online, magazines, stores at hundreds –probably thousands—of dresses. There were a few here and there I liked, but nothing really caught my eye until I saw the posting on PreOwnedWeddingDresses.com for the Estefania Pronovias gown. I loved it at first glance, and then I kept coming back to the posting, and as Sarah sent me more photos of it, I fell in love with it even more.  I thought it fit my personality and the way I dress – to me it has a special, one-of-a-kind couture look, without looking too ‘high fashion’. I think that is a hard balance to achieve, and I think this dress does just that. I felt absolutely wonderful in the dress – I paired it with my mom’s vintage veil, and was able to move and dance comfortably all night.

Kate passes it to Grace
The girl who purchased the dress from me, Grace, came to San Francisco to try the dress on – it was perfect for her, and she took it home to Seattle — in its own airplane seat. She knew it was bittersweet for me to let it go, and emailed me later to say “If you ever need it back or want to pay it a visit let me know.” So thoughtful of her; I can’t wait to see pictures of her enjoying the dress –once more- for her big day!

What they think now:
Sarah: It makes me extremely happy to know that a third bride will be using this dress. Best of luck to the bride that will be wearing it soon! She will look stunning!

Kate: Who knows, maybe Sarah and I will take Grace up on her offer and all meet up one day…It does feel a little like the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants kind of story!