Limebarb.com is the site of Barbara Staples, who takes commission orders for anime and video game themed costumes. She had been taking orders since 2001, and was working as a full-time costume designer in early 2003.

Late in 2003, many of her commissions were behind schedule. By February 2004, she had missed several hard deadlines that she promised to keep with multiple customers. All through 2004, she had missed many more deadlines. As of February 2005, several customers have been waiting over 16 months for their costumes, long past their deadlines.

It has been recently revealed on her own site, and from associates, that Ms. Staples was still accepting new orders throughout this time, despite missing many orders. Several newer contracts were completed instead of other contracts she was obligated to finish a long time ago. It has also been revealed, on her site, she has been making costumes for herself and her friends, while ignoring those of paid customers.

Throughout this time, there have been inadequate attempts at contacting her customers to notify them of any problems. Frequently, contact requests sent to her by phone, email and mail were ignored. Ms. Staples has only been posting vague updates through her website, which are inconsistent. After her account manager left in mid 2004, it became impossible to contact her by any means. After that point, she had made no attempts to contact customers, except a recent thread in a public forum, which called her out.

To date she hasn't given a reasonable explanation for her activities, only vague excuses and conflicting statements. It appears her network of friends has been working to intimidate and quiet anyone making public statements of the horrible service that Limebarb.com offers, resulting in several public complaints being removed from forums.

Myself and several others have been issued partial refunds over a duration of time, noting some expenses. The portion withheld, in my professional opinion, doesn't reflect what little work was done, but the difference doesn't warrant a suit. Complaints have been filed with the Chicagoland BBB office, and multiple public mediums. While some complaints were removed by Limebarb associates, more and more are still standing. The questionable business practices and unreliability of Limebarb's business warrants careful consideration for future prospects.

Anna
Elmhurst, Illinois
U.S.A.