(RESOLVED!) Need Advice: Feeling Held Hostage

[velux.livejournal.com]

EDIT 4/6/12: After contacting the maker privately, we have come to a compromise and an agreement on how to handle this. Thank you everyone for your help!

(Reposted because of derp while editing to add the LJ Cut requested along with a link to pics of the faults >.<  If you posted advice on the original, please post again! Thank you so much!)

I need some advice in a situation where I've felt held hostage by a very well-known fursuit maker I commissioned. Unfortunately, hope seems very bleak at this point, despite everyone I've mentioned the situation to (friends and new, curious acquaintances alike) feeling as though I'm in the clear here.





I commissioned them for a partial fursuit, the deal made official on January 23, 2011.  I paid the down payment immediately, and completed payment on time.  The partial was to be done and in my hands for Anthrocon 2011, June 23-26.  She contacted me on June 7, noting she may not be on track to have the wings completed in time for the convention, as was legally contracted. She promised she would have them done within a month or two after the convention.  They were never started to this day.

She sent out the rest of it though, and it arrived on time.  I wore the costume a total of 7 times: 1 time for literally a couple of minutes when I first got it, 3 outings at Anthrocon, 1 bowling outing, 1 time for smaller meet, and 1 time for Halloween. Over those few times, many issues came to light, starting from the first time I pulled it on - when one of the armsleeves' hems pulled apart with minimal force.  Aside from that, the tail was made on 1 belt loop, preventing me from using the rear belt loop on any pants, the back of the space between thumb and index finger on the right glove wore through largely, she failed to hem the ends of either the gloves or arms (the latter of which frayed badly until I had to pull another friend away from last minute suit work at the con hotel to fix for me), she used black thread on non-fur yellow fabric, the beak was left unsealed which caused the fur to stick tot he bare paint with even minimal, non-excessive heat, and most dumbfounding of all, she built both footpaws on the same side shoe/slipper.

I tried rolling with it, trying to convince myself that it was okay and I could live with it, especially with the hefty investment, but the buildup of surprising mistakes and lack of quality forced me to contact her about it on November 1, 2011.  After a few emails negotiating a course of action, including first being apologetic, then surprisingly lashing out at me several times, before we both came to an agreement for me to send the costume back to her (from the U.S. to New Zealand), at which time she would provide me a full refund minus the deposit. This agreement was reached on November 26, 2011, to which I got the reply "Okay sure, I'll pay it back as the money comes into my Paypal account."

I sent the package on December 12, 2011 following a small delay due to college finals, providing a photo of my receipt and customs form.  Only then did she inform me she was leaving the country for a month.  The package did not make it in time, and the package was lost in the mail while I waited for a response of her return and confirmation whether or not it arrived while she was gone.  I had to contact her on February 6, 2012 to find out, the result being no package there, and no return to me.  I waited a few days to see if it was taking some time to arrive back here, until I contacted USPS and opened an official inquiry with USPS and the new Zealand Post at the end of February.  I received the package back here on March 17, 2012, and opened the package to confirm its condition (the box had been minorly squished), and took photos of the aforementioned damages, as well as for verification that there were no additional damages.  I repackaged the suit as I did the last time (which survived technically 2 trips - there AND back), and sent the suit a second time (following confirmation she would be around this time) on March 22, 2012, again providing a photo of the receipt and customs form.

I Proceeded to warn her the day before and the day of the beginning of the range USPS guaranteed its delivery.  She didn't respond to my emails, so I noted her on FurAffinity of she had received my emails. She responded on March 31, 2012 that she had, and that the package had arrived.  She said it was her birthday so she was taking the day off, and would respond the next day or the day after  that "I'll let you know what's up in my email."

This morning, April 3, I got her email with this reply:

Dear Velux,

I received the suit, and I cannot issue a refund.  The wear, damage, and smell on this suit show that you've used it heavily.  I will gladly refund the cost of making the wings ($200), since they have not been completed.  I'll also be happy to fix the mistake with the feet.  That said, I cannot offer any further compensation for what is clearly a very used suit.  You've raised some concerns about the quality of the suit, but this is only after extensive usage.  You raved about it when it you got it on FA.  If it was as bad as you've since claimed, you should have brought it up before wearing it.  It would be like asking for a refund for a car that you've driven all around the country.  I'd be glad to do repairs, but it will carry a cost.

Furthermore, I have images posted of you smoking in the suit.  No matter what produces the smoke, it will always damage garments.  This alone is reason for me to not issue a refund.  I cannot turn around and sell this suit.  It would be impossible to remove the smells.  Also, the method you used to package the suit and send it to me was far from ideal and resulted in what I assume is additional damage.  Regardless of the poor packaging, the wear of the suit alone is enough to make it so it cannot be sold.

I'll make photos of the damage so we can have a record.  I'll repair the feet and ship it back to you.  Thank you for your understanding.

Sincerely,
~[Maker]

The problems with her logic, however are this:
"You've raised some concerns about the quality of the suit, but this is only after extensive usage ... It would be like asking for a refund for a car that you've driven all around the country."
If a suit isn't made correctly in the first place, what would normally not wear, or wear very minorly will look 10x worse than on a quality costume.  And with how much I've worn the suit, it's like I got the car for a test drive for half a day (if that).

"Furthermore, I have images posted of you smoking in the suit.  No matter what produces the smoke, it will always damage garments."
Yes, I smoked in the suit.  However, the only thing I have been pictured smoking in it, and have smoked in it strictly, is hookah.  Hookah smoke is produced by a coal cooking tobacco or tea herbs in a bowl that is then vigorously filtered through water - it is 95% or more water vapor, and the scent left by it (if any) is perfumey due to the flavorings used. There's nothing damaging about it.  I know there are a large amount of suiters out there who've smoked hookah in their fursuits, and they can confirm what I'm saying.  As for the scent she complained about, the only scent left on it was that of the dryer sheets I kept in the costume - which both leave their own scent, as well as absorb moisture and smells that could damage the suit.  What she smells is actually form PREVENTING foul scent and damage to the costume.

"Also, the method you used to package the suit and send it to me was far from ideal and resulted in what I assume is additional damage."
The method I used to package the costume was the exact same way I sent it the first time, and it was 100% fine the first trip halfway around the world, as well as the trip back. I find it hard to believe there would be a drastic difference the third time suddenly.  I have photos from when it was returned and I checked its condition, so I'd love to see if anything's changed.

"Regardless of the poor packaging, the wear of the suit alone is enough to make it so it cannot be sold."
A-ha.  So her motivation was to resell it.  It's funny, because I have an email from her here where she denied that was why she wanted the costume back:
  >On Nov 8, 2011, at 7:04 PM, [Maker] wrote:
    >The materials will not be coming back to me to be used

So she lied to my face to get it into her possession. That sounds really fishy and bothers the heck out of me. It makes me wonder if she was planning to deny the refund the entire time. [OP Edit: It appears as if this part was a misunderstanding/miscommunication in wording or something]

In either event, despite her shoddy logic, she's holding me up for my $1200 refund on my $1700 unfinished suit that she already agreed to, knowing the damages (mind you, following nearly $200 of shipping I had to shell out, bringing me to losing nearly $2K).  I honestly don't want repairs. With the quality this maker has shown, it will only fall apart again, and I'll be stuck once again with a suit I've invested two thousand dollars in that I won't be able to wear.

I've been very reluctant to make this public (which is why I'm doing my best to not name names), but I'm at a loss as to what to do at this point.  I can't draw worth a crap, and fursuiting is really the only thing I have to actively participate in and give to the fandom - something that frankly means a lot to me.  The past half year without one has been incredibly difficult for me, wanting to participate in and do something for the fandom, but not being able to. I hoped to inspire other suiters out there to boost their performance, thanks to my prior experience as a nationally-ranking college mascot (I definitely know a thing or two about costumed performance, as well as the suits).  But now I'm left with nothing.  What do I do? What can I do?

EDIT: Here's a gallery of the damages. Again, this is after only 7 times wearing the costume.
EDIT 2: Here are additional caps to show there's nothing in the maker's TOS that forbids smoking in her costumes or renders them unusable/unrefundable

Comments

[sigilgoat.livejournal.com]

Approving this re-post. While attempting to edit with a link to the gallery of damages, the post was lost.

The OP has specifically requested they do not wish to name names at this time. Please do not post links or information about the suit maker. Comments including this information will be screened.

[xisidereal.livejournal.com]

Alright, thank you so much for adding the pictures too - yeah, that is beyond appalling :<

Seven cons? There is no way that should have happened - that suit is falling apart!!

I would definitely be trying to reach some sort of agreement, but unfortunately with that maker, I've heard a lot of folks having similar issues with quality.

[velux.livejournal.com]

Re-read that. 1 con with 3 periods of suiting.

[shukivengeance.livejournal.com]

If there was an agreement for a full refund minus the deposit she should have honoured it, and not letting you know that she was leaving the country when you were sending the item (at cost, I assume) is extremely unprofessional.

However there are a few points of your own I disagree with.

"Yes, I smoked in the suit. However, the only thing I have been pictured smoking in it, and have smoked in it strictly, is hookah.
If any item smells of something that it shouldn't, then especially when it comes to resale, that counts as damage. It doesn't matter if it's a smell that you like, or one that's not *quite* as obnoxious as others (like cat pee or something). It still detracts from the condition and therefore value of the item.

"A-ha. So her motivation was to resell it."
This isn't really much of an 'A-ha' moment since it's rather obvious. In order to refund you, recouping some of the cost has to come from somewhere. Reselling an item when the customer no longer wants it is common.

From looking at pictures of the suit I can't help but wonder if the seller is new to making these because the crafting seems... inexperienced?

[velux.livejournal.com]

With the 'A-ha' thing, as I said in the following sentence, it's not a shocker that's what she intended, but what does put up a red flag is that she lied to my face to get the suit back in her possession. It makes me wonder if she had been planning on denying the refund the whole time.

And somehow they've been making suits for I think 3 years or more now, and I believe they're focusing more on their costume business than their illustrations the past 1.5 years or so. The craftsmanship definitely doesn't reflect any of this.

[ljmydayaway.livejournal.com]

Wow to the images of the damage. Especially of the gloves. Those were obviously made without knowledge of how to work with knit fabrics. The seam was way too close to the selvage edge of the pattern. There isn't really even any way to fix that without the gloves being too tight.

The rip in the fur looks like it was caused by the same issue.

I've worked with knit quite a bit, and I'm no expert, but I've certainly never had anything shred like that (and I work with doll-sized objects mostly D: ).

[miss-sevens.livejournal.com]

I agree with your observation: The maker has no clue on how to work with knits. Plus they should have reinforce the seam on those gloves because of the stress that's going to be put on the seam.

[jibacoil.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's not normal wear and tear damage, that suit's falling apart due to poor craftsmanship.

I hope you're able to get at least part of your money back, because a professionally built fursuit should not fall apart that easily.

[familliaraver.livejournal.com]

A well made suit shouldn't fall apart like that. And yes, if someone drove a brand new car off the lot and the car is defective the company fixes it. Anyone who has sewn anything can tell those seams were not your fault. Paper eyes on a suit that expensive? You should post a full beware here and on fursuit reviews if they don't go above and beyond to make this right with you.

[velux.livejournal.com]

I plan to make everyone fully aware if she doesn't make right on this. I don't want anyone else getting screwed/scammed, much less with so much money on the table.

[fenrirs-child.livejournal.com]

Holy sh*t, that's pretty unbelievable. I still stand by my stance if you saw this level of shoddy workmanship, you certainly shouldn't have continued to wear it, and I think you're going to take a loss somehow for doing so, but there's definitely obvious incompetence here on the part of the maker. I also really want to urge you to post a full beware and fursuit reviews, both on the LJ community and the FA one, because this is horribly atrocious.

[korth.livejournal.com]

That is awful, and every time I see something like this it just reminds me not to get something from that maker. But, unfortunately, they are rather popular and will probably continue to get new customers because most (thought not all, and mainly new to fursuiting) people go purely on aesthetics and popularity rather than looking into wither or not they make a quality product.

I truly hope this does settle in your favour, as I don't think there's anything you've done wrong. They were most likely just looking for any reason/excuse to not give you a refund in the end.. I wish I could be of more help, sorry.

[bladespark.livejournal.com]

Well I can tell I'm out of the fursuit making loop these days, I've no clue who the maker is. :P

I just can't believe they made the following eyes from PAPER. I feel weird that I make mine from craft foam, but I haven't found anything that works for the purpose better yet. I can't even imagine using paper. And following eyes should be built deeply *into* the head in any case, not just set on top like that. WTF, seriously. I could see somebody used to working in fur not knowing how to work with some other fabric, I've had that kind of thing trip me up before, but... paper! Paper! the only suit I've EVER used paper on was the first suit I ever made and that was a personal suit just for me. I can't get over somebody (especially somebody with years of experience and charging accordingly) using paper!

[taasla.livejournal.com]

You do not have the final product, therefore she owes you compensation. This is ridiculous. I don't sew, and even I can tell you that you didn't do those damages.

Edit: After doing a bit of... stalking (sorry), I found out who the builder is. This isn't the first complaint of their suits literally falling apart. It's a shame to see this is the third that I've heard of having these kinds of issues.

[houndofloki.livejournal.com]

A $1,700 item should not look like that after such a limited period of normal use. There's no excuse for such an expensive product to be falling apart like that.

It would be fair, though, if she deducted your refund whatever it would cost to get the suit cleaned. Y'know how a lot of cat owners will swear up and down that their apartment absolutely does not smell like cat? Hookah smoke is kind of like that. If you have one or are fond of 'em, you don't notice the smell or it's not unpleasant to you. But to others who might not be as big of fans, it is. Deducting your refund whatever the price for dry-cleaning a fursuit is so she can resell it would be reasonable.

[fenrirs-child.livejournal.com]

Dry-cleaning a suit isn't always the best route. I'm going off the assumption you're not familiar with fursuits, but fur melts when put in a dryer and turns into a matted mess. A lot of dry cleaners use the dryers for everything, and if any damage were to occur you'd be SOL. Also, a head is usually spot-clean only, and with the beak on this one (let alone the paper eyes!) I don't think it would survive any cleaning that would remove any potential smoke smell.

Premise is sound though, a cleaning fee isn't unreasonable (assuming it's a reasonable amount).

[flarveon.livejournal.com]

As someone who knows who this is, i'm greatly disappointed.

Paper eyes? I also had paper eyes in my fursuit by another well-known maker, and after 2 conventions and 6 or so short outings, they melted and the FUR STARTED FALLING OFF.

These sorts of problems should not happen with a suit you've just bought and paid 4 digits for. I'm so glad you finally decided to post this! Let me know how you go in the end!

[velux.livejournal.com]

Mind you this is asking for advice, an official post could come if the issue is not resolved.

[morti-macabre.livejournal.com]

As someone who's purchased a suit second hand that was two years old and still looks near brand-new, I can attest that a suit SHOULD be able to hold up longer than the paltry amount you got out of yours.

When mine came from the original owner, it smelled of whatever they had in their house. It was a little off-putting, but it was perfumey and went away quickly. I don't see how a little smell from a hookah (that I doubt even lingers after ALL THAT TIME) can bother someone.

Sounds like you're getting taken for a ride, and I'm so sorry. I hope this all gets fixed for you.

[mpd-84.livejournal.com]

Even light fumes can trigger allergic reactions for some people, and in some cases they can be life threatening.
A friend of mine is so allergic to marijuana that a coworkers duffel bag made them break out just being in the same room.

[velux.livejournal.com]

Thanks for all the comments, glad to hear that me and my friends aren't just biased lol. Just a reiteration though, I really need help figuring out what to do and how to handle this. Any tips, suggestions, or recommendations?

[bladespark.livejournal.com]

I'd suggest a calm letter (write it, and maybe have a friend look it over, or edit it after it's sat a while, so you make sure it's clear) setting out in facts-only terms why you feel the maker is in the wrong, include quotes from their past messages, and tell them that you feel you have no other option but to make their name public unless they make this right in some way. You might consider offering a compromise of some sort, some combination of refund and replacement perhaps, but make it clear that you expect them to do something to compensate you, since right now you have nothing at all, and that there will be consequences if they don't.

[tunavoice.livejournal.com]

Late comment, sorry. But wow, I looked at the gallery and... those pieces of the fursuit don't look like they were made at a good quality at all. I'm very sorry that you had to go through such an ordeal, OP. :(
This definitely sounds official A_B post worthy and I'm encouraging you to post one about the maker in question. If people are going to pay 1,000+ for a fursuit, this is NOT the quality they should be getting.

[tabernak.livejournal.com]

Paper eyes.

[rarakie.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry, but I need to reply. Only having half of the story isn't fair.

Velux didn't answer my email before making this post. I've been trying to work this out. He say he's reluctant to take this public, but he didn't even attempt to solve the problem out before posting here.

First, it should be noted that this suit is 10 months old. I have offered more than several times since the issues arrose to make FREE repairs which include re-doing one of the feet so they match, adding another belt loop and completely re-doing the arms and hands. Velux turned this offer down and continued to say he wanted a full refund. When he first brought up concerns about the suit, I took it very seriously. I still do. I tried to get this resolved as fast as I could, but his replies were greatly delayed (sometimes for weeks). He continued to wear the suit. He should have sent it back immediately for repairs, but chose not to.

I normally don't offer 70% refunds (-30% for materials and corrisponance), especially when there was no major issues that I hadn't offered to resolve, but I want to make all my customers happy. Velux told me about his financial troubles and debts in an email where he wanted me to refund him 100%, and I wanted to see if I could help as much as I could. I told him I'd refund 70% if the suit was in good enough condition upon arrival. To make this evaluation, I had him return the suit to me. It is in terrible condition. There is extensive wear, the hands are very used and dirty, the head is clearly very worn, the fur is heavily matted in areas and the feetpaws are very used and grubby.

Then there is the smell. He admits to smoking in the suit. He tries to claim it was hookah and shouldn't be a problem. Even if the smoke is perfumed, it has left a pungent and slight tobbaco scent. He tried to mask the scent with dryer sheets. I can't stress this enough, there is a hug difference between removing a scent and masking it. The scents have penetrated the fur and foam, ruining it for resale. This suit was obviously well used.

There is also damage done from poor packaging. Velux packaged the suit so the head was pressed against the side of the box instead of the other items inside and wrapped around so it wouldnt be crushed. This provided no give or shock absorption and with the weight of the other items squishing the head down it's now perminantly squashed, even after I've tried my best and left it for over a week in an attempt for it to regain it's propper shape.

It pains me that he said I 'lashed out' at him. Nothing could be further from the truth. I admit I made a mistake on the construction of the feet and the hands/arms. It was my first time working with the fleece kind of material and I know now how to better handle it. I have always offered to repair those, again, for free and ship them back to him, again, free of charge. When he continued to demand a 100% refund and continued to argue with me, I gave him options of what he'd like to do, I tried to remain as professional as possible.

[cont...]

[bladespark.livejournal.com]

"Velux didn't answer my email before making this post."

"I really need help figuring out what to do and how to handle this. Any tips, suggestions, or recommendations?"

Velux made it quite clear he had no idea how to proceed and was posting to get advice, so of *course* this was posted before he answered your e-mail.

It sounds to me like there's been a lot of miscommunication here on both sides, frankly. As a costumer myself I know that having something you thought was good work fall apart on you is incredibly stressful, I've been there, I've done that. It really sucks. But right now, as things stand, you have the suit *and* you have all the money, and from the customer's point of view that puts you in the position of power and him in the position of feeling helpless, which is also very stressful. I strongly suggest you at *least* refund the $200 you've both agreed on *right now* as a good will gesture, which may well make things a lot easier on both of you as you negotiate from here on out.

[rarakie.livejournal.com]

[...cont]

I'd like to reply to some of the points he made in his post. First, he says that he has barely worn the suit, but a lot of the damage on it is can only come from extensive use. He admits to wearing it to a con, a meet, bowling, for Halloween, and smoking. This all adds up to a lot of activities that can quickly put wear on the suit. A lot of my customers can vouch for me that my suits can take very heavy wear with no problems. He's careful not to share details of the suiting sessions. All I can go off is the heavy amount of wear clearly visible on the suit.

Second he claims, "Ah-ha" and that I clearly meant to resell it. We actually went over this in emails. I told him I'd be able to refund him if the costume is in good enough condition. He wanted the entire amount he'd payed for the suit back (including the 30% non-refundable deposit for materials and corrispondance). He said I should refund him 100% because I'd be getting the materials back, I told him I planned to strip the suit, re-fur it and sell it as a second hand item so I wouldnt be using the materials again as they'd been used. Also 30% covers all the work I put into emailing back and forward , quoting and driving around gathering materials. He KNEW I planned to re-fur and sell it.

He claims I lied to his face to get the suit in my possession. I never lied. I told him I needed to evaluate it. Would anyone give a refund without first checking the returned item? Of course not. I had to see it for myself. He knew that returning the suit wasn't an immediate guarantee of a refund. I will still gladly repair the feet, re-do the hands and arms, add a second belt loop, make small repairs to the head and send it back.I'm also still happy to refund him $200USD for the wings.

I'm really disapointed it all came to this. I really wanted to work this out with Velux through emails. I still hope we can resolve this. Velux, please email me.

If there are any questions, I'll try my best to answer. I'm not trying to create drama. I just want to clarify things.

[sparklebuttz.livejournal.com]

So much for this being anonymous and keeping it under wraps. Lawl he didnt even want to use yoru name and stuff how lowe.

[sparklebuttz.livejournal.com]

This sucks so bad that you had to go thru this!!!! I was serisuly considering comisshonig her to do a suit of my begle ;______;

[millislim.livejournal.com]

There are some definite issues on both sides imo. Some of the seams and the eyes do look quickly done and the same foot slippers is pretty unbelieveable. I'm not suggesting there weren't some serious construction flaws. However... something that stood out me is the seams of the hands...from my computer it looks like fleece ya? Those seams...unless those were redone by someone else are stretched...like someone else wore them or they were way too small. You didn't mention them being ill fitting so I would have to assume some larger hands went in them or they were roughly worn. Fleece doesn't do that with gentle wear...it would eventually curl and fray tho...I use ALOT of fleece in my craft projects and have only seen wear like that when I was rough with it. Black thread shouldn't have been used...you're right about that. The fur does look pretty matted in the pictures. Was it ever worn in the rain?

I do think the suit maker owes SOME compensation but after the first outting, if it were me? and there were some major issues?, I wouldn't have continued to wear it. Car dealerships won't let you take a car back and if there were major problems? and you didn't opt for the warranty...most would just shrug at you.

tl;dr
some bad stuff going on in the construction of the suit
the amount of wear on the suit is questionable
I think some compensation is due...but not all
I think the shipping back and forth needs to be hammered out between parties...$200 for the buyer to eat is not fair but as mentioned before...there does appear to be some rough wear...maybe 50/50 on shipping would be fair?

[velux.livejournal.com]

The arms and hands weren't fleece, it was more of a t-shirt material.

As for continuing to wear it, would you really expect all that to pop up, especially after paying so much, and waiting so long, for your own reflection of yourself to be finally realized in a real life form? Sounds a bit overdramatic, but that's ultimately it for anyone getting a suit of their fursona. I didn't want to believe the thing was going to end up that badly. I wanted to smile and try to say it's ok, it can be fixed, and so on, but after a certain point, that little bug in the back of the head just grew too big. I don't think such a behavior is -that- surprising, even if it, in retrospect, probably wan't the best course.

[fenrirs-child.livejournal.com]

As I said in the last post, I knew there must be more to the story. While it's true that Rarakie has nothing in her TOS about no smoking in suit, it very clearly states any refund would max out at 70%. It also states she'll make free repairs for up to 60 days after you receive it. If you didn't tell her you were having issues until 3 months after, technically speaking according to her TOS that you agreed to she doesn't *have to* fix anything. The fact she was (and still is) is going above and beyond her obligation, which is the right thing to do. Like I said before, I really think your best outcome here is to take the repairs and the refund for the wings and sell it if you're not happy with the result. Also, I didn't see any rudeness in any of those correspondences, just bluntness and directness. She also makes it pretty clear she's planning to refur and resell the head to recoup the loss.

A final note on TOSes, a lot of times an artist/maker doesn't have a clause for every single thing in their TOS, usually they just cover things they foresee happening. Because of first sale doctrine, she can't legally say you're not allowed to smoke in a suit, but it's not entirely unreasonable to refuse a refund if there's offending odors on it, workmanship aside.

[familliaraver.livejournal.com]

I totally agree with you there. If it was falling apart almost out of the box the owner should have shipped it back immediately. I've noticed that for some reason people don't like to complain when they first get their suit because they are just so happy to have it..so kind of pretending to ignore problems isn't that out of the ordinary.

However, that doesn't excuse the poor craftsmanship. That's the real problem here. And considering the very mixed reviews of those suits already...they don't need this kind of drama. It would be in their best interest to fix it even if they aren't 100 percent in the wrong and it seems they are willing to do so.

*comp half the shipping cost for the second shipment after they weren't home (unless there is proof they said they wouldn't be home)

*Send the original suit back, untouched. No matter what things are gonna smell strange/funny coming from someones house. Like smelling someones cooking; unless you stored your suit in a hermetically sealed bag. Make a new set of hands/arms.

*refund the wings or make them

[cyiakanami.livejournal.com]

My issue with all this is, the maker is offering to fix all of the issues and refund you the wing price and still wanting to give out free shipping back once she fixes everything. Don't you want your suit back?

Don't get me wrong, if it comes back and you can still see issues and problems and so on, I'd just finally ask for a refund of the 70% and ship it back to her and that would be that.

But she's willing to fix everything on the suit that you have not been pleased with and unless really you just want all your money back, I don't see an issue with getting everything fixed up and sent back to you free of charge. That and requesting a refund is probably going to take more time with having to recoup those funds back, then fixing the suit and re-sending it out again.

So from a neutral standpoint on all this, I'm not really seeing what the major fuss is over if the maker is willing to fix everything for you.

[jibacoil.livejournal.com]

The original maker's craftsmanship was pretty lackluster, so IMO it makes sense that OP isn't particularly keen on having the suit fixed, since he might end up with the same issues again.

[syrusb.livejournal.com]

Having watched this situation over the past few days, seems like this is going to be one of those situations where both parties will come to a compromise in resolution. Neither will be fully happy with it but the end result will be fair to both.

It sounds like a series of miscommunications and bad judgements on both sides. The suit should have had better construction, finished on time with all parts delivered. When issues with the suit were noticed the buyer should have informed the maker immediately and not created more wear on the suit while they hammered out a resolution. Communication from both sides should have been clear and regular.

That the maker is still willing to fix the issues and return the suit at no additional cost speaks well of them and probably the best way to resolve the situation. The wings' cost should be refunded if it hasn't been already.

With the way this has played out I don't believe a 100% or 70% refund is fair. The maker should be given the chance to fix the problems. Both parties should make a list of issues to fix so it's clear what is expected in regard to repairs. Take before and after pictures to document what was done, have the buyer inspect photos, give them a chance to ask questions about the repairs before return shipping. If there are still major issues with the suit upon return after repair then negotiations for a partial refund could be in order.

Good luck to both parties.

[velux.livejournal.com]

My issue with just having it fixed is that after the product already came to me with such poor craftsmanship, I don't want it to happen a second time. And if that does happen, THEN return it again for the refund, it'd be another 100 bucks to get it there. It just doesn't feel worth the risk to me, on top of this whole situation leaving a bad taste in my mouth, unfortunately. I hope this can be resolved and that taste removed.

[dtaintedwing.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry, but Velux deserves (at the very least) a 70% refund plus half the cost of shipping since the seller was unprofessional and irresponsible the first time he shipped it. My boyfriend has had his fursuit for over 2 years now and it doesn't even show the slightest wear and tear that Velux's did, and he's done many many more things in his suit than Velux did. The seller needs to realize her quality is lacking, pay him at least what I mentioned earlier, and if she continues to make suits, make better quality.
To the seller: Velux was just asking for advice and not outting you. Thanks for outting yourself. Also, I find it very convenient that you decided to do this just before leaving for a long weekend. How nice.
Regardless, I hope that this situation is resolved.

[sparklebuttz.livejournal.com]

^^^^^^^
this a milleon times this!

[velux.livejournal.com]

A private email has been sent to the maker containing a compromise. I hope to reach one soon.

[rarakie.livejournal.com]

Received Velux's email and we have come to an agreement we can both be happy with.

I hold no hard feelings towards Velux at all and hope we can remain friends after it's ended :)

Thanks everyone for your comments and help!