FishAsses Again >:(

[Mermaid Avalon]

yes---- very glad for this community and the honest reviews....I was going to purchase one in january...I'd still be waiting!

[Ashe]

I honestly don't really want to be part of this drama, but on the FishButts website it says that a partial silicone tail is a thick base of neoprene with a thin silicone layer, and that a full silicone tail is a thin base of neoprene with thick silicone on top. Thats confusing to me because wouldn't they technically both be partial silicone tails??

[AniaR]

I don't think it's drama, you're just asking a question. But I don't know the answer, and you're right it's confusing >.> I'm not sure what she's even offering right now to be honest.

[Mermaid-Rose]

I ordered a tail from Fish Butts for Christmas. I have waited six months with a promise of a refund, and even though I asked for one a LONG TIME AGO, she has not answered my emails for two months. She completely ignores them. I also saw a review on YouTube. The tail was horrible. There were dog hairs EMBEDDED in the silicone and there were missing patches of scales. When she emailed FishButts about it, they told her to buy some silicone and fix it herself. I hate FishButts. Worst tail making company EVER.

[Meridian Mer-Gyver]

I ordered my tail, finally got it and after one show (no swimming involved) it began falling apart. It was unfinished, the paint I requested was not done and the silicone did not cure long enough. Now the fluke is disintegrating, soon I will have holes. When I asked for help she original told me she would refund me half of the cost, which by the way I was charged over $1000 for a tail she sells for $500, now I am ignored, blocked, and she refuses to refund or fix my tail. I have spent countless hours and my own money to repair and finish a tail, I will never recommend Fishbutts. I don't want other people to get taken advantage of.

[Mermaid Harmony]

Meridian, can you post a review with pictures of what your talking about?

[Merrow Fair Isle]

While reporting her to the better business bureau will only work if her business is registered , you can as a consumer report ANY business to the state attorneys office in the state from which the operate from if the business practices are shady. Just write a letter detailing the situation. If enough people are ticked off about it, and write to the state attorneys office, they will send a letter notifying that complaints have been maid and an investigation is pending... I had to do that with my wedding photographer. It was a year after my wedding and we had NO images...come to find out several other couples went through the same thing. The business was NOT registered with the BBB...but a lawayer friend on a wedding forum suggested we all write. It worked. i had my images...unedited, just a disc of raw files...but it was SOMETHING.

I am not saying this is definitely the way to go ... not at all. But for so many folks waiting for tails and a refusal to refund money , it is an OPTION should you chose to pursue it. Technically speaking, she is in breech of contract by not delivering the tails within the time promised. Legally she is obligated to refund the money provided you have documentation of completed payment, and documentation of estimated delivery. While it might say " estimated time of delivery" , it is legally expected that even if going beyond the time frame provided, the additional production/delivery time should be within an acceptable amount of time. TRIPLING, and in some cases QUADRUPLING the amount of time is not, in most legal situations, considered reasonable.

I wish you ALL luck in this whatever the choice.

[Winged Mermaid]

So it's been over a year for some people who still haven't recieved their tails. Meanwhile, Traci Hines has a tail finished by them from their NEW line that was announced not even a month ago.




I can't stand by and watch this any longer. I'm going to have to put up an advisory on them on the forum and tailmaker page.

[Mermaid-Rose]

So it's been over a year for some people who still haven't recieved their tails. Meanwhile, Traci Hines has a tail finished by them from their NEW line that was announced not even a month ago.




I can't stand by and watch this any longer. I'm going to have to put up an advisory on them on the forum and tailmaker page.

Yes, please do. I don't want any more mers to have to wait so long to get their tail. I have tried emailing her, messaging her on Facebook, and commenting on her wall, but she blocked me. She is completely ignoring me. I asked her nicely every time, but she wouldn't respond. I have been waiting since November for my tail and I know others have waited longer. She should focus on getting the late tails out to her customers instead of starting even more new things.

[MerEmma]

Yeah, that REALLY sucks. =\ Good idea on the advisory...I wish she'd get it all sorted out.

Also, that design is pretty unique for Traci, isn't it? All her tails thus far have been Ariel, correct?

[Mermaid Varshana]

I have tried emailing her, messaging her on Facebook, and commenting on her wall, but she blocked me. She is completely ignoring me.

[Winged Mermaid]

Advisory has been posted on the forum and stickied and linked to on the tailmaker page.

[AniaR]

ugh I can't believe this. I hadn't checked the forum yet today but I just saw our mutual friend's post on Fishbutt's page, waiting for two tails, for over a year, but Traci Hines is getting one?

I was really hoping Stevi would pull herself up out of this, but it's just unacceptable. I know Fifi didn't get her tail for her daughter either, or the refund.

You know, for the record, I haven't agreed with any of these choices or defended FisbButt's Actions, I only (almost 7 months ago), relayed the information I knew and pointed out the harassment I saw and tried to make it very clear even then that I didn't agree with her choices. Some people here have been emailing me hoping I have some sort of line to Stevi, or I can advocate on their behalf- and I totally can't. I have no clue what's up. And I have no other suggestions other than what's being said here. So I'm really sorry so many of you have been going through this. I did have some people email me wondering if they should buy and I told them my honest thoughts and they bought anyway. :/ and now they're stuck like everyone else.

Tail making is becoming such a lucrative business, but I truly don't think half the people who get in on it are ready for the work it is, the expectation levels, or even have a hand on their materials well. So many start selling right away without properly testing and they don't give clients a good understanding of how reliable their product is. Nobody seems to plan for shortages accept the rare few who have experienced them (in terms of getting materials).

I was really hoping Stevi could pull herself out of this, I mean, Eric eventually did and he's much better for it... but it just seems like things are going down. I totally agree with the warning.

[Mermaid Varshana]

I actually think the problem isn't too many getting into it, but not enough. There are so few reputable tailmakers that who's there gets buried under too much work. There are so few reputable tailmakers that when you ask "Who made your tail?" only about 5 people are expected as possibilities to be mentioned. There are so few reputable tailmakers that many mers can tell at a glance who made it

[SeaGlass Siren]

Advisory has been posted on the forum and stickied and linked to on the tailmaker page.

Off topic: oh my god your signature!! Eep! It's to pretty! I cant stop staring!!


on topic: I was wondering why traci was able to get her tail :| agree with the stickie

[AniaR]

In the last 6 months, we've seen a record amount of new tail makers. You can't just count the ultra silicone ones. When I bought my mertailor mermaid tail, it was buy from him, foxmoon (fabric), mermadfx (now closed), or mer-rentals. That was it.

Now we have:
Mertailor
Merbellas
Mermaid Creations Inc
Shell Tail Labs
Aqua Tails
Emily Angel Fish
Mermagica
Fish Butts
FinFun
Apple Jack
Pixy Tails
Foxmoon
Moo (the Asian Tail maker)
3 fins
The 2 tails
Tails 4 u
Magictail
FlipTails
Merberry
mermaid rentals
Mermaids R us
To A degree: Mahina's Monofins and tights
Mermaid Island Tours
Mermaid Kat's tails
Miami Beach Mermaids
Otter Bay Suits
Earth Song Designs
Shadow Fancy
URA Mermaid
High Star Studios
Sea Star Studios
Pacific Mermaid Tails
Victoria's Tails
Fintastic Tails
Grow a Tail
Fin Folk Mermaid Tails
Mernation
Coloured-Dreams
Rebecca has a fabric tail making company too, I just can't remember it off the top of my head and I am SURE I am missing people/companies.

I've also found many artists on deviantART who take commissions on both latex and fabric tails. Not to mention some pro-mermaids occasionally make tails for other (Kariel, Dana etc) and there are a few members here like Kanti and Lorelei who will eventually have their own tail making companies too. So yeah, I think the tail making world has exploded. ESPECIALLY when you consider some people actually make fake tail making websites to scam money.

Consider it took Eric a lifetime to get where he is, same with Thom, and it took Merbellas years of experimenting before they decided to make tails for the public, when so many other tail makers come out of nowhere and are touting how they'll run their business before they've even made a tail and in some cases, some hadn't even swam in tails before launching their business.

[deepblue]

So- with all these makers, I imagine cost still hasn't gone down, because the price of materials hasn't?

That is quite a list.

[AniaR]

well, some of the lesser-charging companies have low-cost materials, but you get what you pay for. Caulking doesn't hold up. Paint on fabric or neoprene fades very quickly, home-made monofins snap...

I do think part of the problem is people not having the best understanding or expectations around what they're buying. That's why I keep updating the "what to expect with your first mermaid tail" thread. Even platinum silicone tails aren't indestructible.

But yeah, you get what you pay for. It doesn't take much for people to look up the materials and see how expensive they are. Though, I remember Stevi saying she got a bunch of stuff wholesale...

[deepblue]

Makes sense. And as we've seen with this, companies who aren't making a decent product or fulfilling orders- word gets around. People gave this company a lot of chances.

Incidentally, I believe in researching first and buying quality. It's one reason I don't have a tail yet. I feel bad for everyone losing their money on this company, thank you mers for the advisory.

[BlueMermaid]

Go here if you have no received a tail or refund: http://mernetwork.com/index/showthre...8470#post88470