Beware - Sarah M. d.b.a. Sarahcat Fursuits
Originally written on 30 May 2021:
Addenda in italics
I am writing this to warn others not to do business with Sarahcat Fursuits. She does not stand by her product and will instead obstruct, libel, and harass.
Sarah M. doing business as Sarahcat Fursuits sold me a pre-made partial white tiger fursuit (head, hands, tail) that did not fit. She advertised it as suitable for people with heads that measure under 25 inches, and with a moveable jaw. My head measures under 25". While I could physically get it on there, it was a very uncomfortable fit so it would not have been suitable for purpose. There is no way I could have worn this for a prolonged period at a convention. I had no trouble getting the moveable jaw on another fursuit head, but I couldn't get it to work on this one.
She refused a return and tried to get me to make alterations to it. That's not reasonable because I am not expert in these things, and because if I make an alteration to merchandise, that voids all warranties made by the manufacturer: it ceases to be merchandise. The reason that she cited for refusing the return was because someone in her household had a deficient immune system and she didn't want to risk a Covid infection. While I sympathise, there are other ways a return could have been handled, such as shipping the fursuit to another address, or working with a county health department or a family physician to take precautions in the course of the return.
Addendum:
Covid does not nullify the explicit warranty of size and moveable jaw, nor the implicit warranty of suitability of purpose that were made in the advertisement. It is not my problem!
Furthermore, the terms of service as they read at the time only applied to commissions, not pre-made fursuits. A contemporary post on ArtistsBeware notes this: https://archive.is/vOmh6 , by armaina on 3 September 2020.
Finally, I never agreed to any terms of service and I did not visit the website until after the acrimony.
The payments were put on my friend's card, so I told him to dispute the charges in August. He prevailed in September, and I got my money back. We were expecting instructions from either Sarah, PayPal, or his card's bank on how to return the merchandise. We never got any, so I wrote Sarah a letter some time in October.
Why didn't I send it back unilaterally to the return address on the box? Because it would have been reckless, and she didn't want it back at that address for a legitimate reason. That's why I sent a letter there instead.
Addendum:
To clarify, the major concern was that the bank would want it sent back with a certain return label, photographic documentation, to a different address, etc.. We wanted instructions from Sarah, the credit card's bank, or PayPal to avoid endangering the dispute process, especially as neither of us have disputed a transaction before, thus why I sent the letter in October to the return address requesting these instructions.
She had the mailing address, my friend's PayPal e-mail, and my personal e-mail from which I sent the initial return request. She did not write to either until May 2021.
Earlier this month (May), I reached out by e-mail this time, and I received an address and permission to return it there. I am still overseas, but my friend will take care of it when the post office opens on Tuesday. I have received photographs of the fursuit in its still-new state and of the packaging, which is appropriate.
I did make one mistake: in my recent e-mail to Sarah, I was not clear that I was offering to pay for return shipping in exchange for her deleting certain tweets and announcing the matter was being resolved. I can see how the cost of return shipping could have been conflated with return shipping in general.
Instead of asking for clarification or insisting on its return unconditionally, she published the e-mail and therefore thwarted any curative effect that might be had by announcing a resolution on Twitter. Therefore, I have instructed my friend to ship it back via USPS Collect On Delivery to recoup actual costs of shipping.
If this was just an issue of a refused return, I would not be writing this. Sarahcat has a twitter account with over 10K followers. She has alleged on numerous occasions that this partial fursuit was stolen. She has called myself and my friend thieves, which is libel, and has published my alias there and on ArtistsBeware. She has dissuaded artists from doing business with me, including the fellow who made my icon. As evidenced from her Twitter posts, which can be taken as the “tip of the iceberg”, she has orchestrated a campaign of harassment which resulted in my changing my Telegram handle in September and disabling private messages on FurAffinity and Twitter in September and earlier this month.
Let me emphasise that this was not theft - not legally, and not in the general sense of the word. My request for instructions on how to return the merchandise went unanswered. It remained at the same address to which it was shipped. Aside from my friend and I trying it on with UnderArmour gloves and balaclavas in a smoke-free house with no pets for the sole purpose of determining whether it fits, it was never used or even photographed. It was never advertised for sale. There was no benefit derived from it whatsoever, nor any attempt.
There was also no police report that was filed to my knowledge. A legitimate theft would have fallen under grand larceny, a felony, and would have certainly been investigated. Therefore, this accusation of theft or grand larceny is used as a cudgel instead of a statement of fact.
Addendum:
If the intent was larceny, would the merchandise have been left for nine months at the same house to which the seller shipped it? The proof is in the pudding.
Therefore, I would advise anyone not to do business with Sarah whether as Sarahcat Fursuits or in any other capacity. I do not want anyone else to endure a nightmare like this.
P.S. My friend controls SarahcatFursuits.org and SarahcatFursuits.net . Those domains redirect to my statement. They might redirect to something else soon. He invites Sarah to come down from that yankee shithole and sue him over this so he can eviscerate her in court (his words not mine).
Originally written on 2 June 2021:
I have received confirmation, both photographic and through USPS, that the merchandise is en route back to Sarah in her "yankee shithole". The amount for collect on delivery is equal to the actual cost of shipping, including packing materials.
While I hope this is the end of the matter, I doubt that it is. In furry, there is a perverse incentive to play the victim and to leverage this status as cachet. Sarah did precisely this though lies of omission concerning her merchandise which was not as described, of her lack of action to facilitate the return of her property, and of her action to prevent its timely return. The best I can say to anyone else on the business end of this nonsense is to stay strong, to hold your ground, and do not be afraid to fight fire with fire.
The "furry community" offered nothing but trouble when I faced the prospect of being out $2082 for a pre-made fursuit that was not as described. I will not forget this. Do not expect any favours from me.