eBrides on eBay

I have always been a fan of eBay. Whenever I need anything- from travel adapters to homewares, to a cheeky off-the-cuff jewellery purchase(!), it has always been my first port of call, so of course I felt no different when it came to buying for my wedding. When I couldn’t find a dress in stores, I bought my dress on eBay, when I wanted affordable, throwaway favours, eBay. For  photo booth and candy bar props… go on, take a guess! Below are a few reasons why I swear by e-purchasing, and a few tips on how to do it and get it right. Enjoy!

• Online markets like eBay are perfect for finding quality used items / cheap new ones - after all, it’s true that one mans rubbish is another mans treasure and this site alone is so vast, that you are bound to find what you are looking for, regardless of how specific you think you're being.

• The bonus to eBay is that amongst the millions of Jo's and Janes, there are tons and tons of past brides logged on and waiting for people to bid on and get rid of their old wedding bits and bobs and a lot of the time, because so many people discount "used" items as tat, they go for cheap! By recycling, you are helping them and more importantly, helping yourself! ...And why shouldn't you?!

• Use one of the worlds biggest online "shops" to find everything from dresses and shoes to favours and cakes. Some transport and marquee hire services even use eBay listings as a point of contact for enquiries, so you really could plan an entire wedding from the one site! (if any of you reading this, are doing / have done this, please email me!- I am also going to try and do this- a post on my attempts to follow soon!)

• It is also getting more and more common for small businesses and large companies to both have eBay outlets running alongside their standalone / web stores. These options offer good opportunity to put on your best smiley and haggle. Smaller businesses tend to list items with large quantities of stock. By purchasing several (in the case of favours etc.) it is quite easy to request discount either for multiple purchase, or on postage. More often than not, the seller will offer discount. Don't ask, don't get.

• As for the larger stores- there are now increasingly more and more "offificial" fashion sellers on eBay. The majority of which sell items with no faults at all- they are simply past season. This could be a great opportunity for picking up bridesmaids dresses and the like... For sellers guaranteed to be selling top quality goods, check the outlet section of the site, which is linked from the eBay homepage- these sellers have to provide items New with Tags as part of their contracts and also have decent returns policies to match their standard stores.

• Alternatively, using a bit of savvy, you can generally pick out your decent sellers just by checking out their past feedback, selling history and eBay ratings. "Shops" and eBay rated sellers have to conform to strict eBay policies to earn these badges, so 99.9% of the time, you can trust that they are legit.

• The added bonus with eBay is the ability to pay via Paypal. eBay in itself offers buyer protection for purchases to ensure you are never caught short, but the security Paypal offers for online purchases is an added perk, safeguarding your personal account details and protecting the transaction. When buying goods from abroad, it also converts the currency automatically- so no hassle!

• One thing to remember when you are buying goods from abroad is that over a certain value, you will be required to pay import duty and VAT. The charges are relatively small however and should not deter you from buying from outside of the UK if you have managed to find yourself a bargain to beat all others!

•  Items are listed in one of two formats- Auction and Buy it Now. Buy it now is great for goods that aren’t likely to be fought over- ordinary items that may not be considered “unique” or desirable (like in-style clothing or currently trending “vintage” items), whereas Auction is great for finding these more sought after items starting at low prices- great if you are prepared to fight for it! Keep a level head though and try and set yourself a top price you would be willing to pay, otherwise it is very easy to get swept up in those final seconds of bidding, to end up paying well over the odds!

The best thing about the whole thing though is you can literally buy anything on eBay, and from anywhere in the world! You could buy your dress from China, your Favours from America, your shoes from Australia- and combine them all to produce an unforgettable wedding, completely different to everything available in the UK- the envy of all your friends. It’s your one-stop-unique-wedding shop!

Happy bidding!