Hello and welcome back! This week, we will be talking about how to protect yourself from being scammed by party vendors. You’ve probably been searching the web for the perfect (let’s just use photo booth as an example) photo booth company for your sister’s wedding and you come across one that is catching your attention, but you’re a little skeptical on hiring them because of past experiences your friends have had with their vendors. Don’t let what happened to them affect your decision making! Let us help you distinguish the difference and help you steer clear from these scammers.  

The first thing a vendor should have is a contract. We believe all vendors should provide contracts that explain what they will be providing for your party. A legal binding contract will ensure both you and the vendor will stick to the service arrangements. And if for some reason your vendor does not hold up their end of the bargain, then you are able to take legal actions, BUT we hope that never has to happen! We’ve had clients come to us last minute, asking if we have any availability because their vendor stopped responding after they’ve made their deposit! Isn’t that terrible! So make sure they have a contract before giving them any money.

Another thing to look for is their reviews. What do their clients think about them? Other’s reviews will really help you decide if what the vendor is claiming they will do for you is true or false. Sadly reviews are something you can’t fully rely on. Everyone’s experience and expectation are different. If you see a vendor you want to work with but they don’t have 5 stars on their Yelp page read the reviews and see if the reason for the low stars is something that should concern you. 

Last thing to keep in mind when looking for vendors is, “Is that vendor’s offer too good to be true?” This is a topic Melvin and I always talk about, If you guys didn’t know we’re in the photo booth business and we’ve seen a few photo booth vendors charging less than $300 for four hours! We just think that’s suspicious. Considering all the work photo booth vendors put in before every event from the strip designs, to the actual event where we set up and keep everything working smoothly while you and your guests have an amazing time. We just believe it’s too good to be true. Something else to keep in mind about those types of photo booths is the vendors quality might not be up to parr, which will account to why they charge so little.

Hopefully these tips will help guide you through your party vendor search. Remember to keep an eye out for those red flags so you won’t be in a sticky situation. And DON’T forget to have fun when looking for vendors! Party planning should be fun and exciting, so enjoy it!