Can you negotiate the gown price?

[Iowa Lizzy]

Hi ladies!

If anyone has read the threads I created regarding my gown options, I THINK I''ve finally decided on the Enzoani Brazil. I called the bridal shoppe where I tried it on because they''d called me recently regarding a sale that ends this month. So I called and asked how much off the dress would it be if I purchased it by the end of business on Wednesday. She told me it would be $450 off BUT that''s only if I purchase any 3 other dresses there (bridesmaid dresses, MOB dress, rehearsal dress, etc). Well, I''m sure I''m not buying my BM dresses there and I don''t know what my mother is doing so this "deal" doesn''t seem like much of a deal anymore.

Okay, so the price of the gown (without the discount) is $2250. That is more than I want to pay. I was hoping to keep my the cost of the gown AND alterations under $2000. Oh hell, I was hoping to keep EVERYTHING (gown, shoes, alterations, hair accessory) under $2000. Does anyone know if the price is negotiable? I always see the saleswomen on ''Say Yes to the Dress'' offering to discount the gown price if it''s purchased that day.

Is there truth to this in regular bridal stores? Do they generally lower the price if pressed? Does anyone have experience with this? Thanks in advance, gals!

 

[Octavia]

I think it''ll depend on the bridal shop, but I did manage to negotiate around $200 off my dress. They told me the price, I said (truthfully) that I hadn''t realized the dress was so much more expensive than others by the same designer and it was about $250 over my budget, and they worked with me to get it more or less into the budget. It''s worth a try, for sure.

 

[cocolaw]

it''s def worth a try! i know girls who negotiate price on other things, like coats from normal stores for example! the worst that could happen is that they say no, and you say ok.

 

[MonkeyPants]

I def believe in negotiating! Especially for wedding stuff which is waaayyy overpriced anyway. I wanted the total of my gown, veil, alterations, and tax to stay under $1500. The dress was originally $1440 which I said would put me over budget with tax, alterations and the veil, so the sales rep talked to the manager and we had a deal!

They sold a dress and I stayed at my budget. Everyone was happy.

 

[Blue824]

In my experience, if it was a department store bridal shop, like Macy''s or Saks, there was no opportunity to negotiate. The boutiques did negotiate.

IN my case, I didn''t really ask outright to negotiate, but my mom did hint that the dresses I was deciding between were over my budget, and the SA immediately offered to knock 10% off. I was honestly indecisive and kept going back and forth between two dresses and without us saying anything, she admitted she could ask her manager if she could give us 20% off the dress. The 20% discount meant sales tax + alterations was pretty much exactly my budget. That did not include shoes, undergarments or accessories. My mom was paying for the dress and I picked up my accessories along the way, so I was OK with that.

On the other hand, my friend found her dress and her mom sort of pitted two stores against each other telling one that the other was offering a lower price and ended up getting a similar discount on the dress. The first store offered her 10% and the second store offered her 10% + another 10 % on top of that. I think I''m too quiet to outright ask for the discount, but it really paid off for my friend.

 

[mrowmrowsmom]

Love that dress! I did negotiate almost 20% off my dress price at the boutique where I bought my dress.

Have you considered bestbridalprices.com? Looks like they have your dress, with a free veil, free shoes, and free shipping, for $1875. I do know a girl from college who used them, and she was pleased, but I can''t recommend them from my own experience. Just a thought!

 

[cindygenit]

I believe you can, to a certain (reasonable) extent.

Good luck!

 

[VictoriaEremita]

Yes! I think with the current state of our economy vendors are a lot more open to negotiating within reason. I explained that I was on a budget, but I loved the dress and asked if there was anyway to get price down to a certain amount. The bridal salon was very professional and willing to work something out. I ended up saving about $300 dollars off the price of the dress, so I encourage you to speak up and ask!

BTW, I don''t know if you are open to the idea but I did a quick search and found this on Ebay, it might be worth looking into!
http://cgi.ebay.com/Blue-by-Enzoani-Style-Brazil-size-14_W0QQitemZ320419795111QQcmdZViewItemQQimsxZ20090903?IMSfp=TL090903146006r11363#ht_753wt_941

 

[Italiahaircolor]

It''s worth a try, the worst they can say is "no"...and that wouldn''t deter me.

However, have a back up plan. They may not give you money off above the "sale"...so know going into it that you may have to walk away if it''s above the budget.

Good luck!!!

 

[stephbolt]

I was able to negotiate nearly 15% off the price of my dress. I did it by calling around to a bunch of stores (including online retailers) and approaching the store I really wanted to buy it from and telling them I wanted to give them the business (mainly because their customer service had been so outstanding), but store X was offering me a lower price. They ended up matching the online price I got from Pearl''s Place.

Have you checked with Pearl''s Place - I know they carry Enzoani and people have gotten some great prices on dresses there.

 

[cleokizzy]

Date: 9/28/2009 9:09:26 PM
Author: cindygenit
I believe you can, to a certain (reasonable) extent.

Good luck!

DITTO. there''s nothing wrong with asking to negotiate the price - as long as it''s within reasonable extent. you definitely won''t get any discount if you asked for 70% off of the price!

 

[Rock_of_Love]

I was able to negotiate 15% off - but I would''ve never asked unless I had already called around to other stores that carried the same line.

I called around because I wanted to try the dress on again, locally (I had driven 1.5hrs to the store I first tried on the dress at). One store mentioned that they didn''t have the dress in stock, but that if I ordered through them, they would give it to me at a price that was about $400 below the original store. To me, this was TOO MUCH of a discount NOT to ask the store about...and, I really liked the customer service at the original store.

How I did it was that I basically asked them to "re-check" the price that they had quoted me, because when I had called around locally, I was quoted a different price. So, she "double checked" the price and said..."wow, that is quite a bit of a difference...I can''t go that low, but I can offer you 15% off"...which was within $75 of the price I wanted.

So, as others have mentioned, never hurts to ask. For me, it helped to have a "strategy."

 

[OUpearlgirl]

Don't buy it from them.

Here's how it works, at least with Enzoani. The store signs a very strict contract. They cannot sell the dress for any LESS than a certain price point. Some stores mark the price up so that they can have a sale or give you a "discount."

The store I work at sells Enzoani, and we sell our dresses for the lowest possible price. You can get that dress for $1,875. Keep looking for another store that will give you that price!