Costume Cabaret - Bel Air, Maryland

Martin G.

Hay una gran variedad de disfraces y accesorios para halloween 100% recomendado

Mary N.

This is my 1st time going to costume cabaret and the gentlemen there could not have been more helpful. He took the time to help me decide between 2 costumes and when I got at home and it was too big for my husband they were kind enough to let me change it for another costume. I know their policy is final sale but since it was the same costume in a smaller size and not a different one they were able to let me do that which I thought was fair. The only thing I would change would be a little better quality of the costume materials.

Steven D.

This place is amazing. This is what a real Halloween store should be like. The variety they have is such a broad spectrum of very high end, high quality pieces all the way down to the simplest things you would need for costume parties and for children trick or treating.
They stuff they have rivals a Hollywood studios prop department.
Definitely worth going to and I will always go here first before hitting up the seasonal, pop up stores.

Joseph M.

Do not go here or shop here under any circumstance. They don't tell you that you can not return the items only exchange them. They were being rude to a person that could not read and mocked him saying it's written on the sign which he said he can't read and then she said it's written on the reciept. I felt bad for the guy and disgusted by this place. It needs to be shut down and the blonde lady fired who claims she is a manager. Absolutely disgusting

Joe F.

Wonder store with everything you need for Halloween. Plus they are open year round!

C G.

Normally I don't expend the effort to review anything online because frankly most brick and mortar business in these days of the Internet either understand customer service or they won't survive more than a year in business. Those few that don't understand this and survive generally have been reviewed and hence anyone failing to check such warning have only themselves to blame. Based off my most recent experience however I felt compelled to provide a much needed warning about this business.

Number one thing is they will not provide any refunds. I discovered this the hard way when I bought a costume too small for my child and was greeted with the most dismissive and shockingly snarky attitude from what I suspect to be the actual proprietor as no employee in retail would dare such brazenly bad service and hope to be getting a paycheck for more than a week. In their defense they do have a sign stating no refunds behind the counter but frankly given the disheveled decor of the wall it hangs on makes it easy to miss. Such policies are rare anymore as most businesses understand the small potential immediate loss is outweighed by the opportunity repeat business and positive "word of mouth". Even if compelled to institute such draconian rule for health or low sales margins most stores will generally provide a grace period of up to 24 hours. However beyond such policies the attitude was perhaps the most shocking and if the policy hadn't made me think twice of ever doing business with this store the complete lack of basic customer service/curtesy ensured I will never darken their door again.

Beyond my specific experience I will now provide more generic insight into this store and its operations. Assuming you chose this store over the half dozen other options around Halloween or the Internet year round. Number two you need to be aware of is that you will want to make sure that the packages contain the full costumes. When I was shopping here most of the packages had obviously been opened. I was utterly surprised that not just by costumes where items were missing but at least three of the pouches actually didn't have any costumes in them at all. So if you are in a rush it might be best to steer clear, especially given the no return policy.

As for the third item, this store, despite operating year round has a pop up store mixed with low rent adult businesses vibe to it. Now although that is common to pop up stores in this case the store operates year round and has been in the same location for years the lack of upkeep adds to the generally poor state of repair one finds in the space. In many ways this stores is out of place with most of the other tenets of the shopping center, which is saying something given one tenet is a $5 store, and I do suspect the property owner will have to gut the space when it enters back on the market. Although one doesn't likely risk a communicable disease if you happened to break your skin on the rather rough metal displays used to hold their wares, it also isn't a place one would dare follow the 5 second rule for anything touching the ground. Along those lines it is certainly not safe to allow small children to wonder on their own or even without holding their hands given the metal grating that populates the narrow and rather dark passageways.

Fourth item is a question of their prices. A quick survey of online sites show theirs are definitely at the upper end of the spectrum in cost. I can't speak for the pop up stores but I would assume they are comparable if not competitive. Therefore you will be paying a premium for what you buy.

In summary you are paying a premium price, in a rather poor shopping environment, for a product that may not be complete, which you can't return, and for a customer service experience akin to what one might find in the nicer countries that end with Stan. So I would suggest you take a serious "buyer beware" approach to patronizing this establishment and perhaps it would be best to simply choose any of their competitors.

Reply to owner: The Festival in Bel Air

Tyrel J.

Whatever you do, DONT SHOP HERE!! In order to run a successful business you need to have some sort of customer service. I ordered my son and I's costumes off of Amazon and received an email the day prior saying they wouldn't arrive in time for Halloween so I went into Halloween Cabaret to purchase another set of costumes, only to get home and see the package from Amazon waiting with the original costumes I had ordered. The costumes I bought from Halloween Cabaret were twice as expensive as what I paid online. I spent almost $200 in the store just so my son could have a costume. As soon as I saw the package I called the store and spoke to what sounded like a teenager who claimed to be the "manager". I explained to him that I had just purchased the merchandise- within the hour- he denied my request for a refund. I understand they have a no refund policy but I literally just purchased the items from their store. If they wanted to have repeat customers then they would've just returned the items since it was within an hour span it all happened. Needless to say I will NOT be returning and will encourage other shoppers to shop elsewhere.

Jess S.

I just bought my kid a $40 costume that is so old is disintegrated as soon as I took it out of the bag. I returned it less than 1 hr later and they refuse to refund or give store credit. I can only exchange, which I dont have time for, but luckily I can go exchange it for another sh* costume tmrw...which ill do and try to sell on my own. Just bad customer service. Your sh is old and falling apart. Don't sell it to consumers.