Happy Spooky Season! Have you ever been to one of those Halloween pop-up stores that seem to vanish into thin air on November 1st? There’s a reason: they’re not about to take your worn, smelly, spilled-on costume. Let’s talk about it.
According to the National Retail Federation, the average American spends $74 on Halloween, including candy and costumes. If that isn’t enough, that same survey found that less than 16% of Americans plan to rewear a costume. AKA those pop-up costume stores will be a zoo over the next several days.
We’ve talked before about people who purchase multiple items and return those they don’t wear and those who return worn clothes. Well, Halloween stores capitalize on that. Oftentimes, they don’t accept returns after October 31st. Some are even stricter; last year, Spirit Halloween disbarred returns after October 16th.
Here are some considerations to get ahead of this:
- Buy those costumes at random times of the year. Do you think anyone’s planning to dress up as a zombie for Valentine’s Day? Even last year, Kmart slashed the price of Halloween costumes by 50% on November 1st.
- Take a good look at the return policies. In general, Sears doesn’t accept any seasonal items after any holiday. Good luck returning your Christmas wrapping paper on December 26th.
- Be wary of those pop-up stores. The Better Business Bureau advises consumers to ask an employee how long the store will be open and what their return policy is.
- Make sure you want to wear that costume and that it fits well FAR IN ADVANCE!
That’s all for today, everyone. We’ll be waiting for those inevitable Halloween return horror stories (no pun intended) on November 1st.
Yours truly,
The Instant Refund Expert™
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The Refunds Blog 