Posts: 323
09/01/10 20:13:37 |
Hi Guys,
If you've been having some problems with Adam and you haven't heard from me today, please contact me 
|
Posts: 4
12/10/10 18:17:22 |
The thread of a conversation on the (now defunct) Seatails Ning board has been brought up here, and I felt it was worth weighing in on it.
Six years ago, there was essentially only one tail-maker of any repute, and that was Thom Shouse, who has been doing tails for Hollywood productions for years and had developed a good reputation for solid, albeit expensive tails. Since then, the field has expanded to include more than a dozen different tail makers of various quality, but in almost all cases this generation is young - most are under thirty (for the record, I'm forty eight, so I feel entitled in calling all of you "youngsters" :-)
I have helped people make tails, and understand that for the most part such tails fall more into the category of works of art or bespoke tailoring than they do commodity items - in part because they usually have to be made to a person's specifications, in part because the material involved are neither inexpensive nor easy to work with. This means that I am more inclined to overlook lengthy development times than many, and also to understand that in most cases the margins on such tails may be scale thin. Of course that has implications - if you want a quality tail, it may cost a couple of thousand dollars to make it worthwhile to do it. If price is an issue, then usually something - materials, paints, level of detail - will have to go down as well.
Now, running a bespoke costume business is always risky, but when your primary product is something like a mermaid tail, then all it takes is bubbles in the polyethylene, a bad cut, or a mismeasured hip to ruin it - you might be able to salvage it, but that can influence your reputation as well, and the sunk costs and low margin can create a positive feedback effect that can be difficult to recover from. That's why I'm always willing to give a tailmaker the benefit of the doubt .. so long as they work to keep the customers informed, and recognize that such things happen (and likely need to be priced in when tail prices are too low) then I'd be careful about casting aspersions.
On the other hand, poor customer service, shoddy workmanship, substituting low cost materials for high ones that were paid for, and even antagonizing customers and distributors will ultimately end up in chasing away customers. What I've heard of Adam is that he does the tails as part of an active prosthetics shop, and that his biggest problem is on over-committing on orders and then having something go wrong that causes a production shortfall. The answer to that is usually to hire one or more assistants, with the understanding that at some point you could be training your next competitor. Adam has struck me as being an accomplished artist, but is still trying to find his balance as a business owner, and I have urged him in private correspondence that he has a production problem and needs to expand. As a small business owner myself, I know how hard this can be, and he will either survive or fail on how well he makes that transition.
The other problem child, Eric, is a little more problematic. When the controversy erupted on Seatails, his response was not to wade in and defend himself, but to demand that I take the offending post down. I run and moderate a number of sites (Seatails being the only fantasy one) but among them are technical sites focusing on companies that make billions of dollars per year. I regularly have had cease and desist letters from lawyers representing these firms when I report on issues that aren't favorable to the company in question, but in most cases such are simply scare tactics - they will not hold up in a court of law. I know it, the lawyers know it, and typically my response is to allow representatives of the company in question to defend themselves within the same forum, and most choose to do so. I made this offer to Eric. He did put up a short defense, but did not follow through in using the forum as a vehicle to talk with his (unhappy) customers. This, coupled with anecdotal evidence I've picked up from others, make me feel far less charitable towards Eric than towards Adam.
That having been said, I have not purchased tails from either gentlemen, and as it is unlikely that I will be buying tails from anyone (I'm more along the physique of an elderly Poseidon than a fit merman, sad to say) I do not have first hand experience. I will continue to promote anyone who develops tails, both here and on Seatails.org, but will not be shy about warning people off who develop too negative a reputation in the community.
|
Posts: 862
12/10/10 18:48:48 |
Raven has already demonstrated how it's possible to make a realistic mermaid tail for under 200$ and honestly I just dont see either of these guys as being the type that deserve pity. Eric did the same thing here threatening legal action and didnt count on any of us knowing how that actually works. With you (seatails guy!) you're the owner of your forum, you can set your rules. Even though our posts do not break yuku's rules eric still contacted them and they removed them. To me anecdotal evidence is more word of mouth without any actual physical evidence. I think raven's photos and my videos are pretty strong physical evidence of his problems with tails.
To me it's just 2 guys who started off with good intentions and wanting to create- wrapped up in making money and taking whatever they can. Im glad you didnt remove his posts on seatails
|
Posts: 540
12/10/10 20:31:14 |
Honestly I dont expect any tailmaker to be perfect. I'm sure I'm going to make a few tails that don't fit or have mistakes (Of course I will do my best to avoid them but I know it happens) the difference is, I'm going to try and fix my mistakes and own up to them instead of blaming the customer. Im extremely sick of seeing tail makers that do NOTHING to help their customers.
|
Posts: 347
12/11/10 17:54:56 |
Is it me or is his website down?
|
Posts: 145
12/11/10 23:14:55 |
i think it's really gone O.o
|
Posts: 862
12/12/10 11:00:55 |
he posted on the mer yuku facebook
|
Posts: 907
12/13/10 00:24:06 |
I actually posted on his wall a few days ago asking if everything was alright, since I saw the site was down. Guess this is my response.
Adam Martyn Just a quick message for everyone who is concerned with their orders, and those who are still waiting for their tails: I am not some drugged-out crook, I am dealing with a financial meltdown and finance problems and time to make the tails that are in the making right now. I cannot make these things fast enough and refu...se to produce crap that is being seen in other tails out there right now. I can understand the anger from some, others I cannot understand their venting for what they agreed to in the contract itself, if they wanted modifications in their contract for the usage of the tail and design creation they had the opportunity to do so. I was very open about that. other than that, I am very late in my work getting the tails finshed, nothing more! I can only blame my situation for not getting on the work sooner.
Thank you.
Adam Martyn All orders will be completed and all will have their finished tails, those who asked for refunds will also get their refund. Thanks to everyone who has shown support in this time, everyone has had a tough time here and I hope everyone can continue to see that time can heal any damage done. Fantasea Creatures is down fo...r the time being as it needs to be updated and improved. NO orders will be taken until the current tails and refunds are resolved.
Thank you.
Last Edited By: Winged Mermaid 12/13/10 00:26:10. Edited 1 time. |
Selene
Winged Mermaid
I am sure you will save many others heartache and money loss in the future with your warning.
Reply With Quote
TOO EVEN WANT TO BUY FROM ADAM???.......GEEZUS!
Bookmarks