About Meplushyou

Meplushyou stands for high quality, handmade plushies.
All plushies are made with the greatest care, by the person behind Meplushyou: Marlou.

My plushies are made with very soft minky cuddle fabric and will have machine embroidered details, unless otherwise agreed upon. They are stuffed with soft fiberfill and the feet are often filled with weighted plastic pellets, to help them stand.

All my plushies have a ‘Meplushyou’ logo satin label, except for 'mini' size plushies (they're too small to have a label!).
All plushies come with a little care card. Extra features like magnets or NFC tags are available upon request.

Terms and conditions

By commissioning me (Meplushyou), you (= the customer) are agreeing to the terms and conditions presented below.
Please note the terms on this page are applicable to private purchases only. Business assignments have different terms, which are available upon request.

You must be 18+ to commission me.

I (Meplushyou) will always reserve the right to cancel and refund your order.

Payment

I ask for full payment up-front for custom plush.

I can accept a 50% payment up-front and 50% after completion for well known characters only, in regular sizes upto 'Large'.
Payment plans may be discussed beforehand; feel free to ask me about it. A down-payment of at least 25% will be required.
In all cases, the plush will be sent when all payment is complete.

The following payment options are available:

• Credit card or online bank transfer (I will send an invoice & create a payment link for you)
  
• Paypal (I will send you an invoice)

Process and processing time

A plush may take anywhere from a week to a few months to create. I work with commission rounds of about 4-5 months at a time, meaning the maximum time your plush will take to make is 5 months, starting from the time you've fully completed your payment. The processing time depends on the complexity of the plush and which agreements have been made beforehand. If you have a specific deadline, please let me know and I’ll tell you if it’s possible.

Please note that I am only one person. Unforeseen events may come up and cause delays. If this ever happens, I will always keep you informed.

I will post work in progress pictures on my social media accounts as I work on your plush. If you do not want this, let me know before payment.

Finished work will be photographed and placed in my online portfolio.

Returns and refunds

Custom made products (commissions)

Are you buying a product that is made just for you; a commission? That means that you cannot return your product. Once you pay for a commission and that commission is started, you can no longer receive a refund.

Ready-made products (online purchases only)

Are you buying a product that is already finished? That means you have a legal return time of 14 days. This is only the case for ready-made products purchased online.
If you wish to return your product, please send an e-mail to marlou@meplushyou.com. As the buyer you are responsible for paying the return shipping. Package the product well and use a trackable service. Once your product has been received in good order, you will receive the full purchase price, including initial shipping costs (not the return shipping costs). Please make sure you keep your proof of shipment.

Cancellations (commissions)

If you have made a (partial) payment and would like to cancel your commission, you might be able to receive a refund. This depends on if I have started to work on your plush and/or have already bought materials. You'll have to contact me to discuss options. Payment costs (like Paypal fees) will not be refunded.
Cancellations or refunds are not possible if I have started work on your commission.

Refunds and other currencies

A refund will always be made in EUR, so if a payment was initially made by you in another currency, it will be subject to that payment provider's (possibly unfavourable) exchange rates.
The EUR value of your payment and your refund will always be the same.

Shipping

Shipping times

When your product is finished, I will ship it as soon as possible. The delivery times depend highly on postal service and on customs (when outside the EU).

Here's an indication:

• The Netherlands and Belgium: 1 - 3 business days
• Europe: 2 - 10 business days
• Rest of the world: Usually about 1-3 weeks (Customs may cause delays)

Shipping method

All plush orders will be shipped with tracking information and insurance (signed for delivery). You will receive a link to follow your package.
I ship with PostNL and Fedex.
PostNL will hand over the parcel to the local postal service in the receiving country (for example, USPS will take over the delivery in the US).

Shipping - loss or damage

All orders will be shipped with insurance for damage or loss. This means Meplushyou is responsible for your package until it says 'delivered' in the tracking info.
If your plush arrives damaged, or if your plush doesn't arrive within 4 weeks time, please contact me as soon as possible so I can contact the company that shipped it. In case of damage, please take pictures of the box and damage on the product and send them to marlou@meplushyou.com

If your package gets returned to me, because of a faulty address or because it was not picked up in time from the post office, I will not pay for another shipping attempt. If you want it shipped to you again, you'll have to cover the costs.

Customs / import taxes (for customers outside the EU)

Buyers outside of the European Union are responsible for any possible import duties, customs fees, taxes and similar surcharges.
Packages are sent insured and marked as full value.

Characters and references

When commissioning me, please provide a clear description and if available, clear reference images of the character you want made.

If I am provided with multiple reference images, it is up to the commissioner to be very clear which elements of which images are to be used.

I will always do my best to color match fabrics as close to your character as I can. Please understand that minky fabric doesn't come in every color and colors may look different across monitors.

Style & artistic freedom

I will do my best to match your reference images/chosen character as closely as possible. Please be aware however, that as an artist, my own style does dictate how I will make a plush; some stylisation will naturally occur due to my methods and personal tastes. Please see my prior work for examples and ensure that you are generally pleased with my style before committing to a commission, as no refunds will be made if you do not like my style/way of plush-making.

Plush size

Please refer to my Price List for my default plush sizes. When I speak about 'default' sizes (Medium, Large, Life-size, etc) I'm referring to the sizes as listed in my price list, and will assume my customer does the same.
Custom plush sizes are possible, but should be clearly requested (in centimeters or inches). Please allow a 1-3 cm margin in the final plush size.

Changes to the commission

I do not accept (free) changes to the project once I start working on it. To help get the plush you have in mind, please be as detailed as possible when requesting your commission.

The finished product

Once the commission is completed, you will receive the plush.
Any patterns, drawings/designs, previous versions/prototypes, embroidery files and other materials (like extra fabric) or (electronic) files created will remain the property of Meplushyou.
The pattern used for your plush may not be used by anyone other than Meplushyou.

Safety

The plushies I make can definitely be cuddled and played with. They aren't suitable for rough play though, so please take care when giving it to a child. Because my plushies are one-off custom orders, they do not have safety labels or certifications. They are intended for ages 14 and up.

I am not responsible for any kind of damage to the plush after it has been received by the customer.

Cleaning and care

Handmade plush should not be washed in a washing machine and should be spot cleaned or hand washed only.
Plush should not be left in direct sunlight for a long time as colors may fade.

Other info

You can find images of my recent work on my DeviantArt. On my Instagram you'll find most work in progress photos.

Fabric

The main fabric I use is Minky; a plush cuddle fabric. This fabric is super soft and available in many colors.
If you prefer another type of fabric, please let me know.

Sewing

I make my plushies mostly with a sewing machine. Small parts and finishing touches are made by hand.

Embroidery

Details on your plush, such as eyes, markings and the like are embroidered with an embroidery machine.

Sublimation and airbrushing

Special details such as gradients, which can not be made with just fabric or embroidery, will be done with sublimation printing or airbrushing with fabric paint. (The fabric will remain soft and washable)