Village Party Store Inc. — Local services in New York

DO NOT WASTE YOUR $$ OR TIME HERE! TERRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE!! In an area where there are plenty of stores like this, avoid going here at all costs!

If I could give them zero starts I would. After spending a half hour in the store last night having 20 latex balloons blown up, including paying extra for hi float to make the balloons float longer (the guy at the store said at least a week as opposed to less than 24 hours without the hi float) I am extremely disappointed in their customer service. I paid $45 for 20 balloons and left the store. While I waited for a cab, a balloon popped. In the cab another two popped. Walking down the hallway of my building another two popped. Five balloons popped before even getting into my apartment. I proceeded to put the balloons in the room, and one by one they all began to pop. Before I even got a chance to cut the ribbons or move them anywhere else, one at a time they began to pop. After 5 minutes of being inside, every single balloon had popped. I called the store immediately and was told it must be my fault because of the reasons listed below. The store manager asked that I email him photos of the ceiling and the room because he didn't believe that it wasn't the ceiling or lights in the room that caused this. After sending multiple photos and explaining that there was nothing I did to cause this, he said he's sorry but there's nothing he can do. He said this has never happened in 15 years of business and once you leave the store it's not their problem. Here is the email I sent them expressing my disappointment.

"You suggested that the lights caused it, there were no lights turn on in the room. There is only one light fixture and it was left off. Also the balloons were not near the fixture.

You suggested that the ceiling is one of those sharp ceilings that's popcorn that would have popped the balloons. As you can clearly see in the photos, the ceilings are completely flat. They are exactly the same as the walls. It's a brand new building with flat painted walls and ceilings. There is no way that the ceiling or any lights caused the balloons to pop.

Lastly you suggested that it was too hot in the room. We walked in, have been gone all day and there is no heat on at all. It is cold in the apartment if anything. One by one, every single balloon started popping. Every time one balloon touched another, one would pop. By the time I went to get a scissors from the kitchen and started to attempt to cut the ribbons shorter, five balloons had popped. As I tried to take one balloon and cut the ribbon, it would pop. One by one without even being touched every balloon popped. I couldn't even attempt to figure out why it was happening, as within 5 minutes every single balloon was popped.

Not only was this a huge waste of my time and money, but it took me the last hour to clean up all the pieces of balloon which were everywhere all over the room. There is now the hi float chemical goo all over the floor of the nursery and it's splatted all over the crib and brand new fabric rocking chair. It's a huge mess and a huge concern that there's now chemicals all over the baby's new room, what a nightmare.

Please see the photos below. You can clearly see the light fixture is not the problem as most of the balloons were nowhere near it. And the light was never turned on. You can also clearly see that the walls and ceiling are totally flat. There is no way the ceiling or the light fixture had anything to do with this. It seemed as though the balloons were overfilled with helium, it makes no sense why within 5 minutes all 20 balloons had popped leaving me with a huge mess to clean up."

As expected, they said there is nothing they can do. My family gives them a ton of business and they know this, yet refused to do anything. The mess left from the pieces of balloon and chemicals all over is unacceptable and I wouldn't want anyone else to have to...

It's tempting to order balloons + delivery from here because it's a little cheaper than other locations, but don't do it!

I placed an order for balloons + delivery to an event in SoHo a week ahead of time. The delivery time was set to 4:30pm on a Saturday, and the event would start at 5pm.

Three days before, I called to discuss the delivery window. They could not wait to get off the phone with me, and would only say that they had other orders as well.

Two days before, I called again, and this time they told me they needed an hour window for delivery. I told them no problem, any time between 4 and 5pm is okay. They confirmed they could bring the balloons before 5pm. I tried to get it in writing in an email, but did not get a reply.

The day of, at 5:20pm, my partner started making phone calls to ask Village Party Store about the delivery. At first they couldn't find the order. Eventually they did, and they sent a text that it would be another 20 minutes. Note that it is a 20 minute walk and a 10 minute drive from the store to the event location. It is possible they lost my order despite several calls. It arrived ~5:40-5:45pm.

The event was great despite this, and balloons were not necessary to enjoy the evening with good company. However, it cost me $73, $25 of which was the delivery fee.

So, I highly recommend ordering from a different shop if you ever...

This is an NYC dollar store style party supply store. If you are looking for party supplies, costumes, balloons, or costume trimmings, they are packed to the ceiling with everything you could want. The prices are very good.

We are often in the garment district at trimmings speciality stores. In the day we found this place, those stores were all closed. We were in a pinch and worried we may not be able to find what we needed. Then we walked into Village Party Store. We found more than what we came for and saved a ton of money.

If you’re looking for party and costume supplies now that Party City is closed, this is your place. They have pretty much everything and more than Party City did and at much lower prices.

I saw people complain about dust in the reviews when I was deciding to come, I did not have this issue at all, nor did anyone I was with. I had a great time exploring and it was well organized. We found what we needed quickly. This is not a corporate store. This is a local, family-owned business that specializes in variety and tries to fit as much in the store as possible.

The staff were friendly, helpful and happy to have us and see our excitement with the breadth of what they had to offer. This is a new go-to spot for me, I’ll keep coming back as long as...