EDMONTON – Weddings can be pricey, which is why many budget-conscious brides have been turning to Kijiji in hopes of finding bargains. The online route has left some brides burned by deals that ended up being too good to be true. It’s allowed others, though, to buy everything they need for their big day at rock-bottom prices.
Andreaia Ribeiro is one of the lucky ones.
“I’ve used it for everything,” she says proudly. “I’ve found my justice of the peace. I have found my flower lady, my cake lady, my photographer, my limo, my makeup artists. I have found my decorations..my favours, my outfits for my boys.”
The boys’ ringbearer outfits, which still had the tags on them, cost her $7 each. Her headpiece only set her back $20. And she’ll be paying about one-third of the $700 she was quoted for flowers elsewhere. But the biggest price difference is what she’ll be paying for the photographer: $1,000, down from the $5,000 fee she was given off Kijiji.
“I find if you go through Kijiji and you deal with a small business they are more willing to work with you in negotiating price,” Ribeiro explains.
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However, as some brides have learned the hard way, you don’t always get what you expect.
Shaela Dumler was almost in tears over the issues she encountered after booking her photographer through Kijiji. Not only did her photographer become difficult to reach; on the morning of the wedding, a girl she had never met showed up to the hotel saying she was the back-up photographer. In the end, she ended up being the only one snapping professional pictures because the photographer’s camera apparently broke.
It turned out that the company was going under; its website was soon nowhere to be found, and its phone number was out of service.
Lisa Grotkowski encountered a similar situation with her wedding caterer. Despite trying to do her due diligence by calling the chef’s references, she got a letter from him less than a month before the wedding, saying he wouldn’t be able to cater her wedding due to a medical condition.
So how do you ensure you’re not taken advantage of when using Kijiji to do your wedding planning?
According to Ribeiro, getting a contract is the number one thing you can do to protect yourself.
“You must have a contract,” she stresses. “Have details written up (outlining expectations, date, time, price). So even though a verbal agreement can back you up, if there’s nobody else there with you – that’s your word against (theirs). It doesn’t really take you very far.”
Ron Mycholuk with the Better Business Bureau agrees, and even suggests taking it a step further.
“If you’re going through Kijiji,” he says, “keep messages, keep text messages..ask for a copy of the person’s drivers license..so if anything were to happen you might have some recourse.”
Another tip: trust your gut.
“If your gut feeling is telling you don’t go with this person, you don’t have to choose to go with them,” Ribeiro says.
She also advises meeting in public and making sure you follow-up. If you don’t do that, you run the risk of either being forgotten or never hearing from the vendor again.
And if an ad seems too good to be true, it can be.
“Do your research and always shop around.”
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