1. What is Mara?
Simply put, we are a curation and customization website.
After ordering several items online that didn’t look the same when they arrived, we decided to launch a verification service. We order products we see marketed online directly from the manufacturers and test them to ensure the physical product meets the marketed expectation.
Those that meet the threshold are curated here. We work with the manufacturers to re-engineer those that do not.
2. What does MR stand for?
MR stands for Mara Re-engineered.
Mara was created due to the number of poor quality counterfeits of great designs found online – both on Amazon and independent stores. Many of these use images of once existing items no longer being produced by designers. They instead ship cheaply made replicas.
We take some of these designs as a foundational template and build our vision of what we would have liked the product to look like. Every time that takes design inspiration or design elements from a pre-purchased counterfeit is marked Mara Re-engineered(MR).
3. What about copyrighted designs?
We search to ensure the designs were not ripped off another company. We have found several ripoffs of Adidas (ultraboost), Nikes (Flyknit), and great sweater designer Lief Nelson (checkout their sweaters on Amazon if you haven’t already).
We recommend original companies to users via our social media.
4. Why Pre-orders?
Pre-orders allow us to find the manufacturers, re-design the product, set quality standards and minimise costs. This reduces our risk and makes the item more affordable. We can recreate great, exceptional items from previously bad executions. Further, it gives us the opportunity to provide heavy discounts we may not be able to give moving forward.
5. Can the community suggest designs?
Yes. Anyone can send us images to research or for potential re-engineering. Items for re-engineering must meet the standards in 3 & 4.
6. When typically do pre-orders ship?
Typically between 45-60 days after pre-orders are completed.
7. When will others be able to purchase the items?
Items become available for purchase at retail prices within a week after pre-orders are met. Any item not labeled “Pre-Order” is available for purchase now.