Another happy cha cha

[Katarzyna]

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Ballroom-Designs-by-Spot-Turn_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQfsubZ0QQftidZ2QQpZ2QQtZkm

so I dont have personal issues with this maker, but it looks to me like they claim to make those to measure.. all the dresses they have are from Marabo gallery or their current offerings...

but this seller has some past sales with good feedback...

[etp777]

Interesting, 230-260 pounds seems rather high for most of these makers, least, from vague memories of looking at rainbow shiu's listings (who is not in same class, as that seller at least does use their own pictures, etc, just meant in the same inexpensive dress/korean stone/etc group on ebay).

[Katarzyna]

I know, the price is really low if they can create the real product but really high for all the ebay copies.. dont know what to think of this.. but I emailed Marabo to let them know someone is using all their photos

[Katarzyna]

I just talked to Marabo and they said they noticed this as well. they said they wrote to teh auction owner to remove the photos but got no response.. they said they dont know what to do to have their product photos removed from teh auction.. I recommended teh vero program.. does anyone remember from the other happy cha cha thread wha twas the name of the program again.. I think it was VERO?

so with this in mind, beware when ordering from this seller

[Me]

Here is the link outlining how to use the VERO program. Just warn them that it takes time, and that they may end up having to fax paperwork multiple times before anything is done.

http://pages.ebay.com/help/tp/vero-rights-owner.html

[Katarzyna]

Thank you, I sent them a link.. hope they can fix it... they mentioned they are aware of other listings stealing their photos as well

[etp777]

well, me beat me to it.

Man, we went 18 pages on this last time. Hopefully this one is resolved faster. :) The price thing still intrigues me though. Looking at shiu's listings again (sorry to keep using them as example, always first one to mind, as supposedly my pro uses them. Haven't asked her, heard it second hand from a student, so may not be true. I won' talk to pro about her costumes, don't want to sound like I'm pushing my mom's costumes, mainly because I know I would be :) but also know the pros in area don't make much).

[danceislove]

well here is a little more insight into the quality...
they are not using swarovskis and they dress you receive is not identical to the picture...

the listing says:

"Standard stoning is Rhinestone. Please contact us for a Swarowski quotation.

Your dress will be a match of the photo above but not an identical copy, for two reasons. Firstly decoration is, of course, completed by hand and therefore is applied with individual flair. Secondly nobody wants an identical dress. My daughter wouldn't want to come face to face with the same dress at a competition and we are sure neither would you!"

[Joe]

Well, that's certainly not an unreasonable thing to say...

[Katarzyna]

Sounds reasonable. All I know is they are not allowed to use the Marabo photos but I guess Marabo didnt do anything about it

[danceislove]

Well, that's certainly not an unreasonable thing to say...

I didn't say it was unreasonable. People were wondering how they were going to make a Marabo quality gown for that price, the answer is that they are not.

[etp777]

Actually, Kat and I were wondering other way, danceislove. :) Were commenting that this seller is actually priced rather high, compared to some of the other people making copies like this. So seller is either priced really low if making dresses of marabo quality (doubtful, as even the stones would eat up too much of price), or more likely, they were on very high end, price wise, of the knock-off/copy market.

[danceislove]

Actually, Kat and I were wondering other way, danceislove. :) Were commenting that this seller is actually priced rather high, compared to some of the other people making copies like this. So seller is either priced really low if making dresses of marabo quality (doubtful, as even the stones would eat up too much of price), or more likely, they were on very high end, price wise, of the knock-off/copy market.

Yes I read that. I was adding some info to your conversation. She obviously is not making high quality gowns. One would hope that at that price they would be much better than rainbow, but if they aren't swarovskis I can't see how they would be worth anything. imo.

[etp777]

Heh, you sound like my mom. :) Swarovskis or nothing.

[tanya_the_dancer]

Yes I read that. I was adding some info to your conversation. She obviously is not making high quality gowns. One would hope that at that price they would be much better than rainbow, but if they aren't swarovskis I can't see how they would be worth anything. imo.

She could be using czekh stones which are cheaper than swarovski, but still better and more expensive than korean. Also, she is based in England. and everything sold there seems to be much more expensive, sometimes things sold there cost more pounds than dollars for similar item sold in US. Even take something like Dance Bible DVD, which is same no matter where you buy it - the cost difference between buying it from UK website and australian website was over $100 USD.

[danceislove]

Heh, you sound like my mom. :) Swarovskis or nothing.

Once you've made the mistake of stepping out onto the floor in Korean rhinestones, you'll never make that mistake again trust me ;)

Unless of course you've never seen a dress with Swarovskis...

[etp777]

Misunderstood what you were trying to say, danceislove. Sorry. :)

[chica latina]

I have a question.. I was about to buy a used dress from the website call dreamgown...but the dress is being sold. They offer to make a replicate of it. Should i be concerned that the quality will not be the same? Has anyone bought anything from this website?

[Katarzyna]

I think most things sold there are made by them so you can expect same quality. I never bought one from them but heard good things about this site from people

[Joe]

Once you've made the mistake of stepping out onto the floor in Korean rhinestones, you'll never make that mistake again trust me ;)

Unless of course you've never seen a dress with Swarovskis...
Let me guess--you drive a M-B?

[tanya_the_dancer]

Once you've made the mistake of stepping out onto the floor in Korean rhinestones, you'll never make that mistake again trust me ;)

Unless of course you've never seen a dress with Swarovskis...

I had dresses with Korean stones for several years, until I felt my dancing got good enough to merit a better, and therefore much pricier dress.

[etp777]

Heh, yeah, Tanya, the Swarovskis sure add up. Even with discounted rates teachers here get on dresses, and fact that a lot of them stone it themselves (so aren't paying the big chunk of most dresses' price, the labor for all the stoning), just the stones themselves cost a good chunk.

Interesting, hadn't priced out the Czech ones before. On AB in particular, big price difference between the czech and the swarovski.

[danceislove]

Let me guess--you drive a M-B?

MB? I don't know what that is?

[NURDRMS]

I'm guessing Mercedes Benz

[danceislove]

I'm guessing Mercedes Benz

I most certainly do not drive a mercedes! I happen to drive a 10 year old car for your info. Because I say swarov. are better does not imply that I am loaded it simply implies that I like to not look cheap on the dance floor. Maybe you intended that as a joke, but it came across as pretty rude.
You know what they about assumptions...

[Joe]

No--what do they about assumptions?

[tanya_the_dancer]

I most certainly do not drive a mercedes! I happen to drive a 10 year old car for your info. Because I say swarov. are better does not imply that I am loaded it simply implies that I like to not look cheap on the dance floor. Maybe you intended that as a joke, but it came across as pretty rude.
You know what they about assumptions...

Well, you did say that buying a dress with Korean stones is a mistake, and that came across somewhat rude, too. Like people who buy cheaper dresses have no clue what they're doing. I would say that nobody expects a $200 dress look like a $2000 dress, and is when you're starting out, a dress under $200 USD can take you through your first comps just fine. And later on one can upgrade. Otherwise it begins to sound like that lady who writes chrisanne style column in dancebeat and thinks that everyone should spend $$$ on a designer dress, regardless of their dance level.

[Katarzyna]

I agree with you here, I was very happy to get my first gown with korean stones from rainbow. :) it was more than good enough for bronze or silver college comps

[BM]

My first - and only, since I no longer compete in Standard - Standard dress was a $100 custome rush order from Rainbow Shiu, with no stones on it. It certainly was not a couture dress, but it worked. I later coughed up another hundred to buy Swarovski stones, and stoned the dress myself. Not only did I save at least $300 (Rainbow would have charged me at least $500 to stone it with Swarovski), but I scored plenty of compliments on the dress and the stoning once I finished it. For Bronze through Gold, I considered myself plenty presentable with my dress. :)

[Larinda McRaven]

I think starter gowns are just fine, with Korean-Czeck-Austrian whatever stones. People will pay whatever they can afford or want to blow on a dress. And there is no standard for what one "should" wear. If someone goes out on the floor in Korean stones and feels less shiney that is up to them, if someone thinks spending 3k+ on a dress is ridiculous that is fine too. Everyone just want to go on the floor and feel beautiful, however they manage to do it.

[danceislove]

I'm too tired to argue and defend myself. I will just simply say that I have been misunderstood and leave it at that. If I came across as rude it was unintentional.

[Katarzyna]

I'm too tired to argue and defend myself. I will just simply say that I have been misunderstood and leave it at that. If I came across as rude it was unintentional.
I understand your point.. there is a HUGE difference in quality.. and when you upgrade, it isnt possible to go back to korean stones.. classy stoneless seems like a better option on budget than

[danceislove]

I understand your point.. there is a HUGE difference in quality.. and when you upgrade, it isnt possible to go back to korean stones.. classy stoneless seems like a better option on budget than

Thank you Kat. That was all I meant. It was not an attack on beginner dresses.

[biggestbox]

Did anyone know/can confirm that Maria (as in eugene and maria) at one time didn't wear any stones?

[Larinda McRaven]

Maria had a time when all she wore were basic black dresses with no stones.

[Chris Stratton]

Once you've made the mistake of stepping out onto the floor in Korean rhinestones, you'll never make that mistake again trust me ;)

So how long is it going to take before someone else learns how to properly align a grinding machine?

Or do they save money on consumables by letting the facets get out of alignment before they replace the wheels or whatever?

[rjcbear]

Maria had a time when all she wore were basic black dresses with no stones.

Larinda,

would you be so ind to clearify it please?

[Dancebug]

Larinda,

would you be so ind to clearify it please?
I thought she meant Maria looked really good when she wore a basic black dress without any stone decoration. I did not like that dress, but....

[SDsalsaguy]

Larinda,

would you be so ind to clearify it please?
There was a period of time where Maria always wore black dresses without any stones.

[danceislove]

So how long is it going to take before someone else learns how to properly align a grinding machine?

Or do they save money on consumables by letting the facets get out of alignment before they replace the wheels or whatever?

I'm sorry I don't understand?