When first looking for a shop, regardless of feeling called to a spirit or not, it can be hard deciding on what shop to choose! Here are some questions I made to keep in mind when looking at any spirit companion shop (last updated 4/2/2019).
- How long they’ve been conjuring and how do they do conjures? How long has their shop been open for?
- Are they over 18? Do they allow people under 18 to work in their shop? Do they offer services to minors (and if so, do they have some sort of parental permission form)?
- How knowledgeable are they on the species they work with? What info do they provide on the species? Do they have information about the species readily available on their page or website?
- How long have they been working with the spirit and/or species? Do they get to know the species first before listing spirits from it?
- How long do they vet? What is their vetting process?
- What complaints are there against the shop? How have they responded to them?
- What are their beliefs around bindings/conjuring/vetting/etc?
- How many reviews do they have? Are the reviews reliable? (I made this post on what to look for when reading reviews!)
- Do I get along with them? Do I feel like I agree with what they say?
- Do they have basic information available to newbies?
- Do they market specifically towards newbies? Do they attempt to only offer their spirits as “beginner friendly” in order to profit off those who are starting out?
- Do they offer spirits that are from other shops or companions? Did they contact the previous conjuror before listing the spirit? Did they confirm that it was a mutual separation between spirit and companion? Do they still vet the spirits being rehomed?
- Do they offer out spirits that have been previously abused?
- Do they offer out children spirits? (I would not recommend working with any shop that offers child spirits)
- Do they have many spirits listed? Ask them how they are able to vet so many at the same time, and how much time is spent with each individual spirit.
- Do they interact with the spirit while waiting for a companion, or do they ignore the spirit until someone applies to the listing?
- Do they make outlandish claims, often saying that they are the only ones able to work with deity type spirits or claim to have the most experience?
- Do they put down others in attempts to make themselves and their shop sound better?
- How do they interact with their potential customers? Are they easy to communicate with? Do they make sure to answer your questions?
- How do they interact with their former customers? Are they willing to help out after the binding is done?
- What is their pricing system? What is their reasoning behind the prices?
- What information do they send to the companion? How long/detailed are their profiles?
- Ask them how their practices have changed throughout the years. What is something they feel they can improve upon?
- How do they interact with the community and other shops?
- What methods do they use for payment? Do they allow payment plans?
- How long does it take for them to complete a binding after payment? How long does it take them to ship out vessels or send the spirit’s profile?
- How do they respond to questions? How do they deal with people who doubt their services? How do they deal with criticism?
- Are they consistent with their information? Do they seem to contradict themselves often?