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[Silentflame]

Originally Posted by Dark Althena

Her work is pretty good, but several years ago (I think perhaps around 2001-2002) I ordered a Dark Chii/Freya cosplay from her. It wasn't bad but since it was the first time she made it, it wasn't the best either. For what I paid it was decent/good. The neck was crooked, and the shoulders were off by a bit. Her newer, updated version looks much better, I'd say it looks like her skills have greatly improved from where they were (and they were pretty good to start with). I wouldn't worry about commissioning her but I'd still shop around if you have a budget, sometimes her prices can be high.

As to your other question I haven't ordered that costume.

Hope I've helped a little ^_^

Ah, thanks for responding to that as I've just learned about them as well and I wated to try asking a quote from them.

[Koumori]

Originally Posted by Silentflame

I just wanted to know if there were any GOOD oversea sellers, but honestly after I think about I'm alittle concerned with buying things from them, what if they are using sweat shops over there? Does anyone else have this fear? I'm going to start going against china sellers even if the prices are cheap. How knows whats going on over there, you know?
Does anyone else agree?

Well, we do know basically "what's going on over there." The ebay user most likely isn't the one making your costume. They take orders, and either fill them with premade costumes bought wholesale and NOT custom-sized no matter what the listings say, or farm them out to sewing workshops which may or may not be run to U.S.-level quality or labor standards (but I'd think probably not). The person making your costume probably isn't a costumer him/herself, and may or may not be concerned about details and fit, and the product can vary wildly depending on who's making it. You really have no way of knowing what you're really going to get. The Asian cosplay sellers are cheap, but that's about all they are.

Meanwhile, consider posting your experiences in the Commissioner Review Thread, here. http://www.cosplay.com/showthread.php?t=105758

[Jacie]

Originally Posted by catnip23

The same thing happened to me. I ordered a commission from punishgreen@yahoo.com (she said her sn name on cosplay.com was Fia). She asked that I send payment to jon.****[@]**********.....which I did. Months later she said she couldnt finish the commission because of an ill relative....or something of that nature. She said she was giving my money to her friend and she would refund me (I found that unusual but said ok). I received the refund 2 days later from a totally different email address.
Now, just yesterday, I received an email from the person who refunded me claiming he sent money to my email address to have something commissioned for him! He said he initially spoke with someone through wakanotaki@yahoo.com, who told him to send money to my personal email address and forwarded that email to me as proof!
He & I both now realize we've been scammed by the same person.

Update: I've also been in contact with jon.****[@]********* ....after he received $$ from me, he believed I refunded his money because his commissioner (using the email account shino_l@yahoo.com) did not finish his commission either.

I can't believe someone would do something like this to us.

[Silentflame]

I'm sorry if this comes up as a double post ^^;;
@koumori,
I understand what you're saying however, I find it very unsettling not knowing who is making my costume. It could be a small group of people or a large group of children. Its killing my conscience thinking about that. But how can we be sure which asian sellers are clean? I hope I'm not coming across as sappy or anything, since I know some people could care less, but I've read up on sweatshops recently, and especially about something called fairtrade. I don't think that have anything like that for cosplay though, it'd be cool if they did.


I've been thinking about perhaps starting a site with links for people to go to to find decent asian sellers who don't operate with sweatshops. Perhaps people like Hunny_lee, I've ordered from her and I think she's fantastic. However, I do not like human_go or cosplay_oh, They're stuff looks too similar which leads me to think they were all made in sweat shops. I am completely lost about how to go about that though. Does anyone have any ideas?

[Koumori]

Originally Posted by Silentflame

I'm sorry if this comes up as a double post ^^;;
@koumori,
I understand what you're saying however, I find it very unsettling not knowing who is making my costume. It could be a small group of people or a large group of children. Its killing my conscience thinking about that. But how can we be sure which asian sellers are clean? I hope I'm not coming across as sappy or anything, since I know some people could care less, but I've read up on sweatshops recently, and especially about something called fairtrade. I don't think that have anything like that for cosplay though, it'd be cool if they did.

My personal belief is that NO large-scale Asian cosplay seller can be presumed to be "clean," if by "clean" you mean they are not using sweatshop/workshop labor. Unless they can provide assurances that they are making your costume themselves, you really have absolutely no way of knowing who is doing your labor. And I strongly doubt the cosplay market is lucrative enough to support fair-trade or unionized shops-- besides, if it did, the items wouldn't be as cheap anymore, which is the main reason so many cosplayers buy from them to begin with.

I strongly recommend seeking out individual, skilled costume makers with whom you can work directly and individually-- not someone who sells hundreds or thousands of costumes on ebay or anywhere else. You're going to pay more for that for a lot of reasons (cost of living for an American businessperson versus a Chinese factory worker being a major one), but you'll know where your money is going. And if you can't stomach paying fair market value for an individual crafter, then learn to make your own things.

[Silentflame]

Your words do hold alot of truth, I suppose american sellers are the way to go, however even they are unreliable some times, and not even by sweat shops.
I was wondering what happened to the creator of the original thread?
Also, I will probaby move my review to the proper place.

I am still torn about this, I know alot of people have bought thing online from asian sellers, don't they know about sweat shops as well? So why buy from them? I don't mean this in ANY way that ALL asian sellers are sweatshop users, just most of the premade places are. So why do people keep buying from them? I'm in with my other friends who buy clothes from thrift shops, I've always had ever since I was 12.
I guess I'm just wondering, if this knowledge of sweatshop usage is this wellknown, why do people continue to support them?

[Mangochutney]

Originally Posted by Silentflame

why do people keep buying from them?

Because they're the cheapest option. That's pretty much it. Koumori is spot-on that you have three options, and here they are:

1. Individual commisioner.
2. Asian factory labor.
3. Make it yourself.

Usually the saying is "fast, cheap, good: pick two" but in this case you're picking from cheap, easy, and ethical. You really can't get all three.

[Koumori]

Originally Posted by Silentflame

I guess I'm just wondering, if this knowledge of sweatshop usage is this wellknown, why do people continue to support them?

Because they're cheap, and cheap is what people want-- especially cosplayers, as a cruise through the Marketplace will tell you. And that's what makes it possible for the ebay sellers to charge $100 for a complete costume: cheap labor and cheap materials.

It's the same reason people buy cheap everyday clothes from Target or H&M or what have you; cheap is people's top priority, and this manufacturing model allows for the making and selling of cheap goods. China isn't the only place with sweatshops; they operate all over the world, even in the US. This is the major garment manufacturing model. If you want costumes that you can be sure weren't made with underpaid labor, you have limited options: you can work directly with the person who's going to be making it, or you can make it yourself.

[Jeremy-Chan]

So, I haven't read through the entire thread but I'd really, really like to know how http://www.uscos00.com/ is as far as their pre-made costumes go. Do they scam? Are they a hassle to deal with? Or did you have a really good time ordering from them, and was the quality nice?

I need to know because they have a costume that I want so badly, but don't have the skill to make by myself, and Christmas is coming. All that jazz.

Thanks so much.

[duegunn]

Has anyone had experience with a company called dreamcostumedesign.com? They're owned by another company, bbeautydesigns, and I'm about to order from them. From looking at their website and the communication I've received, I don't view them suspiciously and think that they are a legitimate company, but nonetheless if anyone has dealt with them before it'd be nice to know what your experience was like

[Giru~]

Has anyone ever ordered from cosplay07?(http://myworld.ebay.com/cosplay07/)

I really want to buy the Akaito cosplay from them but I read in this thread that they steal photos, any thoughts?

[Man in Red Hat]

Originally Posted by Giru~

Has anyone ever ordered from cosplay07?(http://myworld.ebay.com/cosplay07/)

I really want to buy the Akaito cosplay from them but I read in this thread that they steal photos, any thoughts?

I am not sure if that specific company has been talked about (search the thread...), but ebayers from China certainly has been frequently talked about.

What you will find when you search this thread is that almost every 'big' seller for costumes from China aren't actaully the ones who make the costumes. Honestdragon, cosplay_oh, etc all just take the orders and then order the costume that is usually mass produced from a factory being made in only one size, even if you give them measurements.

Even if you read the last five posts on this page you would realize this.

When you order from Ebay by someone who you think is stealing pictures, then you are probably not going to get a costume that looks anything like the picture (that you think looks good).

Most of those ebay costumes are under $100 and that is why everyone thinks that they are the best deals, but just remember you get what you pay for, and I honestly believe that detailed accurate costumes that are offered cheaply are something you should be suspicious of.

[Silentflame]

@mangochutney and Koumori, I'm pretty set on only getting commissions from the US. Or learning myself, I'm just concerned about others who buy from asian seller and are unaware of how they operate. I mean, sure its cheap and what you get is what you pay for, but is it still right for others to do?

[Koumori]

Originally Posted by Silentflame

@mangochutney and Koumori, I'm pretty set on only getting commissions from the US. Or learning myself, I'm just concerned about others who buy from asian seller and are unaware of how they operate. I mean, sure its cheap and what you get is what you pay for, but is it still right for others to do?

As long as it's legal, you can't tell other people what to do. You can only make informed decisions for yourself.

[fenny87]

Originally Posted by xonlx

My little sister REALLY wants to purchase Hello cosplay's Lenalee costume 1st version. Has anyone had any bad experiences with them, seeing as I don't really see them as being legit.

well,you may rest assured. They'll not let you down.As all those costumes are Custom-made, so usually it takes about 7-10 working days to finish the costumes after they getting your measurements, if you need it emergency, you may contact them for rush the order.

Any questions,you may email to info@hellocosplay.com