Beware: Chira/ArtofChira/LittleFoolery

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/922014.html

WHERE: http://chirart.tumblr.com

WHAT: digital sketch commission

WHEN: Paid August 31, 2015 (in one of the emails I mention September, but I was mistaken; it was August). Was first told that commission would be finished January 2016. Most recent contact August 10, 2016; still have not received commission.

PROOF:

EXPLAIN: I commissioned a digital sketch on August 31, 2015. As one can see in the Terms of Service, the waiting period can be up to 4 months. I want to say it was around November that the artist also suffered an injury that kept her from being able to create art, and I didn't want to give the impression that I was in a hurry to get the piece while she was recovering. In December 2015 I contacted her to check on how the commission progress was coming along. I was told it would be done either by the end of that month or early in January 2016.

By April I still saw no sign of the commission, so I asked if there was an ETA in sight, as one can see in one of the screenshots. The artist told me that she should be working on my commission "soon", since she would be working solely on commissions that month.
I sent an email in June that never got a response, and again in July. After not getting a response I sent her an ask on Tumblr on August 10, 2016. It turns out that my emails ended up in her spam box, and she apologized profusely for this. She then told me she would get the commission done that day and send it to me that night, which is the only instance I've ever seen a definite time to expect a finished product. It is now the 14th of August, very close to a year after I first paid, and I have yet to see any sign of the commission.
I feel it is also worth pointing out that the artist never initiated any conversations with me. I initiated every conversation, and I feel I have been largely left in the dark throughout this process.

I sent a stern (still polite) email saying that I would like to have seen an explanation as to why the commission couldn't be finished in the given time. I don't mind waiting for a commission, but I expect better communication on the artist's part. I've also told the artist that I don't want to ask for a refund just yet, because I still have a small amount of faith that I will see the commission that I've been so eager to receive. I plan on updating this post once I receive a response.

UPDATE: As of August 14, 2016 I *HAVE* received my commission, to my great relief. That being said, if you are patient you will get your commission eventually, but the communication quality leaves something to be desired. To reiterate, I don't mind having to wait for a commission and I understand that life happens, but I as a client I expect to be given a heads-up if my commission is going to take longer than expected.