Bitch about "Mom Spark Media" and my quest for real opinions

[Fairy]

I am trying to buy the mummy boy costume at Chasing Fireflies. Tons of crappy reviews of this place out there. I bought from them last year, and I fouond the costume really mediocre. I have very high standards, I get that. I want PBK quality, and that's a tall order, fine. My guy is socially outgrowing the PBK stuff, so I don't have alot of choice there. He loves the mummy costume at Costume Express but it looks like drek to me, and the CF one looks better. But again ... .crappy reviews of CF overall. Yes, I know. So, looking for reviews of the actual costume quality online (Costume Express has loads of reviews in their product pages, but CF does not), I get one mommy blog after the next of "Disclosure: This review was made possible by Mom Sparks Media" and you come to find out that the mommy in question was sent the costumes for free for the purpose of the blog.

WORTHLESS.

No offense to mommy blogs, one of my best friends writes one, K? But when one, two, three, six of them have not a single negative thing to say about the beautifully descriptive costumes, and they all have that disclosure notice, it gives me a little pause. I, therefore, don't have much truly third-party opinion that I can find. Granted, I'm lazy and give up on Google after the first page, but still, come on!

I'm annoyed.

[wellyes]

Mom bloggers do it for the hooch. They are too busy soliciting other companies to give them free stuff to review non-free stuff.

[Fairy]

Mom bloggers do it for the hooch. They are too busy soliciting other companies to give them free stuff to review non-free stuff.

Yes, but then those reviews are not objective! If you give me free stuff, then I publicly say it's bad, that's bad for future free loot. Hence my annoyance.

[elbenn]

Maybe the company sends them free costumes because they think the costumes are so nice that they want some people with influence to have them to write reviews about them. Hey, I know that your take may well be right, but it's possible that the costumes are actually nice.

[wellyes]

Maybe the company sends them free costumes because they think the costumes are so nice that they want some people with influence to have them to write reviews about them. Hey, I know that your take may well be right, but it's possible that the costumes are actually nice.

I'm sure the costumes are nice, for CF prices! Most people don't drop $60+ for kids costumes, so CF does not have a huge word of mouth influence. So I understand giving out swag.

If it was me, I'd buy it, and return it if it's not great. I'm sure if you return it before Halloween, they'd take it back.

[Fairy]

No way, elbenn. I mean, yeah, I guess it's possible, but it's unlikely. , but The overall reviews of CF are heinously bad. I know this, fine, I take the risk. But for a $70 costume, I want a review of IT. Or at least of the other costumes. And it's stupid unrealistic that every single mommy blog out there that reviews these costumes that has this disclaimer has nothing but 100% good things to say. No effing way. There are negatives. Somewhere some review of some CF costume has to have a negative aspect. I need a review where I can understand what I'm getting into. All of these are suspect. NOthing is 100% good or bad, and that they're all saying 100% good things in the mommy blogs with the disclaimer is obvious to me that they're not being honest about the negatives.

And while i'm at it, then, shame on mommy blogs who engage in this for basically being glorified ads; shill houses for their own benefit.

[StantonHyde]

Lower your standards and go with Costume Express :p I have ordered from them many times and my kids love the costumes. Now that they are older, its not like they dress up in them over and over so much anymore. So they don't have to be awesome quality.

[Fairy]

Lower your standards and go with Costume Express :p I have ordered from them many times and my kids love the costumes. Now that they are older, its not like they dress up in them over and over so much anymore. So they don't have to be awesome quality.

Ya know what, I might.

[Rainbows&Roses]

Marshalls and TJ Maxx had mummy costumes which were knock-offs of the CF ones a few weeks ago.

IME, CF customer service IS horrendous and I have seen plenty of people saying the same thing on several different message boards.

Good luck. As long as you have no problem with the costume or getting your order, you will be fine. It is only when things don't go 100% smoothly and you have to deal with their CS that it gets hairy.

[ahisma]

I don't know if you're interested making one, but we wound up making DD's and it was great! I'll find a pic tomorrow to post. Basically, I ripped up a sheet, cut a sweat shirt / sweat pants apart at the seams, sewed the strips of the sheet onto the sweats and then sewed the sweats up at the seams.

I did it in one pissed off evening after the announced that she had traded with a friend for the 5th grade haunted house and was now a mummy instead of a witch...too late to order a costume or find one locally.

It was quick, easy, cheap and looked 10x better than anything that we could have bought. Comfy to wear too.

[Fairy]

I don't know if you're interested making one, but we wound up making DD's and it was great! I'll find a pic tomorrow to post. Basically, I ripped up a sheet, cut a sweat shirt / sweat pants apart at the seams, sewed the strips of the sheet onto the sweats and then sewed the sweats up at the seams.

I did it in one pissed off evening after the announced that she had traded with a friend for the 5th grade haunted house and was now a mummy instead of a witch...too late to order a costume or find one locally.

It was quick, easy, cheap and looked 10x better than anything that we could have bought. Comfy to wear too.

Oh, I envy you guys that can make stuff! I have dont' have the time or resources. I just don't. I wish I did. One day, I will learn to use my sewing machine AND find the time to do it!

[AnnieW625]

If you haven't ordered yet check out Party City; you can order online as well if you don't have a Party City near you. We got DD1 a witch costume there that while it is not as soft as cotton she didn't complain about the material and what not. It was $30. I couldn't make anything for that price and she didn't want to go the Etsy route.

Good luck, and I hear you about mom bloggers.

[Fairy]

So, I went yesterday to Party City :-). Got a mummy morph suit. It's kinda impressive, but thing is that's the kind where the hood goes all the way over your body and your head and you're 100% inside it. I don't think they'll allow it in the school zipped up, and so ... I also ordered from CF, paid extra to get it by Friday, and we'll keep it if it works out. If it doesn't, then, he's decided he wants to be a vampire now. Please god make it stop.