A good review can save another fan a ruined con weekend or a lost commission deposit. A vague one, whether it’s “worst shop ever!!” or “amazing!!!”, tells nobody anything. An unfair one can sink a small maker who did nothing wrong. The difference between them isn’t writing talent. It’s mostly about sticking to what happened and giving people the details they need.
This applies whether you’re reviewing a cosplay maker, a store, a convention or a series you’ve been reading for years.
Review what you actually experienced
Write about your own order, your own visit, your own weekend. If you only messaged a shop with a question and never bought anything, say that, and review the part you saw: how fast they answered and whether the answer helped. Don’t review a maker based on a thread you read, a friend’s story or a screenshot going around. Those may be true, but they aren’t yours to report.
Keep the scope honest. A con where the badge line took three hours but the panels were great can earn a mixed review that says both. A wig shop whose package was held up by the carrier is a different story from one that shipped three weeks late. For a series, say how far you’ve read. “I dropped it after volume 2” is useful information, but it’s not a review of volume 12.
Give specifics
Details are what turn an opinion into something another reader can use. Depending on what you’re reviewing, include:
- Dates. When you ordered, when you were told to expect it, when it shipped and when it arrived. For a con, which year and which days you went.
- What you got. The item, size or color, and whether it was ready-made or a custom commission.
- What was promised. The turnaround time quoted, the description on the listing, any measurements you sent.
- How communication went. How quickly they replied and whether they told you about delays before you had to ask.
- How it held up. For costumes and props, whether it survived a full con day. For lens sellers, stick to the order, packaging and paperwork rather than claims about your eyes.
- For series: the format you read (print, digital, simulpub chapters) and the volumes or arcs you’re talking about.
Compare two ways of saying the same thing. “Slow and rude” leaves the reader guessing. “Custom order placed in early March, quoted four to six weeks, arrived in late May; they answered one of my three messages” lets a reader decide whether that matters to them. (That’s an illustration, not a real order, but it’s the level of detail to aim for.)
Separate facts from feelings
Both belong in a review. Readers want to know how an experience felt. Just keep them labeled. “The seams on the left sleeve split during my first wear” is a fact. “I felt let down after waiting so long” is a feeling, and it’s fair to say it. “They obviously scam everyone” is a guess about motives, and you can’t know it.
A few habits help:
- Write the review after you’ve cooled down, not in the parking lot.
- Describe what happened in order, then say what you thought of it.
- Skip insults, all caps and guesses about why someone did something.
- Don’t accuse anyone of a crime. If you think something illegal happened, report it to the right authority, not a review page.
- Let the star rating match the text. If one problem spoiled an otherwise good order, say how much it weighed for you.
- Mention what went well, even in a negative review. It makes the rest more believable.
Update when things change, and keep it private
Problems often get fixed. If a store sends a replacement, a maker finishes your commission or a con fixes its badge process the next year, update your review. Add a dated note at the end rather than deleting what you wrote, so readers can see the whole story: what went wrong, and how it was handled. How a business handles a problem is often the most useful part of a review.
Leave personal information out, yours and everyone else’s. That means no home addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, order or tracking numbers, or screenshots of private messages that show someone’s details. Use a first name or a role (“the person at the register”) rather than a staff member’s full name. Don’t post photos of other attendees or cosplayers without their permission. Our review policy explains what we publish and what we remove.
Freebies, discounts and the FTC
If a maker or store gave you something to review, readers deserve to know. The Federal Trade Commission’s Consumer Reviews and Testimonials Rule took effect on October 21, 2024. Its question-and-answer guide explains that the rule targets businesses: it bans writing or buying fake reviews, offering incentives on the condition that a review is positive or negative, and suppressing reviews through false accusations, threats or intimidation. It also requires reviews from company insiders to clearly disclose that relationship. The FTC says ordinary consumers can’t be liable under the rule for what they say or don’t say in their reviews.
That doesn’t mean incentives are fine to hide. The rule allows businesses to offer incentives for reviews as long as there’s no requirement, stated or implied, that the review take a particular side. The FTC adds that not disclosing incentives can still break the FTC Act. Its Endorsement Guides FAQ says a free product, a discount code or a contest entry connected to a review generally needs to be disclosed, because people who get things free may tend to review them more positively, even when they’re asked to be honest. Relationships count too: the FAQ says friendship, family or work connections can call for disclosure, and employees reviewing their own company’s products should say so.
In practice, keep it simple:
- If you got the item free or discounted in exchange for a review, say so at the top.
- If you’re friends with the owner, related to them or work for them, say so, or let someone else write the review.
- If a business offers you something only for a positive review, decline. A review someone paid to make positive isn’t a review.
A review written this way takes ten extra minutes. It’s also the kind other fans trust, and the kind that’s fair to the person on the other end.