Situation: I ordered a custom suit from Lemonbrat in late 2018. With the understanding that the suit would be paid off 3 months prior to July, as I needed to suit to be finished and shipped in time for Eurofurence (leaving 12 August 2019). The terms of service changed somewhere in Febuary or March when I actually paid off the suit.
Initial Deposit: https://images2.imgbox.com/3f/d1/LIZAfgSE_o.jpg
Final Payment: https://images2.imgbox.com/89/8c/s9pQ3s2C_o.png
Assurances on Finish Time: https://images2.imgbox.com/2a/50/9gHwLCC3_o.png
They changed the refund policy from (cost of materials and labour will be taken from refund, and at our descretion) to (no payments are refundable)
They changed there creation time from 2-3 months after complete payment, to 3-4 months for people who pay upfront. They also changed the deposit terms.
I can't remember what the original percentage was, but it changed to 100% payment before construction.
The person dealing with my suit told me that I was bound to the old TOS since I paid off the suit before the changes were made.
From the time of being paid off I have had nothing but issues. Communication was extremely bad right from the start. I had to go out of my way to contact them every week or two to get any information. The suit was supposed to have started construction 3 months prior to July, and didn't start construction until the last few days of June. Giving them around 30 days to start a suit, a suit I had assumed they had already started. That was a shock.
Image: Re-confirming a July finish: https://images2.imgbox.com/b9/d3/qhIVTi77_o.jpg
I didn't recieve any progress update images until mid-july, the date the suit was supposed to ship. twice after that, I got assurances the suit would be finished and shipped by the 'end of the week', twice I was told this, and twice the deadline was missed, making three missed deadlines.
My fursuit head was made into a mouse head, it had to be completely redone.
My tail was made short and curly, and I was told that it was exactly the same as my reference image.
When I pointed out that it wasnt - and therefore not what I asked for, they said, "Oh, but this is right for your suit - trust us."
I pressed again, that it was not what I asked for an they eventually redid it. To my horror, they had made it supersized to the point that it would need carried.
Even though I asked them to keep it long and skinny, and anotomically correct.
Several extras have been added to the suit (against my wishes) to try and compensate me because they realised they messed up.
They added airbrushing, they're bumping up the shipping to Express International, and now they made a oversized tail (something I didn't pay for or want)
They're completely designing the suit they way the *think* it should look and not what I asked for, and its more than just a "style" thing.
Tail (first attempt) https://images2.imgbox.com/90/17/Pa3F9l6Q_o.jpg
Tail (second attempt) https://images2.imgbox.com/84/2c/iYrvQ5KF_o.jpg
Fursuit references: https://images2.imgbox.com/e1/13/sFGrxjpO_o.jpg
https://images2.imgbox.com/5c/b1/GSVYWuhI_o.jpg
https://images2.imgbox.com/03/ea/izTVbu2S_o.png
1 out of 4 fursuit reference that was sent has not been posted here due to it being NSFW
I get the feeling the person dealing with my suit is new. By his own admission, he had to pass on the fursuit head to a head artist to have it completely redone.
They also said that a whole team is working on my suit to try and get it done on time, this is not a good sign.
I have over 40 emails from Lemonbrat from my back and forths with them since December of 2018. I've uploaded some of those emails but seeing as there are so many, I'm gonna limit what I've uploaded, if anyone needs anything specific will be happy to add it later.
Other images: https://images2.imgbox.com/3c/16/AoO5elCV_o.jpg (Tail argument)
https://images2.imgbox.com/05/52/5NevIVAT_o.jpg (Tail argument)
Other proof:
Update: They've sent pictures of the suit.
Update: 08.03.19
The suit has been repaired, and is now en route to the client. The email confirming shipping is being withheld to protect the client's privacy.
Update: 08.09.19
Hi there, quick update.
The suit arrived, with the ears fixed. Not sure how they did it, as I assumed they weren't going to.
The suit is snug and fits neatly, and although I am excited and happy to have it there were a few issues:
Minor Issues:
- No care instructions
-No instructions on how to fit cushions into the digigrade legs properly or how to put on.
(a lot of trial and error to get it right)
Serious Issues:
-The suit arrived with fur stuck in the zipper, and the zip had been driven over and beyond the jam
(I managed to fix it with some gentle tugging to release the fur from the middle of the zip but it was really worrying)
-The zip is extremely tempromental and sticks. It requires two people to suit up and out. Almost got stuck inside trying it on (wanted to make sure it fit because of the issues previous)
-The tail is detachable, and attaches with a belt loop on the rear of the suit. (this is something that kind of gripes me as it breaks the magic, but there's not much I can do about it. They claim it was the 'only' way to fix the horrible bulge they had on the rear of the suit, and it's still there, it's just less noticeable.
Other points
-They included the repairs with the cost of fixing there mistakes. I asked them to put the value of the materials only on the customs form for cheaper import fees. They bumped the price up to 600$ I suspect they included the price of used materials for the repairs to their own mistakes, I didn't like this, but I shrugged it off, as I didn't want to argue with them anymore.
(A few friends have expressed that they feel the price is a bit hefty but I have no knowledge of these things so please don't take my word as fact here)
Overall, I'm happy with the suit, I still have a few gripes about it, and clearly it was a fight to get it "this good" and it's still not perfect. I'm not trying to be a 'nightmare' customer, I just expect professionalism from a "big name" in the fursuit making community. A suit arriving with fur jammed, and run over with a zipper, no care instructions, and no instructions on how to actually use the "large cushions" they provided to pad out the legs is a little sloppy in my oppinoun.
And then there's the issues that was listed on my beware previously. I feel they only went so far with there repairs to save their own reputation, had I not made the beware and kept pressure on them to fix the mistakes I don't know what the suit would look like, they initially refused outright to do any further repairs after the head recarve.
If they did bump up the price of the material cost, simply for shipping purposes as a payback for all the repairs they did, I find that a little petty.
All in all, I've decided not to go to Lemonbrat for anything again, and a lot of people have given me there support on this without asking, saying they won't even buy things from there stalls anymore.
I appreciate all the support the AB team and the people who read my posts and twitter have given me. And if you chose not support Lemonbrat, that is your choice, but I wouldn't blame you.
All the best,
Camaro.
In October 2017, I commissioned REYKAT for a fullbody sketch of one of my original characters for $25 USD. Their TOS states that waiting times ‘can depend, so think twice whether you are ready to wait or not’. I saw that although they seemed to have a big queue of commissions and continued to accept more, they were frequently posting commissions and so I assumed they were on top of their workload. They have no public waiting list or commission queue, so I had no way of knowing this for sure, but I decided to take the risk. My commission was accepted and I was told I'd be noted when the art was done. (I’ve blocked out their PayPal address in the corresponding screenshot).
By mid-February 2018, I hadn’t received any updates on my commission. I wrote a note asking about the status of the art and received a reply soon after saying that it would be done (no specified time).
However by June 2018, I still had not received my commission, and had not received any word at all from the artist. They had been posting personal art, as well as commissions that I believe came from commissioners after me (judging by the date of their inquiry comments on REYKAT’s commission journal). I noted REYKAT inquiring about this, and their reply linked me to a screenshot of their TOS stating that waiting times would ‘depend’. They also reassured me that the file would be sent to me when finished and it had not been forgotten.
Honestly, after that I kind of forgot about the commission for several months, but it was never delivered, and nor did I receive any communication from REYKAT. During this time, they continued to post personal art and others’ commissions. In June 2019, I decided to try to follow up on the commission again. This time my message went unread and unanswered.
A month later, I sent a second note, which has also gone unread and unanswered for the past week. As of now, I have received neither art nor refund, and the PayPal dispute window is well past.
March 29th 2019, I was approached by Fytch via Discord PM to purchase a character for $15 USD.
They expressed interest in a Character I was selling and paid within minutes of me accepting their offer.
After 5 months of having the character... July 22nd 2019, I woke up to find a dispute against the money they had paid.
I was already wary as others had spoken of they had chargebacks against them as well and waited for my turn.
As of right now, no contact was made between us about the dispute even though in their discord group I had asked if they were filing a chargeback against me.
They responded to a friend that they intended to pay everyone back but I have not received any word on this matter.
Character Link (NSFW): https://toyhou.se/3668260.-15-usd
A ticket has been issued to ToyHouse in hopes to retrieve the character.
Update: Fytch has issued a second chargeback.
Update 08.09.19
I received an email containing the following as attached.
As well the fee applied to my account. After speaking with paypal I will be unable to retrieve the funds lost due to the credit card company.
Fytch made a journal with an "update"
http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/9229414/
The amount they have listed is wrong and have left a comment. As I am only charging for the fees that went on my account since the adopt has been returned to me via ToyHouse Admins.
Who: Dubmutt
Where: Twitter @dub_mutt
What: Graphic art print
Amount: $19.49
Details:
On May 11, 2019, I purchased one of Dubmutt’s prints on a site called Storeenvy. The order came to $19.49. The description said that she ships these same day if purchased before 2pm, which I had done.
June 5th comes along and I still don’t have the print or any shipping email. I messaged her on her email asking about the print status, explaining that I don’t have a tracking number, shipping confirmation, or the print itself after almost a month of purchase.
I had also messaged her on Twitter on June 7th after no reply from the email, explaining the same thing in case she didn’t check her email/was more active on Twitter. To be on the safe side, I also opened a PayPal dispute for item not received on the same day.
Later on the 7th soon after I open the dispute, Dubmutt conveniently gets back to me through Twitter. Her excuse was that she “never got the notification that I bought the print.” Which I find weird because obviously she got my money for the print, it’s not like the money appeared out of nowhere.
She promised to ship the item right away which I then received on June 10. She had provided a tracking number and I got the shipping confirmation email. I had closed the PayPal case (which I now know was a bad idea).
I open the print from the rolling tube it was packed in and immediately notice large, visible creases all over the print. Dissatisfied, I messaged Dubmutt on Twitter again, telling her the situation and providing images of the creases. She blamed it on tampering from the post office, despite the package being securely sealed.
She had promised me a refund as well as a free replacement print. I provided my email for the refund in case she needed it again. She had said that she was out of town and wouldn’t be able to send the refund or the replacement until the “beginning of July.” I was fine with that and waited.
July 3 comes along, I message her on Twitter politely asking about the refund and replacement. No reply.
I wait, and email her on July 11, politely asking the same thing. No reply.
The 18th comes along and I still have not heard from her or got the refund or replacement.
Because I had stupidly closed the case on PayPal too early, I am out of luck. I am new to disputes with PayPal and I was unaware that you couldn’t open a second case if something else went wrong with the transaction. I contacted PayPal and they could do nothing for me.
Today on the 19th, Dubmutt has finally gotten back to me via Twitter, after saying she would at the beginning of this month. She now says that she wishes I would have sent her images of the packaging that the print was shipped in to “prove” to her that it was not tampered with. I insisted that the packaging was in perfect condition and that only the print was damaged, for whatever reason. Also, I told her that there was no reason for me to think of randomly taking images of a perfectly intact package. She had no reply to that.
She is now denying my refund that she promised over a month ago and is telling me to file a claim with USPS instead for tampering. First of all, I’m not going through the hassle of a usps claim for $20. Second, even if I wanted to, I don’t have any of the packaging, paperwork, or the print itself anymore which I also told her. So how on earth would I even make a claim with usps with nothing to show them?
So not only did Dubmutt make me wait way longer than she promised, she is now denying the refund that she assured I would get, instead coming up with a ridiculous excuse to not to and has no concept with what I’m saying to her.
Lesson learned to never close a PP case until you get the item and it’s in good condition with no other problem. I know now I am ultimately to blame because I wasn’t unaware you could open a second claim.
Woke up to a charge back on Paypal this morning.
I sold an adopt I previously bought to Fytch back in March, I have the conversation where you can see she clearly agreed on the payment and agreed that she saved/received all the art of the character.
I have already sent all of this to Paypal, I have also spoken with Paypal to which they told me they are aware of Fytch doing a lot of charge-backs recently. They stated that unfortunately Fytch went through her bank/credit card and that they would have to send my proof to them and wait for a decision.
Until then, I just want other to be aware that this is happening a LOT and I hope that it stops.
It's been nearly two years from commission date and having only ever had limited contact that has always been initiated by me has left me to believe this is the only viable choice left for me as I'm well out of the charge back window through PayPal. I messaged the user on my birthday planning to get a piece done in honor of the occasion as they had been advertising previously about doing in-stream commissions. I had commissioned them once before that had somewhat of a waiting period which was understandable at the time. However, with this being in-stream I had imagined that the turnaround would be far briefer than the last one. When we agreed to the terms of the commission it was over Discord because I had established that connection with them during the prior commissioning.
I paid them $80 and would go months at a time without hearing anything from them. I would occasionally mention at the subject and try to get some sort of update but would often be ignored. When I would recall that I still had the commission outstanding with them, I would even go so far as to try and talk to them and change up the idea to something that I hoped would pique their interest enough to knock it out. Overall it had no effect and I would continue to be ignored as things carried on. I was never officially added onto the queue and so when I had brought up in notes through FA that I hadn't received any progress or word on my commission it was met with skepticism until I dug the chat logs up to show them. After promising they would add me to their queue and finish the commission, this was never followed through.
They continue to take in stream commissions, ychs, post art on twitter and FA but refuse to pay me back or give any kind of set date for payment. It's hard to believe if they are out of town and are too busy to get me my refund that they would have enough time to take in stream commissions for hours at a time.
As of right now I have been given the seventeenth as the next update time. I will update accordingly until things are resolved in some way.
On the 19.03.2019 a person nicknamed Fytch contacted me in order to commission a custom base from me, which they would later use to sell YCH art with. On the 20.03.2019, they asked me for my PayPal link in order to pay me.
I haven't received the payment at that point but I continued to work on the drawing nerveless. On the 21.03.2019, I finally received the payment and was able to send the base in a psd file to Fytch. They also paid me 25$ instead of 15$ for my hard work.
And all was fine until today (17.07.2019). I logged to my PayPal, just to learn that the payment from Fytch got refunded because of an "unauthorized transaction". My account got sustained until the whole situation gets cleared out.
At the moment when I'm typing this, my account is still at loss for 23,27 USD.
Please, let me know if you find someone using the base seen below to earn profits with it. THEY DO NOT OWN THE RIGHTS TO IT! Thank you.
On July 24th 2018, I messaged Leone on Furry Amino asking if he had anymore slots left since he's an artist that I've commissioned several times before with no issue. So, I assumed that there would be no problems this time either and that all should go well, and I decided on a $57 half-body commission. An invoice was sent to me the next day (25th) and paid in full.
I followed up with another message on August 10th asking if the commission could be changed to a different character if he hadn't started on it yet, which was OK'd and I provided a reference for the new character I wanted it to be of. Some messages are left out due to irrelevancy, since we were on friendly terms and would chit-chat about things unrelated to my commission in-between things. A character name is also censored due to them (the character) no longer belonging to or being associated with me.
This is where the gaps in communication began. I didn't hear from him again until a month later (September 18th) but was aware of IRL issues that he had been experiencing at the time, so I didn't mind being patient and waiting as long as he needed. After September 18th, I didn't hear from him again until October 2nd and apologized in case a username change on my end had caused any confusion. He stated having more issues, so I didn't want to cause him any additional stress and was content to continue waiting.
After October, I didn't hear from him again until November 9 and was made aware of a post that pertained to his IRL happenings and why the delays were happening. So, again, I was content to wait as long as needed and didn't hear from him again until January of this year when I was the one to reach out and message him on the 4th & 7th. I was becoming less active on Amino at this current time, so our conversation switched over to Twitter DMs after this point. I was told that my commission had been completed and that the file had simply been misplaced, although I never received or saw any WIPs of it prior to this whereas I had been sent WIPs every other time I've commissioned him. I tried to remain as understanding as possible and politely asked for a refund.
After speaking with him on January 7th & 8th, I then heard from him on the 15th and was given a partial refund since he stated being unable to deliver the finished commission to me due to problems with his computer. Was also told that he was having issues with misplacing completed commissions in general. I was happy to receive an update and partial refund of my commission, but then another large gap ensued where there was no further communication from him until March. After March, I didn't hear from him until three months later (this past) June when I was the one to message him asking for another update.
I mentioned that I wouldn't mind commissioning him again sometime regardless of the issues concerning this particular transaction, since I do love his work and had always had pleasant experiences working with him prior to this. Details were discussed, and I decided that I would be fine with a newer character of mine being drawn rather than receiving the remainder of my refund.
I was updated on June 19th and told that he would be beginning work on it and also saw that he had simultaneously posted an opening for more slots on Amino. I was more hopeful that my commission would be completed this time considering that I did receive a sketch, but this hasn't been the case seeing as he's completed everyone else's commissions for the batch he just took mid-June excluding mine, which is something that I've been waiting on for almost a year now. I've received no further updates since July 8th and am somewhat frustrated with this and feel guilty about pressing for more updates, because I'm a very quiet and anxious person.
I still have yet to receive the finished commission or any updated WIPs beyond the sketch.
