Thread: Custom Eman Trouble, Help

I recently ordered a few custom costumes from Eman. One of them was my dream costume.
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h1...6520000005.jpg
It's my third time ordering from her and although it usually takes a while I am always happy with the costumes and the quality is good.

The order was really speady and I was happy with all of the costumes, but my dream costume. The quality of it was really poor, it looked unfinished. I contacted Eman and asked her if I can return the costume. She was really undersatnding although said that shipping it back wouldn't be the best idea, since she will have to pay heavy custom charges. She suggested keeping it until someone I know, or myself, is coming to Cairo. Well, I don't think I'll be in Cairo anytime soon. I don't know anybody who regularly travels to Egypt. I thought about selling the costume here and just sending her the money, but I don't think that anybody would pay $550 for it.

I am not sure what to do. I would really apriciate a good advice on this.

Thanks.

Hmm, that's not good. I have a friend who recently had the same problem, (poor quality and unfinished looking) but she was lucky enough to be able to sort it out with Eman in person. In theory I think there shouldn't be any customs charges on an item being returned, but I can see why she is not keen on this. However a return might be the best and only solution if it is too shoddy to sell.
It really is her responsibility to ensure that costumes are of suitable quality and finish, you shouldn't feel pressured to keep or sell (or travel half way across the world to return!) something that you are not happy with.

Oo, that sucks. She should definitely take it back if it wasn't completed to your satisfaction. Perhaps photographing the problem areas and email the photos to her might help.

Also, it seems like there is always someone going to Cairo from the U.S. Maybe you can hook up with another bhuzzer that's making plans on visiting Eman in Cairo.

Check out the Travel to the Land of Dance area. There are a bunch of posts about people going to Egypt. I am betting at least one of them is going to Eman!

Thanks for the replies ladies. I am going to check out the travel forum. I am just bummed out that the costume turned out so bad. I meen if I invest about $200 in rhinestones to finish decorating the bra and the straps, clean and fix up the skirt and maybe even get a new one it might look good. But I just don't know if it's worth the time and money especially since this costume wasn't cheap.

I may be out of line with this reply, but I find the suggestion of spending a fair amount of money to travel to Egypt to return a substandard costume just a tiny bit obscene. So is the idea of selling it to someone else, simply because the creator did not do the quality of work that was paid for.

Although the high custom fees would impact the amount of profit she makes from the costume, I would personally think that she'd be more interested in making sure that her customers were/are satisfied... and that her work continues to be viewed as being of high standard.

I do understand something slipping past her. What I don't understand is her willingness to let that go - and force you into unpalatable choices. Particularly when the problems are hers. Effectively, you paid for a costume in good faith. It was not as it should have been. In my mind, that does give you every right to return it. Period.

I've never dealt with Eman, or any other designer, for that matter. If I am out of line, I do apologize - and I'd really like to have someone correct me if that's the case.

Regardless of your decision... good luck. I'm sorry you've been disappointed. Particularly as it was the dream costume!

I wonder what happened to your costume....I've seen a few Emans that definately looked like they weren't finished. I was appalled!! I would never ever pay hundreds of dollars for them. But then again I've seen the beautiful Emans that most of the costumes turn out to be...I would inquire about a customs return fee....

I've heard that getting a custom Eman is dicey....you never know what you're going to get. But Zeevah has a point, business ethics should hold --Eman should make sure she has a satisfied customer, and it sounds like you bought a few, and probably will in the future. Maybe point that out to her and she if she can accept your return.

Originally Posted by Zeevah

I may be out of line with this reply, but I find the suggestion of spending a fair amount of money to travel to Egypt to return a substandard costume just a tiny bit obscene. So is the idea of selling it to someone else, simply because the creator did not do the quality of work that was paid for.

Although the high custom fees would impact the amount of profit she makes from the costume, I would personally think that she'd be more interested in making sure that her customers were/are satisfied... and that her work continues to be viewed as being of high standard.

I do understand something slipping past her. What I don't understand is her willingness to let that go - and force you into unpalatable choices. Particularly when the problems are hers. Effectively, you paid for a costume in good faith. It was not as it should have been. In my mind, that does give you every right to return it. Period.

I've never dealt with Eman, or any other designer, for that matter. If I am out of line, I do apologize - and I'd really like to have someone correct me if that's the case.

Regardless of your decision... good luck. I'm sorry you've been disappointed. Particularly as it was the dream costume!

No, you are not out of line at all. I agree that asking someone to return it in person or sell it on is not a satisfactory solution to the problem, I think it is cheeky of her to ask that of a customer. If you are a professional company supplying goods by mail order, then you should accept returns for unsatisfactory goods in the same manner they were delivered. Sure, no-one likes paying customs charges or losing profit, but for the sake of a happy customer-just suck it up!

Maybe I am out of line here but this costume doesn't look difficult. My suggestion is to sell it and put the money into a fabulous custom copy. There are a number of bhuzzers who could do this for you.
Eman's are very simple and not hard to make.
Don't give it to someone to take to egypt for you. I bet if you do that eman will somehow "finish" it and then the person will have to pick it up carry it back to you and still might not be right. Or you might not see it again. I have heard that lots of people are having problems with custom emans not fitting, and not being finished or even what was ordered!
I had this exact experience in front of eman at her studio in cairo. My friend ordered a custom after trying it on and we came back in one week to pick it up thinking they were just altering the one she tried on. But they had made a whole new one that wasn't finished and wasn't anywhere near as nice as the other one. They had made a cheap copy. And when we asked eman about it she could not help us. They had sent the one she tried on to Italy and this was a very fast and very bad copy. It wasn't even hemmed!
It was like buy it or don't. That was her attitude. That really turned me off and I subsequently have never bought a costume from her.
I am really sorry your dream costume didn't work out!
Feel free to PM me if you want to go the custom route. I can help you myself or steer you to a couple bhuzzers who also do this kind of work.

On the other hand, if she gets away with it, I think she will be more inclined to do it again. She may think that because she's established herself as a name designer among foreign dancers, she can rest on her laurels and put out shoddy quality costumes.

Maybe you could ask her to give you a store credit for say $200 off your next costume (if you are willing to order from her again and plan on purchasing more costumes in the future). This would avoid the hit she'd take on customs, and would defray your losses from either selling it or having the finishing touches and repairs done on it.

Originally Posted by eshtabellydance

Maybe I am out of line here but this costume doesn't look difficult. My suggestion is to sell it and put the money into a fabulous custom copy. There are a number of bhuzzers who could do this for you.
Eman's are very simple and not hard to make.
Don't give it to someone to take to egypt for you. I bet if you do that eman will somehow "finish" it and then the person will have to pick it up carry it back to you and still might not be right. Or you might not see it again. I have heard that lots of people are having problems with custom emans not fitting, and not being finished or even what was ordered!
I had this exact experience in front of eman at her studio in cairo. My friend ordered a custom after trying it on and we came back in one week to pick it up thinking they were just altering the one she tried on. But they had made a whole new one that wasn't finished and wasn't anywhere near as nice as the other one. They had made a cheap copy. And when we asked eman about it she could not help us. They had sent the one she tried on to Italy and this was a very fast and very bad copy. It wasn't even hemmed!
It was like buy it or don't. That was her attitude. That really turned me off and I subsequently have never bought a costume from her.
I am really sorry your dream costume didn't work out!
Feel free to PM me if you want to go the custom route. I can help you myself or steer you to a couple bhuzzers who also do this kind of work.

Also try pushing back on Eman - she is very nice but she's a smart and busy business woman and it's easy to tell you "no" and hope to settle it quickly (for her).

Contact her again, letting her know that the costume is not acceptable and that there are two options -

1. That you are sending it back and that you expect to get your money returned. Yes, this costume will sit in customs and it's going to be a pain in the butt for her to get it out of customs.

2. That she will refund you xxx number of dollars ($300?) for the quality - take detailed photos to send to her to show her how you'll need to invest in a lot of work to make it wearable. She may not have seen this costume before it left her studio.

The risk in someone other than yourself bringing it back to Eman is that it may not be finished to your liking, or it is returned and you don't get a refund. (Not that Eman would do that, but the shop is busy and it could easily be misplaced, resold, etc.)

Good luck!

Originally Posted by eshtabellydance

I had this exact experience in front of eman at her studio in cairo. My friend ordered a custom after trying it on and we came back in one week to pick it up thinking they were just altering the one she tried on. But they had made a whole new one that wasn't finished and wasn't anywhere near as nice as the other one. They had made a cheap copy. And when we asked eman about it she could not help us. They had sent the one she tried on to Italy and this was a very fast and very bad copy. It wasn't even hemmed!

Yep, the skirt was not hemmed on this one as well, it was made out of mesh fabric and doesn't look clean either. There are pieces of mesh on the bra that are just tucked in rather then being properly secured.

Eman didn't ask me to try to sell it, it's just usually my first choice if the costume is not what I expected, however this is not even an option, since it needs work.

I'll definitely see if I can have similar costume made in the future by somebody else. I just want to figure out what to do with this one for now.

maybe just have it fixed up and hemmed? Eman is notorious for not hemming or even finishing the hemlines on the costumes.

Kateryna I just replied to the post where you're selling your custom ordered disaster. Just let me know if you need any better pics or close-ups of the original costume!

B

I am not sure about US airports but the question we get asked is " Are you carrying an item for someone else?" Who on earth wants to unpack suitcases and prove it is harmless?
If you cannot find a good dressmaker to alter the item at a reasonable cost, send it back. And I speak as one who loves Eman's work (that black dress is a work of art!) and thinks she is a wonderful lady.
At festival times, these designers are rushed off their feet and there are bound to be orders that don't match every standard.