Wow, I am very very grateful for all of this. I am not sure quite what to say, except thank you! I know all of the other vendors, I should say fan vendors are doing a great job. We are here because we love the hobby and that is what keeps us going.
I have read, if I need to put an estimate, 98% of happy responses from all of the soft parts customers that have purchased anything since I have been here at TDH. The only bad things that I have heard consistantly are from vendors who do this for a living, not from the fans who make costumes for other fans. We vendors are all going to make a mistake at times, or because if miscommunication in whatever form, get the wrong size, etc... But if you look at it clearly, it is rare. Check it out, do some research. Personalities clash, here and everywhere and that is bound to happen too, but don't be too hard on any of us, we all have our own sides to our story, vendor and recipient alike.
This is a great bunch of people, everyone of the TDH members and we need to remember that we are ALL human, and we should not hold resentments. It does no one any good at all!
Just for the record, Carole and I have been discussing this issue, along with spouses, children, friends and anyone else that wants to put in their 2 cents. We are going to address this problem first and foremost, by investing in better thread. We both already QC everything before it ships, but plan to pay special attention to the strength of the seams. It is much better to catch a possible flaw before it becomes a problem. For the record, we already pre-wash the flightsuit fabric in Hot water and a run through the dryer before sewing and then again after the flightsuit is completed. We have been doing this from day one, it is not anything new.
And for the record, I do have some soft costume parts that I do not need. These are not from returns. I have had only one return, but I do have some trial runs. Items that we tested and then adjusted the patterns to include details, or whatever, to upgrade, etc. I am going to give Fett Seven first dibs at the "rejects" because it is his wonderful idea, and then take pictures of the outcasts and post them for very little cost. I don't need them, and someone can surely make use of them, until they upgrade, or I really like the idea of using them for a child. Even teenagers grow out of things every 3 months until they are 20 or 22, some keep growing after that, and maybe can use something that I have here.
If I don't get to it tonight, I will eventually get to it and post pics. I will do a "fire" sale, or some kind of internet special. LOL Let's us keep our eyes on what really matters, staying young at heart, as much as we possibly can!
Cheers
Debbi