Mark every costume as rental, for sale or both, with sizes, prices and deposits on its page. Let customers request a rental for set dates, explain returns, and put October hours and fittings on the home page.

What the site is actually for

A costume shop's website exists to answer questions before the phone rings. In October the same few arrive all day: whether a costume is in, whether it will fit, what it costs, and whether it can be held.

Halloween falls on a Friday this year, a week from tomorrow, and the parties start this weekend. A site that answers those questions takes pressure off the counter in the busiest fortnight of the year.

The rest of the year belongs to theatres, schools, film crews and themed parties. They plan further ahead, rent in larger numbers and need different answers.

Rent or buy, on every costume

Many shops rent and sell, and customers often cannot tell which is which from the photographs. Mark every costume as rental, for sale or both, with the price for each.

Rental customers want the whole outfit described: what comes with it, from hat to shoes, and what costs extra. Buyers want to know whether it is a packaged costume, a made piece or retired rental stock.

A clear label prevents the most common disappointment at the counter: a customer who chose a costume online to buy, only to learn it is for rent.

What a customer checks, in order

Someone looking for a costume in October tends to work through the same list, usually on a phone:

The first is the hardest to keep honest. A catalogue showing a costume that went out last week sends someone across town for nothing, two days before their party.

Sizes that mean something

Costume sizes vary by maker and by decade, and rental pieces have often been altered over the years. Small, medium and large tell a customer very little.

Give measurements for each rental costume, such as chest, waist, inseam and height range, and say what can be taken in or let out at a fitting. For children's costumes, give an age range and a height.

A short page on how to measure, with a tape and a helper, lets customers check the fit at home before they come in.

Reservations and deposits

Many rental costumes are one of a kind, so two customers can want the same one for the same night. A reservation request with pickup and return dates lets staff confirm it, or offer another, before anyone travels.

Say what a reservation needs: a deposit, a card on file or photo identification at pickup, and how long a costume is held if nobody comes for it.

State the deposit and when it is returned. A deposit with no explanation reads like a charge; one with a clear refund rule reads like care for the stock.

Returns, cleaning and damage

List the return day and time for each rental period, especially over the busy weekend. Say plainly whether a costume rented for Friday night is due back Saturday or Monday.

Say whether cleaning is included, what counts as damage, and what happens with makeup stains and lost pieces. Customers accept a clear charge far more readily than a surprising one.

A worked example

A family-run costume shop in an older commercial district rents a large stock of period and character costumes, sells packaged costumes, wigs and makeup, and dresses several school and community theatre productions each year.

Its site was a gallery of photographs from past Halloweens, with no prices, no sizes and no sign of what was rented and what was sold. Every October the phone rang all day with questions the gallery could have answered.

The new catalogue gives each rental costume a page: photographs front and back, what is included, measurements, the rental price, the deposit and the cleaning fee.

A reservation form asks for the costume, the dates and a phone number, and staff confirm by phone the same day. Costumes already booked for Halloween weekend show as reserved on their pages.

An October page lists extended hours, fitting appointments, the return deadline after Halloween and the wigs and makeup in stock. Staff update it each morning before opening.

The answers now sit where customers are already looking. The phone still rings, but the calls are about choosing between costumes rather than finding out whether the shop has any.

Theatres, schools and film

Productions rent many costumes at once, for weeks, and often need them altered to fit a cast. Give them a page of their own: quotes, booking lead times, longer rental rates and a contact.

Say whether the shop can pull a period or a theme from its stock, and show a few productions it has dressed, with the companies' permission.

Spring musicals are planned over the winter, so this page is busiest in the months when Halloween is far away.

The October rush

Put October hours on the home page as well as the contact page, and say when fittings can be booked. In the last few days, a short list of what is already gone saves customers a wasted trip.

Phone numbers should dial with a tap, and the address should be easy to find. Many customers are deciding on the way home from work, holding a phone.

The counter-case

A shop that sells only packaged costumes, with no rentals, needs less of this. A clear catalogue of what is in stock, by size, with the hours and the address, may be most of the site.

A shop whose rental stock changes daily cannot keep every page exact. For it, honest category pages, measurements for the main lines and a reservation request still beat a gallery with no information.

But any shop that rents, holds deposits and sets return dates owes customers those rules in writing before they reach the counter.

What to build first

  1. Mark each costume as rental, for sale or both.
  2. Give measurements for every rental.
  3. Show the price, deposit and cleaning fee on each page.
  4. Add a reservation request with dates.
  5. State the return rules in plain words.
  6. Post October hours and fittings on the home page.
  7. Give productions a page of their own.

Step four is the one that changes October. A request with dates lets staff sort out clashes before the customer travels, instead of at the counter on the Thursday before Halloween.

Rental costumes are often fitted before the night, and a site built around fittings, rush work and event deadlines is described in what a tailor and alterations shop website needs.

Frequently asked questions

What should a costume shop website show first?

Whether costumes are for rent or sale, sizes, prices and deposits, how to reserve, the return rules, and October hours and fittings, in roughly that order.

How should rental sizes be shown?

With measurements rather than small, medium and large: chest, waist, inseam and height range, plus what can be adjusted at a fitting and age ranges for children.

Can customers reserve costumes online?

A reservation request with pickup and return dates works well. Staff confirm it or suggest another costume before the customer travels, which avoids clashes over one-of-a-kind pieces.

What should the site say about deposits?

The amount, what it covers, when and how it is returned, and what a reservation needs at pickup, such as photo identification or a card on file.

How should returns be explained?

Give the return day and time for each rental period, whether cleaning is included, what counts as damage, and what lost pieces or stains will cost.

Do theatre productions need their own page?

Yes. They rent many costumes for weeks, need alterations and plan months ahead. A page with quotes, lead times, longer rental rates and a contact serves them.

West Coast Media Solutions Inc. provides web design, web development, hosting, digital marketing, and business consulting to organisations across Canada, drawing on more than twenty-five years in the field.

Costume photos but no prices online?

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