Holy crap, why didn't I receive any notifications that this thread was still ongoing?! Glad someone linked me...
I'll be the first to admit we've had huge delays over the last month. There's really no excuse for people receiving their items late. But, my Etsy does state under Shipping and Policies that shipping dates shown are "guidelines, not guarantees". Everyone who purchases one of my items from there I assume reads all of my shop's policies and accepts the possibility of delays. Like many of us here, I'm pretty much just one guy (well, now one guy and his apprentice) working out his garage/backyard... and like many of us here, I screw up, bite off more than I can chew, miss deadlines, experience setbacks and unforeseen difficulties, etc. I am not making excuses; I'm simply being honest.
HOWEVER. Unlike blacklisted and bad sellers, I ALWAYS try to do the right thing for my customers. Every time. I've never taken someone's money and ran, I've never deliberately misled a client, I've NEVER refused to refund a dissatisfied customer (despite my shop policies being listed as no refunds or returns...)
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MustangGTR1, the night night pistols have had HUGE delays, I've tried to keep people posted about the progress, the delay is as frustrating to me as it is to all those who preordered months ago. If I could do it again, I would refuse to take a dime until I had a fully-functioning finished prop pulled from a mold. When you complained that you were sick of waiting, I IMMEDIATELY issued you not only a FULL refund, but an additional $50 IIRC in order to try and make up for the inconvenience.
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zombiegristle, the listing is very clear: "You will receive a supreme Rubies suit, repainted in your requested color scheme and modified to provide a significantly higher-quality appearance". To us, this means getting rid of the crappy bright green with a proper priming, repaint, wash, weathering, and decal/stencilling work, as well as an engraved visor instead of the ****ty default Rubies one. You complained about the paint drips, some missing stencilling, and a lack of clearcoat, and asked for a refund. I apologized and owned up to both the delay and the mistakes, and despite the fact our Policies tabs states no refunds, we IMMEDIATELY agreed to refund you. You have since sent it back to us with tracking, and as soon as your suit arrives you're going to get back every dime that you paid, because we don't think anyone should have to pay for one of our products if they aren't happy with it. I should also note that after the initial delay where you went out of town and came back we refunded you $50 at that time to try and make up for the inconvenience.
Again, I am not trying to make excuses for any sort of delays or inferior work that someone receives. Like I said, I am human, and I can't always get it right. But if someone thinks I got it wrong I will do whatever it takes to MAKE it right. Every time.