Nocternus, that's because for a decade (since before they got the Star Wars license) I've had good dealings with ANOVS and continue to do so, despite having to wait for some items. I know a lot of the people there. I know they love these properties, are fans, love costuming and research and all of that. I know they are having more issues now than before between more-demanding/micromanaging licensors and a lot more back-and-forth to foreign manufacturing than previously with their Star Trek and BSG stuff. I know they hate missing their projections at least as much as us, and that they're not doing it on purpose and those projections are set based on where they are with stuff before factors they can't control interfere.
As impatient as I am, I know I will get the stuff I ordered eventually, and as soon as they can manage. I don't have a single costume I've hung all my happiness on, or even a single intellectual property. And over the years I've had to learn to work on what I can control, and be patient for what I can't. In the eternal equation of time/cost/quality, remembering you can only ever have any two... I want quality and ANOVOS ticks that box much more than they miss. Their costs are reasonable for the product, helped by their payment plan setup. So I accumulate paints and adhesives and accessories and accurizing elements, work on the things that I'm patterning and sewing, various Black Series items, eBay purchases, scratch-built items, and so on and so on.
I've had good dealings and delays with pretty much every vendor I've bought from over the years -- the delays always because Stuff Happened™. Patience is key. I've always waited and they've always come through. So that's my advice for anyone who buys from anyone. Expect to wait, regardless of what they say, have stuff to work on/distract yourself with in the meantime, and be pleasantly surprised if whatever it is shows up sooner than you expected. I've never had to put it to the test beyond two years. I look at eFX's Scout helmets, which I passed on for several reasons, and wonder if I'd still be hanging in. Tough to answer, because they failed to engage me enough to take the plunge in the first place.
I have seen some folks on here get out of the hobby after years in it for one reason or another. I imagine some concern among people having to wait for product is the fear they won't care any more by the time they get it. Frankly, I can't wrap my head around that. I'm in my 40s now (how that happened, I have no idea). I have loved Star Wars since conscious memory. I have loved Transformers since I was 9. I have loved Star Trek since I was 11 (I didn't dislike it before, but it hadn't "clicked" yet). I have loved Warhammer 40K since I was 16. Comics and anime and video games and such... *shrug* So much of my self-identity is interwoven with all of that, I can't conceive of ever not wanting to be doing this. Part of why I accept waiting is because I plan to do this for the rest of my life.
