Monday, August 20, 2012

A Letter from Steve Lang, CEO and Owner of Moncheri Bridals, etal.

As Professionals in the Bridal Industry, we work hard every day to offer the best of the best products from the major designers in Wedding Dresses, Bridesmaids, Mothers of the Occasion, Social Special Occasion, Prom, and Quinciniera.  We have invested thousands of dollars to become "Authorized Retailers" by these companies we represent and we stand behind what we sell.  We would not be in this business if we were not dedicated.

I would like to share a very important Notice received by Mr. Steven Lang, the Owner and CEO of Moncheri Bridals, ect., one of the largest Bridal, Prom, Social Special Occasion companies.  Mr. Lang is making every effort to stop the Counterfeit Manufacturing of all overseas manufacturing of Bridals and other fashions, as this is becoming a major problem and effecting "Brick and Mortar" bridal Stores.  Being a "Brick and Mortar" store, I cannot stress further to stop buying from these overseas dealers.  They steal our ideas, and we resent this.  We put long hours meeting with clients only to get ideas from us and then try to purchase overseas.    I will say it again..you will never and cannot expect to get the same Bridal gown overseas that costs $300, that we sell for $2500 from a major designer!  It's a fact.  Save your money and tears....we know our Industry otherwise we would not represent it in the Professionalism we do today.

Here is Mr. Lang's letter..please read it, remember it when you sit at your computer shopping online at one of these websites:


Before Ordering Your Prom or Bridal Gown Online…. Beware!
You've searched hours, weeks or even months online scanning dozens of websites 
for your dream dress. Then you find a site with fantastic prices that beat the 
competition. The site features the same photos of dresses from designers that you 
recognize and respect. But the prices are half – or even less. Better yet, they offer 
to custom make your dress to fit your measurements instead of buying an off-therack size.
Sound too good to be true? Well, then it probably is! If you’re tempted to order a 
dress online and the price is super cheap, think again. The Internet is recently 
flooded with hundreds of websites selling knock-offs dresses. Instead of getting an 
authentic designer dress at a ridiculously low price, what you risk getting is a cheap 
counterfeit version coming to you directly from a factory in China.
Delivery to your home can take up to 30 days or longer and might not reach you in 
time for your event… and that’s if you even receive your order at all.
If you do get a dress from a knock-off site, it may or may not look like the picture 
on their website. The Chinese factories behind the slick websites are using the 
designers' copyrighted photos without permission. But the counterfeit sites lack 
the original patterns needed to sew the dresses. Instead, they try to duplicate them 
based on the photo taken by the original designer. As a result, a lot of guess work 
goes into the dress when it comes to construction, fabric and embellishments like 
beading and lace.
Do you really want to leave your once-in-a-lifetime-event prom dress or 
wedding dress to chance?
Here's how to spot a website selling knock-offs or counterfeit dresses:
 If designers are named on a website, find that designer’s website. Then 
check the Store Locator for a list of retailers authorized to sell their dresses. If 
the website/store is not listed, then beware that they are not selling true 
designer gowns.
 The Contact Us page should have a phone number and address listed (preferably 
within the US), not just an email, for customer service. If the site has a phone 
number or address in China, that’s a red flag. It might be difficult to contact 
them about your order given the time difference and the language barrier. 
Some U.S. phone numbers merely forward the calls to China so ask where you 
are calling. If the website claims that you can return the dress for a full refund you can be 
fairly certain that this is a China website. In most cases, Authorized Retailers 
for these dresses cannot take returns unless the merchandise has a factory 
defect. Many people who order from the counterfeit websites are not able to 
get refunds either unless the item is shipped back to China which can be very 
costly.
 The websites requests more than a few of your body measurements.
Professional dress and bridal shops in the USA typically rely on three to four 
key measurements as provided on size charts created by the designers.
 If the models heads are cropped off in the photos, this could be an attempt 
to try to disguise copyrighted photos the counterfeit sites are using without the 
permission of the designers.
Before placing your order directly from a Chinese counterfeit website please 
understand:
 You may not be able to get a refund if the dress you ordered arrives not as 
pictured
 If you are required to return the dress to China to get your refund, the shipping 
can be costly ($50-150 or more). Whether or not you will actually get your 
refund is not certain. You may end up with no dress and no money.
 Your local bridal and prom stores have no connection to these sites and can not 
help you with a refund. These dresses are only copies and the original 
designers or stores who sell them are in no way responsible for defective or 
poor construction.
 There is a pending lawsuit against these counterfeit websites. Once the lawsuit is 
won, shipping companies such as Fedex, UPS and DHL could begin seizing 
packages with dresses that arrive at U.S. Customs that have shipped from 
China labeled as "samples" so that the the American consumer can avoid 
paying the customs duties and taxes that are legally required. Your order could 
be one of the packages that are seized by the shipping companies and you 
may never receive it at all or be required to pay the taxes due before it's 
forwarded on to you.
 Consumers ordering merchandise directly from China are hurting American 
businesses that are facing loss of business resulting in layoffs of many 
American workers by stores and their suppliers.

Shop from "Brick and Mortar" stores for your wedding dress...I can say no more!

Here at Collezione Fortuna Fashion Boutique and Bridals, our wedding dresses are authentic, along with our Bridesmaids Collections.   We are "Authorized Retailers" for Allure Bridals,(Private Collection), Allure Bridesmaids, CB Couture, and their Private Collection. White One by Pronovias, Christina Wu, and their Private Collection, Bill Levcoff  Bridesmaid's, and other exclusives to our store in Carmel only.

We offer the best from these collections here locally.  For an appointment, give us a call (831)626-1287, or email us at collezionefortuna@yahoo.com.

Be educated, be wise!

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