Thread: Audrena?

Ok so i think i am going to order 2 from her, I have a few questions

How long does custom orders take (i know______ +4 weeks)

Is it worth it?

what about the price? can you order straight from pharonics for cheeper? and if so what it the contact info?

Do they come out right, if not does she stick to her word?

Do you pay in full or do down payments?

Thanks..g.:

Audrena is very nice. Here is my experience:
I ordered a costume in Dec. was told it we be ready in Feb. It didn't come until April, then when I got it, there were numerous beads that were peeling already. (Brand new and never worn) Since I am a stickler I mentioned it to her and she gave me the option to have them redo it or $100 credit towards the next costume I order from her. I choose to have it remade. She told me it would be ready in 3 weeks....was closer to a month and a half, but when i got it, it was perfect. None of those peeling beads.

So i recommend telling her when you order yours..to make sure they know not to use the beads that peel.

Audrena called me each time it was ready to be shipped to let me know it was on its way. She is very sweet.

I believe I paid half when I ordered it, then the balance was due when it was shipped.

Hoo boy. I find that dealing with her personally is a bit of a crap shoot. She now has a policy whereby she will only submit your order to pharaonics after you sign and send back a sheet she sends to you that lists your measurements and your requested costume colors. It covers her butt, but I ordered two costumes in April and I'm still waiting for the sheet for my second costume to arrive so I can send it back to her. I've called her once about this, and never heard back...unfortunately I've been too busy to press the issue. At this point I figure I'll at least get one costume out of it...so I'm not devastated...but nor do I think that I'll order from her again. ETA is July, so we'll see what happens then!

Also, she'll take a down payment of half the total fee when you place the order. Definitely wait to place the order until she has one of her $600 Pharaonics sales...or if you're good at negotiating you can call and say that you just missed the sale / Dahlal gave you a really good price / etc.

She must be busy or have something going on lately because I had to leave her 3 messages to find out if my costume had been processed. ( I emailed her a couple of days after I ordered it to change the color and length). It took her at least a month to get back to me!
I hope it looks good when I finally get it or I'm gonna be really disappointed. I'm already thinking about never ordering a custom costume again. I may wait till I'm in Egypt and have one made.

i personally don't think that i will ever custom order anything from her again. every time i talk to her, she changes her story... there was a fashion show, she's waiting to pay her last bill, there's too many orders- she hasn't told me if my order has been submitted or not and it's been 3 months. I know that sometimes it's the costumer themselves that are causing this but i'd just like her to tell me that.

she also tends to not mention things like sizing sheets (wasn't ever told about that and never got one) or her return/exchange policy (she told me i could return a costume and then when i needed to, told me i couldn't).

she doesn't answer her emails and never returns my messages. the only time i've been successful is if i actually get her on the phone (twice).

i prefer dahlal because they always answer the phone/return emails and they've always made anything wrong, right.

i would order something in stock for Audrena but not custom. Sorry to be such a big WAH but i haven't had a very good experience.

Ok sooooo Should I just order from dahlal? or can i go direct to pharonics? does any one have the contact info?

For every problem someone has had with Audrena, there is an equally terrible story about Dahlal. And vice versa. Personally I have had really good luck and communication with Audrena. I had a hard time with Dahlal on an order, though in fairness she did ultimately rectify the situation to my complete satisfaction.

So you can find horror stories about both vendors. Go with what is in stock whenever possible, and just light a candle, say a prayer, and be patient if you go custom!

I agree. I haven't ordered from either one, but I had a custom order from Neckelmanns a few years ago and it was too big and not exactly what I wanted. I vowed only to buy what was in stock--at least if it doesn't fit, I didn't wait forever.

Originally Posted by Monica

For every problem someone has had with Audrena, there is an equally terrible story about Dahlal. And vice versa. Personally I have had really good luck and communication with Audrena. I had a hard time with Dahlal on an order, though in fairness she did ultimately rectify the situation to my complete satisfaction.

So you can find horror stories about both vendors. Go with what is in stock whenever possible, and just light a candle, say a prayer, and be patient if you go custom!

so very true!

for me though, i can deal with waiting- but i can't deal with poor/lack of communication.

i remember reading a post that i dug up about pharaonics not wanting to take personal orders anymore because it takes business away from audrena and dahlal- i can't find it anymore though.

I have never ordered a costume w/ dahlal, but heard it took a long time for orders to come in.

I dont think I will custom order anything again, unless it's a bella