amabi mfg. stole my money
Wassup... I'm Harrison...
I design streetwear as my passion project...
... and this is the story of how Amabi Mfg in Pakistan:
1) took my $500 deposit for an order of 50 DTG tshirts,
2) did a bad job making a sample (never actually finished),
2) and then cut off communication with me but continue to hide my comments on their IG lol
may 2023
So I designed a DTG print out of a collage I had made from vintage Playboy shirts. I knew I wanted to get about 50 units, overseas, and do a custom pattern.
I was super proud of this tee.
On May 10th, I reach out to Amabi bc I had seen them on IG and it was pretty easy to get a quote on IG. We talked out the details and then they put me in a Whatsapp group with a rep and their production guys.
On May 18th I sent a $500 wire as the deposit for the order on May 25th 2023.
They told me the lead time was 2-3 weeks, 4 weeks at most.
On May 23rd, I get added to a WhatsApp group with their production team and a rep, who we'll call "The Doctor"
May 10th, conversation starts
May 15th, they tell me 3 weeks lead time
May 18th, I send them $500 wire + confirmation
by the way
The product I asked for isn't complicated...
This is a white t-shirt...
220-260gsm...
Single placement front, DTG print...
Like they just have to throw the tees in the printer once they're made and it does the full print.
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And the pricing they gave me of $22/unit is OK but it's honestly not that far off from what you would get for a DTG print on a really high quality blank in the US.
Tech Pack from Amabi, looking good!
May 23 / 24th, approved Tech Pack
It's worth noting that at the end of May, the first wire I sent for $500 bounced and was returned to my account. I reissued another wire for $500 the next day, and they received funds June 1.
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At this point, Tech Pack is approved. In fashion mfg, that means it's go time and production starts...
june 2023
At this point everything is going relatively well and I'm super excited to get my tee.
After I sent the payment, they put me, their production team, and my rep, who we'll call "The Dr" in a Whatsapp group together.
June wasn't great, the process moved super slow and the photos they sent me of the samples I made were...
Terrible...
And, my guy, The Dr blamed it on...
Me!
But we'll get to that.
Here's the June timeline:
June 1: I resend bounced wire, Amabi confirms receipt.
June 13: I check back in because I haven't heard anything
June 15: The Doctor sends me a video of the sample, and it looks bad
June 16 - 21: Me and the Doctor go back on forth on why it looks bad
June 21: The Doctor Says he's making a new sample for me with corrections
June 27: I ask for an update
June 28: The Doctor says factory is closed, I need to wait for samples. Me and the doctor get into it a little bit. I was at the gym when having this conversation with him. He tells me "bro don't teach me" and that my file has been bad from the beginning. He says he'll send me proof the next day.
June 15th, I receive the first sample video
Close up of the sample, it's obviously messed
up around the letters. All those glitchy lines
around the letters weren't in my original file OR
in the techpack they sent me
My original file, sent to them by email
july 2023
coming soon...