Lucha libre mask vendor review: Don Galle

If you follow me on Twitter, my avatars there for the last several months have been a sampling of the masks that I have purchased from Don Galle, who's located in Zapopan, Jalisco, but can be found on MercadoLibre on the Internet: http://eshops.mercadolibre.com.mx/don+galle/listado/_CategID_7831_Desde_1_DisplayType_L . (However, I've done direct email transactions with him after the first purchase; it makes for a smoother and more flexible transaction.) I'll cut to the chase and say that I'm generally really happy with his work. Examples:

The Rey Cometa mask was a custom order; the others are (or at least were) masks that he kept in stock or, at worst, with about one week's lead time. Additionally, I have several other masks not yet photographed, including Máscara Dorada (signed!), Volador Jr./Carnage, Stuka Jr., and Mr. Niebla. He keeps several other masks in stock.

His prices per mask generally range from 400 to 700 MXN (at the time of this writing, about US$30-53) each, depending on the luchador and style of mask, which is among the lowest prices I've seen for comparable quality. His shipping rates are reasonable, 200 MXX for one mask to the United States via EMS and 700 MXN for a 1-kg package (5 masks) via DHL.

One thing that I appreciated was that Don Galle haas been transparent in letting me know about minor differences in stock that he had remaining on hand (e.g., drawstring versus elastic band at the neck, minor size differences from standard size) and giving me the option to take what he had versus waiting a week or so for new masks. I appreciated being given the choice.

Out of the 10 or so masks I've purchased for Don Galle, one (a different Sin Cara mask from the one pictured above) had the piece and the bottom center of the mask very noticeably curved to the side. Don Galle was happy to exchange (although I did ship back at my own expense), and I haven't had a problem since. I do ask for photos of masks that he has in stock now, though. Otherwise, in terms of quality, the masks have been excellent. I suppose that one other minor quibble is that the evenness of the stitching could be a little better overall. Even though slight variation is always to be expected, there's probably just a little more of it on average here for a professional-quality mask. Don't get me wrong; it's not as if the stitching is bad, but I think it could reasonably be a little bit tighter in spots.

He's usually prompt with communication and answering my questions, although a few times I've had to ping him for status updates when original ETAs have passed.

Nonetheless, the masks are overall great and very reasonably priced. Given how the Rey Cometa mask turned out, I'll probably be asking Don Galle to make me an Aero Star mask in the upcoming months.

Update: Someone asked in the comments how to contact him directly. With his permission to post his email address publicly, he can be emailed at dongallezap2010 [at] yahoo [dot] com [dot] mx . He's also on Facebook (which I rarely use) as Don Galle Delgadillo at http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001120442436 (Note that I don't think that he speaks English; hopefully, your written Spanish is decent enough to be understood.)