Merberry

[AniaR]

So I have recently received several pm and emails about people not receiving tails at all from merbeery. One person told me over a year. I think it is time to start documenting the way we did with fishbutts. If you've had an issue please post here. You have no reason to be afraid and I sadly can't do a thing for you. Best to discuss with others.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

[Feli]

im from germany !
I ordered it a year ago.
She always told me she sends pictures. And keeps me up to date.
After a few weeks I heard nothing more. And they also did not reply to my emails.
I worked hard for this money and now it is waste.


If anyone sells a fishtail, I would buy it immediately, regardless of price.

[Mermaid_Jade]

I got my first tail from Merberry and it was an orca tail made of latex and neoprene. We kept up conversation and i paid her little by little till finally i was able to pay it off completely. She assured me that it would come in for the date that I would need it, way before that. Actually it came the day of but I didn't care as long as it came in. I took it to the pool and immediately when I put it on it was too big and kept slipping down. The monofin was too small and had been cut to the point of being useless, it didn't propel me through the water at all, it was barely there. And then the paint started coming off :( left a trail all the way back to the hotel room. 20495 20496 20497 I contacted her about it and she offered to fix it but I wasn't having it. I just wanted my money back. We agreed that she would pay me back 50$ a month till she'd refunded me fully. *only responding when i mentoned getting a lawyer involved* *The tail was almost 600$* No contact from her for a month. I reminded her and she asked for another month, saying she didn't have the 50. Ok, gave her a month, then asked for it again and again said she didn't have the money. Month after month I went through this with her promising to pay me but I had to keep on her for it. She ended up paying me back 100 dollars then no contact. After a bit i contacted her again and she'd started some other company? someone else answered and promised me more of my refund, then no contact after that and her etsy page is down. I've tried her Deviantart page and her facebook, no answer :( Then I got scammed by fishbutts. Hopefully third times the charm with FinFolk... Its beginning to seem like i'll never be a mermaid :(

[AniaR]

that. is insane, and that's a hallmark of alex plus. uggh so sorry for you

[Mermaid_Jade]

Thanks Raina :( I can't believe how easy it is to scam over the internet. Just say your going to do something, then take everyone's money and never reply and shut down all facebook/etsy pages etc and just break off all contact. I still have the box it came in with the address...would that help? I'm trying to go after fishbutts legally, it will be a pain to go after her too :(

[Starfrit]

Jade, I just have to ask-- What exactly is the scale pattern like on your tail? From the photos you posted it looks like the scales are all running in the wrong direction...

I am so, so sorry you've had to deal with this. Being scammed once is one thing, but twice? That's totally unfair for you. :( Hopefully you'll actually see some results soon!

On the upside Finfolk seem to be a great company and your tail from them is bound to be beautiful. You'll be a mermaid, don't worry! <3

[Mermaid Wesley]

i think the scale pattern is like this.
20498
it looks diagonal because of the way the shapes touch on the sides

[Mermaid_Jade]

I think MerHopefully is correct. I was actually surprised there were scales because orca's don't have any. It didn't look like that in the picture she sent me *the only picture she sent me, there were no progress pics and no communication while she was making it) 20499 I asked her about it after, about just painting it straight to look more like an orca and she replied that wasn't possible because you would see the paint lines. I definitely wouldn't have minded, wish she had asked me beforehand, wish it hadn't been a piece of crap :( Sad part is SHE STARTED TO REFUND ME THEN STOPPED! Why couldn't she just refund me and be done with it? I wouldn't have ever bothered her again.

[Mermaid Crystal Shimmer]

Just to let you all know. I'm still sorting things out with Amanda. She promised to pay me back, and today I got the second payment. Now received 200 dollars from her, so I hope it all works out until the full amount is paid back. She's working on making silicone tails now. I saw a preview and it *looks* way better then anything I've seen from her with her latex tails. I do hope she will test those tails a lot before even thinking of selling them. =/

[Mermaid Kelda]

Thank goodness! I was afraid she was going to drop off the radar like Stevie did. This gives me hope that I might see my money yet, or at least a tail!

[AniaR]

She did drop off like stevi. Glad she's paying shimmer back but she didn't pay back others. I wouldn't trust future tails or business from her honestly. Her old tails looked nice in photos too...

[Mermaid Crystal Shimmer]

As soon as I know the new company name, I'll post it here. =)

[Mermaid_Jade]

As soon as I know the new company name, I'll post it here. =) I would very much appreciate that Shimmer. She still owes me quite a bit of money and dropped off the radar like Stevie. Can you pm me with any info you have?
Jade

[SeaGlass Siren]

I'm pretty sure she's dropped off the face of the planet :| havent seen any activity in months..

[Mermaid Crystal Shimmer]

She just released her new tail company: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Finspo-Mermaid-Tails/276315825894366

[Seraphina Suds]

You can see the monofin (or are those just two swim fins together?? Zoomers?) very clearly through the tail -_-;; https://m.facebook.com/276315825894366/photos/a.279847795541169.1073741828.276315825894366/279852462207369/?type=1&source=46&refid=17

[Kishiko]

That's probably a lexan fin if zoomers show. And I don't think we should rag on it just yet, maybe watch the page/company and see how she does. I'm curious to see if she refunds everyone

[Seraphina Suds]

Her faq says finis trainer. And it also lays out a lot of guarantees. Until I see one actually swim, I'm not convinced of the quality.

[Kishiko]

Oh then it's probably a cut/modified wave/rapid. But yeah, I'd like to see it in use before judging the quality.

[PearlieMae]

I thought it appropriate to spread a word to the wise... Am I wrong?

24230

[Kishiko]

Maybe a warning is a good idea,... Though maybe a little more graciously IMO. Everyone deserves a second chance, but I think caution is still a very good idea at this point.

[PearlieMae]

:)

I'm not known for my grace.

I did share it on my personal page and not my mermaid page, so I'm not sweating it.

[Kishiko]

Haha true ;)

[SeaGlass Siren]

whoa.. how did she go from alexplus to silicone?? o-o

[PearlieMae]

All the people she ripped off financed it? :thinks:

[Merman Arion]

@ PearlieMae

I second your statement. You have my support. Better safe than sorry, a warning is fair considering the past.

[Mermaid Crystal Shimmer]

Since she's still paying me back (just got the third payment today) I'm being nice to her. In the meantime I'm hoping to get some more info from her, so I can let you all know what she's up to. I do know that she's been learning on how to use silicone as some sort of intern, but she didn't specify at what company.

[SeaGlass Siren]

We'll hopefully she can pull herself back up.

[Mermaid_Jade]

She just released her new tail company: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Finspo-Mermaid-Tails/276315825894366

Is there anywhere that say's it was formally Merberry's? I want to send them an email stating that its me and that payments need to start again but they could just email me back saying they don't know what I'm talking about. Or just continue to ignore me completely.

[Mermaid Crystal Shimmer]

24243

Is this enough? ;)

[Mermaid_Jade]

Should be! Thanks so much for taking that picture! Just sent them an email now. Hopefully they will get back to me and continue refunding me till its done. If not i'm reporting them to the bbb and taking other action. Now if only someone could bring Fishbutts to justice :(

[AniaR]

Real silicone or tin cure

[Kishiko]

Real silicone or tin cure

Was that a question lol? I can't tell. But I think it's platinum cure

Edit: 24266

[Starfrit]

Doesn't she still owe people refunds? :confused: This has red flags written all over it... Whether her tails (or tail*, judging by the only one she has on her page, which is a red flag all on its own) have improved in quality or not, she really should be focusing more on getting back in contact with the clients she still owes than with trying to start up her business all over again... It's possible she may be trying to use this as an opportunity to bring in money that she can then put towards refunding, but it's so, so easy for that strategy to turn into a death spiral and she could easily end up in the same mess she was in to start with if she isn't keeping 100% on top of things. And if she hasn't gotten back in touch with any of the people she still owes at this point, especially without them getting on her case first... I don't know. I'm wary.

I've got my fingers crossed, in any case. Hopefully Jade, and others like her who are still waiting, will get some resolution!

[AniaR]

I feel better about her than I do fishbutts because at least she's trying to chip away at what she owes people. Stevi just took off.

[Starfrit]

Yeah, I'm definitely impressed with the fact that she's actually worked on improving her tailmaking methods and try to get back in business and refund people. I've got my reservations about it all, sure, but she's already done so much more than others like Stevi who just... dropped off the face of the planet, apparently.

[Kishiko]

Doesn't she still owe people refunds? :confused: This has red flags written all over it... Whether her tails (or tail*, judging by the only one she has on her page, which is a red flag all on its own) have improved in quality or not, she really should be focusing more on getting back in contact with the clients she still owes than with trying to start up her business all over again... It's possible she may be trying to use this as an opportunity to bring in money that she can then put towards refunding, but it's so, so easy for that strategy to turn into a death spiral and she could easily end up in the same mess she was in to start with if she isn't keeping 100% on top of things. And if she hasn't gotten back in touch with any of the people she still owes at this point, especially without them getting on her case first... I don't know. I'm wary.

I've got my fingers crossed, in any case. Hopefully Jade, and others like her who are still waiting, will get some resolution!


Yeah, I'm definitely impressed with the fact that she's actually worked on improving her tailmaking methods and try to get back in business and refund people. I've got my reservations about it all, sure, but she's already done so much more than others like Stevi who just... dropped off the face of the planet, apparently.

Didnt you just say it was a bad idea for her to start a business again? :confused::thinks:

Edit: that was my 700th post..huh. Neat :)

[Starfrit]

Sorry, let me clarify; my brain's been kind of all over the place today, oops!

I do think the strategy itself is a bad idea, mostly because I know far too many people in other costume-based fandoms who have ended up in Merberry's position-- They try making elaborate costume pieces, get overwhelmed with the work due to taking on way too many orders or poor overall quality, and when they start getting criticism/negative reviews/upset clients/whatever, they can't handle the pressure and try to run away from it instead of accepting responsbility. Then they come back with this "I'm changed, I'm going to make things right" routine and do the same thing they did before to try and make back money to repay the people they pissed off. Then, they.... take on too many orders, or let their production standards slip, and everything goes back to hell in the same handbasket it went down in the first time.

It's a really risky strategy, because it basically puts the builder back in the exact same position that landed them in that mess the first time. Personally, because of just how easy it is to screw up, I generally advise people not to go that route. If it's possible, try selling pre-made items instead of fully custom works, or something.

Even still, in Merberry's case, she's already done more than others who've been in her position simply by coming back out in the open and acknowledging what she's doing here. She's actually worked on improving her tailmaking, and has basically opened up a new line of communication so people she owes can get back in touch. I don't agree with the strategy itself, but I do give her major props for putting in as much effort as she has so far.

I'm wary, but at the same time, I want to give her the benefit of the doubt, because all things considered it IS pretty brave of her to come back. The very least I can do is offer some sort of support, even if I'm hesitant about it, because there's an actual chance here that she COULD manage to pay back her old clients. So I've got my fingers crossed for her.

[Prince Calypso]

has she put out a price range yet, also i want to see more of her new work
but honestly i'm happy she has manged to pull herself out of that downward spiral she got her self in
hopefully everyone gets their money back

[AniaR]

I know she tried to do a kickstarter to get herself out and reset her company I remember seeing that online

[PearlieMae]

Sorry, let me clarify; my brain's been kind of all over the place today, oops!

I do think the strategy itself is a bad idea, mostly because I know far too many people in other costume-based fandoms who have ended up in Merberry's position-- They try making elaborate costume pieces, get overwhelmed with the work due to taking on way too many orders or poor overall quality, and when they start getting criticism/negative reviews/upset clients/whatever, they can't handle the pressure and try to run away from it instead of accepting responsbility. Then they come back with this "I'm changed, I'm going to make things right" routine and do the same thing they did before to try and make back money to repay the people they pissed off. Then, they.... take on too many orders, or let their production standards slip, and everything goes back to hell in the same handbasket it went down in the first time.

It's a really risky strategy, because it basically puts the builder back in the exact same position that landed them in that mess the first time. Personally, because of just how easy it is to screw up, I generally advise people not to go that route. If it's possible, try selling pre-made items instead of fully custom works, or something.

Even still, in Merberry's case, she's already done more than others who've been in her position simply by coming back out in the open and acknowledging what she's doing here. She's actually worked on improving her tailmaking, and has basically opened up a new line of communication so people she owes can get back in touch. I don't agree with the strategy itself, but I do give her major props for putting in as much effort as she has so far.

I'm wary, but at the same time, I want to give her the benefit of the doubt, because all things considered it IS pretty brave of her to come back. The very least I can do is offer some sort of support, even if I'm hesitant about it, because there's an actual chance here that she COULD manage to pay back her old clients. So I've got my fingers crossed for her.

Part of the problem, though, is that they WANT to make things right, but go down that same path that got them into trouble in the first place, and generally, the main problem boils down to not having the chops to pull off the task their are being commissioned to do. They rush into production thinking they can make amends, keep up AND turn a profit, only to end up in the same situation that got them into trouble in the first place.

I'm not sure she even has a strategy and is biting off more than she can chew - again - but I wish her luck.

So yeah, it IS buyer beware...but also remember effort does not equal quality.

[AniaR]

Honestly, even for well established tail makers this is so darn hard. I have watched Raven go through so much stress trying to make clients happy, it's one of the reasons why she takes so long. She's one of the only tail makers I know of that will give a full refund as well which is really hard on her. Sometimes she sells off her personal tails she made for herself so the business can keep going.

It's not easy, and I get upset when I see so many people who have barely made tails or havent even finished making ONE decide to be tail makers.

There are some tail makers out there who are considered established that Ive had experience with, that I dont think should be making tails because they havent figured out basic things like painting, seaming, etc. Or are using materials that don't mix. But the demand is so high everyone thinks they can get rich off it. Tail makers don't get rich. lol They just end up spending all their time making tails.

Kudos to anyone willing to try but I have much more respect for people like Pearlie who take the time to get the process right and test the frigging hell out of it before considering making tails to sell. I remember once reading about a mermaid calling themself a tail maker, and they hadnt even SWAM in a tail before and for some things I really think you just need to experience it before you label yourself anything.

[MermaidLilyRose]

All I can say is that I hope she has learned from her previous mistakes (though i have my doubts) and I hope that she keeps her previous promises to those she owes money or tails (like myself and the countless others)

I couldnt help but notice that the picture of her tail on her new facebook page isnt actually being worn properly.....it is merely resting on top of someones legs (backwards none the less) as opposed to actually being worn? this raises red flags for me as I know how visible the monofins are in her tails so its like she is trying to hide that which is then false advertising.

[Mermaid Crystal Shimmer]

Her new page also announced she's making the latex tails again. But it states that those are not meant for underwater use. Just dry use for photoshoots or something. So she has learned from past experience. I really do hope she get's to pay everyone back and make a succes of this second attempt of tail making, and not going down the road she has been before.

Also, I must say that having a lot of patience is working. She made a fourth payment which means I got 350$ of the total 500$ tail.

[Genevieve]

That is encouraging that she's paying you back, Crystal Shimmer. She's doing some of the right things. Personally, I'd feel better if she came out and said, "Hey, we were previously Merberry, and we made some mistakes. But we're paying everyone back and starting fresh." And then doing it. They're being more honest, but I would want to see follow-through for everyone owed money before I would expect follow-through on a tail.

[AniaR]

She's still doing better than fishbutts did. So that's good

[Seraphina Suds]

Found her new listing on etsy
https://www.etsy.com/listing/204907166/custom-latex-mermaid-tail

[deepblue]

I don't understand why anyone would use a Finis monofin in a tail that isn't intended for water. That really must add to the price.

Also, personally, I'm quite put off my the new company name. Finspo is too close to thinspo for my comfort. I'm sure PLENTY of people don't care, I just have a few friends who survived anorexia and still struggle, so I see that and feel a little sick to my stomach.

But it's good to see honesty- these are for dry use only.

[Seraphina Suds]

I had the same thoughts about the name. =/ and here's the silicone listing. Can't get over how obvious the monofin is in that bathtub picture.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/204916267/custom-painted-silicone-mermaid-tail?ref=listing-shop-header-0

[Mermaid Wesley]

It's absolutely a play on thinspo. And I will say that thinspo isn't always horrible, but they do have that association. Finspo bugs me, but as long as it doesn't get any more ties to eds I can deal with it. As far as the monofin goes, it's hard to hide a monofin in that position. Silicone is very floppy and stretchy.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Genevieve]

That's what the name sounded like! I knew it sounded like something I'd heard before. It's a bit unfortunate that they sound so similar, because that's a preconception a lot of people have about mermaids. That they're little!

[PhaylennMurúch]

I find it disingenuous that on the FB page the long description says "We craft together the finest silicone,latex, fiberglass and wishes into a mermaid tail you can actually swim in. "
but in the posts by others section they respond to Jolene Oldhams question of "aren't you Merberry?" with:
"Sort of! We grew out of Merberry. Back then it was just Amanda Avery working on her own making latex tails; this is a microcompany that make silicone and latex tails meant only for photography."

[Yulia]

I think she means that the Latex tails are for dry use only, at least that's what her Etsy-shop states.

[PearlieMae]

(BTW, I'm Jolene Oldham)

[Seatan]

Yes, and every time I see you on Facebook I want to sing the song "Jolene." Please don't take my merman....

(Do people drive you crazy with that? I get "Michelle My Belle" a lot, LOL.)

[Seatan]

It's absolutely a play on thinspo. And I will say that thinspo isn't always horrible, but they do have that association. Finspo bugs me, but as long as it doesn't get any more ties to eds I can deal with it. As far as the monofin goes, it's hard to hide a monofin in that position. Silicone is very floppy and stretchy.


I think that she is referring to how the yellow fin shows through the thin, light colored silicone. She needs to make the fluke a little bit thicker so the yellow monofin can't be seen.

[PearlieMae]

Yes, and every time I see you on Facebook I want to sing the song "Jolene." Please don't take my merman....

(Do people drive you crazy with that? I get "Michelle My Belle" a lot, LOL.)

YES! It drove me crazy for a long time. I went from no one being able to pronounce my name (Jolene? Really? How hard is THAT?) to everyone automatically bursting into song! I finally had the chance to meet with Dolly Parton and we had a good laugh about it. She said she wouldn't apologize because it's made her a lot of money! :lol:

[Sherielle]

One of the things I don't like about my mermaid creations tail is that the monofin is so obvious in the fluke.
And I have heard 'Sherry' From the Four Seasons since I was born. Sick of it, I am. I much prefer the Steve Perry song, 'Oh Sherrie' even if he spelled the name wrong. ;)

[Echidna]

Finspo is too close to thinspo for my comfort.

Never heard of thinspo before and googled it.
Goodness.
I can't even. Curiosity and the cat, I guess :p

[Mermaid_Jade]

Well I got into contact with Amanda and she seemed pretty eager to continue payments, and wanted to stay in touch and offered to start sending payments again and gave me an option of waiting so she could send 100 or send 50 a little sooner. I chose 50 sooner and she said she'd get back to me in October with it...October came around and nothing, then i contacted her in November and she said she just needed a little more time...then i contacted her in December and got this response "Hey Jade. I actually just lost my job recently, it's been pretty tough. But tail sales are picking up a little, I might be able to get you something soon. Sorry as always for how long this has been taking." So yeah, I think she's paying people back with new order money. Anyone else having this problem? Maybe she should pay back people one person at a time instead of spreading herself so thin paying back everyone :(

[AniaR]

Or get a line of credit and pay people. Then she can make payments on line of credit instead of clients

[-Annwyn-]

One of the things I don't like about my mermaid creations tail is that the monofin is so obvious in the fluke.
And I have heard 'Sherry' From the Four Seasons since I was born. Sick of it, I am. I much prefer the Steve Perry song, 'Oh Sherrie' even if he spelled the name wrong. ;)

Try having 'Mary' for a name. -.-; I'm a veritable jukebox.

[PearlieMae]

Or get a line of credit and pay people. Then she can make payments on line of credit instead of clients

She probably can't get credit. It's not as easy as it used to be these days.


Well I got into contact with Amanda and she seemed pretty eager to continue payments, and wanted to stay in touch and offered to start sending payments again and gave me an option of waiting so she could send 100 or send 50 a little sooner. I chose 50 sooner and she said she'd get back to me in October with it...October came around and nothing, then i contacted her in November and she said she just needed a little more time...then i contacted her in December and got this response "Hey Jade. I actually just lost my job recently, it's been pretty tough. But tail sales are picking up a little, I might be able to get you something soon. Sorry as always for how long this has been taking." So yeah, I think she's paying people back with new order money. Anyone else having this problem? Maybe she should pay back people one person at a time instead of spreading herself so thin paying back everyone :(

Send PayPal invoices. That way, you can send reminders through them and keep a record of the requests for money. It's worth the 3% they charge.

[Mermaid_Jade]

Send PayPal invoices. That way, you can send reminders through them and keep a record of the requests for money. It's worth the 3% they charge.

I've tried doing that with her and Stevi in the past and they both just ignore it :( With Amanda's case she just keeps replying back and saying things like "soon i promise! or I've run into trouble can you wait a bit longer?" and now its that she's lost her job so I wonder if she's just going to keep feeding me excuses till she thinks I'll just give up.

[Mermaid Mystery]

I don't understand why anyone would use a Finis monofin in a tail that isn't intended for water. That really must add to the price.

Also, personally, I'm quite put off my the new company name. Finspo is too close to thinspo for my comfort. I'm sure PLENTY of people don't care, I just have a few friends who survived anorexia and still struggle, so I see that and feel a little sick to my stomach.

But it's good to see honesty- these are for dry use only.


the thinspo thing makes me a little uncomfortable too, due to suffering from ednos myself.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Bree Lovas]

She calls her company finspo mermaid tails no on etsy. But yup i got my tail but sent it back after awhile to get touched up and repainted etc. It was suppose to just take about a month to do this. Well its been almost 4 months shes had my tails. She never responds back to my messages on fb or emails back either. When she does its rare. Well im like ummmm wheres my tail and when are u shipping it back to me?! She kept post poning shipping it to me. She kept saying oh ill get it to y next week, oh on Monday ill have it shipped out blah blah. Nothing. Well FINALLY she says to me last week that its on it way. Nope never even sent it! She lied. Bc after waiting around alllllll day it never showed so my husband called fed ex and fed ex said nope she never sent it out and she just made a fake label to LOOK like she had sent it. So, my husband sent her firm email saying you have until 6pm your time to email back to us or we are going to dispute the charges at the bank. Well, we just came from the bank. Didnt work out there. So we are NOW taking legal action and suing her!! And IRONICALLY she is "closing up shop" during all this. Ha! Kinda fishym NO ONE ORDER FROM AMANDA IF SHE EVER OPENS BACK UP! YOULL END UP REGRETTING IT

[Mermaid_Jade]

I agree. Ordering from her is a mistake and you'll either get a crappy tail or nothing. She's done the same fishbutts has done :(.

[SeaGlass Siren]

oh no amanda... :( what has happened to you.

[AniaR]

:( :(

[The Water Phoenix]

I know this is an old thread but in case anyone is wondering, Amanda's instagram profile is still active and she follows me. If anyone wants the account name feel free to PM me