Fursuits for Under $500? Um, Probably Not.

Papabear,

I’d like to know if there are any fursuit makers you know who are below the price range of $500. If not, would you happen to know any good fursuit makers? I’m really excited to commission my suit, but I can’t find a good suit maker!

Bitey the Shark Dog (age 19)

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Dear Bitey,

As the saying goes (a little modified), "Do you want it good, or do you want it cheap?" Papabear can find you cheap fursuits online for under $500, but they are crap (go to Etsy, find some BS company in Asia, and get something that looks like a Halloween costume from Walmart). I can also find you a good fursuit maker, but you will easily spend $3,000 or more (and, these days, more like $4,000 to $5,000 on average) to get good quality.

You can't have both.

However, there are alternatives:

1. The most ambitious would be learning to sew and craft one for yourself; then you're paying just for time and materials. There are many YouTube videos that offer free lessons for making suits. I'm guessing you don't want to learn to sew and learn other building skills (although there is so much help these days, including head bases, premade parts and patterns, etc. Rather than doing everything from scratch, you can go a route these days that is almost like assembling a Mr. Potato Head).
2. If you are not overly concerned about having a fursuit that expresses your personal fursona, you can get a used one on a site like The Dealers Den or check out social media groups for fursuiters.
3. If you still want a personalized suit, go with a partial, starting with the head. If you shop around, you might be able to find a maker who will construct a personalized head based on your fursona for under $500 but take your time looking. Don't leap at the first maker who says they will make you a head for $250 without checking their work first. And ask your friends and furry acquaintances if they know of good makers who can do this for a more modest price. The head is usually the toughest part of the suit to make (unless you're making something really complex like a quadsuit or a suit with, say, animatronic wing movement), so start with that. Then, work to save up money to buy additional parts, starting with the forepaws, tail, and hindpaws. Also, instead of getting a fullsuit torso, you can invest in a lycra suit or get costume clothes appropriate to your character and just wear those with your head and paws.

Good luck with the fursuit! And, if you feel like it, give me an update later and let me know how it went!

Bear Hugs,
Papabear