When you hire someone to hang Christmas lights, the lights on your roof belong to somebody. Find out who before you sign. The answer changes what you pay over the years and what you keep if you ever leave.
Two ways installers do it
Leasing. The installer owns the lights. Each season you pay for the use of them plus the work, and at takedown the lights go back into the installer's stock. If you stop, you keep nothing. Plenty of installers work this way, and the trade press sells it to them as a way to hold onto customers: the display belongs to the company, so the only way to have it up again next year is to book the same company again.
Owning. Your first-season price includes the lights, and the set becomes yours once you pay for the job. If the installer stores it between seasons, they are holding your property.
How Shimmer & Shine does it
You own the set. Our service agreement puts it in one sentence: "All bulbs, clips, cord and track supplied under this Agreement become the sole property of the Client upon final payment."
That has three practical effects:
- Storage is a service. In January we take your set down, tag every run, and keep it in a climate-controlled facility, labeled for your address. You can ask for it back at any time with reasonable notice.
- Next season, you pay for the work. Your lights already exist and already fit your house. After season one you pay for putting them back up, fixing them during the season, taking them down and storing them again.
- Longer agreements cost less. Season one is always full price. On a three-year agreement, seasons two and three are 20% off. On a two-year agreement, season two is 15% off.
Side by side
| Lease | Own | |
|---|---|---|
| Who owns the lights | The installer | You, once the job is paid |
| First season buys | The work and the use of their lights | The work and a set built for your house |
| Later seasons | You pay for the lights and the work again | You pay for the work |
| If you switch companies | The lights leave with the installer | You keep your set |
| If you move | Nothing to take with you | Your set can go with you |
Questions to ask any installer
- Who owns the lights after I pay?
- What happens to them if I cancel?
- Can I get them back if I want them?
- What will season two cost, and what makes it cheaper?
An installer should be able to answer the first question in one sentence.
Which one fits you
A lease keeps the hardware somebody else's problem, which suits you if you want lights for a season or two and have no interest in keeping anything. Owning fits better if you plan to light the house for several years, or you like knowing the set stays yours whoever hangs it.
See what yours would cost
Send your address on the estimate form. Tate measures your roofline from satellite imagery and texts you a ballpark, usually the same day.
Common questions
Do I own the lights Shimmer & Shine installs?
Yes. The bulbs, clips, cord and track become your property once you have paid in full. Storage is us holding your property for you between seasons. It is not a rental.
Can I get my lights back if I want them?
Yes. The set is yours, so you can take possession of it at any time on reasonable notice. That is written into the service agreement.
What do I pay for in the second season?
The work: putting your own lights back up, fixing them during the season, taking them down and storing them again. A two-year agreement takes 15% off the second season, and a three-year agreement takes 20% off seasons two and three.
What does the first season include?
Measurement, lights cut to your house, the install, fixes all season, takedown in January and storage until next October. We price by the foot of roofline, and the rate steps up on set dates through the season. The current rate is on our pricing page.
What happens to my set if I move?
It is yours, so it goes where you want it to. Strands cut for one roofline will not match a new house foot for foot, but the bulbs, clips and cord are still yours to keep, reuse or leave behind for the next owner.
