My attempt to purchase a tail from Emily Angelfish

[sunsetcliffmermama]

It is my goal to be as graceful as possible about this experience, but I am also going to be honest. I have read many threads and I am aware that my case is not the worst, however I still feel compelled to share so that others will think twice before ordering. Communication from Emily was never very quick to begin with, but I am learning about the process and time consumption of tail making and so I remained patient. I sent her payment in full at the end of December. She sent a couple of emails to let me know production had started, and all seemed well. A month and a half had passed, and I emailed to see if she could send a photo of progress. I let her know I was not in a rush (water wasn't anywhere near warm enough)...just thought it would be interesting to see the creation of my tail. She never responded to my email. I sent another. Finally a month had gone by. No word. I sent one last email, was very honest. I told her I would be contacting 3rd parties about getting a refund, and still did not hear back. I went ahead and disputed my transaction, and received a full refund.

Less than a week after my refund cleared, Emily finally emailed me. She said her work computer had been damaged. I found it very interesting that she could not reply to my emails regardless of that unfortunate circumstance. All of our email communication had been sent via cell phone from the start. I also found it strange that she would be "unaware" of my refund - that had already gone through. I honestly believe she sent that email in an attempt to cover her tail. I simply told her that I did not trust her business, and was no longer interested in her "services". I have since been informed that she uses hazardous materials in her tails...and so I guess this was all a blessing in disguise.

Ending on a positive note, I've ordered with Mermaid Citrine...who has already made fabric tails for my daughter and niece. (I was unaware that she made latex tails when I first ordered from Emily.) Mermaid Citrine has been an absolute pleasure to work with...and I am glad to support her talent.

[Starfrit]

I always tend to be really wary of people who use the "My work computer was messed up so I couldn't respond!" thing as an explanation for a lack of contact-- Especially in this day and age, no, there's absolutely no excuse for why you can apparently only access your business emails from one machine. Especially if she'd been emailing you from her phone in the first place like you said! It really doesn't reflect well on her business at all.

I'm really sorry you had to deal with that, it sounds really frustrating! Glad you found someone else who's wonderful to work with, though!

[AniaR]

Yes I'll admit I have been biased against her from the beginning due to some undercutting she pulled on Raven back when Raven was just starting out and experimenting with Alex tails etc. I'm sorry you had that experience, thankful you got your money back though.

[BayouMermaid]

Mermaid Citrine's tails look awesome. I think that things turned out for the better for you. Sorry that you had to deal with all the excuses though

[malinghi]

Yeah, glad you got a refund. BTW, welcome to the forum! Great to see another California mermaid. I feel like our pod is growing all the time!

[sunsetcliffmermama]

Thank you all for your thoughts, input and the welcome! I am very new to the site and would greatly apppreciate any advice on navigating and making connections.