FAQ

Hello! I run all operations for Foxpad Customs -owner and operator, painter, testing and assembly, packing and shipping, customer service, and so on! I will be writing this page with a personal tone as it is quite literally just me here - there is no team at this time, so please excuse my informality as I catch you up on the process of custom controller creation and some of my more frequently asked questions! Please look at me as a single artist using a nice site - I am not a large company or team, but I do have my work cut out for me! Thank you for understanding as I work hard on your order!

Before we get started, I ask that you please understand that if I happen to tweet or reply to something on twitter once in a while it isn't reflective of my availability - I am still a person just like anyone else and using social media isnt indicitive of me being free or available at any hour of the day. I try my best to give myself the evenings and weekends free from work but I do squeeze in painting during those times too! i do not find social media an effective or efficient way to contact regarding work, this is the purpose of this page. 

CURRENTLY WORKING ON...

CURRENT LEAD TIMES (SHIPPING ETAS)
Currently I ship about once a week. I will try twice a week as the weather warms and covid cases in my area hopefully decrease.

FOR MADE TO ORDER ITEMS: ~5-8 MONTHS (this means an estimated turn around time if you were to order now. because of serious delays and have had people waiting for around 12. by spring/summer I aim to cut the 5-8 month wait down to about 2-3 on average.)

FOR READY TO SHIP ITEMS: ~1 Week. There will be exceptions listen in product descriptions and sometimes delays can happen due to unprecedented events, but these items are typically completely done and ready to go out.

SKINS AND BUTTONS: usually anywhere from 1 - 2 weeks on average. 

 I am looking to order a controller/item as a gift. Will it arrive in time?
I would highly recommend avoiding my made to order controllers and browsing my ready to ship products here. Although my made to order controllers are much cheaper, I keep those prices that way because of the very high wait times due to delays and the arduous process in creating them (more on that in a bit!) They can easily be priced as high as a lot of my ready to ship items, but the current lead time for those span multiple months and therefor I can not guarantee at all that it would arrive in time if it is a gift and would only recommend browsing those if you are not in a rush and are looking for a more affordable alternative for a custom controller.

Unfortunately my commissions have been closed for probably close to two years now. If I ever did them again, I would tweet ahead of time (my twitter is @littleteafox) and would likely only take a couple at a time. I love doing custom orders, but right now my main focus is the very long list of made to order controller orders that are spanning back a good number of months. In short, I am just far too busy to be taking commissions, so if you have been trying to reach me for one, I am truly sorry for the inconvenience and I thank you for your understanding!

Most of this has to do with the made-to-order controllers (these listed here.) However, READY TO SHIP CONTROLLERS LIKE THESE are mostly exempt from the following info as they are already completed and ready to ship. If you are waiting for a made to order controller, I would greatly appreciate it and be so thankful if you could take the time to read the information below to help better understand the process. These controllers are priced very low (I could reasonably charge closer to 220-250 for them) but have kept the pricing low strictly because of the wait times despite them taking so much work and care to create.

They should be treated as pre-order items - you should anticipate the liklihood of delays and understand that these items are made to order and are not in stock to ship immediately. If you have ever ordered a made to order item from an artist or pre-ordered something like a new release anime or game figurine, contributed to a kickstarter for a new product to be made, pre-ordered a zine with additional goodies added when a certain number of orders/pledges have been reached, you will likely understand what I mean by this. Given the state of the world right now and shortage of supplies delays and wait times are hard to avoid.
There are a lot of typical factors that go into what makes a custom made to order controller! Pre-pandemic depending on any given time it could be anywhere from 4 weeks to 12 weeks on average, as I am doing this alone, if I have to step aside for personal reasons, family, health, etc, everything stops in addition to the typical factors I will list shortly. Unfortunately a LOT has changed since covid.

The global pandemic caused an alarming number of delays in the summer of 2020 that have severely impacted my current wait times (please do not tell me your store was not effected - I am genuinely glad for you but this was not the case for me and so many others.) Essentially, I had paid for a large order of gamecube controllers from a previous connection I had in Japan and it was held from me for months as they were not able to ship my order in that current state of emergency and their own safety. That added ~3-4 months of additional delays to catch up on. Add another month from that year due to very personal reasons and another after a severe respiratory reaction that I had to step away and heal from, that's about an additional half a year of delays added to the average 3 month wait time, and 2021 was not much easier with product shortages, moving, and so on. I am adding on more hours to cut these times down and have more reliable sources for my gamecube controllers and supplies, so it is now just a matter of cutting down those times and getting caught up back to my usual ~3 months.
A lot of what can happen is unprecedented and I can not be more thankful for your understanding in this. From one human to another, I am grateful. I am a single artist who runs this site and sometimes wish I stuck to etsy so people might understand the nature of this work a little better, because having a full on site like this (although super helpful for me with its features and ease of use) gives a far less personable impression like there is a whole team a part of a large company running everything.

Typical factors include:

• Currently, I am the only one who paints, assembles, tests, packs and ships all of my products, and handle all communication alone. There are steps I have to take for my safety (the clear coats are toxic and very dangerous, I have developed respiratory problems over the years from the workloads and lack of caution to get things done) and dry times can be a bit long. If things aren't done correctly the finish will be

• Product creation in general takes time! There are a ton of steps and long dry times that go into painting, assembling and testing controllers before shipping.

• Private personal reasons can happen at any given, unpredicted moment. I am still just a person; I get sick often and need to take a couple of days away to heal. I really do not want to disclose anything about my life, because it is very personal and it should not have to be disclosed with the public, but there have been and sometimes are times I need to step away for my mental health/wellbeing and can effect work times. I am one artist who does all of this, so if I need to step away, everything stops, unlike larger companies who have teams designated for specific jobs.

• The weather can greatly effect this. I live on the east coast so humid springs/summers effects the quality of the finish if I am not extremely careful and cold winters limits the time I can spend outdoors painting (although it is my favorite time of year after autumn to work since personally to me it is the easiest to get a great looking finish with the clear coats!)

• Quality and or new gamecube controllers are hard to come by. Recently I have had better luck finding them thankfully, but prices fluctuate and getting them in bulk for that they are worth is incresingly dificult. NINTENDO DOES NOT MANUFACTURE THEM ANYMORE and have not for years, which effects their pricing and availability for something I consider quality enough to use for casual as well as tournament play. I am pretty careful when sourcing and selecting my stock.

• I have developed respiratory problems working with these chemicals. There is only so much I can do in one day so I need to move carefully (while still being efficient with my time!!) The clear coat I use is incredible, but very toxic and can be harmful/cancer causing if used incorrectly. I have a full suit/respiratory mask/face shield to suit up every time, but even then I need to be cautious of what I am doing and for how long. I need to be mindful and careful with my body as it is the only one I have.

Of course, anything can happen but these are only typical factors to be aware of. It is a delicate process but the wait and payoff are absolutely worth it.

My refund policy can be reviewed at the bottom of the checkout page. Due to the nature of our made to order items, I can not accept refunds or returns. However, every instance is circumstantial so please don't hesitate to contact me anyway - I will do what I can to help! Otherwise, refunds may only be given within 24 hours after ordering.

My item is on the way but I need to change my address / I need help with my tracking number.
In cases like this, you might have to contact the shipping courier to either hold or redirect your package. I do not work for UPS/USPS/FEDEX etc and am not affiliated with them in any way, so once something ships unfortunately it is out of my hands. Just give them a call with your question and tracking number and they can help you out!
Otherwise, your tracking number will update as soon as I have it dropped off at a USPS location! For ready to ship items, please allow about a week or a week an a half on average for this (could be less - I make parcel drop offs once a week!) As for made to order items, please allow around roughly 3 weeks for this. I now ship about once a week currently, but can be more.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this page. I am a human being just like you and your words of encouragement and kindness do more for me than you can imagine! Currently I am installing free colored buttons to all made to order buttons as a thank you for your patience and understanding!
However, although not often, I know patience can run thin. I no longer tolerate abusive language or verbal harassment of any kind. I am not an anonymous customer service rep, I can not snap my fingers and make things change in an instant and I will not tolerate being spoken to in such a way. It feels weird writing this out, but there have been spare instances in the past of inappropriate or awful language used and I will take this moment to remind you that I am still just a person like you. My days average 10 hours and sometimes I have to rest too!
We are all stuck in a global pandemic so please remember to treat others kindly in all fields of customer service. We are all doing our very best.

Thank you again and please, please, please stay safe!