TERMS AND CONDITIONS
USER EXPECTATIONS
All rented items should be treated with respect, knowing that you are being entrusted with someone else’s property. Treat each rented piece in a manner in which you would want your own property taken care of should you loan out your own things to others! Use items in your productions and events in a manner that is appropriate and not damaging to the item.
We are not responsible for the use of any rented items that leads to injury or problems within your production or event.
We will make every effort to accommodate your choices of costumes for your chosen show, however during peak performing season, we reserve the right to make substitutions as necessary to try to accommodate as many requests as possible. We will try to make those choices as close to your requests as possible.
To prevent possible staining of costuming that may result in a full replacement charge of the costume, please refrain from eating and drinking (except water) while wearing the costuming. Also please keep costuming hung up on garment racks and not let them lay on dirty floors. Knee slides are not to be performed while in rental costumes. Excessive makeup found on costumes that require specialized cleaning will result in a 25% fee per costume billed to the credit card on file. In preparing your costuming for performance, you may use safety pins as necessary for altering a costume or attaching a performer name tag inside the costume, and hems can be adjusted with hand stitching only. Do not use tape of any kind, including mic tape or lav tape, to label costumes as this will damage the costume and incur a 25% damage fee. You may also steam costumes as needed to take out wrinkles from shipping. We recommend hanging the costumes up as soon as you get them to help with any wrinkles. Do not attempt to iron the costumes as this will potentially cause damage to the fabric of many of the costumes and incur a replacement fee that is two times the rental cost of the costume.
All extra transport bags, containers, boxes, hangers, and stock tags that are used in the rental must be returned. Failure to do so will result in a replacement fee charged to the credit card on file.
PRICING
Renter pays for time out, not time used, excluding time shipping if applicable. We offer pricing for single week rates and single month rates on our website. Show costuming rentals are based on one weekend of performances. If you need your rental pieces for a second week and have ordered a minimum of 12 costumes or prop/set pieces the charge for a second week will be 50% of the first week rental rate. Should you need to rent for some unique time frame not covered here, please contact us for a special adjusted rate quote. If shipping, transit days do not count towards your rental week time.
For show costumes, there is no minimum on the number of costumes you can rent, but there is an additional charge of $25 per costume, on leads if you rent less than 12 costumes. This applies only during the peak performing seasons, which are Nov-December and March-June.
PAYMENT
Payment is required prior to the shipping of any items. Items are not held in reserve for your production or event until payment of invoice has been made. We accept PO from schools, business checks, or credit card.
For PO’s, 50% of the total rental fees must be paid before the items will be shipped.
If paying by check, please make checks payable to Best Costume Rentals and include in the memo line: “Rental” and your invoice #. Checks can be presented in person at the time of pickup/delivery or mailed in. If mailing in a check, please include a copy of your invoice and send to:
Best Costume Rentals
80 School Street
Taylors, SC 29687
Checks must be received prior to release of any items for rent. Returned checks by the bank will incur a $20 bank fee and may delay an order if it is being shipped.
If paying by credit card, we will take payment at the time you have a confirmed invoice and are ready to reserve your items/wardrobe for your event.
CREDIT CARD ON FILE
A valid major credit card must be presented at time of rental, even if another form of payment is being used to pay for your rental. Card info will be kept on file in the event of item loss or damages requiring repairs upon return of the items. The credit card on file will also be automatically charged for any late fees assessed due to the return of items past the contract date. No rental of any kind is permitted without a credit card on file. A debit card will not be accepted in place of a credit card. All credit card information will be stored in a secure location through the duration of the rental period and destroyed at the conclusion of it when all items have been returned, rental fees paid, and items inspected for any necessary repairs.
SHIPPING
If needed, we can ship costumes and props to event locations. We ship UPS and bill for round trip shipping charges. A return shipping label will be included in your packet when you receive your rental items. PLEASE HANDLE CAREFULLY, AS THESE RETURN LABELS CANNOT BE REPLACED, AND LOSS OF THE LABEL WILL RESULT IN ADDITIONAL SHIPPING CHARGES. Return shipping is required the first business day after your performances or event as shown on your rental contract. Many times, our costumes and items are rented out consecutively, and we need them for the next customer.
If not automatically generated to us by the shipping service, you are required to provide for us the tracking numbers once the items have shipped. Any days beyond this time frame that occur before we receive the required shipping information will incur late fees according to our late fees policy and guidelines. Renter should use all original boxes and packing supplies to return ship items unless boxes have been damaged and are deemed potentially damaging to contents, in which case new boxes should be used. Should there be any shipments that return to BCR and have items damaged from shipping due to improperly repacking the items, there will be a damage or replacement value fee charged to the credit card on file.
Return shipping address:
Best Costume Rentals
2854 Wade Hampton Blvd. Suite C
Taylors, SC 29687
For any shipping orders received less than 14 days prior to shipping, the renter will incur a 20% rush fee. Renter is also responsible for additional expedited shipping costs if required or requested. A quote will be provided prior to shipping for approval.
ALTERATIONS
At this time, we do not offer costume altering. We will do our best to fit each of your actors in the closest size we can to their provided measurements. If we do not think we have anything that will fit your actor, we will let you know. We will be working towards providing this service in the near future and will feature it on our website when it becomes available.
In the meantime, you may alter a costume to fit (except in the case of a few high valued special outfits, which will be indicated as such), but costumes must be returned to their original condition before returning. Minor alterations (hems, waists, cuffs) are acceptable as long as the alteration does not damage the costume and is reversible. Alterations requiring cutting and dying or spray painting of costumes is never allowed. Iron-on bonding web, mending tape, glue, stitch witchery, or any other type of permanent adhesives may NOT be used on costumes. All alterations must be made by hand sewn basting. Machine stitching may incur damage fees. You may also use safety pins. Please remove all pins prior to returning. BCR reserves the right to charge a tailoring fee if any costume is returned altered.
CLEANING
Costumes will arrive to you clean and pressed with all their accessories attached hanging on a hanger. For any wrinkling that may have occurred from being in the box for shipping, we recommend hanging the costumes up as soon as you receive them. This will help. You may also use a hand steamer if necessary. Do not attempt to iron any of the costumes as many of them have special fabrics and embellishments that will burn if heat is applied. Rental industry standards typically expect costuming to be returned professionally dry-cleaned or laundered. However, we prefer to handle all of our own care of the costume and do all of our own cleaning. Some of our more elaborate and delicate costumes require special handling and care, which is reflected in their higher rental rates.
Please DO NOT attempt to clean or repair any costuming yourself! Please DO notify us upon return of your costumes of any known damage needing repair or any spills or stains that have occurred to any costume.
For any costuming that is sent out on hangers and/or in garment bags and with any identification tags, these items are to also be returned and in the manner that they were sent out. Any broken hangers need to be replaced and anything damaged or missing will incur a replacement fee billed to the credit card on file. All costumes should come back on their hangers or in their bags/boxes and completely together in the same manner in which they went out. An added service charge of 5% of the total bill will be billed to the credit card on file should the costumes be returned in a manner not consistent with our guidelines.
DAMAGED & MISSING
Any costume determined by BCR to be damaged beyond normal wear and tear will incur a damage charge. Costuming is considered damaged but repairable if it is returned with any of the following: minor rips, tears or cuts, damage from pins, broken zippers, missing buttons or medallions/embellishments/badges/trim, detached garment pieces. Repairs to costuming will incur a damage fee determined by a BCR costuming staff member and billed according to the rates set forth in the following paragraph. Costuming is considered damaged and not repairable and thus no longer rentable if it is returned with any of the following: irreparable tears, major seam damage, irreversible alterations, major cuts, burning, or having make-up or other permanent stains that render the costume non-rentable. Such costuming will be billed the 2x replacement value fee and in either situation, charged to the credit card on file. Any hoops/crinolines, pvc tubing, or Velcro strips that are a part of a costume that are not returned will incur a $50 charge.
Any items damaged will be billed to the renter at the industry average rate of $35 per repair hour, with a minimum of a one hour charge, plus the cost of any needed materials. Any costuming that is returned damaged or with alterations that have not been taken out and the costume returned to its original condition will be billed to the customer at $25 per seamstress repair hour, with a minimum of a one hour charge, plus the cost of any needed materials.
If a costume is returned in a condition that is not able to be repaired satisfactorily based upon our own seamstresses’ assessment or is stained, then the customer will be notified of the cost to replace the item and the credit card on file will be charged 2x the replacement vale (rv) as indicated on the website’s item listing or in the invoice contract and in accordance to the explanation of replacement value given below.
Should there be excessive wear or damage to any grouping of costumes that is determined to be from negligent or irresponsible behavior, this will result in suspension of rental privileges for the client. This also applies for poor client service, behavior, or shipping return issues.
REPLACEMENT VALUE
Should a costume or item either not be returned (in the case of loss or theft or due to damage) or be returned in a condition that necessitates replacement as determined by our BCR staff, then the credit card on file will be charged for its replacement. Standard industry practice is that the replacement cost is calculated at 3x the replacement price of the costume or item (rv) as listed on each of our website listings or in the customer’s rental invoice agreement. We have chosen to bill at 2x the (rv) number. Props must be returned in the exact manner in which they left the shop. Painting and modification of a prop or costume piece will result in a replacement value charge.
LATE RETURNS
Any item(s) that are kept past their agreed upon contract date will be subjected to an automatic late fee charged to the credit card on file in the following manner:
10% of each late item’s rental rate per week value will be charged per day that the item is late being returned or shipped. Any items that are past due by 14 days of their return date will be considered lost and non-returnable and two times (2x) the full replacement value (rv) as listed on each item’s website listing plus an administrative service fee of $25 will be charged to the credit card on file. Any previously charged late fees for items will not be refunded should an item ultimately be determined lost and non-returnable and becomes charged for the 2x full replacement value. Any items written off as lost and non-returnable that do eventually turn up and are returned to us, we will issue a 50% credit coupon that can be used towards a future rental for the replacement value that was charged. No actual credit card or other forms of payment due to this situation will be refunded. A credit will only be issued once. Should a similar situation occur on a future order, the client will be considered an irresponsible client and will not be allowed to make future orders with BCR.
We will make every effort to contact customers to resolve any issues that may be causing the pending issuing of a late fee, but it is the full responsibility of the customer to ensure prompt returns. Any customer that refuses to return calls or emails after a two day time frame will automatically begin receiving late fee charges to their credit card on file.
CANCELLATIONS
A $10 cancellation fee will be charged for each costume that has already been pulled and prepared for your rental should you elect to cancel something on your signed contract and paid invoice. We begin pulling items and wardrobe 2 weeks prior to your scheduled event or ship date. Cancellation charges will be billed to the credit card on file upon the return of all rented pieces and the closing out of your rental contract.
Also BCR reserves the right to offer substitutes if possible or cancel an item or order in the event of unavoidable circumstances such as natural disasters that affect our operation or problems arising from previous renters that have or had the item(s) being requested. Should a payment have already been made, there will be either a credit towards other items or a full refund of the payment made for the unavailable item(s) should nothing suitable be found as a replacement.
LEGAL
Failure to return merchandise, or to pay for damages, or to pay replacement value fees, or to pay all rental charges is cause for legal action by Best Costume Rentals and the Renter agrees to pay all collection fees, court costs and attorney fees to enforce the terms and conditions of this contract.
The Renter assumes the risks of and holds the Best Costume Rentals harmless from property damage and personal injuries caused by rental goods.
The Renter also acknowledges to hold the BCR harmless and indemnified of and from any liability for infringement of copyright, trademark, and patent resulting from the use of any rented items by the Renter.
By signing at checkout, you agree to these terms and conditions.
Please return email your signed rental agreement contract to info@theCostumeGallery.com
or fax to 864-609-4085
Thank You!
