Home » How To Know If Your Bounce House Rental Is A Scam?

How To Avoid a Bounce House Rental Scam?

A bounce house rental scam is easier to spot than you think. TL;DR – If a “rental company” only wants Zelle, CashApp, or Venmo, walk away. Those apps are non-refundable, once your money’s gone, it’s gone. Legit businesses use a card processor like Square or Stripe, so you can dispute the charge with your bank if something goes wrong.

No Facebook page, no website, no real photos (just AI-generated ones), and a random @gmail.com email? That’s not a startup, that’s a red flag.

And if the price seems too good to be true, it probably is. Moving 250lbs of vinyl, tables, and chairs isn’t cheap, and neither is insurance (if they even carry it, we do). Don’t let a lower price talk you out of your family’s safety.

Payment Methods

It’s important to understand how payments are taken. Many businesses will use a card processing companies such as Square/Stripe as a card processing merchant. It’s free to signup for the business. The significance of using a card processing company is for the fact that, you as a consumer, if you do not receive a product or service you have the freedom to contact your bank and dispute the charge. Even when we started out as just a side hustle we used a card merchant to process payments.

When a potential scammer is looking to take your money, they will insist on you paying through an app such as Zelle/CashApp/Venmo or other instant money transfer app. This is a major red flag. As we stated above signing up for a card processing merchant is free for businesses. These instant transfer apps are NON-REFUNDABLE, once you send the money it’s as good as gone and is near impossible to get your money back.

We’re not saying that everyone using instant money transfer apps is out to scam you. Some people are genuine and are doing rentals as a side gig and may not know about card processing or may not want to pay the processing fee’s involved with card processing fees. Just be cautious with who you are sending money to.

Online Presence

A weak online presence is another classic bounce house rental scam sign. Having some sort of presence online is something to look out for. Even side gig rental people will have some sort of presence online. Here are some things to look for:

  • Facebook Page – Does the company have a dedicated Facebook page showing times of operation, phone number, email address and some REAL rental photo’s and not just AI ads.
  • Website – While not always necessary for startups who have 2-3 inflatables, it’s a good idea that they have one. Most booking software will provide a website where you as a customer can book your rental. And honestly a website costs as low as $10/mth, why wouldn’t a legitimate business have one?
  • Domain Name – I’m sure you have all seen someone with a @gmail.com or some other free email service as the email to contact them. While not a huge red flag but understand that getting a personalized domain name for an email is as low as $20/year. If they cant invest in something that cost that low, should you invest in them?
  • Photos – Do all the images look AI generated? While many rental companies may use AI art as a thumbnail image on their websites, they should also be posting REAL rental photos. You can also reverse search images. Scammers may steal real company photos and claim as their own. Take the image and put it in Google search bar to reverse search the image. It will 99.9% of the time show the website in which the photo was taken from. 
  • Reviews – While new companies may not have any reviews when starting up, it is worth seeing if they have any. Many times the first customer is someone they know and would most likely leave a real. Not just a random 5 star google review, but a review with actual context and depth.

Pricing

Pricing is one of the easiest ways to spot a bounce house rental scam. Remember what they say, if the price is too good to be true it usually is. We get it, you want to shop around and see who has the best deals and the lowest price. The real red flag is how someone can undercut someone else by a large margin. There’s a reason why the larger reputable companies costs are what

they are. If multiple larger companies are offering a bounce house for ~$200 and you find some random person offering a bounce house with tables and chairs for $150 it sounds like a deal but is it? Don’t let a too good of a deal blind you. Check the larger more expensive companies first, there’s a reason why they are priced a certain way. Think of it this way, would you want to move 250lbs of vinyl, tables, chairs, gas for $150? Let alone what insurance costs for rental companies(if they even have insurance, don’t worry we do!)

Insurance

Did you know that not every state requires a bounce house rental company to carry insurance? We think that’s crazy, especially with the amount of potential injuries that can occur. It’s a peace of mind of knowing your rental company carries insurance even if their state doesn’t require it. If safety is neglected by the operator, your loved ones may be at risk. Don’t let a cheaper cost prioritize safety, that’ just silly. This is exactly the kind of gap a bounce house rental scam relies on, so always ask for proof of insurance up front.