FAQs

Here are a few of our most frequently asked questions, and their answers:

Q: Do you guys only accept cash?
A: In general, no. We require cash or check security deposits when you’re renting costumes, but you can pay the actual rental fee, as well as pay for sale items, with everything but American Express. The rules are different in October, however.

Q: How are payments different in October?
A: In October, we do not accept checks–for deposits or payments. We require cash deposits on all items rented during October, though you are still free to purchase sale costumes or pay rental fees with your credit or debit card as well.

Q: Wait–so why are you charging me double?
A: You are not being charged double. We just have to require a security deposit as collateral on your rentals–you will get the security deposit back, provided the costume returns to us in its original condition and in a timely manner. If your deposit was paid with a check, that same check is given back to you directly (unless you do not bring the costume back, of course). The same applies for cash; pending your proper return, you will be given the exact same bills you gave us.

Q: Do you alter costumes? Even sale ones?
A: We actually custom-tailor costumes on a regular basis. So yes, we alter costumes–even sale ones. If you’re renting the costume, the alterations are included in the rental price; if you bought a costume and would like it altered, we usually only charge between $5 and $15, depending on how much you would like us to do.

Q: So…are all of those costumes clean?
A: Of course they are! We clean costumes as soon as they come back from a rental, well before they are placed back out on the sale floor. Every costume in our 4,000-square-foot warehouse is either laundered or dry-cleaned before it goes back onto a clothing rack.

Q: What’s this about a four-thousand-square-foot warehouse?
A: Oh yes–we almost forgot to mention–our building is two stories, with over 200,000 different costume pieces. We costume several shows per week all of the theatre season, and we definitely use that space.

Q: Are we allowed to go downstairs?
A: Sorry, but it’s for employees only. We can give you a quick list of what it’s got though, in addition to what you’ll see upstairs:
- a 110′ long rack of nothing but men’s suits (both two and three-piece)
- a couple hundred ladies’ dresses, broken up by decade, starting at the turn of the century
- traditional and “ethnic” wear–for instance, clothing from India, Taiwan, the Philippines, Africa, Germany, Israel, Scotland, Ireland, and several other countries–just ask
- several hundred men’s dress shirts; everything from ruffled tuxedo shirts in a rainbow of colours to formal tuxedo shirts, to collarless shirts and pinstriped button-downs
- a whole rack of nothing but bunnies and other mascots–like dogs, turtles, grapes, eagles, a dragon, a peach, and a hot dog
- a full line of period tuxedos–such as cutaways, tailcoats, the proper striped pants, period vests, and modern tuxedos and dinner jackets
- and hats for every occasion, of course, from stove-pipe top hats to pillbox ladies’ hats
…there really is a massive amount of stock downstairs, so if you don’t see it, just ask. If we don’t have it, we’ll order it. And if they don’t make it, we will. Follow the link to our “Custom Work” page.

Q: What do you do? Like when it’s not Halloween?
A: Actually, we stay quite busy working with theatres, themed weddings, drag queens, Elvis impersonators (or “tribute artists”), school projects, and alterations. We’re here year-round because we’ve got customers to help year-round. Feel free to come by at any time, and let us know how we can help you!

Q: How do you ship orders?
A: We use USPS flat-rate boxes to ship our inventory–it’s the most cost-effective and safe way to ship everything from liquid makeup to full costumes.

Q: How long does it take for my order to get here?
A: That depends on where you are located, but we will ship it as soon as we can. If we’re not open when you place your order, as soon as we do open we’ll have a notification email of your order on our office computers, and we’ll take care of that right away.

Q: Can you ship ____ right away?! I need it tomorrow!
A: Of course! If you need us to expedite an order and ship it as soon as possible–or you just want us to use some sort of alternative way of shipping (overnight or 2nd day, for instance), just give us a call at 864-271-4260 or email us your question and we will sort it right out! Normally, we will quote you the extra shipping charge, and you can use our “miscellaneous shipping charge” item to account for the remaining cost.

Q: Why do you use PayPal for purchasing?
A: PayPal is the easiest, fastest, most secure, and most universal way to pay online. You don’t have to have a PayPal account (which is free, by the way)–you can use any major credit card (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, or Bank) and enter your information into their secure site.

Q: How do I know if an item on the site is for rent or for sale?
A: We try to make this as clear as we can–rental items say “rental cost” or “rental price” in front of any price, and they are not available for purchase on the site (as you will see by the lack of “Add to Cart” button). We can reserve them by phone or email, if you or your organization has an account with us–just call us at 864-271-4260 or email us.

Thanks for reading, and remember to check back because we’ll add more to our FAQs as we get asked more questions!