I don't think the 2 are comparible they are at opposite ends of the scale. I also don't think the FP victims would have the same opinion , it was , is , a nice gesture on his behalf and he had no obligation to offer it.
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Minute Fett Seller's Review.
- Thread starter droidbait
- Start date
Fett 4 Real
Sr Hunter
Theyre both makers of things. I am personally a FP victim.... I like you (for MF) stuck up for him (chris aka)fettpride for a long while too. I have offered advice to MF and everything I said went in one ear and out the other. I understand he has no obligation to make up for FP and its a nice gesture. HOWEVER, he has his own business to worry about. And if his paying customers are suffering because hes giving hand outs thats probably going to bite him in the proverbial behind. Doing charity work when you can afford to do charity work is GREAT. But when you are struggling to keep up with the work you have committed to.... its time to take a step back and re-evaluate your situation. Theres some more free advice, hopefully MF reads and takes it to heart and his customers PRAISE him instead of complaining about missed deadlines, lack of communication and lying. ALL of which are UNACCEPTABLE, regardless of his intentions.
droidbait
Active Hunter
That is true that he spent a lot of money to get these molds. Negative post or not, buyers have to do research on vendors the good and the bad. Like Swiftcloud said its not $40 but $400. Imagine you dropped $1500 on items and the seller forgot stuff and the quality was misleading on the sales post. And you had to constantly message the seller because your due date for the item had passed by weeks. He throws freebies, ok that's cool and appreciated but doesn't make up for the bad service. I feel sorry for Luis also.
This post wasn't even about ripping off anyone. It was a sellers review for what I went through and others as you can see from the comments. Including some friends. But I still went with him, despite the negative feedback.
And yeah Covid affected international shipping, US took a hit but not as bad as other countries. Also lack of products. There where smart ways to go about this during this pandemic.
Yeah a super cool thing to do, but delaying products for people that paid him is a bad business practice. Should have finished current orders first. Edit** He clarifies post #51.
Also still using FP/Cruzer pictures.. quality misleading. But as he stated he is the New Fettpride.
Once again, this wasn't a post about MF ripping anyone off. He didn't rip me off. In the end he came through and made things right. Despite all the bad business I delt with. Just hoping he learns from all his mistakes and wish him the best.
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I’ve been holding off talking about my experiences with MF. My initial orders were placed on Jan 29th/30th.
I’m yet to be fully satisfied. My criticism of him I think is justified.
I’ve bought stuff from a few vendors now, and I’ve not had the same issues. 1st order shipped early April and was lost, fault of USPS.
2nd order shipped early May and was received early June. This had ROTJ Hero Armour, left gauntlet fibreglass top and a Jango helmet. Jango was a substitute for a FPH2 Supertrooper as MF said the mould failed. The armour received was not entirely ROTJ hero armour as a few plates were smaller and out of proportion to others. Also the back plate was an ESB dentless version. MF offered to replace the smaller/dodgy plates along with the replacement for the 1st order. Left gauntlet fibreglass topper is good.
Knee Darts, armour studs and gauntlet darts MF could not provide to me. Yet to see the partial refund he promised.
Replacement for the 1st order was received yesterday. This was Fettpride ROTJ gauntlets and the ESB Hero helmet. ESB hero was a substitute for a Din Djarin helmet which MF no longer has the moulds for. The gauntlet kit is missing the rocket, MQ-1 keypad and the hoses. The helmet is missing the visor and the SX-70 lens. The replacement ROTJ hero chest is warped and according to MF he had already sent a replacement before this package had arrived. The replacement back is the exact same ESB plate as before, but with dents added by MF by heating the plastic with a lighter and pushing a blunt object in on the other side, not ideal.
When I raised these issues with MF yesterday he offered to send the missing items. He also said he was doing the aforementioned partial refund, still not happened. He then said he wants me to return the items for a refund as he doesn’t want me to be unhappy. The only reason I’m unhappy is because it’s been half a year and things are still not being done right.
The helmets are well made. Greeblies are full of pinholes, but fixable. The quality of the vacuum formed plastic is not great. Most vacuformed pieces have orange peel texture, caused by burning the plastic. This can be sorted with extra work by using filler primer and wet sanding, but should not be necessary. MF seems to heavily prime all the pieces with the worst orange peel texture. Hopefully he can get to grips with it better in the future.
All in all it’s 6 months on now, I just want what I paid for.
I’m yet to be fully satisfied. My criticism of him I think is justified.
I’ve bought stuff from a few vendors now, and I’ve not had the same issues. 1st order shipped early April and was lost, fault of USPS.
2nd order shipped early May and was received early June. This had ROTJ Hero Armour, left gauntlet fibreglass top and a Jango helmet. Jango was a substitute for a FPH2 Supertrooper as MF said the mould failed. The armour received was not entirely ROTJ hero armour as a few plates were smaller and out of proportion to others. Also the back plate was an ESB dentless version. MF offered to replace the smaller/dodgy plates along with the replacement for the 1st order. Left gauntlet fibreglass topper is good.
Knee Darts, armour studs and gauntlet darts MF could not provide to me. Yet to see the partial refund he promised.
Replacement for the 1st order was received yesterday. This was Fettpride ROTJ gauntlets and the ESB Hero helmet. ESB hero was a substitute for a Din Djarin helmet which MF no longer has the moulds for. The gauntlet kit is missing the rocket, MQ-1 keypad and the hoses. The helmet is missing the visor and the SX-70 lens. The replacement ROTJ hero chest is warped and according to MF he had already sent a replacement before this package had arrived. The replacement back is the exact same ESB plate as before, but with dents added by MF by heating the plastic with a lighter and pushing a blunt object in on the other side, not ideal.
When I raised these issues with MF yesterday he offered to send the missing items. He also said he was doing the aforementioned partial refund, still not happened. He then said he wants me to return the items for a refund as he doesn’t want me to be unhappy. The only reason I’m unhappy is because it’s been half a year and things are still not being done right.
The helmets are well made. Greeblies are full of pinholes, but fixable. The quality of the vacuum formed plastic is not great. Most vacuformed pieces have orange peel texture, caused by burning the plastic. This can be sorted with extra work by using filler primer and wet sanding, but should not be necessary. MF seems to heavily prime all the pieces with the worst orange peel texture. Hopefully he can get to grips with it better in the future.
All in all it’s 6 months on now, I just want what I paid for.
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WhiteShadow
Active Hunter
As to the texture you mentioned with the vac formed pieces....check out post #51 here NEW FettPride List
And I agree there has been a lot of "dog-pile on Luis" going on as of late. From reading through the numerous threads just on this forum, I'd say about 90% of it's justified because the feedback is coming primarily from his customers. Anyone that chimes in on here trying to espouse the idea that it's unreasonable to speak out when a seller has ghosted their customers is likely trolling you (or there's some form of sock puppetry afoot).
The best advice I could give him (that he'll never follow) is for him to stop "making it right eventually" and just do it right the first time. He's trying to start out his business as this kind of one-stop shop for Fett items and he's just not there yet.
Honestly, I hate reading all of this stuff... And I generally avoid inserting my opinion. I just see that so many of these complaints are coming from customers of mine... And I can honestly say that I haven't had a single unreasonable customer. I have no reason not to believe each of their stories.
Smh
sutt_hero_rotj
Active Hunter
I still am confused by all of these situations....one after another. Wouldn’t it be more productive , efficient and way more cost effective to get these orders CORRECT , COMPLETE , not to mention RIGHT first go around? Shipping out all these extra replacement parts and incurring all the extra shipping charges on lackluster parts isn’t a way to do business. It doesn’t make any sense! for the customers or the vendor. It still boggles my mind. It’s wasteful of time and of resources!
ShortFuse
Well-Known Hunter
Agreed. One can only hold their head above water for so long. Very unfortunate. I wish he would listen to advice of those that know better. He has simply spread himself out too thin.
Jesuit24
Hunter
Thank you, I appreciate this. The tracking has come through as stated. I'll keep an eye on it and hope it gets to me before my Paypal window closes. I'll let everyone know when it arrives.
I've had absolutely dire experiences with costume suppliers in the past. On another forum for another costume from another fandom, I went to one of the most reputable and highly recommended tailors for a skin tight body suit (this was when I was a little skinnier
). When I got the suit, it was massively oversized by almost all the measurements I gave him except sleeve and leg length (we're talking 2 inch differences, which is a big deal when its supposed to be skin tight). It was pretty apparent he just tailored someone else's returned suit. I let the seller know, but was met with silence until I threatened a Paypal dispute. What followed was a bunch of lies about making me a second suit and a lot of delaying tactics until the 6 month dispute window passed and then he cut off all contact. It completely killed my enthusiasm for the costume and ever since then, I've been extremely cautious when I stop hearing from a seller. Just want people to know Minutefett is by no means the worst seller I've dealt with.The fact Minutefett does right by his customers eventually with freebies means he does give a **** unlike some vendors. The issue comes with the lying. I think most customers would be forgiving of any honest delays. I gave him six weeks between messages because I didn't want to be pushy and give him time to sort out the many orders I'm sure he has. I've done a couple commissions before and it stressed me out to no end, so I always try to be an understanding customer. When I was told twice that my order was being shipped and both times nothing came of it, that just served to heighten the worry and make me doubt everything on my end (Did I give the correct address? Has customs seized it? Has it gotten lost in the post? Is it my fault?)
And while the free ESB helmet is truly appreciated, I do wonder if I'm taking it out of the hands of a paying customer which leads to more delays and keeps having a knock on effect. 'Hate leads to suffering', etc.
SharkForge
Well-Known Hunter
I sat on the idea for leaving a review about my experience for quite some time. I wanted to give MF every opportunity to get better from the advice, care, and understanding he's received from senior members and other customers before adding to the pile... but after seeing so many experiences and still not making me whole and ghosting me I feel like it's time I share my experience with MF. This is to shed more light on how your experience may go with him.
I want to preface this with the notion that I don't think MF is malicious in any way or has any bad intent. I think he is just honestly incredibly forgetful and absent minded when it comes to his organization, quality control, and customer care/retention. I did do my research and knew I was taking a gamble but he was running a good sale and the previous vendor I ordered gauntlets from (put a deposit down for them as well) ghosted me so I wanted to see if this could be an affordable alternative route. I apologize if this gets long winded. I'm just going to go through my experience based on our conversation on Etsy.
On January 29th I ordered a FPH2 helmet kit and an ESB gauntlet kit from him on a sale he was doing to acquire materials for future projects. I then patiently waited without any response or follow up.
On March 19th I reached out for an update to which he informed me it was ready to ship but he was taking a break from shipping due to the pandemic and not having health insurance. Informing me would've been nice instead of leaving me in the dark but I completely understood the concern so I was fine with it and left it at that.
On April 15th I reach back out as I haven't heard from him and he told me visors finally arrived and he would be shipping that week. It was unknown to me visors were never there as he previously told me it has been ready to ship but he didn't due to the pandemic. So at this point the visor for my helmet is now there and it's shipping that week. Still, I said no worries and was beyond polite and understanding with him.
A week goes by and I reach out again on April 22nd looking for the update on shipping as it was supposed to go out. He responded with a random piece for the gauntlet kit... just a picture saying it was giving him trouble and then a picture of my package saying the label is printed and ready to go. Now on March 19th he told me everything was ready to ship but here on April 22nd he's still telling me parts are being made. Now at this point he did (on his own terms) offer to throw a set of his lineage ESB shoulders for free for the troubles. I felt this was a kind gesture and an honest take on correcting his poor communication. I was fine with it and he did say if anything was wrong he would replace it on a dime. At this point all was well in my book.
April 24th comes around and I received the package. Below were the issues. Remember I ordered a full FPH2 helmet kit and ESB Gauntlet kit. Everything was literally tossed in a box... no matter how big, small, or fragile the parts were... they were just free floating to bounce around in the box with some newspaper.
1. The visor was missing (This was a big part of what was holding my shipment up... a bit weird it wasn't in there.)
2. One of the LEDs for the RF topper was missing (It could've gotten lost in the box... nothing was wrapped up. Parts were just scattered throughout the paper so I only found 1 LED.)
3. The calculator comm pad on the gauntlet was missing
4. The gold greeblie that goes right above the pad on the gauntlet was missing
5. Gauntlet hose was missing
6. Hollow everyday light for gauntlet was missing
7. Metal gauntlet darts were missing
Aside from the missing items there were a few issues with the casts themselves.
1. The rocket was beyond repair. It is visibly warped/bent. It was incredibly warped.
2. The flamethrower design seems significantly different than the one advertised on Etsy. It's just different, not accurate to ESB.
3. The clear portion to the RF Topper does not fit in the black topper housing. It's not even close. It looks like they were made from 2 different people. It could not be assembled due to the massive fitment issues.
4. The helmet cast was WAY too thick. The dome of the helmet was so heavy it hurt the top of my head wearing it. Just a seriously thick cast and there was a lot of cat hair or dog hair and bugs all through at the cast and stuck to the surface of everything.
5. The vac formed gauntlets were unusable. The orange peel was incredibly apparent and the plastic was very very thin. There would've had to been a lot of reinforcing and surface prep work to get them to an okay standard.
He responded offering to get me the remainder of the parts out by Monday (the 27th) and offered to remake the helmet. His excuse was they packed 40+ packages and got flustered. Regardless, I was kind in my response and did not want to deal with shipping the helmet back for a replacement and offered to keep it and cut my losses. I offered to send him pics of anything he needed as proof. Told him Monday would be great no problem and thanked him for his kindness.
He then asked if I wanted to send my current boulder of a helmet to a different customer of his?! Obviously that was a terrible suggestion and I continued to say I didn't want to deal with shipping it out. He then informed me he would have everything shipped.
April 28th comes around, a day after I was to expect a tracking confirmation and I am again forced to fish for an update. He informed me he was cassted a new helmet for me and let me keep the old one. I did not request a new helmet, that was on his terms. He lost a part of the mold to his everready light so that was not ready and was to be shipped at an even later date. The darts were coming from another vendor? So he never had those to begin with. He then included a metal rocket. I don't know where it came from or who made it but it was a completely solid metal rocket he included to replace my warped resin one. He said he had no use for it as it was collecting dust and offered it to me. Again, kind gestures... trying to make things right and I appreciated it all but this only all happened after I continuously had to reach out and follow up. If I didn't, nothing would've ever been resolved or attempted to be resolved.
April 29th he asked for me to leave a positive review as he claimed " I strive to make every purchase a great one. I’m still learning to cast/make props and want to make sure you’re happy with what you get! " I did thank him for his gracious offer of sending me another cast of the FPH2 while letting me keep the anchor weight one. Despite the lack of communication, missing parts, and shoddy parts he was trying his best to make it right or at the very least do as much damage control as he could for his reputation. He told me to send a reminder message to get the shipment out the next day (the 30th). I sent him the reminder message per his request.
the 30th lands, no tracking. I message him again. He responds asking for my address. I give him my address.
May 1st rolls by, no response... I ask him for the tracking and he created it right then and sent it to me. He said there was a delay due to him having to cast up the new helmet. (He told me on the 28th he cast me the helmet so what's he doing casting another one on the 1st days after he said everything was ready to go? Despite all of it... I was still kind and apologized for being a thorn in HIS side and was looking forward to everything.
May 5th rolls around and this is the first and only time he reached out to ME without me fishing for a response or update. He said it was shipped. There was some shipping errors, tracking wasn't working... but I waited for it. Exchanged kind words.
May 6th I get the package. Below were the issues with it.
1. Still no gauntlet darts. (he did say they were coming from a different vendor but nothing was updated for me on when/where they were coming from. They weren't in the second shipment.
2. The helmet he sent was a lot lighter but it was not cured nearly enough. The paper stuck to it in shipment adhering to the surface... it was incredibly sticky. really tacky. Any time you touched it a finger print was permanently made into the surface. I tried sanding it, wet sanding it... all it did was make things gummy and tacky. MF suggested I coat it with windex and let it dry outside and that would work. It did not.
I gave the second helmet a week to cure and it wasn't any better. After looking at it it was warped from me sanding it. There just wasn't any saving this bucket. I had hopes it could be salvaged but I had to toss it due to the stench of resin and it being unusable. Considering it was a kind gesture from MF I didn't bother him any further about that helmet but it still left me with the current bucket I had that's heavier than the Titanic.
May 23rd rolls around... much time has passed and I again have to follow up regarding the darts that were supposed to be included in my order back in January.
May 24th he responds saying his vendor in china hasn't sent them yet and that he could offer a refund.
May 27th I agree to the refund to which he wants me to wait until the following Wednesday (June 3rd) to see if they'll come before refunding me. I agree and am still being polite throughout it all.
June 4th rolls around with no response from him. I reach out.
June 5th I reach out and he responds with "The stalks are being finished early next week and shipping from the UK, they are very nice and being made by bucketheadprops on Instagram.
But if you prefer the refund please let me know "
I wasn't inquiring about stalks or anything like that. He didn't even read my message or even have the care to understand what he was even replying to. He apologized for "reading it wrong" and said he was going to message Quest Designs. (I thought Quest Design was a Canadian Etsy shop... if the darts were coming from China, why is he messaging them?)
June 6th, no response
June 8th, no response from him and I sent the following message "You know, just refund me the dart amount. These were supposed to be included with my kit literally months ago anyhow. How they're still not available is beyond me but you really shouldn't be selling kits you don't have the parts for. I've been extremely patient with your lack of communication, misunderstanding, missing parts, delayed times, improper parts, and still missing parts... but I gave you an extensive amount of time for these darts... last wed was the day for information and we're on the following Monday with nothing still. Just refund the difference of the darts and I'll be on my way. Thanks man."
June 10th I follow up and showed concern as I hoped nothing had happened to him. He finally responded. " The darts are coming in from China and these props are my livelihood so it would be hard to just stop selling these. "
He then issued the refund for the darts... we exchanged some kind words, wished each other the best and went on our way.
In the end his communication is some of the worst I've ever dealt with and can only be trumped by someone that ghosts you entirely. The quality control on the parts I got was not good at all and not at all what he advertises as FP parts. The stock images he uses from FP are not at all what you actual receive in terms of quality and if I hadn't been diligent and constantly hounded him I would've never gotten them period.
That being said he did do a lot to try and make things right... whether it was out of good conscious or to save face I do not know. He was never malicious towards me and despite his onslaught of screw ups and delays, white lies, all of that... he still eventually did deliver everything except the darts. I want to believe he can learn from everything... and even if his quality doesn't improve, at the very least his customer interaction and communication improves. He's somehow managed to acquire so many great molds but you are definitely gambling with ordering from him.
If you do, be on his back. As long your diligent he eventually does respond and does eventually get your stuff out. Take his turn around times with a grain of salt and expect there to be a lot of work that goes into the parts. I hate to say it but expect to not receive everything you ordered as well.
You live and learn both as a buyer and a seller and I really REALLY hope MF can start learning from these posts. Would I suggest MF to anyone looking for parts? At this point, no.... but if he can square himself up I think he could turn around and become a great seller if he focuses on his orders and really pays attention. People will wait if they get quality and everything the first time round. You make someone happy their first time round that will resonate for years to come. You shouldn't have to make white lies, send out freebies, etc... to try and make someone happy. I want to see you succeed MF. You clearly want to do this... just slow things down a bit. Don't bite off more than you can chew... focus on each thing you make to ensure it's good quality and you'll be surprised with just how well things can go! Also drop the FettPride branding PLEASE haha. No idea why you stick to that but that also taints your reputation from the getgo... but that's just my opinion. Admins, I can share my conversation if needed to verify anything I've said. I literally went through my entire experience and laid it out here as it went. Best of luck MF! I hope I start to hear some positive things and maybe someday I can order again.
I want to preface this with the notion that I don't think MF is malicious in any way or has any bad intent. I think he is just honestly incredibly forgetful and absent minded when it comes to his organization, quality control, and customer care/retention. I did do my research and knew I was taking a gamble but he was running a good sale and the previous vendor I ordered gauntlets from (put a deposit down for them as well) ghosted me so I wanted to see if this could be an affordable alternative route. I apologize if this gets long winded. I'm just going to go through my experience based on our conversation on Etsy.
On January 29th I ordered a FPH2 helmet kit and an ESB gauntlet kit from him on a sale he was doing to acquire materials for future projects. I then patiently waited without any response or follow up.
On March 19th I reached out for an update to which he informed me it was ready to ship but he was taking a break from shipping due to the pandemic and not having health insurance. Informing me would've been nice instead of leaving me in the dark but I completely understood the concern so I was fine with it and left it at that.
On April 15th I reach back out as I haven't heard from him and he told me visors finally arrived and he would be shipping that week. It was unknown to me visors were never there as he previously told me it has been ready to ship but he didn't due to the pandemic. So at this point the visor for my helmet is now there and it's shipping that week. Still, I said no worries and was beyond polite and understanding with him.
A week goes by and I reach out again on April 22nd looking for the update on shipping as it was supposed to go out. He responded with a random piece for the gauntlet kit... just a picture saying it was giving him trouble and then a picture of my package saying the label is printed and ready to go. Now on March 19th he told me everything was ready to ship but here on April 22nd he's still telling me parts are being made. Now at this point he did (on his own terms) offer to throw a set of his lineage ESB shoulders for free for the troubles. I felt this was a kind gesture and an honest take on correcting his poor communication. I was fine with it and he did say if anything was wrong he would replace it on a dime. At this point all was well in my book.
April 24th comes around and I received the package. Below were the issues. Remember I ordered a full FPH2 helmet kit and ESB Gauntlet kit. Everything was literally tossed in a box... no matter how big, small, or fragile the parts were... they were just free floating to bounce around in the box with some newspaper.
1. The visor was missing (This was a big part of what was holding my shipment up... a bit weird it wasn't in there.)
2. One of the LEDs for the RF topper was missing (It could've gotten lost in the box... nothing was wrapped up. Parts were just scattered throughout the paper so I only found 1 LED.)
3. The calculator comm pad on the gauntlet was missing
4. The gold greeblie that goes right above the pad on the gauntlet was missing
5. Gauntlet hose was missing
6. Hollow everyday light for gauntlet was missing
7. Metal gauntlet darts were missing
Aside from the missing items there were a few issues with the casts themselves.
1. The rocket was beyond repair. It is visibly warped/bent. It was incredibly warped.
2. The flamethrower design seems significantly different than the one advertised on Etsy. It's just different, not accurate to ESB.
3. The clear portion to the RF Topper does not fit in the black topper housing. It's not even close. It looks like they were made from 2 different people. It could not be assembled due to the massive fitment issues.
4. The helmet cast was WAY too thick. The dome of the helmet was so heavy it hurt the top of my head wearing it. Just a seriously thick cast and there was a lot of cat hair or dog hair and bugs all through at the cast and stuck to the surface of everything.
5. The vac formed gauntlets were unusable. The orange peel was incredibly apparent and the plastic was very very thin. There would've had to been a lot of reinforcing and surface prep work to get them to an okay standard.
He responded offering to get me the remainder of the parts out by Monday (the 27th) and offered to remake the helmet. His excuse was they packed 40+ packages and got flustered. Regardless, I was kind in my response and did not want to deal with shipping the helmet back for a replacement and offered to keep it and cut my losses. I offered to send him pics of anything he needed as proof. Told him Monday would be great no problem and thanked him for his kindness.
He then asked if I wanted to send my current boulder of a helmet to a different customer of his?! Obviously that was a terrible suggestion and I continued to say I didn't want to deal with shipping it out. He then informed me he would have everything shipped.
April 28th comes around, a day after I was to expect a tracking confirmation and I am again forced to fish for an update. He informed me he was cassted a new helmet for me and let me keep the old one. I did not request a new helmet, that was on his terms. He lost a part of the mold to his everready light so that was not ready and was to be shipped at an even later date. The darts were coming from another vendor? So he never had those to begin with. He then included a metal rocket. I don't know where it came from or who made it but it was a completely solid metal rocket he included to replace my warped resin one. He said he had no use for it as it was collecting dust and offered it to me. Again, kind gestures... trying to make things right and I appreciated it all but this only all happened after I continuously had to reach out and follow up. If I didn't, nothing would've ever been resolved or attempted to be resolved.
April 29th he asked for me to leave a positive review as he claimed " I strive to make every purchase a great one. I’m still learning to cast/make props and want to make sure you’re happy with what you get! " I did thank him for his gracious offer of sending me another cast of the FPH2 while letting me keep the anchor weight one. Despite the lack of communication, missing parts, and shoddy parts he was trying his best to make it right or at the very least do as much damage control as he could for his reputation. He told me to send a reminder message to get the shipment out the next day (the 30th). I sent him the reminder message per his request.
the 30th lands, no tracking. I message him again. He responds asking for my address. I give him my address.
May 1st rolls by, no response... I ask him for the tracking and he created it right then and sent it to me. He said there was a delay due to him having to cast up the new helmet. (He told me on the 28th he cast me the helmet so what's he doing casting another one on the 1st days after he said everything was ready to go? Despite all of it... I was still kind and apologized for being a thorn in HIS side and was looking forward to everything.
May 5th rolls around and this is the first and only time he reached out to ME without me fishing for a response or update. He said it was shipped. There was some shipping errors, tracking wasn't working... but I waited for it. Exchanged kind words.
May 6th I get the package. Below were the issues with it.
1. Still no gauntlet darts. (he did say they were coming from a different vendor but nothing was updated for me on when/where they were coming from. They weren't in the second shipment.
2. The helmet he sent was a lot lighter but it was not cured nearly enough. The paper stuck to it in shipment adhering to the surface... it was incredibly sticky. really tacky. Any time you touched it a finger print was permanently made into the surface. I tried sanding it, wet sanding it... all it did was make things gummy and tacky. MF suggested I coat it with windex and let it dry outside and that would work. It did not.
I gave the second helmet a week to cure and it wasn't any better. After looking at it it was warped from me sanding it. There just wasn't any saving this bucket. I had hopes it could be salvaged but I had to toss it due to the stench of resin and it being unusable. Considering it was a kind gesture from MF I didn't bother him any further about that helmet but it still left me with the current bucket I had that's heavier than the Titanic.
May 23rd rolls around... much time has passed and I again have to follow up regarding the darts that were supposed to be included in my order back in January.
May 24th he responds saying his vendor in china hasn't sent them yet and that he could offer a refund.
May 27th I agree to the refund to which he wants me to wait until the following Wednesday (June 3rd) to see if they'll come before refunding me. I agree and am still being polite throughout it all.
June 4th rolls around with no response from him. I reach out.
June 5th I reach out and he responds with "The stalks are being finished early next week and shipping from the UK, they are very nice and being made by bucketheadprops on Instagram.
But if you prefer the refund please let me know
"I wasn't inquiring about stalks or anything like that. He didn't even read my message or even have the care to understand what he was even replying to. He apologized for "reading it wrong" and said he was going to message Quest Designs. (I thought Quest Design was a Canadian Etsy shop... if the darts were coming from China, why is he messaging them?)
June 6th, no response
June 8th, no response from him and I sent the following message "You know, just refund me the dart amount. These were supposed to be included with my kit literally months ago anyhow. How they're still not available is beyond me but you really shouldn't be selling kits you don't have the parts for. I've been extremely patient with your lack of communication, misunderstanding, missing parts, delayed times, improper parts, and still missing parts... but I gave you an extensive amount of time for these darts... last wed was the day for information and we're on the following Monday with nothing still. Just refund the difference of the darts and I'll be on my way. Thanks man."
June 10th I follow up and showed concern as I hoped nothing had happened to him. He finally responded. " The darts are coming in from China and these props are my livelihood so it would be hard to just stop selling these. "
He then issued the refund for the darts... we exchanged some kind words, wished each other the best and went on our way.
In the end his communication is some of the worst I've ever dealt with and can only be trumped by someone that ghosts you entirely. The quality control on the parts I got was not good at all and not at all what he advertises as FP parts. The stock images he uses from FP are not at all what you actual receive in terms of quality and if I hadn't been diligent and constantly hounded him I would've never gotten them period.
That being said he did do a lot to try and make things right... whether it was out of good conscious or to save face I do not know. He was never malicious towards me and despite his onslaught of screw ups and delays, white lies, all of that... he still eventually did deliver everything except the darts. I want to believe he can learn from everything... and even if his quality doesn't improve, at the very least his customer interaction and communication improves. He's somehow managed to acquire so many great molds but you are definitely gambling with ordering from him.
If you do, be on his back. As long your diligent he eventually does respond and does eventually get your stuff out. Take his turn around times with a grain of salt and expect there to be a lot of work that goes into the parts. I hate to say it but expect to not receive everything you ordered as well.
You live and learn both as a buyer and a seller and I really REALLY hope MF can start learning from these posts. Would I suggest MF to anyone looking for parts? At this point, no.... but if he can square himself up I think he could turn around and become a great seller if he focuses on his orders and really pays attention. People will wait if they get quality and everything the first time round. You make someone happy their first time round that will resonate for years to come. You shouldn't have to make white lies, send out freebies, etc... to try and make someone happy. I want to see you succeed MF. You clearly want to do this... just slow things down a bit. Don't bite off more than you can chew... focus on each thing you make to ensure it's good quality and you'll be surprised with just how well things can go! Also drop the FettPride branding PLEASE haha. No idea why you stick to that but that also taints your reputation from the getgo... but that's just my opinion. Admins, I can share my conversation if needed to verify anything I've said. I literally went through my entire experience and laid it out here as it went. Best of luck MF! I hope I start to hear some positive things and maybe someday I can order again.
I sat on the idea for leaving a review about my experience for quite some time. I wanted to give MF every opportunity to get better from the advice, care, and understanding he's received from senior members and other customers before adding to the pile... but after seeing so many experiences and still not making me whole and ghosting me I feel like it's time I share my experience with MF. This is to shed more light on how your experience may go with him.
I want to preface this with the notion that I don't think MF is malicious in any way or has any bad intent. I think he is just honestly incredibly forgetful and absent minded when it comes to his organization, quality control, and customer care/retention. I did do my research and knew I was taking a gamble but he was running a good sale and the previous vendor I ordered gauntlets from (put a deposit down for them as well) ghosted me so I wanted to see if this could be an affordable alternative route. I apologize if this gets long winded. I'm just going to go through my experience based on our conversation on Etsy.
On January 29th I ordered a FPH2 helmet kit and an ESB gauntlet kit from him on a sale he was doing to acquire materials for future projects. I then patiently waited without any response or follow up.
On March 19th I reached out for an update to which he informed me it was ready to ship but he was taking a break from shipping due to the pandemic and not having health insurance. Informing me would've been nice instead of leaving me in the dark but I completely understood the concern so I was fine with it and left it at that.
On April 15th I reach back out as I haven't heard from him and he told me visors finally arrived and he would be shipping that week. It was unknown to me visors were never there as he previously told me it has been ready to ship but he didn't due to the pandemic. So at this point the visor for my helmet is now there and it's shipping that week. Still, I said no worries and was beyond polite and understanding with him.
A week goes by and I reach out again on April 22nd looking for the update on shipping as it was supposed to go out. He responded with a random piece for the gauntlet kit... just a picture saying it was giving him trouble and then a picture of my package saying the label is printed and ready to go. Now on March 19th he told me everything was ready to ship but here on April 22nd he's still telling me parts are being made. Now at this point he did (on his own terms) offer to throw a set of his lineage ESB shoulders for free for the troubles. I felt this was a kind gesture and an honest take on correcting his poor communication. I was fine with it and he did say if anything was wrong he would replace it on a dime. At this point all was well in my book.
April 24th comes around and I received the package. Below were the issues. Remember I ordered a full FPH2 helmet kit and ESB Gauntlet kit. Everything was literally tossed in a box... no matter how big, small, or fragile the parts were... they were just free floating to bounce around in the box with some newspaper.
1. The visor was missing (This was a big part of what was holding my shipment up... a bit weird it wasn't in there.)
2. One of the LEDs for the RF topper was missing (It could've gotten lost in the box... nothing was wrapped up. Parts were just scattered throughout the paper so I only found 1 LED.)
3. The calculator comm pad on the gauntlet was missing
4. The gold greeblie that goes right above the pad on the gauntlet was missing
5. Gauntlet hose was missing
6. Hollow everyday light for gauntlet was missing
7. Metal gauntlet darts were missing
Aside from the missing items there were a few issues with the casts themselves.
1. The rocket was beyond repair. It is visibly warped/bent. It was incredibly warped.
2. The flamethrower design seems significantly different than the one advertised on Etsy. It's just different, not accurate to ESB.
3. The clear portion to the RF Topper does not fit in the black topper housing. It's not even close. It looks like they were made from 2 different people. It could not be assembled due to the massive fitment issues.
4. The helmet cast was WAY too thick. The dome of the helmet was so heavy it hurt the top of my head wearing it. Just a seriously thick cast and there was a lot of cat hair or dog hair and bugs all through at the cast and stuck to the surface of everything.
5. The vac formed gauntlets were unusable. The orange peel was incredibly apparent and the plastic was very very thin. There would've had to been a lot of reinforcing and surface prep work to get them to an okay standard.
He responded offering to get me the remainder of the parts out by Monday (the 27th) and offered to remake the helmet. His excuse was they packed 40+ packages and got flustered. Regardless, I was kind in my response and did not want to deal with shipping the helmet back for a replacement and offered to keep it and cut my losses. I offered to send him pics of anything he needed as proof. Told him Monday would be great no problem and thanked him for his kindness.
He then asked if I wanted to send my current boulder of a helmet to a different customer of his?! Obviously that was a terrible suggestion and I continued to say I didn't want to deal with shipping it out. He then informed me he would have everything shipped.
April 28th comes around, a day after I was to expect a tracking confirmation and I am again forced to fish for an update. He informed me he was cassted a new helmet for me and let me keep the old one. I did not request a new helmet, that was on his terms. He lost a part of the mold to his everready light so that was not ready and was to be shipped at an even later date. The darts were coming from another vendor? So he never had those to begin with. He then included a metal rocket. I don't know where it came from or who made it but it was a completely solid metal rocket he included to replace my warped resin one. He said he had no use for it as it was collecting dust and offered it to me. Again, kind gestures... trying to make things right and I appreciated it all but this only all happened after I continuously had to reach out and follow up. If I didn't, nothing would've ever been resolved or attempted to be resolved.
April 29th he asked for me to leave a positive review as he claimed " I strive to make every purchase a great one. I’m still learning to cast/make props and want to make sure you’re happy with what you get! " I did thank him for his gracious offer of sending me another cast of the FPH2 while letting me keep the anchor weight one. Despite the lack of communication, missing parts, and shoddy parts he was trying his best to make it right or at the very least do as much damage control as he could for his reputation. He told me to send a reminder message to get the shipment out the next day (the 30th). I sent him the reminder message per his request.
the 30th lands, no tracking. I message him again. He responds asking for my address. I give him my address.
May 1st rolls by, no response... I ask him for the tracking and he created it right then and sent it to me. He said there was a delay due to him having to cast up the new helmet. (He told me on the 28th he cast me the helmet so what's he doing casting another one on the 1st days after he said everything was ready to go? Despite all of it... I was still kind and apologized for being a thorn in HIS side and was looking forward to everything.
May 5th rolls around and this is the first and only time he reached out to ME without me fishing for a response or update. He said it was shipped. There was some shipping errors, tracking wasn't working... but I waited for it. Exchanged kind words.
May 6th I get the package. Below were the issues with it.
1. Still no gauntlet darts. (he did say they were coming from a different vendor but nothing was updated for me on when/where they were coming from. They weren't in the second shipment.
2. The helmet he sent was a lot lighter but it was not cured nearly enough. The paper stuck to it in shipment adhering to the surface... it was incredibly sticky. really tacky. Any time you touched it a finger print was permanently made into the surface. I tried sanding it, wet sanding it... all it did was make things gummy and tacky. MF suggested I coat it with windex and let it dry outside and that would work. It did not.
I gave the second helmet a week to cure and it wasn't any better. After looking at it it was warped from me sanding it. There just wasn't any saving this bucket. I had hopes it could be salvaged but I had to toss it due to the stench of resin and it being unusable. Considering it was a kind gesture from MF I didn't bother him any further about that helmet but it still left me with the current bucket I had that's heavier than the Titanic.
May 23rd rolls around... much time has passed and I again have to follow up regarding the darts that were supposed to be included in my order back in January.
May 24th he responds saying his vendor in china hasn't sent them yet and that he could offer a refund.
May 27th I agree to the refund to which he wants me to wait until the following Wednesday (June 3rd) to see if they'll come before refunding me. I agree and am still being polite throughout it all.
June 4th rolls around with no response from him. I reach out.
June 5th I reach out and he responds with "The stalks are being finished early next week and shipping from the UK, they are very nice and being made by bucketheadprops on Instagram.
But if you prefer the refund please let me know
I wasn't inquiring about stalks or anything like that. He didn't even read my message or even have the care to understand what he was even replying to. He apologized for "reading it wrong" and said he was going to message Quest Designs. (I thought Quest Design was a Canadian Etsy shop... if the darts were coming from China, why is he messaging them?)
June 6th, no response
June 8th, no response from him and I sent the following message "You know, just refund me the dart amount. These were supposed to be included with my kit literally months ago anyhow. How they're still not available is beyond me but you really shouldn't be selling kits you don't have the parts for. I've been extremely patient with your lack of communication, misunderstanding, missing parts, delayed times, improper parts, and still missing parts... but I gave you an extensive amount of time for these darts... last wed was the day for information and we're on the following Monday with nothing still. Just refund the difference of the darts and I'll be on my way. Thanks man."
June 10th I follow up and showed concern as I hoped nothing had happened to him. He finally responded. " The darts are coming in from China and these props are my livelihood so it would be hard to just stop selling these. "
He then issued the refund for the darts... we exchanged some kind words, wished each other the best and went on our way.
In the end his communication is some of the worst I've ever dealt with and can only be trumped by someone that ghosts you entirely. The quality control on the parts I got was not good at all and not at all what he advertises as FP parts. The stock images he uses from FP are not at all what you actual receive in terms of quality and if I hadn't been diligent and constantly hounded him I would've never gotten them period.
That being said he did do a lot to try and make things right... whether it was out of good conscious or to save face I do not know. He was never malicious towards me and despite his onslaught of screw ups and delays, white lies, all of that... he still eventually did deliver everything except the darts. I want to believe he can learn from everything... and even if his quality doesn't improve, at the very least his customer interaction and communication improves. He's somehow managed to acquire so many great molds but you are definitely gambling with ordering from him.
If you do, be on his back. As long your diligent he eventually does respond and does eventually get your stuff out. Take his turn around times with a grain of salt and expect there to be a lot of work that goes into the parts. I hate to say it but expect to not receive everything you ordered as well.
You live and learn both as a buyer and a seller and I really REALLY hope MF can start learning from these posts. Would I suggest MF to anyone looking for parts? At this point, no.... but if he can square himself up I think he could turn around and become a great seller if he focuses on his orders and really pays attention. People will wait if they get quality and everything the first time round. You make someone happy their first time round that will resonate for years to come. You shouldn't have to make white lies, send out freebies, etc... to try and make someone happy. I want to see you succeed MF. You clearly want to do this... just slow things down a bit. Don't bite off more than you can chew... focus on each thing you make to ensure it's good quality and you'll be surprised with just how well things can go! Also drop the FettPride branding PLEASE haha. No idea why you stick to that but that also taints your reputation from the getgo... but that's just my opinion. Admins, I can share my conversation if needed to verify anything I've said. I literally went through my entire experience and laid it out here as it went. Best of luck MF! I hope I start to hear some positive things and maybe someday I can order again.
This all sounds extremely familiar. How many people have been affected, I wonder.
On a good note, MF has recently contacted me to correct the issues I raised with him. Fingers crossed I don’t have to wait much longer to wrap things up.
MinuteFett
Active Hunter
I am learning from all these responses. It was a bit of a learning curve in the beginning but I am now taking many, many steps to remedy everything.
For accessories, I’ve begun to pre-make baggies with accessories and inspecting each item to make sure they’re good to go.
For helmets, I’ve switched to epoxy so that every helmet comes out with no shrinkage/no tackiness.
For armor, I’ve reached out to fellow armorers and received advice to pulling cleaner armor, with no texture.
And I’m remolding various molds, as the ones I currently have from previous owners do show incredible amounts of usage, leading to poor castings, such as the cruzer molds where some are over 10 years old!
I must admit, I have over 100+ molds that each correspond to a certain item and it has definitely been a challenge to learn to cast each one.
TehEl1te , I actually switched suppliers and now have tons of darts ready for gauntlets. Please text me and I’ll send you a set free. If you’d like some replacement bits as well for stuff not up to the name Fettpride, I’ll replace those as well. 760-557-5258
roger12RAMJET waiting back for your reply as your stuff is ready to go as well.
For accessories, I’ve begun to pre-make baggies with accessories and inspecting each item to make sure they’re good to go.
For helmets, I’ve switched to epoxy so that every helmet comes out with no shrinkage/no tackiness.
For armor, I’ve reached out to fellow armorers and received advice to pulling cleaner armor, with no texture.
And I’m remolding various molds, as the ones I currently have from previous owners do show incredible amounts of usage, leading to poor castings, such as the cruzer molds where some are over 10 years old!
I must admit, I have over 100+ molds that each correspond to a certain item and it has definitely been a challenge to learn to cast each one.
TehEl1te , I actually switched suppliers and now have tons of darts ready for gauntlets. Please text me and I’ll send you a set free. If you’d like some replacement bits as well for stuff not up to the name Fettpride, I’ll replace those as well. 760-557-5258
roger12RAMJET waiting back for your reply as your stuff is ready to go as well.
ShortFuse
Well-Known Hunter
MinuteFett, I hope nothing but the best for you and I hope that you can take the good advice of others here and ignore any non- constructive bashing that may be going on. Positive things can come from negative situations. I appreciate that you try to make things right with everyone. I have had nothing but positive transactions with you in the past. Please do what you must to resolve any issues with current orders before taking on any additional workload. I applaud you for filling orders for those that FettPride screwed over, but perhaps it needs to take a backseat to completing business with those that have ordered from you. The pictures you have attached of your inventory are impressive with the amount of items you have to offer, but at the same time looks as though it could be quite overwhelming. I consider myself a very organized person, but looking at the pictures, I could see myself having trouble keeping up with it all by myself. Perhaps you need help from others, or cut back on what you offer? I don’t know. Only you can answer that. I’m not going to pretend to know what’s best for you, I just hope you can regain your good name with great products and service. Best of luck to you.
MinuteFett
Active Hunter
I have no idea where people are getting the impression that I’m spending copious amounts of time fulfilling fettprides orders. I have told everyone on that list I’m not doing them until I complete current orders. I’ve only fulfilled orders if I had extra stuff laying around or b casts on my shelf.
But thank you for the kind words. It’s much appreciated.
ShortFuse
Well-Known Hunter
Please forgive me for assuming that. Take care.
Boochman
Active Hunter
Being one of those FP orders from the past, I can attest that MF has shifted his focus to current orders, and focusing on building his reputation with paying clients (FP backorder customers pay shipping tho, FYI). His post in the FP Waitlist thread is clear about stating backorders would be fulfilled WHEN HE HAS DOWN TIME between paying customer orders, or when he has stuff laying around.
I have no issues with Luis or his work, but I am also not a “paying customer”, and am truly grateful for anything I receive from Luis. I know fulfilling these FP orders from 2 moons ago is not something he needs to do, but does it anyway. Which tells me the type of person he is.
Here is my issue...(I know, right). I am not dumb, and I know MF was overwhelmed with stuff he was working on. There was a point where we essentially agreed that our “business” was done. I don’t remember exactly what I said, but in essence “I’ll get the balance of my outstanding parts from another vendor so you don’t have to worry about my stuff”, cause I quite honestly couldn’t wait any longer. Honestly, just more of a heads up to him that I will be getting my parts elsewhere, and it takes a lot off his mind (and now he can enjoy his free time).
I sourced the balance of my Jetpack parts elsewhere (thrusters, rocket and rocket base), and that ended up turning into quite a situation as well. Long story short; having an essentially gifted Jetpack body from MF means that I cannot pay another vendor for the balance of the parts...
I am Jetpack-less still and dudes, it’s been YEARS! So let that sink in, MF’s correspondence and communication is better than dealing with his predecessor, trust me!
Keep plugging away Luis! I’ll be patiently waiting, cause now I have no other option but to burden you, lol!
WhiteShadow
Active Hunter
I believe the assumption we all mistakenly made was that the consistent lack of communication and quality control issues must be due to the Fettpride list you've taken on.
IMO this was an attempt to give the benefit of the doubt because the alternative causes are more unsettling.
IMO this was an attempt to give the benefit of the doubt because the alternative causes are more unsettling.
It's not been the easiest journey for you has it , I am sorry to here your still having issues its a conundrum lol.
I have a 3D printed rocket and base you can have if that's any use , just cover postage and I do know where there is a set of bobamaker thrusters for sale. It may take a bit of fiddling bit you should be able to make it work.
Lazerjock
Active Hunter
I am willing to 3D print any parts you may be missing as well. Like FunkyRed just cover shipping costs.
