RecycledBride

Selling FAQ

Becoming a Seller

It’s easy. Take a moment to sign up for a free account.

With a basic (free) account, you can sell 1 item on RecycledBride.com. If you'd like to sell more than 1 item, consider signing up for Recycled Bride Plus or Recycled Bride PRO.

Your Account is a control panel for all of the things you can do on Recycled Bride. Use it to create new ads, edit or delete your ads, change your password and more.

Selling Items

You can sell anything wedding-related. That includes wedding dresses, jewelry, bridesmaids dresses, shoes, decorations, ceremony items and groomswear. You can even sell your wedding gifts in our Registry Redux category.

No. Unlike other listing services, we don’t charge you a fee to post ads, and we take no commission on your sale. Recycled Bride is 100% free for individual sellers.

Click Sell in the top navigation, or start from within your Account and click on Create a New Ad. Then create and post an ad in five simple steps:

• Select your item category. Choose which of our twelve categories your item best fits into (Wedding Dresses, Veils, Decor & Table, etc)
• Describe your item. Fill in as many of the blank fields as you can. The more information you provide, the easier it will be for buyers to find your item when they search our database.
• Upload photos. You can choose up to six images for your ad.
• Provide pricing information. Tell buyers what your asking price is and about your terms of sale.
• Preview your ad. Review your ad to make sure that you’ve provided accurate information, then click “Post”.

Your ad will be instantly listed on Recycled Bride, and buyers can begin contacting you immediately.

You decide how much to charge for your items. Here are some standard pricing guidelines:

• New, unworn items with tags or in original boxes are usually discounted 20%-30% off retail prices.
• Once-used items in good condition can normally fetch 50% of their original retail price.
• Damaged and older items are typically listed at 60%-80% off their original price.

If you post an item that doesn’t receive many inquiries, it could be because you’ve priced it too high. Lower the price of an item you’ve listed using the Manage Ads tool to edit your ad.

Buyers will contact you using through Recycled Bride's secure messaging system. You'll be notified via email every time you have a new message on Recycled Bride, and can access your inbox from within your account.

Your name and personal information will never appear on RecycledBride.com. When you respond to a buyer's inquiry, only your first name and last initial will be revealed to them. It's up to you to reveal personally identifying details, only if and when you choose to.

When you sell an item, you are responsible for deleting your ad. Delete your ad by signing in to your Account and clicking on Manage Ads. Promptly deleting your ads after items have been sold is courteous to fellow Recycled Bride members, and prevents you from receiving unwanted inquiries about items that are no longer for sale.

No. You and the buyer make all payment and shipping arrangements on your own. See our Tips for Sellers for safe and easy transaction guidelines.

It’s important to use safe transaction practices when selling or buying online. See our Tips for Sellers for more information, and only sell your items to buyers who agree to use safe transaction practices.

Your ads will not expire unless you delete them. Recycled Bride reserves the right to delete your ads after one year, but will not do so without first attempting to contact you via e-mail to see if the item is still for sale.

Selling Tips

You should provide as much information as possible, which makes it easy for buyers to find your ad using our search tools. Write a detailed description of your item in the description box. It’s also important to include good, clear photos of your item in your ad.

If your item was used or worn in a wedding, you should post photos of it from the wedding day. You may also take your own photos of the item, but keep in mind that it’s difficult to see the shape of a dress when it’s on a hanger. Attire and accessories look best when they’re photographed being worn. Please do not post any images that you do not own the rights to, including images from the designer or manufacturer's website.

Use a digital camera to photograph your items during the daytime with as much natural light as possible. Take some photos that show the whole item, and others that focus on interesting details like beading or embroidery. If your camera has multiple settings, look for one that’s called “fine” or “macro” for the detail photos. Be sure to take clear pics of any area of your item that is stained, damaged or worn. You’ll ensure a smooth transaction if the buyer can see an honest representation of the item’s condition.

You can upload up to six images of the item you're selling. The first photo that you upload will be the largest in your ad. Start by clicking the first "Browse" button, then search through your computer's directory to locate your first image file. Repeat this step for the rest of the images. When you have found all of the photos you wish to upload, click the "Upload" button and wait a moment while we upload your images to RecycledBride.com. When the upload is complete, your images will appear as thumbnails on the page. These thumbnails may be cropped, but the images will appear fully sized in your ad. Once you see the thumbnails appear, click "Next" to continue creating your ad. You can always edit, delete or add more photos, even after your ad has been posted.

If you are having trouble uploading your images, please review the instructions above to make sure you're uploading correctly. If you still have problems, check the size of your images. For images bigger than 2MB, try uploading one image at a time. Also, be sure that your images are in .jpg, .jpeg, .gif or .png format, as these are the only image formats that Recycled Bride currently allows.

Terms of Sale are, simply put, your personal rules for the sale of your item. Some common terms of sale include “no returns” or “returns accepted within X days of receipt”. Some sellers don’t wish to ship their items and put “local pickup only” as a term of their sale. You can also determine in your Terms of Sale whether packing and shipping fees are included in your price, or if those costs will be the buyer’s responsibility. The more flexible your Terms of Sale, the easier it will be to sell your stuff.

Negotiate a Sale

Buyers will contact you through our secure messaging system. When you receive their inquiries, respond promptly and in detail to any questions they have about the item. You're free to arrange payment and shipping however you choose (see below for recommendations).

It’s up to you whether or not to accept their offer. You can politely respond to any offer and accept, make a counter-offer, or explain that your asking price is firm.

For large purchases, we recommend using a secure third-party escrow site like Escrow.com. Escrow.com charges a fee, but offers the best protection for both buyers and sellers by collecting, holding and disbursing funds according to your agreed-upon instructions. Escrow.com protects you with a simple, 5-step transaction process:

• Buyer and seller agree to Terms
• Buyer pays Escrow.com, where funds are temporarily and securely held
• Seller ships merchandise
• Buyer accepts the merchandise and goes to Escrow.com to release the payment
• Escrow.com pays the seller

You can also use PayPal. Paypal is a secure site and will never share your banking information. In the event of a dispute, Paypal has its own free Dispute Resolution Center.

If you don't already have a Paypal account, it's free and fast to set one up. All you need is your checkbook and your online banking information. Go to Paypal.com and sign up for a personal account. This account is free and can be used to send and receive money. Follow the steps for sign-up -- it will take you about five minutes to set up your account. Once you're registered, you can receive Paypal payments from buyers using just your e-mail address. You can also request payment from buyers directly through Paypal.

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We recommend using only very reputable escrow companies like Escrow.com. If a seller suggests another escrow service, it could be a scam. Just because an escrow company has a website, it doesn’t mean they’re legit.

Use caution when accepting these methods of payment from buyers. Either of these forms of payment can be falsified, so only accept a check or money order from a buyer you trust.

While it’s rare to encounter a fraudulent buyer on Recycled Bride, it can happen. Here are some signs that you've been contacted by a scammer:

• The inquiry comes from Africa; specifically Nigeria
• Very poor spelling and grammar
• Non-specific references to what you're selling (i.e. Instead of saying "I want to buy your wedding dress", it says, "I want to buy your item")
• An offer to pay more than your asking price
• A link to Paypal, where you are then asked to re-enter your information. Even if it looks like a real Paypal link, this is a scam, and you should never submit your information unless you've entered through Paypal's homepage at www.Paypal.com.
• An offer to pay via money order, Moneygram, or Western Union
• An offer of partial payments from multiple accounts
• A request for your social security number or bank account number to make a transfer.

If you've already responded to them, it's okay. We've never heard of any scam that can be perpetrated based on your e-mail address alone. Be sure not to give out any of your personal banking information, don't attempt to cash a check from the buyer in question, and don't ever send an item in the mail unless you've received and confirmed payment through a reliable method.

If you're unsure whether an inquiry is legitimate, just forward it to Recycled Bride and tell us what happened. We'll check it out for you. When you report fraud, you help us protect you and our other sellers from scammers. While we can't guarantee the honesty of everybody who uses our site, we have a zero-tolerance policy for scammers and immediately ban any user who violates our Terms of Service.

We recommend using a reliable shipping service that offers online package tracking such as FedEx, UPS or Express Mail from the USPS. A tracking number will confirm shipment and receipt of your package for both you and the buyer.

Absolutely! You should insure your package for the full value of the item.

If your item is delicate (like a wedding dress or glass vase), it’s best to leave packing to the professionals. Take your item to a shipping center that also provides packing services. Most disputes between buyers and sellers occur because an item was improperly packed and damaged during shipment.

It’s up to you and the buyer to decide who pays for packing and shipping. Decide who will pay for it before you finalize the sale. If you plan to allow the buyer to return the item, you should also agree in advance about who would be responsible for the return shipping fees.

Still Need Help?

If we didn’t answer your question here, please contact us and we’ll do our best to help you.

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