Original Agreement:
Sam agreed to compose an original musical composition for use in my streams on November 7th, 2021.
Proof of Payment (and Paypal Resolution):
Correspondance:
During the initial agreement, he directly stated that he would be providing WIP pieces of it "as I go" but not once delivered.
On Nov 21, he reached out, stating he would have a draft ready in a couple days, but nothing came of it.
This was the beginning of a pattern.
Over a month went by without receiving the promised Draft, and I reached out to Sam again on December 27 asking for updates. He got back to me on Jan 2 stating there had been some issues with his health and he had taken on too many commissions. I replied that it was okay as long as he communicated with me. He still hadn't sent the initial draft promised on Nov 21, but he promised he'd send it "once I get home."
This draft did not arrive either.
I reached out again, a month later, on Feb 2 to ask for updates. According to him, it was now "basically done" despite no received drafts. At this point I just wanted to hear something, anything.
Ten days later, I again asked for an update since I was debuting a new related project and I wanted to get a listen to it to see if it was in a good state. As he had said it was "basically done." I figured this wouldn't be an issue. Sam did not respond. It was also around this point when he disabled read receipts on messages, as prior communications could be noted as Seen but now all were reflecting "Sent."
I then gave him until March 7th, which was exactly four months since payment was made before reaching out for a final time and requesting either proof of work or a refund within 48 hours.
Sam did not reply and on March 9th, I submitted a case to Paypal and received a refund instantly via purchase protection.
Timeline of Events:
11/5/21 - Initial contact for commissioned work.
11/7/21 - Artist Acceptance of commission and payment of $20 price plus $30 tip completed. Artist notes that he will “send bits and pieces of the product as [he] goes.”
11/10/21 - User gives go-ahead to use existing artist samples and accepts limitations of workflow.
11/21/21 - First promise of a WiP “within a couple days.”
12/27/21 - First update request due to failure to deliver promised WiP.
01/2/22 - Artist response and second promise of WiP “once I get home.”
2/2/22 - Second update request due to failure to deliver promised WiP.
2/2/22 - Artist response: “It’s basically done.” Please note that no WiP has yet been received despite promises to the contrary.
2/12/22 - Third update request due to failure to deliver promised WiP. Additional request for preview to utilize for upcoming event for the user as “it’s basically done.”
3/7/22 - Final update request with demand of either promised work or a refund within 48 hours.
3/9/22 - No Response. Refund requested through Paypal Resolution Center.
I had initially been introduced to Sam via a friend of a friend who said he had fallen on some hard times and was taking commissions for help. I understand things are rough for everyone, and I understand the pitfalls many artists end up in when taking on too much work, but it's unethical to promise something and not deliver it. As stated to Sam, I was more than happy to work with someone struggling or having issues (as I have in the past) and even wait upwards of a year for a commission as long as I can see proof that it's being worked on. Even if that work in miniscule over time, just give me something. But don't promise WiPs multiple times and not send a single thing. Don't ghost me for 30+ days at a time after each promise.
I know of at least one other commissioner of Sam's that has also had to deal with this from him, but I will allow them to document their own experiences or leave comments here on their own.
Full Communication Log including Irrelevant Conversations:
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now