Hello,

As I was cleaning out my daughters' closets, I noticed yet again, all of the dresses that I have bought them for various holidays and events. Most of them were only worn once and are in pristine condition. I thought that it would be so much more economical if I could just rent matching dresses for them instead of buying new ones each holiday.

Anyone have any feedback on the idea of a dress-up rental business that carries clothing for boys and girls that could be rented and returned? I did a little research on the net and found costume rental businesses, but that's about it.

I was initially thinking of storefront in our urban area, but then thought that an online rental business might make more sense for a broader audience. Of course cleaning and shipping charges would need to be considered.

Thanks for your time.

The rental business is very tricky, I would not try to do it online, you would never get your merchandise back. Things are hard to rent because of the alterations to fit each person, and also the cleaning cost involved. This is why tuxedo rentals are usually done by someone connected witha dry cleaner, and also the fee that they charge is the wholesale cost of the item. The life span of the item is very short.

You are ahead to rent a location and sell quality merchandise at a discount and not try to rent.

Classy Formal Wear has long made a business of renting formal wear for adults but they also rent for children as well.

I googled "renting children's dresses" and ended up on this link, which you will find interesting if not useful for your market studies:

http://www.partypop.com/Categories/Childrens_Formal_Wear.html

It is obvious to me, that there is definitely a market, but you might want to partner up with wedding planners as well as a dry cleaner.

Good luck with it.

Tina Brooks, VP Marketing
Brooks Pepperfire Foods, Inc.
Makers of Peppermaster Hot Sauces
http://www.peppermaster.com

Eat more peppers!

That's actually a brilliant idea, however, thinking about it, I came up with several problems right off the bat. Maybe that's why it's not a prevalent business.

First, kids are kids. It's not the same as dealing with adults. What's the % chance that they will spill or ruin the outfit? Of course, adults probably do this too, and that's part of doing business, but it does seem like the likelihood is higher with kids. Since you have kids (I don't), you can probably draw from your own experience on the answer.

Then, you would have to get enough of an inventory to supply sales, but you've probably thought of this.

Isn't this what tuxedo and wedding apparel companies already do? If not, you will have find a way to differentiate yourself because people may assume that.

Those are just some things that come to mind for me. However -

The fact that nobody is doing it could mean you have an idea with little competition. But think it through because you'll have to purchase inventory, etc.

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Here's another idea: How about a swap service? You could do that online. Swapping outfits. Example tag line: "Don't buy it, trade it!" You could charge a small fee for listings and people would swap dresses/outfits online. It would be much less legwork for you and in this economy, could be a great service for people with families.

Of course, you have to build the site and get traffic, make it popular, etc.

But every business has it's issues, right?

Good luck!