NOW… ABOUT MSRP AND ETHICS…

NOW… ABOUT MSRP AND ETHICS…

•“MSRP” stands for Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price. A “line” is a particular company or designer from whom a bridal store purchases and carries in their store. All bridal stores, who have a good history of business ethics and associate with well known, reputable designers, are required to sell at MSRP and never below. We, the bridal stores, can choose to sell over MSRP, and many of us do, so that expenses, overhead and payrolls are covered. The formula varies, geographically, and the actual profit margin is quite minimal. Most bridal store owners open shops for the quality of life which being a small business owner brings; not for the “oodles and oodles” of money people seem to think we make. Here are some of our favorite questions regarding pricing:
•WHO WILL KNOW IF YOU SELL UNDER MSRP?
We love this question. Well in reality, probably no one, unless we get mystery shopped by the company – which is happening more and more frequently. Because a lot of bridal stores are struggling with the economic turmoil, there is a lot more price competition. One bridal store may have a gown priced at MSRP and a bride comes in with an email stating that the other bridal store in the next town will sell it for $200 less. Will you match it? Unfortunately, no. A bridal store which is caught selling under MSRP can have the line revoked and any orders placed, eliminated. We are proud of the lines we carry, and will not risk losing them. However, we are not in the business of going out of business… so, no we may not match a price on a custom ordered gown that is $200 below MSRP (that’s just crazy) but, we will work with you. Periodically, we will offer free veils, discounts on shoes, accessories, bridemaids, etc. when you purchase a gown through us. Now, we know this may be bad news for brides who are on a very very tight budget these days. And we are certainly not naive. We know all brides shop around. But we will tell you this, please, please, please question WHY and HOW a bridal store is able to offer you an ordered gown that is significantly less than what you were quoted by other stores. There is, unfortunately, a lot of trans-shipping and less than ethical dealings in this industry, which should be better regulated. But we can say this – we try our best to offer our customers the best gowns at best prices, and sure, we are not going to be able to satisfy everyone… but hey, we sleep well at night.
•I REALLY REALLY LOVE… (insert your favorite designer here)… BUT YOU DON’T CARRY IT.
WE LOVE YOUR STORE AND WANT TO BUY FROM YOU. CAN YOU GET IT FOR US?
Awww… we get this all the time and we love hearing it! Thanks to all you girls who just want to buy from us!! That says alot!
As much as we would LOVE to sell you a gown and be a part of your wedding, we can only order from the lines we carry. Some might call us crazy, and some might even say that is a poor business decision. Well, let us tell it as it is. Bridal stores spend A-L-O-T of money on the designers they carry. Believe it or not, we are required to order twice a year (Spring and Fall) and typically, there is a 8 – 12 piece minimum on orders. We won’t tell you how much that sets us back, but we’ll tell you that it is a boat load of money. So, lets break this down. If bridal stores invest all that money in select lines, we obviously want to sell those select lines. When a bridal store says “yes, we can get you a line that we don’t carry” they are doing several injustices. First, they may be doing what is called “trans-shipping” (mentioned in the previous question). Trans-shipping is when bridal store A, which does not carry the line, has a connection or an “in” with bridal store B which does carry the requested line. Bridal store A tells you yes, I can order you the gown even though I don’t carry it… because they don’t want to lose the sale. Bridal store A will then take your money and place the order NOT with the manufacturer directly, but rather with bridal store B. Now, that’s all fine and dandy, but it’s an enormous risk to you. What if the dress comes in wrong, what if it is damaged, what if the dress does not come in at all, what if, what if, what if… way too many what if’s for us. So, what could happen really? Well, bridal store A does not have the backing of the manufacturer to correct the problems, but instead, has to rely on bridal store B that ordered the gown, to resolve the issues… if they are even willing to do so because they have their own customers to take care of. Ugh… what a nightmare in the making.

The other injustice, which probably hits a little harder is the fact that once a bridal store agrees to order a gown from a line which they don’t carry, they are really hurting the other bridal shops that DID really invest their hard earned money into those lines. They are taking away the sale from a store that worked hard to get that particular line. We will not partake in such ethics. There are sooooo many lines out there. If someone comes in looking for a designer we don’t carry, we send them to the shop where we know they carry it. Plain and simple. It’s an integrity thing…

And once again, we thank all those lovely ladies who plead with us to get them that dress because they want to buy from us… we know you understand… We will be happy to sell you whatever we got in our store or help you find a store which carries the line you are looking for!

Compliments of a store in PA......