Best Tuxedo Deals: Buy a Tux Cheaper than a New York Rental

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Great Tux is family owned & operated:

Omaha, NE (402) 339-7775

What the "Stuffed Shirt" Crowd Knows About Saving Money That You Don't

"Regular Guy" Info You Need Now

Should I Buy a Tuxedo?

The rule that applies to me applies to you, too. In the tuxedo rental industry, formal wear rental prices are determined by profitability. By the third tux rental, the goods start turning a profit. In the case of owning, the rule of thumb is the same: If you buy a tuxedo, it should "pay for itself" by the third time you wear it.

To determine if owning a tuxedo is in your best interest, you need to know the "going rate" for tux rental prices in your area. Make a few calls. Find out what formal wear rental goes for in your area. Get the rental rate for a tuxedo you would love to own. Multiply that number by three, and if you can buy a tuxedo for less, you’ve hit a home run! That is a tuxedo on the cheap-not a “cheap tuxedo.”

Now, I would be surprised if your local tuxedo shop were selling tuxes. But they might, so check that out first. Armed with the prices you find here, you could do some serious arm-twisting. Keep in mind that you will be responsible for all applicable taxes. On our site, shipping is FREE for orders over $99 (which, of course covers all Complete Tuxedo Packages) and only Nebraska residents pay sales tax. It adds up, so mind those p’s and q’s (pennies and quarters).

Now for the “Money Shot”. I have gone out on the web and canvassed dozens of sites. I took down the prices on the top 6. All the tuxedo packages are of brand new garments fresh out of the box. I used a standard package that all the sites have in common, so it’s a true apples-to-apples comparison. The jacket and pants are all long lasting 100% Virgin Wool garments. That gives you a sense of where these folks are price-wise.

The Tuxedo Package we are comparing includes the following garments:

One button notch black Tuxedo Jacket (100% Wool)
Standard Tuxedo Pant      ( also 100% Wool)
Wing collar ¼” pleat Formal Shirt
Black Cummerbund &
Black Bow Tie

GreatTux’s price tag on this package is $189 and includes FREE shipping.

The next closest bumps up against $200 at $199.95, free shipping, 5% more money. Or, you can pay $209.95 for this package, an 11% increase. The strangest thing is that the sites with “discount” or “less” in their names are astonishing expensive, at 21% increase for a $228.95 package price and a whopping 79% more at $339.

Now remember we are talking about the exact same garments.

You can pay $189 to $339. Your choice.

It’s not a coincidence that our site has the lowest price. You would expect me to do the research, right? And that fact exactly makes my point: Once you know how this works, you can easily take advantage of the purchasing power of the internet to get the formal wear garments you want at the best possible price.

In fact, if you can find this Tuxedo Package on any bona fide web site, a company that is offering this exact Tuxedo Package to the public for less than $189 with no shipping costs, I’ll double the difference to you. That’s how confident I am that this is the lowest price available in the US. for the Tuxedo Package described in the price comparison.

That means I would be able to buy the same package you are telling me about. All day long, any quantity. (I know how creative some of you can be, so knock yourselves out and see if you can come up with a better offer!)

So far, so good. However, I don’t know many guys under the age of 60 (unless they are musicians) who are going to get a cummerbund and bow tie? Give me a break! Oh, and the wing collar is pretty much out of style, too. Traditionalists don't like to hear it, but almost all the tuxedos put out the door have a laydown collar shirt, not a wing.

Next level: vest and Windsor. Cool. Now you have some options. Yet most of the sites out there are playing it safe and showing you a plain black vest with absolutely no pattern or pizzazz and a solid long tie, also black. Fine if that is what you want or need.

But whatever happened to good old American choices? Don’t be afraid to juice it up. Get the red vest you (or she) wants. If she is going to spend a couple of “C” notes on a dress (just look away when the bill for the shoes, hair, purse, make-up, etc comes in. It’s easier that way.), you ought to have a tuxedo that can keep up. At prices that run less than a suit, you might as well have what you want.

Let’s do the math. Here are the add-ons and prices you can expect to pay for them;Full vest and long tie: starting at about $59.
If you are wondering why no one ever quotes shoes in a complete package, it’s because of industry tradition. A certain number of customers are going to opt out of buying shoes, so it’s easier to just quote a lower price then do the add-on thing than subtract out the price of a pair of shoes. Once that gets started, everyone sort of has to follow suit (pardon the pun) or else their price looks too high, and the customer moves on.

To add a new pair of shoes to the tuxedo package, expect to pay $49 - $89. More than that, and you need to be considering getting real leather, in my opinion. So the real money for complete tuxedo packages, all new garments (100% Wool jacket and pants) including a fullback vest and Windsor-type tie with shoes is $297 - $457. In many major US cities, a tuxedo rental is around $200, so upping the ante by $100 and hanging the tuxedo back in your closet instead of at the tux shop is looking like a pretty good deal if you are going to wear it again.

If you are in the Midwest and other areas where the rental rate for black tie formal wear is closer to $100, again, you need to get a third wearing to get to that break even point. If you are renting a tuxedo once a year for a company awards banquet, you might want to figure in other factors such as convenience or pride of ownership to take the plunge. It’s your call, of course. The numbers are here for your consideration. If you compare owning a tuxedo to the last suit you purchased, you can see that it isn’t a huge sacrifice to put a tuxedo in the closet. To get a whole outfit from neck to toes under $500 is a pretty good value, all in all.

Number 2: The bottom line is the only number that matters.

I have a personal beef with the practice of showing a mark-down from some imaginary retail price. I guess the idea is to impress you with how much you could be paying if you never, ever shopped, you had just won the lottery, and you had some strange need to spend hundreds of dollars more than anyone anywhere was charging for comparable goods. Posting mark-downs is appropriate for seasonal sales and true price reductions. Unless the merchant “tags” the mark-down to a benchmark, I’m always suspicious that someone is trying to pull the wool over my eyes and “dumb me down.”

As you know, MSRP stands for Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price. In market segments where MSRP exists, retailers are prohibited from advertising those goods below that benchmark. They can sell below that benchmark, and in that case, a mark-down price would be appropriate to display on their site. However, just so you know, After Six Formal Wear does not, never has and probably never will post an MSRP for their goods. Ditto for FUBU, Lord West, Formal Wear International, etc., etc., etc. It just isn’t done in the industry. I doubt they will start tomorrow.

So, just be careful when you see those slashed through prices. Or come-on ads like this: “Buy an After Six Tuxedo at 50% Off”. Ask yourself, “50% Off What?” If it’s a seasonal sale with 50% off a price they got last week, cool. If not, it’s just hype.

Number 3: Four factors go into a good deal.

If you think about it, there are often four factors in the decisions we make. When buying a home, you consider price, location, condition and terms. A relationship takes two people who are compatible based on personality, interests, availability and similar values.

Buying a tuxedo over the internet involves four factors as well. Those four factors are: Garments, Price, Guarantee, and Service.

Thankfully, unlike our real estate and relationship examples, it is possible to compare prices on the exact same garments. That makes half the equation simple. There are no two properties or two people exactly alike, but of course, we can get the exact same tuxedo from more than one source.

If you can find a Satisfaction Guarantee with a good return policy, that means the company will stand behind the goods. Especially when buying on the internet, you want to look for a guarantee since there is no store to drive if you are not happy with your purchase.

Lastly, Customer Service is critical. Try to find out how easy it is to talk to a real human being. If you have questions or need additional information, how long does it take for someone to get back to you? Do you feel that someone from the firm has a personal interest in your order? Can they answer your questions; are they able to help with special requests? Are you talking to someone with years of experience with local weddings? There is no more exacting science in this business than insuring perfect fit of both boys’ and men’s wedding tuxedos.

Number 4: You may want to “think outside the box”. Even though the groom’s tux is free almost everywhere in the country, you may want to consider buying yours. A wedding brings with it a ton of expenses, but if you will be going on a cruise, you may save on purchasing your wedding formal wear over renting. Women love romance, as you know. How would you like to surprise your wife on your first anniversary by donning your wedding tuxedo for a memorable dinner?

It makes even more sense if you attend an awards banquets or do charity work with “Black Tie Invited” events. All your friends getting married? A vest and tie to match the wedding party is a very small expense compared to an entire rental. Again, just a few thoughts to help you sort it all out for yourself.

Being a good consumer means you have to pull out your calculator, make a few notes, visit a few sites and judge for yourself. It’s your money. It only makes sense to compare the goods, their price, the company’s guarantee and their willingness to serve you before you take the plunge. Once you know the facts, you can make an informed decision.

To find the “going rate” for tuxedo formal wear rental in your area, type “Wedding Tuxedo Rental” or “Wedding Formal Wear” plus the name of your town in your search bar. The best companies are not afraid to post their prices. However, if prices are not posted, you will need to pick up the phone to do your research.

You may want to bookmark this page. After doing the research on your end and evaluating whether or not owning makes sense for you, we hope you will choose GreatTux as your formal wear supplier. I have not found better prices on individual tuxedo garments or on tuxedo package deals, and I have looked high and low on the web. Part of the reason is that my shop is in Omaha, Nebraska where overhead is low. I can offer our goods for way less than big cities like Philly, Chicago, Atlanta, and New York. Because of the internet, you can take advantage of Omaha prices regardless of where you live.

Whatever decision you make, we hope this short tutorial has been of help to you. We believe that educating the public makes for a better marketplace. When you know how this “works” you are more confident in the decisions you make. That sounds like the beginning of a great relationship to us.

Thank you so much for visiting our site. We are honored to have had your company here today. Should you decide to buy your new or used tuxedo from us, we are here to assist you. You have my word on it your customer service experience that will leave you feeling your best friend works at GreatTux in Omaha, Nebraska.

You can Order on-line by hand selecting your tux pieces or Call and we will walk you through it. We'll put your choices on a mannequin in our store and send you photos. We'll do just about anything to capture your business and earn your loyalty. Don't forget our 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. You must be completely happy with your purchase or return for a full refund, no questions asked.

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Thank you again for stopping by. Aaron & Jennifer Roberts, Owner sof GreatTux, your Formal Wear Sales & Rental