So I'm not a happy fish right now.
I ordered my second mermaid tail from Merrowfins and it ran my husband and I, just a little over a thousand dollars. I ordered my tail in August of last year and just got it yesterday evening.
Now I want to preface my tail review with one simple thing. This is not gonna be me bashing Matt., or painting him as the villain, as normally happens int he mermaid community when someone gets a badly made tail. I'm not gonna jump on the hate train and bad mouth the man over shoddy craftsmanship. now that being said... I am not happy with my tail. not in the slightest and this will more than likely be my final dealing with MerrowFins.


when I first contacted Matt, all the way back in August of 2017, about making me a second tail, he seemed really excited with the original design I sent him. which, was a tail that as supposed to have been based on the mermaid tails from Pirates of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. I had initially asked if he could make the fins on the tail out of fabric instead of silicone so I could have the flowy ethereal look that the mermaids in POTC had.
At first, he agreed, then later he suggested that we do silicone anyway, something having to do with hygiene and wet fabric getting moldy. I went along with his idea as he was the tail maker, not me and I believed he knew what he was talking about.
we discussed the tail on and off for a few more months till My husband could get him paid. Matt seemed really excited about the tail was enthusiastic in going over it with me. Now I have numerous reference photos for the tail. all of which I offered to send him as references for how the tail was supposed to look.
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So a couple of months go by and I don't really say anything to Matt, not wanting to be "That" mer and bug constantly for updates over my tail, but as the month's tick down I don't hear anything from him. emails go sparsely answered then completely unanswered. I let it be for a few more months, enjoy the holidays and college and the like.
Finally, after messaging Merrowfins through their Instagram I get a reply. my tail is almost done. just needs to be painted. a few more months go by and a finally get a picture of the tail.
the fins are bit bigger and bulkier than I was expecting but I assume the tail is still in its early stages and will look better once it's complete. I also didn't really notice the seams of the fins where they attach to the tail casue all this is being viewed through my Instagram account on my phone. The months drag one and my messages for updates go unanswered once again.

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At one point Matt assures me again that my tail is close to being finished but that he would like to give me a tail with his new scale design and offers to sell my original tail to make a new one. At this point, however, I had already waited pretty long and was starting to grow antsy. As much as I liked the new look of his scales I just wanted my tail. I stated just as much and didn't get a reply for nearly another month. finally about... two or three months ago I get some updates.
Matt has Hired a new assistance to help with the social media side of things so I interact with her more than anything else. replies are still slow as hell but at least I'm getting somewhere.
Finally, I get a picture of the complete tail, or more over the back of the tail. which should have sent up red flags that he clearly didn't want me to see the front, but I was still hopeful. The tail is completely purple which is not the color scheme I wanted. I let Matt's assistant know and she gets back to him. He says he'll correct it. I'm told the tail is done and is just waiting for my approval. I get the pictures of the complete tail a few weeks later.
from the angle of the photos, I couldn't really see the seams of the fins but I was more focused on the look of the tail due to tot he size of the fins. I wanted On Stranger Tides and what I got, in my opinion, was Betta Fish. This made me extremely apprehensive about the tail but we had already paid and waited this long, I just wanted it in my possession at least. t so I took a deep breath and gave it my approval.
mind you once again, I'm viewing all this fro the small screen of my phone, since Instagram is the only way to reach and communicate with Merrowfins at that time. so I'm not getting a really true look at the tail.

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Looks pretty from the back right?

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I'm told the tail is being shipped out that day. I expected to be sent the tracking number on the tail that same day. it took me asking Matt's assistant to get me the tracking number and it took her two whole days to get it to me.
My tail finally arrived yesterday evening and what little excitement I had for it was immediately crushed upon opening the box. I'm so disappointed and underwhelmed that I'm trying not to cry.
seeing the seams of the fins up close reveals that they look horrible. They literally look thrown on the tail shoddily attached. Not seamless, the extra silicone spills over the scales tot he point, that they might as well not be there.
I'm not even upset with the imperfections in the scale mold of the tail. that I could have overlooked honestly. even the rubbed off color on the fluke and the odd hairs in the silicone, but the fins... I just can not believe this.
my prior tail from Matt which was far cheaper than this one looks better but I've put on weight and can't fit into that tail which was already a little snug to begin with, which is why I ordered another tail.
after the nearly a year of waiting, putting up with inconsistent emails and messages, this is what I end up with?
I am not going to drag or vilify Merrowfins over this but is my belief that Matt knew the tail was shoddily made, or at least that the fins were not done properly, which was why he offered to make me another one and sell this one but when he couldn't find a buyer for it, due to the fact that I am "rather petite" (his words not mine), he rushed through this one to get it out to me.
If that had been the case, all that needed to be said was that the tail was not coming out as expected and would need to be scrapped and redone. I wouldn't have been happy but I would have agreed. As is stands, whatever the case is I am completely and utterly disappointed int this tail. It is not what I envisioned or paid for and I'm honestly just so... disappointed isn't even the right word.

I will be emailing Merrowfins to let them know I am sending the tail back and expect either a complete refund or a new tail