subject: Dangers and Benefits of Buying a Dress Direct From China [print this page] Dangers and Benefits of Buying a Dress Direct From China
Confessions of an Importer
Trying to save money by buying your prom or wedding dress onlineis a great approach to reigning in your prom budget. Beware of the Chinese factory selling these dresses at phenomenally low prices. There are often hidden dangers in buying from the anonymous Chinese factory, but done right, you can save a bundle.
Our company, H&D Tuxedo and Bridal,has been purchasing gowns from China for some time, so we know all of the benefits and downfalls. It is not easy to obtain a quality dress from this region, but through trial and error, we have been able to find quality factories. It is very difficult, however, to find the good factories amongst the many bad ones, and this is as a company that places many orders. Imagine the situation as an individual, where there is no reason to believe you will ever buy again. It can really be risky. We will pass on some of our expertise to you, so that you can make an educated decision before buying that dress from the Chinese factory.
Delivery Times
The main downfall of ordering direct from China is delivery time. Make sure and pay close attention to the time needed for delivery to you. There are websites that have thousands of dresses listed, but they have to be produced once you place your order. They usually promise a production time schedule of 10-15 days and another 5-6 days for shipping. Please allow more time.
We have hundreds of dresses from Chinese factories and never had one arrive on time. I would suggest that you allow at least 2 months lead time if you are purchasing one of thesecustom made dresses. Also, be aware of their return policy. Most do not allow returns unless there is an obvious manufacturer defect, and even then, good luck proving it. They will let you return the dress to them for free alterations, but it costs around $40 to send it one-way. Don't assume they will cover the shipping back to you either.
Communication
It is a good idea to stay in email contact with the factory that is producing your dress for you. There could be questions they need to ask you before the designers can proceed. They often need measurements from you so they can make the gown a better fit or have questions about color, fabric, etc. Any delay in answering these questions cause a delay in production.
You should request that they leave enough material in the seams so that you could get the dress let out if it is too small. You can usually have a dress taken in if it's too big, but it is a real problem to make it bigger if there's no extra fabric in the seams. You should ask them to keep you posted about the progress of your dress. If you haven't heard anything, make sure to send an inquiry requesting a progress report or a shipping date for your order. We always use email instead of phone calls to the Chinese factories so that we have a record of everything that was said for future reference.
Quality
It is possible to get ahigh quality gown from a Chinese factory, but you can also get burned. Remember that 90% of all the formal gowns come from China, so chances are, that beautiful gown you saw on television was made in a Chinese factory. You definitely can get a great dress from China, but beware, you can get a worthless rag as well.
These manufacturers will never allow a return from the buyer unless the dress is defective, such as a zipper that doesn't work, or the wrong dress was sent in error. Beware though, they may try to chock it up to 'communication issues' and not quality issues. The dress manufacturers offer lower prices than the designer brand names and are happy to make those dresses from a picture. Of course, you can't expect the dress to be of the same caliber as the top brands and there is almost always variation. The fabric is more mid-range with these manufacturers whereas the big names would use a slightly higher grade of material since they are constantly monitoring the manufacturer.
A great advantage of buying direct from the factory is that you get to set the specification. If you like a dress but want it to be strapless, just tell them. Since they are making it from scratch, it will not be a problem. Also, if you find a quality factory, the dress will fit perfectly because you have let them know all of your measurements (even bizarre measurements like "nipple to shoulder"). There is no better way to get a trulytaylor made dress, but it comes with risk.
They have many beautiful designs displayed on their websites, but that doesn't mean they have ever actually made that dress so it could turn out looking somewhat different than the picture. They do not have the original patterns for the dresses so their designers have to interpret the designs to the best of their abilities.
Companies to Definitely Avoid
Some factories that have burned us in the past are
Bridal Boulevard - This company sent a high quality dress for an initial order and then after they were 'qualified' continually sent low quality dresses. When they were returned, they claimed they never received the package. We never saw a refund.
Brilliance Eagle Bridal Factory -AVOID AT ALL COSTS - These people, particularly, Mr. Prandzon Kwan, made delivery promises they did not fulfill (orders that were sent incomplete) and refused to refund the remainder. They sent dresses with many quality issues. They also sent us dresses that were "Exclusive Designs" that were actually the intellectual property of other bridal companies. They are very shady. BEWARE.
Your Safest Approach
There are also formal gown websites that have dresses in stock or that will act as a broker between the Chinese manufacturer and you. The in-stock dresses can be limited on sizes and colors so don't be too disappointed if you get a notice back saying that the dress you ordered is no longer available. These dress companies have a warehouse that they keep dresses in so the order can be shipped shortly after it is received. Once again, try to be sure about the style you choose because most web-based stores do not give refunds unless there is a manufacturer defect.
The companies that act as a broker have done all of the hard work of finding the factories that make the quality products and have taken the losses for the dishonesty. Make sure the broker site is located in your country and not in China. If it is a Chinese company, you will be just paying for a middleman and really have no added benefit. We own a site that does just this and is based in Michigan. Visit hdtuxedo.comif you would like to try to order a dress from China or have a dress made from a picture.
Hopefully this article will help you make an informed decision about purchasing a dress direct from China. You can save 50%-80% by purchasing direct, but you could lose all your money and be left with rags to show for it. Be careful and make sure you do your homework before handing over your credit card information
