Buyers FAQ
Everything you might want to ask first
How a dress gets listed, how the money moves, and what happens between reserving a dress and wearing it. If your question is not here, the policy pages at the bottom go further.
Is my payment safe?
Yes.
Your money does not go straight to the seller. Encore holds it until the dress is in your hands and you have had a chance to check that it matches the listing. If it does not, you say so and the money stays put until a person here looks at it.
Want the technical details?Listing a dress
Selling starts with a short application, so every closet on Encore is a real person.
How do I list a dress?
Create an account, then open Sell with Encore from your account page and send a short application with your city and a note about what you plan to sell.
Once you are approved, use your seller dashboard to add the dress: title, designer, size, colour, condition, price, and photographs. Publish it and it appears in the shop straight away.
What makes a good listing?
Four to six photographs in daylight: the full dress on a hanger or on you, the back, the fabric close up, the label, and anything a buyer would want to see honestly, including marks or repairs.
Write the measurements you actually took, not only the size on the tag. Buyers reserve faster when the description is specific.
What does Encore charge?
Encore takes a commission from the sale once the money settles. The rate is shown in your seller dashboard before you publish, and every sale has a line by line breakdown in your wallet.
Listing a dress is free. When a buyer chooses shipping, the courier price is quoted live at checkout and paid by the buyer, and Encore buys the prepaid label.
How payments work
Two payments, both held by Encore, so neither side has to take a leap of faith.
What do I pay, and when?
You pay a twenty five percent deposit to reserve the dress, which takes it off the market for you. You pay the remaining balance before the dress is handed over or shipped.
Both payments run through Stripe. Encore never sees or stores your full card number.
Where does my money sit?
Your balance payment stays with Encore through Stripe and is not passed to the seller right away. It is released to the seller once you confirm the dress arrived as described, or automatically twenty four hours after handover if you say nothing. Encore is not a bank and does not operate a regulated escrow service; this is a delayed payout held on the payment platform.
If something is wrong, open a dispute before that window closes and the money stays frozen until a person at Encore reviews it.
Is tax included?
Sales tax is calculated on the listing page and shown separately at checkout, so the total you see is the total you pay.
Can I save a card?
Yes. Save a debit or credit card once from your account and checkout takes a moment next time. The card lives with Stripe; Encore only keeps the brand, the last four digits, and the expiry so you can recognise it.
After you buy
From the moment the deposit clears to the moment the seller is paid.
What happens right after I reserve?
The seller is notified, the dress is marked as yours, and the reservation appears in your account with the next step spelled out.
How does delivery work?
Choose local pickup and you get a pickup code to read out at handover. Choose delivery and Encore buys the prepaid courier label, so shipping costs you nothing extra.
Once the dress is paid in full, the tracking number and its status appear on your account and order pages.
What if the dress is not as described?
Do not confirm receipt. Open a dispute from your order page with photographs. The balance stays held while a person at Encore reviews both sides, and refunds go back to the card you paid with.
Can I leave a review?
Yes, and only buyers with a completed order can, which is why every review on Encore is marked verified.
Still deciding?
Browse what is available today, or read how payments are held and released in full.