- Halloween spending can add up to $200 -- especially if you add the grave grabber corpse at $100
- The average consumer plans to spend $74 on Halloween candy, costumes and more, says National Retail Federation.
- The most money will be spent on adult costumes: $1.2 billion.
- About $350 million will be spent on Halloween costumes for pets.
Spend$10 on a Halloween T-shirt and you won't flinchif the store is dead-set against letting youreturn holiday items.But dish out $50 to$100on costumes? Well, you could be alotmore fearful ofa Halloween horror story.
And if you're spending $99.99 on a Grave GrabberCorpse or $199.99 on a twitching banshee for your house of screams, you really take notice.
Is it the dreaded Final Sale?
Shauna Vercher-Morrow, 50, of Detroit, most certainlypaid attention to the return policy signat the Spirit Halloween store in Birmingham when she was buying two adultcostumes for herself this week.
After all, she was spending$115 — including a $5 donation to charity — on a female Robin from Batman and a Bat Girl costume. She wanted to buy costumes for her two dogs, too, but shecouldn't find any there and will need to make another stop. She hasbirthday party this weekend with a Halloween theme and another event next weekend for Halloween.
"Of course, I can't wear the same thing twice," Vercher-Morrow said.
The Halloween parties start Friday at metro Detroit bars
Shecan't return anything either. The sign at the Spirit Halloween register noted that after Oct. 16 all sales are final. She's OKwith that, though, saying she can always 're-gift' a costume to a teen or someone else.
The same goes with stuff bought elsewhere, including online.Maybe the $60 fog machine is in a fog and won’t crank out any smoke. Maybe when you open the box, you’re shocked to find a big white Olaf instead of that Princess Elsa costume that you ordered online.
Buyer Beware.
Each Halloween, consumers regularly complain about late deliveries of costumes from some websites, difficulty in obtaining refunds or shoddy quality for some costumes, according to Better Business Bureau alerts.
The average Americanplans to spend $74 on Halloweencandy, costumes and more, says the National Retail Federation. Only 15.5% of adults said they'reusing last year's costume, according to the survey.
Halloween is only the start of a long list of seasonal shopping trips. We start out buying those giant spiders and "Frozen" costumes, shift gears andmove on to turkey smokers and tablecloths and then pickup the Elf on the Shelf.
But if you’re going to buy something you use only a few weeks out of the year, take time to separate the real deals from the duds. What’s the return policy on seasonal goods? Could you find a better price by shopping super early — or even super late — in the season?
10 treats to make your Halloween festivities a success
Here are threetreats to consider when shopping for Halloween and beyond:
No. 1:Buy when you’re sickandtired of Halloween or Thanksgiving or Christmas or Valentine's Day.
Some savvy moms report that they saved money on Halloween costumes by shopping clearance sales back in the summer. One mom picked up a Princess Anna light-up, musical costume in August for $12.99 from Amazon. Now, a similar costume is $29.95.
It’s an old bargain-huntingtrick, but youbuy the pumpkin spice stuff when retailers need to make room for the cranberrystuff.
And don't forget that some deals are foundrightbefore the special day.Kmart, for example, is selling its costumes at 50% off in its stores beginning Oct. 25.
No. 2:Ask about the policy for returning gifts or a seasonal item.
It's not always true but in some stores items can fall under a "modified" return policy. Look carefully at the receipt and sign at the register.
Sears notes on its website that Christmas seasonal items cannot be returned after Dec. 25. And Christmas items purchased after Dec. 25 are final sale and cannot be returned.
Kmart notes that it accepts no returns on Valentine, Easter, Christmasand Halloween itemsafter the holiday. Holiday season items boughtafter the holiday are final sales and no returns areaccepted. Otherwise, the return policy at Sears and Kmart is often 30 days for many products.
The Target return policy is thatmost unopened items in new condition can be returned within 90 days fora refund or an exchange. Items that are opened or damaged or do not have a receipt may be denied a refund or exchange.
Some others have 90-day return policies on many items, too, including Walmart andMeijer.Walmart has a 90-day return policy, including seasonal items. Items must be in original packaging.But there isa 15-day return for some electronics, including printers, computers and tablets.
At Meijer, its return policy for general merchandise returns and exchanges applieswithin 90 days of purchase. But specificdecisions on whether the costumes and decorations have been worn or used are made at the store level, said Joe Hirschmugl, public relations manager for Meijer.
Party City often has a 30-day return policy. But its online site notes that returns for Halloween costumes had an Oct. 21 deadline this year. Only exchanges are accepted after Oct. 21 with shipping receipt, according to the site.
No. 3:Pay attention to warnings about pop-up horror stores.
The Better Business Bureau recommends that consumers ask a sales clerk at theseasonal store how long the storewill be open after the holiday and whether returns are accepted. You have the right to knowreturn policies even with a temporary store or pop-up store.
Some specialty stores have no-return policies when it comes to Halloween costumes. Make sure you understand what you're buying and try it on.
Keep receipts. If you order something online, examine what arrivesin the box immediately. If you're buying online, make sure it's a secure website. The BBB recommends that you look for the prefix https:// or the lock symbol in the URL box, which lists the website's address.
Do not walk into the store like a zombie — or you could get grabbed by the screechingfinal sale.
Contact Susan Tompor: 313-222-8876 or stompor@freepress.com. Follow Susan on Twitter @Tompor.
