Limebarb: A warning to you who buy cosplay

[lychee-twist]

Hey, guys, I wanted to warn those of you who buy cosplay online.

Another site I frequent called reddit.com has a section devoted to cosplay where people can post pictures they find, their own cosplay, whatever.

This was a post made today:

"My wife wanted an Arkham Asylum Harley Quinn costume for Dragon Con last year, so put in an order with Limebarb for a 'deluxe' custom-fitted costume. It cost her over $800 and was meant to include the full outfit, including a functional, boned corset and custom-made boots. After missing the delivery deadline by two months and ignoring her request to just cancel the order, they shipped her the costume in the linked gallery. Almost none of the pieces fit, the construction was generally terrible, and the whole thing just looked godawful. The 'custom boots' were a pair of boot covers glued to cheap platform boots, only the glue didn't bond properly, leaving them falling apart in the box. The corset didn't come with any way to lace it, but when tied with a shoe-lace it not only failed to cinch but was big enough to fit a couple of fists in.

After the Better Business Bureau completely failed to be helpful and her chargeback request from Discover didn't go anywhere, we're left with an unwearable costume and down $815. So I'm posting this on here in the hopes of warning away any other cosplayers who might consider shopping with Limebarb. This is in violation of their 'irresponsible customer' policy, most likely, since their contract requires you to waive the right to complain about the quality of their service online unless you also tell people how awesome they are. So, in the interest of fairness, they're fairly good at sewing pleather to a bra bought at Target."

Here's a link to the costume itself: http://cpthamilton.imgur.com/limebarbcom_costume_fail There's multiple pages in case you guys didn't see them.

NightLotus estimated  that this person was probably overcharged by around $500, and Limebarb is refusing to refund the money even though it is quite evident that this is a crappy costume.

Just wanted you guys out there to know about this in case you were considering. If you want to go for it, do it, but be aware of this guy's experiences.

[chelseahavoc]

wow thank you for posting this o.o its a real eye opener to what crap some people will do.

[LtCommanderRichie]

What amazes me is that people continue to commission Limebarb even though there are plenty of stories just like this one.

[reppy]

Another poster on this forum was complaining quite loudly about Limebarb awhile ago.  I swear it took like, 6 months for them to get their cosplay?  And there was a serious lack of communication.  Anyways, I don't want to mention the poster's name specifically since I'm not sure what their current relationship/feelings are with regards to Limebarb, but I figured I'd throw this in there since I don't know if they'll see this thread.  Just another "scary story" about Limebarb, I guess.

[Shadow]

WOW, this was a real eye-opener for me. I've seen/heard nothing but good things from Limebarb. I've yet to be able to afford a commission from them though, since they're so expensive.

I've had a bad commission before, but it didn't set me back over $800. GEEZE. That's just horrible. :/

[~boogiepop~]

Oh Limebarb, you are so very, very terrible. There's a site somewhere with like, 50-100 complaints against her.

[Coconutty93]

That's horrible! Dx I normally buy my costumes used so I know they're pretty good. So I think I'm safe for now.

[flyinvee11]

That's really frustrating. Makes me feel better about my "imperfect but homemade" cosplays.

[chelseahavoc]

That's really frustrating. Makes me feel better about my "imperfect but homemade" cosplays.

ha true.

[Ticra]

geeeeeez. That's not even like...oops bad. That's bordering on deliberate bad.

I mean...a mask made for a mega-face and spray painted 'made in china boots'?
I have to admit. The belt missing the belt buckle was the ultimant fail. I actually laughed.
Sheez. That reeeeeaaallllllyyyyyy sucks. Mega-suckage. It seems like you should be able to do SOMETHING to get a refund or some means of compensation.
Thanks for the warning :/

[@random]

geeeeeez. That's not even like...oops bad. That's bordering on deliberate bad.

I mean...a mask made for a mega-face and spray painted 'made in china boots'?
I have to admit. The belt missing the belt buckle was the ultimant fail. I actually laughed.
Sheez. That reeeeeaaallllllyyyyyy sucks. Mega-suckage. It seems like you should be able to do SOMETHING to get a refund or some means of compensation.
Thanks for the warning :/

Even if a company "runs out the clock" on getting a refund through your credit-card company, you can still sue - but some companies bank on the fact that most people will just give up and write it off as a loss. People are (justifiably) intimidated by the legal system if they think they're going up against a corporation. The type of company that blatantly rips people off doesn't usually have the legal muscle to buy a victory they way a corporation can, but people don't know that.

You can hire a lawyer, but usually they charge much more than you'll recover. In the type of case where a company has blatantly defrauded you, it may be worth it to file in small-claims court, but the amount of time you'll spend in the process is still likely to outweigh the money you lost. Your best bet for "justice" is probably the attorney general of the state they're located in - if they hear the same story about a business over and over, there's a decent chance they'll file criminal charges. It doesn't get you your money back, but it'll make you feel better.

One bit of advice - if you start to get suspicious about a company you've given money to, find out what the functional "statute of limitations" is for getting a refund through your credit-card company or bank. Don't let them keep stalling you past that date.


_{(1. I'm not making specific assertions about Limebarb; I don't know them from Adam's housecat. 2. I'm speaking only from my own personal opinion - not as a moderator or on behalf of Kumoricon in any way.)}

[tas110]

same thing with the ebay seller empire world wide who does jack sparrow costume everything they say is screen accurate when its NOT and its very poorly made junk

and its way over priced

http://shop.ebay.com/empire-worldwide/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=&_trksid=p3686

like I purchased a baldric from them and they said it was leather and screen accurate..... it we pleather and worth about $50 at the most when it was priced over $200 so put in some research into a place before buying things

so take a look at this

these coins can be found at joanns or michaels for $2.00

http://cgi.ebay.com/Jack-Sparrow-ANTIQUE-Singapore-coins-WIG-costume-/380269889657?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5889da0879#ht_2090wt_907

and jack does not have any of those coins in his wig  

and it looks nothing like it does in the pictures

[@random]

*follows your link*

*almost chokes on his Panang curry*

They want HOW much for the whole costume? 

[Gryffinclaw Princess]

Man...I should have thought of this scam years ago. I would make so much money...


People are pathetic.
I mean really? What kind of people would go around doing this kind of stuff...? :/
I hate scammers...

[Washougal_Otaku]

I don't trust ANY website with "lime" in its name & it having nothing to do with the delicious fruit!  (The only other one that I know of is limewire.com).

[tas110]

*follows your link*

*almost chokes on his Panang curry*

They want HOW much for the whole costume? 

a little over 2,000 and it would probably run about 1,000 in real like fro everything

[Drauska]

Has anyone tried qqcosplay.com?  I want to order a Vash the Stampede red duster coat from them.  I'm giving them at least 3 months before the Kcon to get it to me.  I wish I could afford the deluxe red leather but cotton/polyester works for me.

[chelseahavoc]

Has anyone tried qqcosplay.com?  I want to order a Vash the Stampede red duster coat from them.  I'm giving them at least 3 months before the Kcon to get it to me.  I wish I could afford the deluxe red leather but cotton/polyester works for me.

i dont remember who it was but someone on here was selling a few cosplays they bought from qqcosplay. you might want to see if you can find out who it was and ask them.

i do however know that thier gippal costume had cruddy boots that are hard to walk in and the little silver dots fell off and the gloves were horrid but every thing else was nice...

[MiriaRose]

Ooh, I've heard of LimeBarb and her screw-ups. I thought they ended years ago; guess not. Thanks for posting this.

[Fuyuko]

My god that's terrible! D: Thank you for sharing that warning with us. I'll keep in mind to avoid that site from now on...