UtahMermaidPearl
11-06-2016, 06:13 PM
I tried to contact the admin for the actual review thread but never heard back so I will post about my Merrowfins experience here instead! This is very long but a very good story and very informative, so keep reading!
PART 1
So earlier this year I won the "$1000 full silicone tail" contest from Merrowfins and I was so happy! He was doing this promote his new fluke shape "pirate" which he designed while with mertailor.
I sent the first payment of $500 on 4/03/16. Due to a misunderstanding I was under the impression he would start as soon as I paid half. I paid the remaining $800 on 4/28/16, it was another $250 for a matching top (we will get to that later) and he charged me $50 for the PayPal fees.
I sent him this photo for a rough design and my measurements 39439
After over a week of trying to get the sketch he said he had finished this is what I got http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161106/6977a95510a7c383011cc907895cea24.jpg it's pretty good. But then I asked for a little extra color and lines 39440 39441 I never got any confirmation on a new design so I guess that's my fault?
Next I will show you the lack of response I continued to receive. In these pictures you can see how much time continues to pass between responses. http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161106/fe08386d6437d1970fa59262e70f5505.png it wasn't until I sent this big message about my doubts that I heard back. http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161106/b4df0a737929ea685745e16089828203.png
Now I will show how friggin long it took. As you know I sent the money on 4/28. I was told it would be approximately 5-10 weeks. One day shy of 14 weeks later I was told it would be shipped. And several times before then the date was pushed back. On Wednesday August 3rd I was sent an official finished picture of my tail! I was so excited I was running around work showing everyone! I was told it would be shipped out that Friday, JUST in time for two very big events my company had planned, a Make A Wish event and Salt City SteamFest! But watch what happens next. http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161106/7c33d6ad86241895a03e3cc28d006fe6.png http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161106/e23a39c6da89f319b9bc25bbe6667f3a.jpg http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161106/cd7444958661cfd5f5aa484558052243.png it didn't ship on Friday so I had to pay more for it to get here if it left on Monday. Then on Wednesday I found out it hadn't shipped yet. So I had to pay another $300 to get it there over night.
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161106/f59a27a296a3e63a5356569751154d3b.jpg then it got here on Friday August 12th, the night before my two events!
For those of you who have made it this far....thank you! ITS ABOUT TO GET SO MUCH WORSE.
I put it on. And the unthinkable had happened! After all that work and money, it doesn't fit. I was so mad. Mad at Matt. It all fit perfectly except that the calfs were so tight I couldn't sit for very long and it was pulling the whole thing apart. I took it off and checked my measurements, every thing had gotten an inch bigger because a gained about 10lbs and I understand that's my fault. Then I checked the lower half of the measurements. Back when I sent the measurements I did the down measurements wrong. I didn't understand how to do that side. So when he caught my mistake he told me to redo them. I was on my half hour lunch break so I copied the around measurements from a picture and redid the down ones. But when I copied the around I somehow wrote 12 for my calfs and 13 for my ankles. I WAS DEVASTATED. I was so ready to blame the whole thing on Matt but I realized it was my own mistake. I hated myself, I felt so stupid I couldn't even understand how I could make such an expensive mistake. I will admit that this was my fault but he caught one measuring mistake and I felt he should have caught this one (he later admits he should've caught it as well) but in the end it is my fault.
PART 2
During the first part you probably thought this post is against Matt. But I go back a forth a lot during this whole process and by the end you will see which way I choose.
Matt really isn't a bad guy, he was very remorseful for me and honestly I think he pitied me and wished I was happy and it all turned out well. I told him of my mistake. Here is the conversation. http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161106/7bacb1ac05028e29ede25ec1bf00c013.png http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161106/5ccd5183e19bd541a8603005fd960260.png http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161106/9a6be9e665ce2af267940459ea7a06b7.png http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161106/96f43f7bee1749718716b502a1c37d98.png http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161106/e2cc180d278cfcc378e598ae09b612da.png http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161106/cdaa38fd053341ef08ee3b2d0c96a6cd.png http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161106/defb06017b5ca59474da21084f422bfe.png http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161106/18b230721a47c906fdeae25fc01ceeef.png http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161106/53e2a51b97bb9b4fa2cbd49b8807534a.png http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161106/d8c69762a45771ed9686f0c194065f65.png you can see he charged me much less because I had already spent so much. I am very grateful for that. I needed it done before comic con which was the first three days in September and he said he could do it. He said it would be at my house a few days before comic con. http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161106/bbd94e3a5aa1b3b1cc1e9b17b21e5810.png http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161106/847285a4f2220a1f96c841cd075fd005.png because it wasn't done in time I would again have to pay more for shipping. All my friends thought that both times he was scamming me. I had higher hopes. http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161106/9ab01f03e53dc008d09609bbe1a9119d.png then that hurricane hit and he was right outside of its range. I can totally understand that the weather can cause issues when you are painting outside, but the whole time I was waiting he was posting pictures of other tails saying he had just finished painting them. So where was mine?
Second day of comic con and I hadn't heard anything. For a while. http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161106/09d8801072d12061df81bad6cf7c04a5.png three days after the photoshoot I text again. http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161106/95c4ac675c4c6bb7870c01c398ea43aa.png
Wednesday September 21st I was told it was shipping that day. Friday the 23rd it's supposedly sent. Then this http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161106/4ed54619505ae3a2742916c9b404f0ae.png again all my friends think he didn't actually send it until then.
October 7th it's finally here. Again. Missed comic con and my photoshoot. It's huge, too long, and not even the same colors. http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161106/187b470e22ad0ed9545e38ddabfb33d6.jpg this wasn't as far up as it went. http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161106/4f310cf7919072422c1957fe78b1b244.jpg I was trying to take it off and when it went to here the whole thing fit fine. http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161106/74c1b70e7750e7deb4d90bd82671a322.jpg but here you can see where my feet actually are when it's pulled down. http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161106/4f8f9ee777fd86ef6feb8c77c944a2ef.jpg and you can also see the difference in color, which means it now doesnt match my top.
And speaking of my top I'll tell you about it now. In my inbox if video you can see how small it is. I tried it on my standard yorkie and it fit him. I had to take apart a bra and glue new hooks and straps onto it. Plus the middle pulls apart, it's so thin I could stick my finger right through the silicone if I wanted to. http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161106/5ca3c05f497827a4874a2c14ec9fab7c.jpg you can see how small it is vs how much I had to add. http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161106/8dc6bda121818d2e58dd6acb4baf8774.jpg you can also see my finger pushing through with very little effort.
Back to the tail. Because I was tired of dealing with this I asked my friend Mermaid Dottie to do her magic. She brought it in, took off the top few inches, added a dorsal to cover the "scaring" from taking it in, and added the scales she cut off to parts of the tail where it's just slapped together. http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161106/9deb4cbc9a44f40da59c8a770edbec0e.jpg you can see here and in the last photo that there are a lot of scales missing and there's spots were the silicone is frosted on http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161106/93205a2d301643d59aa2bbc2a45b25e3.jpg
I hope I'm not forgetting anything but that was basically my whole experience. There were pros and cons to the experience and I really hope everyone else's experiences are better than mine. In the end though, I would never go through Merrowfins again
Pros
Good person
Cares about if I love the tail or not
Seems to have empathy
Good painting skills
Cons
Lack of response
Doesn't seem to care about deadlines
Doesn't update properly
I can't even explain the top
Finances
For first tail I paid $1000 + $250 for a top + $50 PayPal fee + $300 shipping (which I shouldn't have had to pay for if it had been said when I was told it was) for a subtotal of $1600
Second tail I paid $100 to ship it back to him + $432 for the remake
Grand total $2132 for a tail that I won for $1000.
Not counting the money for repairs with Dottie.
Hope you all made it through!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
PART 1
So earlier this year I won the "$1000 full silicone tail" contest from Merrowfins and I was so happy! He was doing this promote his new fluke shape "pirate" which he designed while with mertailor.
I sent the first payment of $500 on 4/03/16. Due to a misunderstanding I was under the impression he would start as soon as I paid half. I paid the remaining $800 on 4/28/16, it was another $250 for a matching top (we will get to that later) and he charged me $50 for the PayPal fees.
I sent him this photo for a rough design and my measurements 39439
After over a week of trying to get the sketch he said he had finished this is what I got http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161106/6977a95510a7c383011cc907895cea24.jpg it's pretty good. But then I asked for a little extra color and lines 39440 39441 I never got any confirmation on a new design so I guess that's my fault?
Next I will show you the lack of response I continued to receive. In these pictures you can see how much time continues to pass between responses. http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161106/fe08386d6437d1970fa59262e70f5505.png it wasn't until I sent this big message about my doubts that I heard back. http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161106/b4df0a737929ea685745e16089828203.png
Now I will show how friggin long it took. As you know I sent the money on 4/28. I was told it would be approximately 5-10 weeks. One day shy of 14 weeks later I was told it would be shipped. And several times before then the date was pushed back. On Wednesday August 3rd I was sent an official finished picture of my tail! I was so excited I was running around work showing everyone! I was told it would be shipped out that Friday, JUST in time for two very big events my company had planned, a Make A Wish event and Salt City SteamFest! But watch what happens next. http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161106/7c33d6ad86241895a03e3cc28d006fe6.png http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161106/e23a39c6da89f319b9bc25bbe6667f3a.jpg http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161106/cd7444958661cfd5f5aa484558052243.png it didn't ship on Friday so I had to pay more for it to get here if it left on Monday. Then on Wednesday I found out it hadn't shipped yet. So I had to pay another $300 to get it there over night.
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161106/f59a27a296a3e63a5356569751154d3b.jpg then it got here on Friday August 12th, the night before my two events!
For those of you who have made it this far....thank you! ITS ABOUT TO GET SO MUCH WORSE.
I put it on. And the unthinkable had happened! After all that work and money, it doesn't fit. I was so mad. Mad at Matt. It all fit perfectly except that the calfs were so tight I couldn't sit for very long and it was pulling the whole thing apart. I took it off and checked my measurements, every thing had gotten an inch bigger because a gained about 10lbs and I understand that's my fault. Then I checked the lower half of the measurements. Back when I sent the measurements I did the down measurements wrong. I didn't understand how to do that side. So when he caught my mistake he told me to redo them. I was on my half hour lunch break so I copied the around measurements from a picture and redid the down ones. But when I copied the around I somehow wrote 12 for my calfs and 13 for my ankles. I WAS DEVASTATED. I was so ready to blame the whole thing on Matt but I realized it was my own mistake. I hated myself, I felt so stupid I couldn't even understand how I could make such an expensive mistake. I will admit that this was my fault but he caught one measuring mistake and I felt he should have caught this one (he later admits he should've caught it as well) but in the end it is my fault.
PART 2
During the first part you probably thought this post is against Matt. But I go back a forth a lot during this whole process and by the end you will see which way I choose.
Matt really isn't a bad guy, he was very remorseful for me and honestly I think he pitied me and wished I was happy and it all turned out well. I told him of my mistake. Here is the conversation. http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161106/7bacb1ac05028e29ede25ec1bf00c013.png http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161106/5ccd5183e19bd541a8603005fd960260.png http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161106/9a6be9e665ce2af267940459ea7a06b7.png http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161106/96f43f7bee1749718716b502a1c37d98.png http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161106/e2cc180d278cfcc378e598ae09b612da.png http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161106/cdaa38fd053341ef08ee3b2d0c96a6cd.png http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161106/defb06017b5ca59474da21084f422bfe.png http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161106/18b230721a47c906fdeae25fc01ceeef.png http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161106/53e2a51b97bb9b4fa2cbd49b8807534a.png http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161106/d8c69762a45771ed9686f0c194065f65.png you can see he charged me much less because I had already spent so much. I am very grateful for that. I needed it done before comic con which was the first three days in September and he said he could do it. He said it would be at my house a few days before comic con. http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161106/bbd94e3a5aa1b3b1cc1e9b17b21e5810.png http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161106/847285a4f2220a1f96c841cd075fd005.png because it wasn't done in time I would again have to pay more for shipping. All my friends thought that both times he was scamming me. I had higher hopes. http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161106/9ab01f03e53dc008d09609bbe1a9119d.png then that hurricane hit and he was right outside of its range. I can totally understand that the weather can cause issues when you are painting outside, but the whole time I was waiting he was posting pictures of other tails saying he had just finished painting them. So where was mine?
Second day of comic con and I hadn't heard anything. For a while. http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161106/09d8801072d12061df81bad6cf7c04a5.png three days after the photoshoot I text again. http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161106/95c4ac675c4c6bb7870c01c398ea43aa.png
Wednesday September 21st I was told it was shipping that day. Friday the 23rd it's supposedly sent. Then this http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161106/4ed54619505ae3a2742916c9b404f0ae.png again all my friends think he didn't actually send it until then.
October 7th it's finally here. Again. Missed comic con and my photoshoot. It's huge, too long, and not even the same colors. http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161106/187b470e22ad0ed9545e38ddabfb33d6.jpg this wasn't as far up as it went. http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161106/4f310cf7919072422c1957fe78b1b244.jpg I was trying to take it off and when it went to here the whole thing fit fine. http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161106/74c1b70e7750e7deb4d90bd82671a322.jpg but here you can see where my feet actually are when it's pulled down. http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161106/4f8f9ee777fd86ef6feb8c77c944a2ef.jpg and you can also see the difference in color, which means it now doesnt match my top.
And speaking of my top I'll tell you about it now. In my inbox if video you can see how small it is. I tried it on my standard yorkie and it fit him. I had to take apart a bra and glue new hooks and straps onto it. Plus the middle pulls apart, it's so thin I could stick my finger right through the silicone if I wanted to. http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161106/5ca3c05f497827a4874a2c14ec9fab7c.jpg you can see how small it is vs how much I had to add. http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161106/8dc6bda121818d2e58dd6acb4baf8774.jpg you can also see my finger pushing through with very little effort.
Back to the tail. Because I was tired of dealing with this I asked my friend Mermaid Dottie to do her magic. She brought it in, took off the top few inches, added a dorsal to cover the "scaring" from taking it in, and added the scales she cut off to parts of the tail where it's just slapped together. http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161106/9deb4cbc9a44f40da59c8a770edbec0e.jpg you can see here and in the last photo that there are a lot of scales missing and there's spots were the silicone is frosted on http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161106/93205a2d301643d59aa2bbc2a45b25e3.jpg
I hope I'm not forgetting anything but that was basically my whole experience. There were pros and cons to the experience and I really hope everyone else's experiences are better than mine. In the end though, I would never go through Merrowfins again
Pros
Good person
Cares about if I love the tail or not
Seems to have empathy
Good painting skills
Cons
Lack of response
Doesn't seem to care about deadlines
Doesn't update properly
I can't even explain the top
Finances
For first tail I paid $1000 + $250 for a top + $50 PayPal fee + $300 shipping (which I shouldn't have had to pay for if it had been said when I was told it was) for a subtotal of $1600
Second tail I paid $100 to ship it back to him + $432 for the remake
Grand total $2132 for a tail that I won for $1000.
Not counting the money for repairs with Dottie.
Hope you all made it through!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk