Discounts

I came across a post on one of my favorite local wedding blogs – The City Bride Blog - and thought that it is important that I share this.

Here it is!
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A Note on Negotiating
This post is very straight forward and completely my personal opinion. If you don't wish to know how about I feel about price negotiating, come back tomorrow for The City's Best premiere.

An email from a vendor in the local wedding industry sparked my thoughts regarding the act of negotiating prices during your planning process.

Many brides are planning a wedding on a budget and I totally respect (and suggest) that. However, constantly asking for a discount is inappropriate. You may not realize this, but when you ask for a discount you are decreasing the value of the service that a vendor is offering and you are flat out suggesting that their service isn't worth the money. The conversation can become awkward and also puts the vendor in an odd position. You are asking them to quickly decide between cheapening their value and making a sale or standing behind the quality of their service.

Now, since many vendors do offer an off-season or a non-Saturday discount, there is a proper way to discuss the matter. Simply ask the vendor for their different pricing structures and you can do the math yourself. If you do happen to find a vendor that does offer a discount don't continue to try and talk them down. It's just rude.

So, the next time you are considering approaching the topic of a discount, keep in mind the proper way to do so and remember that it may lead to an awkward conversation.
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As a boutique catering to brides our customers are constantly requesting discounts. So I thought this blog hit close to home for us. Our prices reflect the quality and value of our products. In addition these prices are required by the designers so there is not unfair competition in the marketplace. Finally, we have to pay our bills just like everyone else. We have overhead – rent, staff, heat, supplies, etc. etc. All of this plays into the factor of pricing. The prices aren’t there to rip our customers off. They represent the value of the product and all the hard work it takes to get that beautiful product into your hands. If there is a product out of your price range at the boutique we suggest finding something closer to your price range instead of requesting a discount. With ready-to-wear starting at $50 and bridal/bridesmaid starting at $140 we offer dresses in all price points.