Considering Buying My First Silicone Tail / Need Input & Suggestions :)

[Incendium]

First off—-WOW, HAS IT BEEN A LONG TIME. :( I've been so busy lately, I feel like I abandoned you guys! :cry:

Anyway, time to get to the point of the post; I've saved up a little over $900 and feel ready to upgrade to a silicone tail. Woo! ;) What tailmaker would you guys recommend?

I'm tossing around the idea of getting The Mertailor's silicone neoprene tail, which is priced nicely at $530. I absolutely adore the look of all his tails, but people seem to either have a lot of problems with him and his tails or have a great experience with him and his tails (at least from what I've found). I'm pretty conflicted… Does anyone have any suggestions? Mertailor experiences they'd like to share? I'll be super grateful for anything you'd like to share! x

*I'd also like to point out I'm a very proficient swimmer.
I've been swimming competitively for twelve years, freediving for five, and have been a certified lifeguard for three.

[Mermaid Wesley]

I personally don't like the look of his tails much, I prefer merbellas and finfolk, I've never had an experience with him but I did get the chance to get up close and personal with a finfolk tail and the craftsmanship was amaaazing.


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[Incendium]

The Merbellas tails have too much of a "fantasy" feel for my liking. Not to say Raven's tails aren't amazing, they really are, but I think Eric's have a more natural/fishy feel which is what I prefer. Raven's tails are also way out of my price range. I'll check out FinFolk though! Thanks for the rec. :rainbow:

[Seatan]

Finfolk are AWESOME, but they are also above your price range, unfortunately. :( You should skim the Tailmaking section and look at what some of what the individuals here have done. There are a TON of new tailmakers and a lot of them seem to be offering good deals. I don't know who, exactly, since I have been away so long, but that will probably be your best bet for $900.

I have never had personal experience with Eric (the Mertailor)'s product, but I wouldn't say he is the most reliable and caring person to buy from. Raven and Abby and Bryn (Merbella's and Finfolk) are both WAY more caring and sweet, though I don't think either one makes neoprene/silicone and even if they were in your cost range they have long waiting lists.

[Echinacea]

I like the look of the Mertailor's new (well, newer...) silicone/neoprene tail. Bonnie Lavender got one and has had no problems with it. That is the one with the removable fluke. I would make sure to check, but I think the $530 is just for the tail portion, and the fluke is another $495, or thereabouts. Won't do you any good to have the tail, but no fluke! Possibly check Sirenalia (www.sirenalia.com (http://www.sirenalia.com)), I think they have been making silicone tails, or Purple Rainbow tails (that is Jazz's company, www.purplerainbowtails.com (http://www.purplerainbowtails.com)). Or Mermaid Julz has been making latex tails (https://www.facebook.com/UnderSeaMermaidCo).

*note* I looked it up, the Mertailor's Partial Silicone tail lists for $842.70 on his website, and includes the tail and the monofin. The Silicone/Neoprene tail is $530, but I had thought he had discontinued it. Check with him, and good luck finding your dream tail! :D

[Theobromine]

There are a lot of great tailmakers to choose from in a wide variety of price ranges. I have a Finfolk tail and I LOVE it. Mermaid Iona has a Merbellas tail and it is also gorgeous (it's the only Merbellas I've seen in person) and her design is definitely more realistic than fantastical. Both Merbellas and Finfolk have some more realistic designs and some phantasmagorical designs.

I don't mind the look of some of Mertailor's designs, personally, but from what I can tell he Photoshops the heck out of most of them. If you see an un-Photoshopped picture of one of them that someone else posts, they don't look anywhere near as nice. The seams look REALLY gunky and the scales look really globby in most of the pictures I've seen. I've never seen one in person but I know others who have and they've noticed the same things.

Also, even if not everyone has had a rotten experience with Mertailor, he's done enough shitty things that I still wouldn't order from him on principle. He's treated many of his customers like shit and harassed people and his boyfriend is known for some rather horrifyingly creepy levels of cyber-stalking. Plus, he has straight-up stolen a design from a good friend of mine, Mermaid Lorelei. After shit like that I can't even believe he's still in business, but somehow he manages to have a ton of very vocal fans who will overwhelm (and ignore or delete) any dissent on his Facebook page so a lot of people don't even know about all the harassment and abuse he's heaped on people. He is still selling the fluke design he stole from Lorelei. If you don't know that story, I can find the thread and link it for you if you want.

So yeah, to sum up, the decision is up to you but I wouldn't feel comfortable supporting the business of a person with such bad behavior and shady business practices.

[Chrissy]

I haven't really spoken with the Mertailor but on a few things and I got very short quick unpersonalize answers, which turned me off...that is just me. The pictures of his tail are stunning, but when I have seen the silicone/neoprene up close they don't look as god to me. They paint job seems quick and the scales don't look like they were thought out well. I have seen some videos where the the tails fall apart very quick and the paint chips off. Maybe he has revamped his making of these tails who knows.
but there are a lot of tail makers out there, shop around. I am having a full silicone tail made my Mernation right now!!! Check them out too

[Incendium]

Ooh, Purple Rainbow Tails are gorgeous! I could afford one of those if I wait for a couple more paychecks. :)
I'll keep browsing around, but wow wow are those lovely. <3

[Mermaid Wesley]

Oh yeah! Jazz is a prodigy


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