By Paul Pannone

An ongoing eWedNewz investigation shifts from the usual wedding industry politics and debate of whether Steve Lang– or anybody– should be at the forefront of a movement to stem the growing concerns involving the online sale of knock-off merchandise. Lang is bashed by a rising number of pundits that say they have a better way to fight the fight but mysteriously stay behind the scenes, dropping comments and criticism without all the facts.

Industry members who’ve supported Lang from the start step forward to make public statements supporting the way he has carried forward plans outlined at the start of the campaign and remains focused on seeing them through. But the movement could face greater opposition and possibly stall, as pledges and promises slow.

The American Bridal & Prom Industry association faces political pressure by pundits who can’t get past their distaste for the organization’s leader.

Lang critics say they doubt his sincerity and refuse to take his words for face value, choosing instead to dream up reasons why he should not be supported. Meanwhile the real victims– consumers– are being ripped off by websites that fail to provide the service and quality deserved by brides planning the biggest day of their life.

In the Wedding Water Cooler discussions focused on the Consumer part of the issue faulting them for their greed and wanting the highest quality for the cheapest prices. Politics aside some of the members including Jim Duhe, one of the supporters for Lang’s campaign, defended the average online buyer.

“Who are these consumers who buy dresses online — sight unseen?  They’re ordinary people — not unlike you and me — except that they know nothing about the bridal retail business.  Many don’t want to “negotiate” a price.  They just want to pay a price that they can afford for something that they want — without haggling and without negotiation.   They are people who aren’t familiar with custom ordered merchandise or the meaning of the term.  Many  confuse “custom order” with custom made.  They are people who have sticker shock when they look at the price tag on the gown they want at a bridal shop.  Their bridal gown is the most expensive single garment that some of these women ever have or will purchase.  They’re people who usually shop at Macy’s or Target or Walmart.  Many aren’t accustomed to the “service” that a bridal shop provides and therefore don’t understand it or place no value upon it.

To many of us in the business, a $500 gown is inexpensive.  These people — just like you and me — think that $500 is a lot of money for a dress that will be worn for just a few hours.  If they feel that way about a $500 gown, how do you think they feel about a $2,500 gown?  They are people who are becoming increasingly more comfortable with buying many things online and being pleased with their purchase and/or the dollars that they saved by shopping online.  They may be fools for trusting that the gown in the picture will be the gown that they can own for $99 — but — they’re our fools — they’re our customers — they’re our bread and butter.  Believe it or not, they can and do survive without us.  However, we can’t survive without them.  It’s up to us to save them from themselves.

When your customer visits one of the counterfeit web sites, she sometimes can read an endless number of comments by other “consumers” who report positive experiences with merchandise purchased from this site.   She has become accustomed to review sites that provide legitimate consumer comments.  Your customer has no reason to believe that reviews on a counterfeit site are phony.  She wants to believe what she reads.  Your customers always will view your warning about counterfeit sites with some degree of suspicion.  After all it’s your role to sell her an expensive gown — not to recommend a web site that will undermine your profit.   The gravity of this situation is compounded by the fact that counterfeit gown sites aren’t reviewed by Wedding Wire or any of the other retail review sites.  More importantly, the review sites provide no warning to consumers about the likelihood of fraud when buying from the counterfeit sites.

While this situation represents a bloody war, that doesn’t mean that each of us can’t or shouldn’t play a role in fighting and winning a few of the battles.  Steve is off to a great start and continues to play a crucial role.  He has taken the first step.  However, none of us should count on any one resource to fight and win all the battles.

For starters, manufacturers should issue a strong policy statement on their web sites regarding the the dangers of buying any gown from an unauthorized dealer or on ANY web site.   Sounds easy?  No.  It isn’t.  The majority of manufacturers sell to retailers who sell their gowns on line.  Manufacturers don’t necessarily want to admit that they sell to online retailers — even if they are legitimate.  Moreover, how can a consumer differentiate between a legitimate online retailer and a counterfeit retailer if the manufacturer is incapable of doing it?  Unfortunately, many manufacturers have unclean hands.

I have no sway with retail review sites.  However, the manufacturers who support them with advertising dollars definitely have a voice.  The second step is to insure that ALL review sites issue warning statements about internet gown purchases and counterfeit web sites.   It isn’t enough for a single manufacturer to demand this of the review sites.   A large group of important manufacturers should speak with the same voice and offer a consolidated front.

Similarly, all bridal publications — both regional and national — should include statements warning consumers about the dangers of internet gown purchases.  Ideally, publications should include this information on their web sites as well.  This is easy enough and most of the major players already have agreed to cooperate — but most isn’t ALL.

Third . . . all bridal show operations should be prepared to issue statements about internet gown purchases and counterfeit web sites.  This should be a standard statement in every show program and on every show website.

Fourth . . . all bridal retailers should include a statement on their web sites regarding internet gown purchases and counterfeit web sites.  Rather than steer away from the topic, retailers should address the issue as part of every sales pitch — address it as an objection to closing the sale.

Fifth . . . every bridal publication and bridal web site should publish any and all negative statements made by consumers regarding internet and counterfeit gown purchases.  Ideally, every bridal blog should carry a statement about internet gown sales and counterfeit gown sites as well.

If you can think of any other way to publicize this problem, I certainly wouldn’t be offended by your making an addition to this list.  Some of the most gifted and brilliant people in the industry read Paul Pannone’s NewZ stories.  They don’t always agree with them — but they read them.  It’s time to involve all of them in addressing this problem.  Again . . . if you’re not willing to be a part of the solution, you are definitely a part of the problem.

Rather than dismiss the consumer who is burned by a counterfeit gown purchase, we should all embrace them and offer sincere condolences for the death of their innocence as an internet shopper.  Be prepared not to win every argument on this topic.  After all, there are warnings on every cigarette package but people still smoke,” according to Duhe.

Duhe mentions “most is not all” when it comes to participation, leading eWedNewz back to the political portion of the debate. eWedNewz investigates further and found major manufacturers who have not come on board and have stopped communicating with Lang. In one case an original pledge of $50,000 dollars shrunk to only $10,000 from the IBMA. The organization continues to hold on to over $250,000 dollars in funds collected over its existence.

In the interim eWedNewz discovered Lang intends to make good on his original plan to provide affordable health care to all size wedding industry business members through the ABPIA organization umbrella. Lang told eWedNewz he is interviewing insurance companies who may qualify to provide health care to the group members, making the $100 membership fee more than reasonable.

Overnight, voters who feel there is a fair-to-excellent chance of beating online piracy in the wedding business dropped two points, down from 75% to 73%. 16% of poll results so far say it will be an impossible  task.

What do you think?

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