Caution: Retro Fursuits
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beetleboil, in Artist Cautions, , 0 comments, 827 views
After seeing their fursuit commission ad on Twitter in June of 2021, I decided to submit a form through RetroFursuits' website for a partial. This would consist of a head, hand paws, feet paws, and a tail. RetroFursuits eventually responded to my submission and sent me an email quoting the total price as $1425. I have included all of our email correspondence discussing details of my suit, proof of payments from Paypal, our Telegram conversation after that, and the refund I received on August 21st 2025.
I utilized a payment plan to pay off the $1425, and as you can see, I was prompt and fully paid it in 3 months. You can also see that it didn't take long for red flags to arise when it came to replies from RetroFursuits. It took an entire year (July 2022) to be TOLD that Retro has begun looking for fur colors, and then it took another 3 months (October 2022) to be sent pictures of swatches from an online store. I requested a different photo of the third swatch as it was hard to see the color with the studio lighting, and that email went ignored.
I waited five whole months for a response to that inquiry before deciding to nudge them again, because I was starting to get nervous. I was 20 (turned 21 in July of 2021) when I ordered this suit and had never spent so much money on a hobby item before. Figuring they might just not check their email very often, I decided to ask in March of 2023 if they had a Discord or Telegram dedicated to fursuit updates, as friends who've commissioned fursuits have mentioned being part of such a thing in the past. This email was also ignored. I waited until September of 2023, over 2 years since I had begun payments for this commission, before nudging them again. In that email, I also asked why my label on their Trello still said "not paid", 2 years after paying it off.
I was beginning to consider a refund, but I liked their art and I wanted to be considerate to them, knowing they work a full-time night shift job and understanding that I was at the bottom of their queue. In the Trello link I provided above, you can see there are still commissioners waiting on their products from as early as 2020. I was at the very bottom of RetroFursuit's "Currently working on" card, and was only added to that in February of 2025. I do not have a screenshot of this from his Trello because I didn't think I would need it and they were quick to remove me from their queue after requesting a refund. I have, however, have provided a screenshot of me mentioning as much in a Discord group with my friends and excitedly linking the Trello to them (coincidentally while I was talking about how nervous I was that their communication is so poor yet they seem to have a lot of time to make premade heads to sell on Dealer's Den - something that can be freely seen while scrolling through their RetroFursuits Twitter account).
RetroFursuits then provided me with their Telegram, so all communication was moved over there. I greeted them in a DM the same day they provided me with their Telegram (November 4th 2023) and mentioned how excited I was to see the head base. These messages were ignored. I nudged them a little over a month later (December 20th 2023) asking for any updates, and to their credit, they did provide me with two WIP photos of the head base. However, when I asked about the head shape and provided an updated, cleaner reference sheet for Retro to work off of, my message was once again ignored. 5 months later (May 19th 2024), I nudged them once again asking for an update. Again, to their credit, they provided me with screenshots the next day and progress had, in fact, been made. I expressed my excitement. No further updates.
I waited one full year to the day (May 19th 2025) to ask them for any other updates. My message was ignored. I nudged them again on May 28th of 2025. The next day, May 29th, they stated that they were busy working on the others in their queue but had bought two of the fur swatches needed for my suit. I excitedly responded in the morning. On August 21st 2025, after seeing little progress on anyone else's commissions and witnessing RetroFursuits consistently only making premade partials for Dealer's Den and tails on Etsy for months, I finally asked for a refund. Four years and $1425 later, the only progress on my partial had been a rough foam base and half of the fur needed to make my suit.
Retrofursuits, for the first time in four years, responded within minutes offering me a full refund - but only after I threatened legal action if they decided to flake out me again. I am not the only one of his commissioners who's unhappy, but their stories are theirs to tell. I will say, as of August 22nd 2025, after months of only posting premade listings, con photos, and miscellaneous tweets, RetroFursuits has posted commission WIPs. This, coincidentally, occurred hours after I requested a refund due to their poor communication.
I would like to point out that the first character in the "commission WIPs" screenshot has been in RetroFursuit's Trello queue since March 2020. After over 5 YEARS, this individual - who is at the very top of RetroFursuit's queue - is only an eyeless, toothless, noseless head. According to their Trello, RetroFursuits HAS sewn the hand paws and made the outdoor feetpaws pattern for this commissioner, but as far as I can tell, there is no public proof of any of this other than the incomplete head they posted August 22nd of 2025.
RetroFursuits consistently mentions when posting their premades that they have been working on them "off and on" since 2020/2021, despite having a commission queue pending from the same timeframe. I would understand making a premade every now and then to avoid art block, but the most recent completed commission was posted on September 18th, 2024. The second most recent mention of a completed commission was on April 28th, 2023. Unless they are, for some reason, completing these in private and not posting photos to social media, that would mean that RetroFursuits has completed just two commissions - all of which from 2020/2021 - in just shy of 2 and a half years. All the while making time to complete 6 premade heads and an abundance of tails to sell on Etsy in that same timeframe. All of this can be seen on RetroFursuit's Twitter, but I have included screenshots for posterity and ease of access.
For transparency: RetroFursuits has also recently posted pictures of a red/purple fox fursuit head they're working on without much context, but considering it does not match any of the characters in their commission queue, I would wager that it's another premade. I am not accusing them of that in this individual case. I just did not want to be accused of cherry-picking evidence by not including it here.
SCREENSHOTS:
Pictures 1–7: Email correspondence between RetroFursuits and I regarding the details of the fursuit commission.
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Pictures 8–12: Proofs of payment sent automatically to my email from Paypal. My name and RetroFursuits' name have been censored for privacy reasons.
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Pictures 13-18: Telegram correspondence regarding fursuit commission and, eventually, the refund.
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Picture 19: Discord screenshot of me telling friends that my card on RetroFursuit's Trello was moved to the "currently working on" section.
Pictures 20-: Screenshots from RetroFursuit's Twitter & proof from their Trello.
Over the past few years between when the commission was made and when it was finally refunded, the artist continued to take and finish commissions. Scrolling through the creator's social media and trello makes it very clear to see.
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