Wedding Dress Pricing Differences

The designer can recommend a price, but it's ultimately up to the shop. It may also differ depending on current promotions.

All the prices are relatively close together though but I'd like to think the shop does set their own price

View Quoted Comment Makes sense...

View Quoted Comment Yeah, I was just wondering because each one told me the loan price was set by the designer lol.

Yeah, there can be a significant difference in dress prices depending on the store & the area. In your case, difference between $1600 & $1549 is quite frankly negligible.
For one dress that I tried, one store was whole $400 cheaper than the other store. This also depends on relationship bridal store has with specific designer (depending on quantities they order & sell, designers might give them better wholesale price). My dress was 50% off in the designer showroom, compared to regular bridal boutique where I first tried it on.

View Quoted Comment I know it's not much of a difference, but I was just trying to figure out why since they all tell me it's the designer's pricing. But I think what you're saying would explain it!

I'm actually trying the dress on during a Sottero & Midgley trunk show so I can try some others they have while there.

View Quoted Comment Trunk shows are the best, you can try all different styles & also get a good discount! Have fun!

View Quoted Comment Thank you 😁🤞

I was told loan price covers only the cost of shipping. One fancy shop I went to only used FedEx overnight service for loan samples ($150 sample) - I think to get you back into the store sooner - where the shop I ended up buying from only charged $60 per sample (AND they deducted that amount from the price if you purchased that style).

And PS - you can totally negotiate price with the salon! One shop special ordered a gown to come in for me during a trunk show but it didn't get sent so they offered me 15% off a gown if I purchased there. I asked the shop I purchased from to match the discount and they did.

View Quoted Comment That's awesome! Yeah, the place I'm going to has a $75 loan fee and it's applied to any purchase I make there. I chose them because they have excellent reviews, also. It's about an hour from me, so I had to make sure it felt right.

View Quoted Comment

It's such a relief to find the bridal store that feels right; I'm so glad you found the one! If they aren't the cheapest dress price, I would casually mention to them as you're purchasing, "Store X sells this dress for Y. Can you match the price?" Then you get the best of worlds: wonderful bridal shopping experience and best price in your area!

I can't speak specifically to wedding dresses but I can give a little insight into the pricing process in general. There's 2 main important numbers - MSRP and MAP. MSRP is manufacturers suggested retail price and that's what it sounds like - the price suggested by the brand. MAP is minimum advertised price, which means a seller can't list a product for less than that or they'll get in trouble (that's not to say they can't sell it lower theoretically if you negotiate with them, they just can't list it lower than that anywhere). So when they say the price is set by the brand they're probably referring to MAP and then just adding their own markup for more profit. Hopefully that wasn't too boring! 😆

View Quoted Comment Awesome, thanks!

View Quoted Comment No, it wasn't. Thank you! I am someone who needs to understand things 😂.