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Tuesday, March 19th
Find Costume is a Future Memories company, whose family of brands includes Fantasy Toyland, Celebrity Gift, Eat Gourmet and more. This "costume superstore" says they can help you find just the right costume in half as much time as you'd spend elsewhere. True story or fake news? Read on and decide for yourself.
Excellent resource for Halloween costume ideas
Find Costume actually does make it easy to see lots of ideas for costumes. You can click to the category you need - Adult, Kids, Toddler, Baby, Hats/Wigs/Masks, Clearance, or the current year's trends - from the links at the top of the site. You can get more specific by using the left-hand links to Age/Gender or specific themes like Disney or Superhero, and you'll also see a selection of costumes that might catch your eye. We particularly liked the Leg Lamp and Pink Bunny options based on the movie "A Christmas Story" , as well as the Taco Bell Hot Sauce Packet Costume Set for a group; those and many others were featured on Find Costume's main page and were a great jump-start to our Halloween costume brainstorming session.
Cheap - but not in stock
Prices at Find Costume are lower than most of their competitors'. That popular T-Rex inflatable? You'll get not just one but a half-dozen different styles - like a skeleton design as well as the traditional one - priced anywhere from $39.95 to $79.99, easily $30 cheaper than other Halloween costume stores. We also spotted a coupon code for 5% off at the top of the Find Costume site. The downside is that they don't tell you until you click on it that a particular item is out of stock, which was the case for most of the T-Rex costumes. You've got the option of entering your email address to be notified when it's available again, but Find Costume doesn't give you a ballpark of when that might be.
Free shipping on many Halloween costumes
Shipping has improved since our last review of this retailer. They don't come out and advertise it, but many items come with free shipping (like that skeleton T-Rex for $79.99). You'll have to enter your zip code in the shopping cart to see what, if anything, you'll pay for delivery, but it was a pleasant surprise to get free ground shipping on our order.
BBB rating has dropped
Sounds great so far, right? Unfortunately, that's not the whole story. We didn't think it was possible, but Find Costume's reputation has dropped even lower than the last time we reviewed this Halloween costume store. The Better Business Bureau agrees: parent company Future Memories has gone from an "A+" to a "B-" in the last few years, mostly for failure to respond to several customer complaints. We've started to see more positive reviews coming in over the last few months, but that's not enough to counterbalance years of negative impressions from disappointed shoppers.
Hefty restocking fee on returns
One reason Find Costume's customers are unhappy is the store's strict return policy. You only have 30 days to make a return or exchange, and you'll be charged a 20% restocking fee. Plus, any costumes ordered in the month of October are ineligible for returns - period.
Costumes may not be as they appeared online
That becomes an even bigger problem when you read Find Costume's advertising disclaimer. It says that they're not responsible for any differences between what you see featured on their site and what the manufacturer produces. We found more than one person who received Halloween costumes that were drastically different from what was advertised - in construction, sizing, and details - and their only option was to get an 80% refund or 90% credit towards an exchange. It's a bad sign when a costume shop makes it the customer's fault when the manufacturer does a bait-and-switch.
Not a reliable retailer of Halloween costumes
Find Costume is a store we want to like. They've got a great selection of fun and trendy Halloween costumes for all ages, and who doesn't like to get a good deal? Unfortunately, what you see is not always what you get here, and the retailer goes to great lengths to avoid responsibility when that's the case. You could take a chance and order your Halloween attire from Find Costume, but our recommendation would be to spend a little bit more to get a better customer experience with a higher-rated store.
There's something in Halloween for everyone, from the kids who can't wait to get their hands on piles of free candy, to grown-ups who get to feel like a kid again by dressing up like their favorite superhero or celebrity. Of course, at the heart of any Halloween celebration is the perfect costume. If you're tired of dragging out the same tired clown, witch, or devil attire every year and you're ready for something new, it's time to get shopping!
But wait - what if it's not even fall yet? Or what if you're trying to dress up your kids for their end-of-the-year theme days at school? No need to panic: even though they're called "Halloween" costumes, you can shop for almost any imaginable attire with any number of online retailers who keep the proverbial doors open year-round. That's especially true now that conventions, cosplay, and other dress-up occasions have become so popular - why should that kind of fun be limited to the month of October, right?
One of the best things about shopping for your Halloween costume online is the selection. Have you been to a retail store a few weeks before the holiday and seen how picked-over it gets? Good luck finding anything that fits or matches, let alone a costume that everyone will be talking about.
Yes, you're always going to find the most options in stock if you shop sooner rather than later, but some online stores can hook you up with a killer costume - literally, if you're into dressing up like a slasher movie - and get it delivered even just a few days before Halloween.
With so many Halloween costume stores out there, and so many themes to choose from, it's normal to feel a little overwhelmed when deciding where to shop. Want to make it a little easier? Keep these factors in mind:
To help you get your spooky on, TopConsumerReviews.com has evaluated and ranked today's most popular online retailers of Halloween costumes. We're sure this information will make it fun and fast to get the perfect outfit before the big party or trick-or-treat!
Select any 2 Halloween Costume Stores to compare them head to head