Isn’t there any way to get my commission without posting a beware?

[Shep]

I’m just feeling really beat down right now.

I’ve been waiting on two commissions for over a year and both artists have stopped answering my messages. I really don’t want to post a beware; in general I dislike callout culture and don’t want to upset the people I’ve commissioned. Additionally, I’m afraid that the artist might make a callout post in retaliation for my beware, which might be an irrational fear, but still. It’s just not okay for someone to take money in exchange for the promise of art only for them to not only fail to deliver the art, but stop communicating with the commissioner altogether. 

I’m fairly certain my issue is “bewareable,” but I figured I’d ask if there was anything I could do before posting a beware, especially given that the window to ask for a refund/chargeback through PayPal has long since passed. And yes, I’ve tried messaging them about this. I haven’t heard back from either of them for several months.

Thanks in advance y’all.

[Eden]

Are people posting yelp reviews participating in call out culture?  What about google reviews?  Admittedly, I am a bit personally insulted to be equated to "call out culture" in our digital living room when we do our best to help people get closure for transactions that haven't been productive in a while.

You are a customer whom has received radio silence.  Presumably you have sent message after message.  In these situations an ultimatum would be your best bet, but with the paypal window long out the door you are left with little bite to deliver the ultimatum.  While I personally don't approve of people doing so, many others have used the threat of a beware as a means of an ultimatum.  "Please deliver the work within (timeframe) or else I'll have to write a beware on my experience."

Alternatively, if you haven't done so already, you can leave a public shout or a public tweet asking these individuals to please see your email/ note/ PM.  It's not necessarily a call out, but it's harder to ignore.

Unfortunately, if they're comfortable ignoring you shaking up the dynamic of the transaction may be your only way to garner a response.

[Shep]

14 minutes ago, Celestina said:

Are people posting yelp reviews participating in call out culture?  What about google reviews?  Admittedly, I am a bit personally insulted to be equated to "call out culture" in our digital living room when we do our best to help people get closure for transactions that haven't been productive in a while.

My apologies; I didn't mean to insult you! And you're right; writing a bad review isn't a callout.

Quote

While I personally don't approve of people doing so, many others have used the threat of a beware as a means of an ultimatum.  "Please deliver the work within (timeframe) or else I'll have to write a beware on my experience."

I've thought about doing this, but to your other point, if they're comfortable ignoring my messages I feel like they may just ignore the threat of a beware.

Additionally, one of these artists is someone who's had multiple bewares written about them (I unfortunately learned about this after commissioning them), so I feel like they really wouldn't care if I did write a beware.

25 minutes ago, Celestina said:

Alternatively, if you haven't done so already, you can leave a public shout or a public tweet asking these individuals to please see your email/ note/ PM.  It's not necessarily a call out, but it's harder to ignore.

I hadn't thought of that! I'll try that; thank you.

[Eden]

If they do ignore your ultimatum, then you can decide to come forward or not with a clear conscience that you tried all you could.  Whatever route you decide to take just remember that whatever consequences the artists face are due to their actions/ lack of action with you.  Assuming there's no worst case scenario involved here, keeping up with clients is part of the job.

Edit: and if you want to ensure there's no worst case scenario involved, you can also issue a lost contact which we will boost on our twitter.  It is not a beware, just a "hey I'm hoping to get in contact with this person".

[baja]

I'm going to touch on this bit right here, since Cel covered the majority of your concerns succinctly.
 

Quote

Additionally, I’m afraid that the artist might make a callout post in retaliation for my beware, which might be an irrational fear, but still. It’s just not okay for someone to take money in exchange for the promise of art only for them to not only fail to deliver the art, but stop communicating with the commissioner altogether.

If you, as a customer, have done nothing wrong in your circumstances, then this fear is massively irrational, and you gotta suck it up and push through.
We have rather extensive guidelines for posting an alert on this site to avoid the rigamoroll of misinformation, miscommunication and mob mentality that one would see on greater social media (i.e. twitter, toyhouse, etc) if going the route of the "callout post".

To retaliate against someone who is only interested in bringing to light some unsavory business practices when the customer has done nothing to warrant that attitude will only serve to reflect negatively on the individual who retaliates in that matter.

I'll level with you, my first official beware here (before migrating to the present website) was regarding an IMMENSELY popular artist who had a huge following! This person even publicly trashed me, all because I wanted some edits to my final product-- a service they extended to me of their own accord.

My situation was a "resolved" as it was going to get, and it was a learning experience for me as a commissioner, and it highlighted some less than stellar things about the artist. Was it absolutely terrifying to speak up? Yes. Do I regret ever speaking up? Hell no!

Even if my situation was one in a million, or a weird one-off, shady business practices deserve to be seen by the general public. There can be no accountability if you do not take a step forward to add yourself to the ranks.

Do this as you see fit with additional communication, an ultimatum or a public message, but you leave yourself at a complete and total standstill if you're worried more about strangers' commentary over getting what you're owed.