eBay Seller garson0808 Review| Firestar & Company

Hey guys! Firestar here! Welcome back! Today, I will be reviewing the eBay seller garson0808. I got the New Lolita Harajuku Style Curly Wavy Long Hair Full Wig Anime Cosplay Wigs for my mom for Comic Con this year, and I am very happy with the wig. Let's start!

My mom usually takes me and my friends to Comic Con in New York City every year for 4 or 5 years now, and she only ever dressed up once. Her hair is very long, so it would be hard to put her hair into a wig cap, and there isn't really a character she would want to be. I was looking at wigs on eBay and found this one. She said she liked it and that she would wear it for Comic Con this year. She is very happy with it and I am very happy with it.

This is what the wig looks like in the stock photo.

Price: $13.99

Link: http://www.ebay.com/itm/201198005480

Item description:

Condition:	New without tags
Seller Notes:	“New Fashion Wine Red Mixed Colors!”

Length:	Long	Texture:	Wavy
Style:	Full Wig	Hair Type:	Synthetic
Brand:	New	Cap Construction:	Classic Cap
Color:	Black+Red	UPC:	Does not apply

This is what came. I have it on a wig stand. I don't have any pictures yet of anyone wearing it, so stay tuned to that!

The wig was packaged in this, to help keep it's shape.

It also came with this note. It reads:

"Dear Customers,

This letter aims to convey our heart-felt thanks for your recent purchase. We appreciate such a great buyer like you.

Please kindly accept our sincere apologizes in the event that your package arrived late due to fault of the courier company or the postal office or the deliverer rendered poor service.

My friend, we are here to help! Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any complaint about our product or this transaction. If you are satisfied with our product and services, we hope you will give us FIVE STARS on all of the Detailed Seller Ratings. If you think we do not deserve it, would you kindly point out our weakness? We commit to offer you the best products and services. Many thanks for your cooperation. 

Looking forward to doing business with you soon!

Best regards,

Jessie

Manager of Jacentown"

Well, isn't that a pleasant note. It's so nice to get a note in your package from the company you bought from saying that they appreciate you being a customer.

Here is a picture of the top of the wig. It's made very well and you can't see through the hair. It was a bit tangled, but with some brushing and spray, it'll work great. 

This is what the highlights on the curls look like. They look better in person than in the stock photo. 

Shipping: 5/5 

It came earlier than the estimated delivery date, and the seller is located in China. Definitely worth it. I wasn't even expecting it on the day it came. The shipping was also free. 

Communication: N/A

I didn't have to communicate with the seller, but if I did, I probably wouldn't have had any issues. 

Quality: 5/5

The wig looked exactly as it did in the stock photo, and I even think it looked better ON me than in the stock photo. I wore it to a party, and someone thought is was my real hair. 

Overall: 5/5

I recommend this seller. Shipping was fast, and the package came unharmed. The wig itself is really nice and even looks better on than in the stock photo. I had no issues, and even though I didn't communicate with them, if I needed anything, they would've probably been more than willing to help. Even if they had to go out of their way. The note was really pleasant. I wish every package came with a note like that! My only complaint is that it didn't come with a wig cap, which doesn't bother me as I don't wear them. I'm pretty sure that if I was bothered, I could've contacted them and they would've helped. 

Note: Don't forget to check back here when I upload pictures of the wig on someone from the upcoming Comic Con (Oct. 2015).

Anyways, I hope you you enjoyed this review! Don't forget to visit their storefront here. If you have any suggestions for future reviews, email me or message me and I'll look into it for you. See you in the next review!

~Firestar & Co. 

Meow Parlour Review| Firestar & Company

Hey guys! Firestar here! Welcome back to the blog! Today, I am going to be doing a review on Meow Parlour, which is a cat cafe located in New York City. There are many rules, but it's totally worth it if you're a cat lover like me! I will be covering the history, rules, my experiences, and other stuff in this review! So, let's get started! I have to warn you though, this review is going to be very picture-heavy. Just throwing that out there.

First, some historical context/background about cat cafes! The concept originated in Taipei, Taiwan, with the opening of the first cafe, known as "Cat Flower Garden" or 貓花園 if you live in Taiwan/can read Mandarin Chinese. This eventually became a tourist destination for people from all over the world, most notably Japan. Although these cafes originated in Taiwan, Japan usually takes the credit due to the fact that cat cafes blossomed there, and that there are many cafes in Tokyo. Here, the first cafe was the "Cat's Store" or 猫の店 if you live in Japan/can read Japanese Kanji. Since this opened, cat cafes have become a phenomenon everywhere. There is one in Singapore, "Garden of Cat", and the first cafe opened in North America was the "Cat Cafe Montreal (Le Café des Chats)" in Canada. There are many cafes around the world, so naming all of them here would get boring, so I suggest you do some research for yourself.

Citation: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_café 

Next, at this particular cafe, there were many rules to go by, for safety reasons:

1. Children 10 and under should only go during the designated time slots, as they can not accommodate children outside of the slot.

2. DON'T bring any of your own cats to the place.

3. If you have allergies, they WON'T supply medication, but there is a pharmacy nearby.

4. In an emergency, alert a staff member immediately.

5. They AREN'T liable for anything that happens as a result of interacting with the cats, as they can't control the cats' behaviors. 

6. All guests should sanitize hands and remove shoes at the entrance. Sanitization for obvious reasons, and shoe removal because it helps keep the place clean, and it is a tradition in Japan*. Even the staff don't have shoes on.

7. No pulling on a cats tail.

8. No flash photography, but regular photography is fine.

9. No picking up any of the cats unless you consulted with a staff member.

10. No climbing on the shelves or opening up any furniture. There are reserved places to sit.

11. Toys are available at the front desk, and must be returned upon exit.

12. Don't give human food/drinks to cats. Any drink is fine, as long as it has a lid, no food is allowed for the safety of the cats, but they have a separate bakery where any food from there is allowed because they can guarantee that the ingredients aren't toxic to the cats. If you are not sure, It would be better to just get drinks from their bakery.

13. You can gently pet sleeping cats, but don't wake them to play.

14. Don't give any food or treats to the cats. Their cats are on specific diets that they don't want messed up. Also, they won't modify the cats behaviors to play with a visitor with treats.

15. Cats wearing collars are new to the facility, as all the cats in the cafe are shelter cats. 

16. Have fun! (OK, that's not actually on the website, but I added it just because)

Reminders:

You have to sign a waiver upon entry.

If you are with a minor, an authorized individual must sign on their behalf.

Source: I literally just copied off the website and paraphrased some of them.

Here is the link to the website if you want to read the original: Meow Parlour Rules

*Taking off shoes in Japan is very common. For example: going to a person's house, in the school building, and other places like these. They want to keep the place clean. I suggest you bring socks with you to the cafe. Unless you want to go barefoot, which is also fine. All the staff members do it, but I wouldn't recommend it just because.

      

So, now let's get into my actual experiences. 

First, they have their own bakery, where you can go either before or after your appointment. Or you can go if you are a parent or adult that just accompanied your kids into the city. In the bakery, there are many snacks. For example, cat shaped cookies, cat shaped macarons, and some things that aren't cat shaped. There is also a selection of fizzy soda-like drinks that are made from real cane sugar and are created in New York City. I went with a friend of mine, as well as my mom. I got the Chocolate Kitty and Party Kitty cat shaped macarons, and my friend got a cat shaped Oreo cookie, and also the Party Kitty. My mom only got a regular chocolate chip cookie. Me and my friend got the cola soda, and my mom got a regular iced tea and a seltzer.

Here is the Party Kitty macaron. I kind of forgot I needed to do a review, so I ate the other one and the ear of of this one. :) They were both really good, so I totally recommend you get them. 

Here is what the soda looked like. Oh, and that's my mom's seltzer and iced tea in the background. The soda tasted good, but a little bit sweeter than the regular Coca-Cola, which this is supposed be like. I actually didn't finish mine because it was too sweet, but my friend finished it so it was OK. My mom liked her seltzer, but she didn't like her iced tea much. She doesn't really drink iced tea, so take that into consideration. 

Also in the bakery, there were many decorations (cat themed of course) and they had all of their snacks and drinks on display.The interior was pretty pleasant. Like something you would see in a usual cafe/bakery, except with more cats. 

This was one of the walls. It had their social media (links at the end), some pictures, and some of the merchandise they offer.

Here is most of their display. There was someone at the counter, so I couldn't get the whole display. I got the most important part though. As you can see, they display all of their treats in these display cases. The sodas are above the display, but I couldn't include them for the same reason as stated above. If that person wasn't there at the time, I would've taken a picture of their whole display. 

  One of the decorations on their walls. It's an outline of a cat. Nothing more, nothing less.

Here is what the tables/chairs looked like. The whole place is painted in a pastel teal/aqua color, with white walls, so the tables/chairs blended nicely. 

That about does it for the bakery. Now onto the cafe. 

Here is the check in window. There are drawings of all the cats that are there or have been there in the past*. They have an iPad where when you sign in, you need to give all your info and sign the waiver. There will be an attendant there to greet you. There is a smaller window on the left of this picture that opens and closes, just to let you know. 

 Here is a cat that was sleeping in a corner in between the entrance and the sign that is seen from the street. If I'm not mistaken, this is a brown Tabby cat. 

This cat was sleeping on a pillow near the sitting area  near the entrance. As you can see, there is a cat shaped cylindrical decoration near the pillow. 

Here is a cat that was laying on a chair/bed near the merchandise area, which you can also store your purse in.

 This is their merchandise rack. They have more merchandise, as stated above. They have a whole hanging rack full of stuff as well as this.

This is what the main desk looks like from the inside. They have even more merchandise hanging up, and on the desk. This is also where you keep your shoes when you enter.In the far left bottom corner (if you can see it), there are a bunch of pairs of shoes. They are kept in a cubby-hole like area on the outside of the desk.

  These two cats were facing off in the middle of the hallway leading to the entrance.

This is me next to a cat who prefers a cardboard box over a comfy bed. Many of the cats there were running around and playing, so I'm surprised that this cat stayed put for the picture. I tried to get it to look at the camera, to no avail. :)

Here is a cat who was sitting on a pillow while playing with a toy. This is the same cat as the one in the picture above ^^^. :)

On the very back wall of the cafe, there was a setup similar to the one shown in this picture. It made up the majority of the back wall, and there were benches attached where people could sit. This cat slept the whole time I was there. I guess it was really tired. :)

 This cat tried to get into the room that said "no cats". There was also a very low couch on the adjacent wall. 

Here is my friend playing with a cat. This was the same cat as the one in the earlier picture of me next to it in a cardboard box. 

This cat was sitting on top of the glass cylinder with a bed inside. :) They had about 3 of these cylinders. 

These cats were fighting when one ran into this hiding hole. This is one of the benches that can be sat on. There is also another one of those cylinders in this picture.

Here is a cat around one of the staff members. That is one of their litter boxes on the far left. This is another one of the benches that can be sat on.

Cats love Glory! Oh, wait, I wasn't supposed to reveal her name online. Apologies to her. Just kidding, she's perfectly fine with it. This is a cat who jumped up onto the desk and tried to jump on her.

Before we left, this cat wanted the grapes that were in our bag. Unless it was just curious. :)

Also before we left, this cat was enjoying Glory's attention. That is a cat shaped pillow it was standing on, On the far right is the window. 

*This cafe also acts as a shelter, so people can adopt from here, but need to sign some things and pay. I don't really know much about it, so check out their website for more info if you are interested.

Overall, I really enjoyed the experience. Especially since I am going to Tokyo in April 2017 possibly with the same friend shown here.  Glory also really enjoyed it, as did my mom. Both of us own cats ourselves, so we enjoyed this place even more. The staff members were nice, and the cats seemed like they were treated very well. My only complaint is that the place was hard to find because there is scaffolding over it, and the bakery was in a different location than the cafe. It wasn't very far, but still, the two should really be in the same building.

Overall: 5/5
I recommend you go when you get the chance. You have to make reservations online, but they allow walk-ins sometimes. Glory was a walk-in, I originally was only supposed to go with my mom but then Glory's mom texted me and said that she was available for the day, so we decided to bring her with us and figure out how to get everyone in. They only allow walk-ins occasionally, mostly when they're not full. This brings me to my next complaint. There are time frames, and people who made the reservation online only get half an hour in the cafe, but walk-ins get a full hour in the cafe. I think they should really change that to be the opposite. Reservations get one full hour, and walk-ins get half an hour. 

That about raps up this review. I hope you enjoyed! If you have any suggestions for future reviews, contact me, or send me a message. Don't forget to visit Meow Parlour at http://www.meowparlour.com, and follow them on their Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. I'll see you in the next review!
~Firestar & Co.   

eBay Seller: kucos08 Review| Firestar & Company

Hey guys! Firestar here! Welcome back! So, today I will be reviewing the eBay seller kucos08. I am very happy with my transaction with this seller and would purchase from them again. Let's start!

So, this year for Comic Con, I decided to be Megurine Luka from Vocaloid. Not her regular outfit, but her outfit from ANTI THE∞HOLiC. I was originally going to be a different character, but I couldn't find her wig, so I changed. The outfit as a whole was difficult to find, but we'll get to that in a  later review. I found the wig and outfit on a different website, but it was insanely expensive for only a few wears, so I looked at other websites, and remembered that a friend I would be taking would get  her outfit off of eBay, so I looked, and I found the wig for $25.00!! The cheapest price I've seen. I have only good things to say about this seller. Here's why:

A few days after, I got an email from her saying that she sent me the wrong item, and to keep it as a gift. She sent me the Attack on Titan Scouting Legion Recon Corps Badge Embroidery instead of my order. Here is the stock photo:

Name: Attack on Titan Cosplay Scouting Legion Recon Corps Badge Patchs Embroidery (Link above^^^)

Price: $5.49

Word for word item description:

Item specifics

Condition:	New: A brand-new, unused, unopened, undamaged item (including handmade items). See the seller's listing for full details.	Material:	Heat Resistant
Type:	One Size	Country/Region of Manufacture:	China

This is what I received:

Looks exactly like the stock photo.

Oh, and it came with a little gift as well!

I had to assemble it, but it was very easy. It's a Snoopy phone charm/keychain. There is no stock photo, since this was an included gift. 

It came fast, and the package came with a nice note talking about leaving good feedback and to contact them if you're unsatisfied. 

Now, on to the wig. I ordered the Vocaloid ANTI THE HOLiC LUKA Curly Cosplay Costume Anime Wig w/ Free Wig Cap. 

My wig came fast, within the expected time frame, and it looked much better in person than in the stock photo. 

(Link above^^^)

Cost: $26.99 (I got it on sale)

Word for word product description:

Item specifics

Condition:	New: A brand-new, unused, unopened, undamaged item (including handmade items). See the seller's listing for full details.	Color:	Blue mixed gray
Country/Region of Manufacture:	China	Material:	Heat Resistant
Type:	One Size

This is what the product I received looked like, but first, I must warn you that my pictures aren't the best and they don't do the wig justice.

It is very true to stock photo. I apologize for the horrible quality pictures of mine. Oh, and it also came with a free wig cap. 

Just a usual wig cap. Nothing special. The package came with another one of those Snoopy figurines.

This one was already assembled. 

Quality: 4/5

The wig was accurate color-wise, but I costested it a few days ago, and it got tangled really easily. Nothing a bit of spray couldn't fix. It also requires some styling, but I expected that. It's very convenient that it came with a wig cap, so that's a plus. The patch was also good quality. Overall, very happy with the quality of the wig for the price I paid. 

Communication: 5/5

Although I never had to contact her myself, she contacted me right away about the wrong order. This shows that she really cares about the satisfaction of her customers, and that she wants to make sure they get the items they paid for. If I ever had a problem, I know that I could've contacted her and trusted her to do her best to make the situation better. She was perfectly understandable, with a few mistakes here and there, but that doesn't bother me. She is from China trying to speak a foreign language, that is very different from her native, so cut her some slack. 

Shipping: 5/5

My wig came within the estimated time frame, and it wasn't damaged or anything in the post. It came in a mailing bag, which was lined with bubble wrap to ensure the safety of the item. The patch was also at my doorstep within a good amount of time. Considering the package was from China, waiting time wasn't so bad. It came within about two weeks. I've waited longer for things, trust me. 

Overall: 5/5

Considering this was my first eBay shopping experience, it wasn't a bad one. It was actually a very pleasant one. Wig quality was good, patch quality was good, so that's a plus. She contacted me ASAP when she sent out the wrong package, which is also a plus. The wig itself was in my mailbox in about two weeks, and the patch was also in my mailbox within about 3-5 days, which is very convenient if you have a time frame. The shipping wasn't even expedited, so I imagine that expedited would be even faster. It was free, and all of these facts are why I recommend this seller to everyone. Be sure to visit her eBay storefront here. She makes many cosplay-related things.

All's well that ends well. So, I hope you enjoyed this review. Be sure to look out for the video counterpart to this review, and look forward to more pictures after Comic Con this coming October (2015). Yeah, see you in the next review!

~Firestar & Company

PokeCrate Review| Firestar & Company

Hey guys! Firestar here! Welcome back to the blog! Today, I will be doing a review on PokeCrate! This review will be kind of negative, just throwing that out there ahead of time. Let's go!

PokeCrate is one of many boxes termed 'subscription boxes'. Subscription boxes are boxes that work in the same way as a magazine subscription. For many boxes, there are 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year subscriptions available, just like magazine subscriptions. But, instead of getting a magazine per month, these boxes filled with random items (according to the theme of the box) will show up at your front porch every month (as long as your subscription didn't expire). Now that that's out of the way, moving on.

When I first stumbled upon PokeCrate, I was ecstatic because I am a big Pokemon fan and a box full of themed items every month would be perfect for me! I asked my mom to get me one, since they only had 1 month subscriptions that would be recurring at the time, and she agreed, considering that if I wasn't satisfied, the subscription could be canceled. Many boxes are like that by the way. Anyways, later that night, I decided to look up reviews on PokeCrate, and found none, except one that was very negative. Unfortunately for me, I read that review AFTER the box was paid for. When I read that review, I didn't make much of a deal out of it because I just thought that the reviewer had bad luck. I also looked up unboxings on YouTube to reassure myself, and everything came in good shape in those videos. I was very excited about receiving my crate since it was bought, but my excitement was soon thrown out the window, when I finally received the product, and here's why:

First, my mom ordered the crate on JULY 7th or 8th, and we didn't receive the crate until AUGUST 3rd or 4th. On the 15th of every month, the automatic payment would be given again. I wanted to make sure I received the crate before August 15th so we wouldn't have to pay again. Luckily, I did. We were supposed to receive the crate at the end of July, but we received it at the end of August instead. When I opened the box, I wasn't impressed with what I got in it. (Pictures below)

This is the box art. It is just the PokeCrate logo on a red box. It was opened because I opened it when I first got it to see what was in it, and I did the unboxing and YouTube video review version before this. Sorry about the sideways picture. Turn the device you are using. 

In the box there was a t-shirt, with their logo on it. In options, you can choose sizes between XS-3XL for the shirt. I choose XL because I like sleeping in t-shirts. I think they only have men's sizes though. At least they only had that when I ordered it a month ago. They might have changed it, but depending on when you are reading this, the change may have been drastic. Oh, and sorry for the sideways picture again. Turn your device.

As you can see, the t-shirt was made very poorly because the blue of the shirt shows through the white paint. That's a -1 on quality. 

Next, I got this keychain with the trainer card in it. This is the card for the potion, and it is valued around $1.00 on eBay. Not that much value to be honest. 

After, I found this pack of cards for Black & White Legendary Treasures. This pack is valued around $3.00, which is also not much.

These were all the cards in it. Again, sorry for making you turn your device. Card values from top to bottom, left to right.

Trainer Energy Switch Card: 65¢

Sewaddle card: 99¢

Magikarp card: 25¢

Misdreavus card: 20¢

Toxicroak card: 20¢

Garbodor card (holographic): $4-6

Minccino card: 25¢-99¢

Cherubi card: 20¢-39¢

Trainer Elesa card: 29¢

Stunfisk card: 44¢-$1.60

Code card.

Also, there was this collection of a few cards in plastic, and a card displayer in the back. 

One of the cards in the pack was this trainer card. I couldn't look up the value because the card is all in Japanese, and I can't read the characters that well. If anyone knows the value, please tell me so I can update this.

Another card was this Dustox card, which is valued at about 20¢, and this isn't even a holographic or reverse holographic card. Those go for a little more, but still not much value.

This card was next. A holographic Pinsir, which valued at about $2.00 on eBay. This card is rare to begin with, and being holo makes it even more valuable. The regular version of this card goes for about 49¢ though, so that's not that great of a value. 

The last card was this Machop card, which was in plastic, and it went for about 99¢ on eBay. It is in mint condition, hence why it is in plastic. This also wasn't worth much...

The pack came with this card holder, which is convenient. 

Next, these tattoos were in the box. I'm over 10, why would I want tattoos?

Everything I got in the box. Overall, I don't think this is worth it. 

Quality: 2/5

The t-shirt was poorly made, and the tattoos were aimed at the younger audience rather than older, when in reality, mostly adults would be getting this crate, because since Pokemon has been around for a while, the community is made up of mainly teens and adults, and few younger children. Most of the cards had little to no value, except maybe one or two. I could honestly get most of this stuff at the dollar store. There was supposed to be a guaranteed plush in every box, and I did't get one. Maybe they have deluxe or premier boxes which are bigger and come with a plush, but I don't think so. That was the item I was looking forward to most in the box!! I checked their website, and I didn't see anything about different box types. Given the sign up was busy, but still.

Shipping: 1/5

If I could give zero, I would. This is supposed to be a monthly box. I ordered it on July 7th (or 8th). I didn't get it until August 3rd (or 4th). I knew that it was supposed to be in my mailbox at the end of the month, but not at the beginning of the next month. Also, they recharge on the 15th of every month, so it is unknown whether the box will even get to my mailbox or if I will be scammed. Hence why I cancelled. 

Communication: N/A

I didn't have to communicate with them.

Overall: 2/5

I wouldn't be buying from them again since it wasn't worth it for me. The box costed $22.44 (approximately), and everything in the box didn't really add up to that value. Maybe if I got the plush it would've been worth it. The shipping was horrible, and when I saw YouTube unboxings, their boxes were much larger and everything was included. They also got their crates on time. 

That about raps it up. If you really want the link, and to try them out for yourselves, visit them at https://pokecrate.com. If any of you have gotten this box, tell me about it in the comments below. Positive or negative. Maybe I just had bad luck. But seriously, if i were them, I would put extra things in the box for a new subscriber. Many companies should do this if they want to keep customers. Well, I hoped you enjoyed the review! Look out for the video counterpart to this review!

~Firestar & Co.