Props, Scenery, Costumes and Makeup: Renting Costumes

Renting Costumes

Printed From: Community Theater Green Room
Category: Producing Theater
Forum Name: Props, Scenery, Costumes and Makeup
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URL: http://www.communitytheater.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=3127
Printed Date: 6/10/25 at 1:05am
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Topic: Renting Costumes

Posted By: Costume Lady
Subject: Renting Costumes
Date Posted: 4/23/08 at 9:58am

Our Children's Theater has been in existence for over 10 years now, and we have a growing collection of really nice costumes. I'm considering renting them out to help pay for a larger storage space. If anyone is in the business of renting (especially using the internet), could you please fill me in on some of the details of the business? How do you handle payments, and how do you insure that your costumes come back to you in good repair? Would this jeopardize our non-profit status? Is it more hassle than it's worth?
Thanks.

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The Costume Lady
Kitsap Children's Musical Theatre: Providing a positive and fun musical theatre experience for kids ages 5-18.

Replies:

Posted By: neilfortin
Date Posted: 4/23/08 at 4:10pm

We have begun renting out costumes to local community theater who contact us, so its pretty much by word of mouth. We have the company that is doing the rental sign a contract that the costumes are cleaned beofre they are returned (That is the only real big rule we have, you know how theater works, rips, tears, and use comes with the territory) I'm not saying that they should be returned with ridiculous repairs that need to be made, but we will overlook loose trims, ripped seams, and minor damage. If the costume is not wearable again, we have given a price value to each that must be paid. This takes ALOT of time to go in and catalogue each collection you might have, but it feels great when you have a 3-ring binder filled with all the shows you have done! Let us know how it goes!

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Community Theater makes us smile

Posted By: mary051756
Date Posted: 6/12/08 at 7:35am

Not sure where you ended up, but if either of you ahve a catalog, pics or list of shows you have costumes for, I know I would be interested in potential rentals!

thanks...Mary

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“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” EMERSON

Posted By: dboris
Date Posted: 6/12/08 at 12:47pm

Having rented out items before, it can be a hassle, but it's often still worth it. You probably want to stick with renting to other organizations and not to individuals, this will give you a bigger return for your time investment.

The most important thing is to have one person at your theater who has the time to be responsible for this. They need to keep careful track of what has been rented out to who, and when you expect it to be returned. They may have to do follow up calls if something isn't returned on time. They should also be there when the items are returned to verify that every has been returned and that is doesn't have any un-reasonable damage.

You may also want to think about charging a refundable security deposit on to of the rental charge. If they do the deposit with a check, you can just hold the check and return it when everything has been returned.

No, I don't think this will jeopardize you non-profit status, non-profit doesn't mean you can't make money.

Posted By: avgsuperheroine
Date Posted: 6/22/08 at 10:20am

Hi-I hope I can be of some help. Our CT has been renting costumes for over 30 of our 50 years. I manage our shop. First things first, yes, your non profit status is something to look into. You will need legal advice on how to set it up. Many theatres can run the CS separate from the CT to keep the CT non profit. I'm no lawyer, so have someone look into it for you. If too much of your income comes from rentals and not from your mission, it can require you do the bookkeeping separately. If many of your items are donated that helps you out too...really, you will want to double check with your lawyer or arts council. DO check into it though, our shop provides much needed money for running our building.

Handling payments is really up to you. We use a contract. Show customers are rented differently than walk-in customers. Here's a tip though: Costumes will NOT always be returned in good condition. They will not always be returned. Not all un-returned costumes will end up being paid for. There will be loss and damage every year. The trick is to keep it as minimal as possible.

I know some theatres have a volunteer to handle rentals, and some do it by the show, some rent by the piece, designed to measurements. Some ship, some don't. How will the costumes get cleaned (again with the state and federal regulations--there are rules about how and when...)? Where will they be cleaned? It really all depends on how much time you have, and if you're running on staff or volunteers.

Is it more hassle than it's worth? It can be. It depends on how you manage it. Ours grew quickly and well. We do have staff. One full time manager, and two part time assistants (two in fall/spring, one in summer), and one part time seamstress. With all of our expenses we still manage to make some decent money each year to help with the theatre. But costume shop managing is a burn out job. It's hard to find employees. It's hard work, and frustrating when people don't bring things back.

You can check out my website for information on how to organize a costume shop, as well as other fundraising ideas. We started a fundraiser online with auctions, selling off items that we didn't need anymore, that's been easier to manage than a full rental program. I also suggest looking into a bookselling business. You can ask for donations of books, list them on Amazon and sell them. It's something one person can do, no washing, no worries of damage or loss to your inventory, and actually an easy way to make decent money once you get the hang of it.

I plan on adding a question and answer section to the costume organizing site, you're welcome to contact me through that site or through here if I can answer any questions for you. You can also check out the yahoo group for the costumer's manifesto, lots of great info there from costumers around the country.

Good luck-I wish you the best of luck in finding your extra funding!

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http://www.dramaticallycorrect.com - Dramatically Correct Cast Gifts
http://www.freewebs.com/costumeorganize - Costume Shop Organization Tips