Sunshine Octopus — Local services in Rehoboth Beach

If you love high quality tie dye this is great place. My review I not of the clothes but how I was treated in store. I walked in with one small bag from another boutique. I was in the store with several other costumers, one family with a younger child. I picked out a skirt and pants and walked to the dressing room. The curtains were wide open so I placed my items on the hooks. A woman working shouted, “how many items do you have? And we don’t let costumers in the dressing rooms with bags you have to leave your bag outside the room.” I then asked her if I can at least leave my bag behind her counter. I’m alone so no one to watch it. A man checking out said, “I guess it makes sense you ask to leave bags outside.” But I think he was trying to cut the tension. I tried on my items and then came out. No one offered to help me. I saw the family go into the dressing room with bags and no issues no one counted their clothing items. I dismissed it can kept shopping. I tried on 3 more items and again the women eyed me suspiciously (you know when someone is looking at you kindly versus not it’s pretty hard not to take it personally). I left my bag outside as instructed but since no one was talking to me in the store and they were helping others I told her I had 3 more items - and she did not respond she just glared at me. Nothing fit and when I came out she gave a nice, “I’m sorry nothing worked out.” I’ll never go in here again. There are so many welcoming and wonderful boutiques in this area. I completely respect the rules of the store no bags but then why was I singled out? And knowing I’m like how can I watch my bags from the same thieves they are so afraid of? Lastly, kindly coming over and counting my items and just asking if my bag could be inspected would have been way kinder than shouting across to me so all could hear. But maybe that’s the point everyone heard so no one would steal? Blah I hate writing bad reviews but truly...

I had a very disappointing experience at this store due to the incredibly rude behavior of one of the employees. I was simply on FaceTime with my dad—not taking photos or videos—just talking while looking around the store with my 20-year-old girlfriend when a woman working there abruptly came up to me and covered my phone screen without warning. It was invasive, disrespectful, and completely unnecessary.

She claimed the store had a “no photos” policy, which I completely understand and respect. But FaceTime is not the same as taking photos, and I explained that I was on a call, not recording anything. Instead of handling the situation with any level of professionalism or kindness, she doubled down, saying FaceTime was not allowed because she “didn’t know how old” the person I was talking to was. That logic made absolutely no sense. My dad is a full-grown adult and I was clearly not doing anything inappropriate. Meanwhile, she didn’t ID me or my girlfriend (who is 20 years old) at any point. So if age verification was truly a concern, why wasn’t anyone actually being carded?

It felt like a power trip more than a policy enforcement, and her tone and attitude throughout the interaction were completely unacceptable. I understand stores can set their own rules, but there’s a way to speak to people with basic respect—and that was totally missing here.

Bottom line: I will never come back to this store again, and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone who values being treated with decency while shopping. There are too many great stores out there to waste your time dealing with rude and condescending employees like this.

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(August 2022). Awesome place! We stay in Fenwick Island each year & decided to search out "hippie places" to shop at & found Sunshine Octopus (about 25 min drive from Fenwick Island). We drove there one evening to check it out & loved it. There's so much to choose from & something for everyone. My family bought some patchwork pants/shorts, fanny pack, grateful Dead shirt & I bought a grateful dead sticker for our VW bus. A few days later I got home & of course lost it. I called to see if I could buy another one to send to me & they did! It was actually at my house in Pennsylvania in 2 days. We will be making this place a stop when we're on vacation each year! I appreciate the promptness & customer service. I'll add a picture of my bus once I put the sticker on it.

(August 2023): just stopped in while on vacation & was greeted with kindness & a bigger selection than last year to choose from. Once again, it was a great place. My family/kids love it there. It was great meeting Mark & his wife (owners) this year. ✌️ keep doing what you're doing!

(August 2024): Another awesome year with my family at Fenwick Island. Of course we stopped in Sunshine Octopus to check out what they had. I got to see the owner, Mark, & got to chat with him for awhile. Mark was kind enough to give me their Sunshine Octopus sticker to go along with my other purchases today. Glad to see the awesome selection of clothing. We'll see you again next August! I will always recommend this...