Is a Kigurumi Seller Legit?
Unfortunately with the rise in popularity of kigurumi, there have been a number of sellers trying to rise to the top of Google results to take advantage particularly of those new to kigurumi. Luckily with some basic knowledge and a bit of caution, these sellers and listings can easily be identified and avoided.
tldr: avoid marketplaces with a bunch of listings advertising premade masks, genuine makers will also have social media presence which these sellers will not.
Online Marketplace Scammers
Etsy, Amazon, eBay and other marketplaces are some of the prime spots these sellers often throw listings around. Often times these are listings for masks they simply dont have, using rather stock images from the social media pages of actual makers.
Kigurumi makers generally run on a commission basis, they dont exactly set up storefronts with mass produced inventory to sell. A store advertising many premade masks is about as big of a red flag as it gets. In a sense they often prey on the impatience of those looking to get a mask quickly.
As you can see from the examples, its just a random bunch of images thrown together hoping to make it look like a legitimate store. Often with some random non-kigurumi items sold to try and make it look like a legitimate store with actual feedback.
The ebay seller directly just stole these images from social media of actual makers.
Makers rarely will try to sell you an exact version of a mask they've already made. A storefront saying "we'll make you this mask if you order it" is about as big of a red flag as it gets. Many makers are open to making new masks for characters they've already made before, but rarely will try to sell you the exact same mask as they've already made prior. Their social pages are more a showcase of what they've made in the past, rather than what they're currently trying to sell you.
In reality if you reverse image searched any of the images of such scam sellers, you'd likely find the original maker's social media pages. In this case, most of the photos are ripped straight from maker Lightning's socials. Sometimes these sellers will edit out watermarks and put their own to try and get some semblance of legitimacy.
A lack of social media presence
As mentioned above, actual makers will have a social media presence. They will never just have some random images thrown together on ebay or other marketplaces. Their socials are where they showcase their work and find an audience, not an ebay storefront.
So what actually happens if you buy a mask from these sellers?
They typically will find "something" to ship you, however as you can imagine its rarely what you think you are getting. Often they find the absolute cheapest overseas maker to make whatever allows them to get away with the scheme. This is often a low quality mask, or a mask that is not what you expect if even one at all.
Used Kigurumi Masks
Used masks are the one thing you can expect to find sometimes on marketplaces. They can be a good deal on a ready to wear mask, but generally have their own set of things to be cautious of.
Big red flags similarly are generic images, they cant answer questions about the mask or provide details on maker. Head size is something they should easily be able to answer, as well as showing images of it in it's current condition. If they cant do this, its a good sign they dont actually have the mask.
Another pro tip is to reverse image search their photos as well, or ask around kigurumi communities to see if anyone has seen the mask before. Usually the socials of the owner can be found and you can verify the seller actually has the mask and isnt just stealing the photos off social media.
Ideally you shouldnt have to be doing this, but its better to play safe rather than sorry, as again with the rise of kigumi has come lots of grifters trying to take advantage of those looking to get a quick or cheap mask.
Check out our used kigurumi masks page for more information on used masks in general if thats of interest to you.