We're all busy people here; some of us have jobs and families and pets to feed. Some of us don't know how to sew, or vacuum form our own plastic weapons, or cut and style wigs. Whether it be for a lack of time or a lack of skill, many of us cosplayers have considered turning to the internet to buy pieces of a costume (if not the entire costume) pre-made.
Buying from a reputable crafts person online is a great way to save time, and assemble an amazing looking costume to wear at an upcoming convention. But ordering from the wrong site can spell disaster. I'm talking a depleted-con-funds, no returns- allowed, staying-up-all-night-to-fix-this-mess kind of disaster. When you are expecting a shiny suit of awesome, but find yourself unwrapping a vacuum-sealed package of hot-mess only a few days before a big convention you have few options and they all start with panic.
You could scrap your unfinished, totally sub-par costume all together and try to recoup your monetary losses through weeks of angry email exchanges. You may disappoint fellow cosplayers whose group you were to complete, or you could be giving up a spot in a competition, but at least you'll get some sleep before the convention There's still plenty of fun to be had out of costume but your hopes and dreams (i.e. plans) might be ruined.
If you only ordered a prop or a portion of the costume online, you could wear your costume unfinished. But some cosplayers would argue that's even worse than not wearing the costume at all. If you're not in any competitions and don't care about the judgmental scoffs of others, go for it and wear whatever you've got. But for those with ever-higher, self-imposed standards to uphold, wearing an unfinished costume just isn't an option.
Then there's that final option ... the one where you stay up all night, maybe two, maybe three nights in a row trying to salvage what you've purchased. You start off in a panic but quickly talk yourself into a fragile state of optimism just to stop the screaming. Sure, you originally ordered this pile of junk online because you knew you couldn't make it yourself. But now you've had a change of heart - maybe you can take the mess in front of you and fix it up. At least you're not starting from scratch! A little paint, let out a few seams ... you got this. But the fabric store closes in 10 minutes and now you need more spandex to patch this hole you just tore trying to take out that sloppy stitch. And your roommates are asleep so you can't use the sewing machine. It will only take an extra 4 hours to do a good job by hand. As the night goes on your standards drop. For every yawn that escapes your lips you make another concession. I don't need there to be the same number of buttons on both sleeves. I'll just pose with the good arm toward the camera. By the time the first sliver of sunlight breaks the horizon, you're a bag of un-showered, starving rage slumped over a melting mountain of fabric and liquid-stitch. You give up and decide to get a few hours of sleep before you have to force this monstrosity onto your body. Who knows how it turned out in the end. Who even really cares? You're too grumpy and sleep deprived to smile or pose anyway. You sit at the hotel Starbucks in your mess of a costume questioning your sanity.
Don't be that guy. Shop smart when buying costumes online! Here are a few essential tips to ordering online.
Look for good quality photographs, and lots of them
This is always the first thing I look for when shopping for an item online, costume or not. A good listing has good photos of the item from multiple angles. It's easy to steal one or two low-res photos to make a listing look like a good choice, but the real deal doesn't need to hide any "bad sides" from the camera. Listings that show an item from the back and bottom in good lighting get an A+. If a listing doesn't have a lot of photos but looks appetizing, ask the seller to see some more angles. If they've got the genuine article in front of them for sale, it shouldn't be too hard for them to snap another picture for you, especially if they expect you to pay big bucks for it.
Read the customer reviews
This can be tough with new shops that haven't had a lot of customers yet, but I always recommend reading about other people's experiences. Look at star-ratings, number of past customers, and what they actually bought. EBay and many other marketplaces will show seller feedback for items totally unrelated to yours. If a seller has five stars for all the flashlights he sold, but you're trying to buy a wig ... you can't really take those reviews into account when considering quality, can you? However, unrelated item reviews do help when investigating how quickly a seller ships an item, and whether or not they can effectively solve conflict.
Read that return policy carefully
If you spend a fortune on this item and hate it ... can you return it? Many sellers won't let you unless there's something really wrong with the item. By really wrong I don't mean ugly or cheap. I mean it has to be infested with maggots for them to take it back. Some online shops won't let you return it even then. Read those return policies carefully, especially if you're not dealing with a mediator site like eBay or Amazon, who will refund your money automatically if you receive an item in an unacceptable condition.
Send accurate measurements
If you commission an item to be custom made SEND GOOD MEASUREMENTS. Ordering over the Internet means the seamstress is relying entirely on the measurements that you provide in order to make sure that your costume will fit. Get a friend who knows what they're doing to help you, use the Internet to make sure you're doing it right, and send more measurements than asked for. If you send the wrong measurements, your costume isn't going to fit. And who's fault is it? Don't expect to get your money back.
Order early
Freak-outs happen when there is no time to fix an online order mishap. A lot of online sellers are very willing to work with you if an item is damaged, but replacing a faulty item takes time. Order far enough in advance so that common errors like shipping delays don't put you in crisis mode. When ordering a finished item via ground inside the US, try to order at least three weeks before a convention. If you're ordering pre-made, standard, from over-seas, you need at least a two-month cushion just to be sure that your item makes it on-time. Commissioning an item is another beast; you need to factor in shipping and construction time here, which will vary item to item. I recommend contacting your crafts-person at least six months in advance to talk about a timetable for your project.
Comb the description for missing information
When buying a pre-made item online, look for a well-written item description. You should find materials information, size, and a little bit about the process all in the description. Items made with love are spoken about with love. If a description looks like it took 30 seconds to write, well then the item couldn't have taken much longer. Always be mindful of poor grammar, as this is a sign that your item is being shipped from overseas, or that the salesman didn't care to proofread.
Contact the seller with any questions
If the item description leaves you feeling the least bit uneasy, but you still want the item, contact the seller. Don't be shy about sending a whole list of questions. If the seller can't answer reasonable questions thoroughly, the item is probably mass-produced junk. If the seller seems cooperative and gives thoughtful, personalized responses, that's a very good sign.
Pay on time and be pleasant
Speaking from experience here; if the person you've commissioned to make you something likes you, your item will come out better. Always be polite in your correspondence. Answer any and all questions that the craftsman or salesman may have for you, and always pay on time. If you're having something custom made, you may be asked to pay in installments or to make a deposit for materials. This is totally normal and is meant to protect the craftsman from being stood up. Talk with your craftsperson and come to a mutual agreement over a payment schedule and refund policy. If you don't answer important questions and are then wondering where you costume is four or five months later, your craftsman isn't going to refund your deposits. Same often goes if you cancel an order halfway through. The artist or seamstress can't get back his time, so why should you get back your deposit? However if the craftsman cancels the order, or if they do a bad job, then you should be able to get your money back. These are things that should be discussed at the beginning of a commission.
There are a lot of really fantastic sellers out there with wonderful items in their shops. This guide is not meant to scare you away from the online market, but rather to fill you with confidence when you find a listing that follows all the rules. But remember, if anything about a listing makes you feel the least bit suspicious, even if not listed here, please contact the seller. If they can't ease your fears, its best to buy elsewhere. Broken links, shady forwards, seeing the same exact listing on multiple websites, and suspicious email addresses are red flags.
Be an informed buyer! Doing your research and shopping with a trained eye will save you a lot of headaches this con-season. Happy buying!
