James

Dec. 19th, 2012 at 7:47 PM ritz_bitz25 WHO: I am an artist that goes by Ritz_Bitz on FA. I was commissioned by Touya_Vulpes on FA. WHERE: During my livestream art session. WHAT: I was livestreaming $10 shaded headshots done traditionally. People could have them laminated and mailed for $1 more. He was the first to order and got his art that night. 2 days later, on December 5th, I recieved an email that the funds were on hold and I needed to take action in the resolution center. I responded saying "He got his art that night, its intangible goods but he has the file already so I cannot offer a refund". Today, the 19th, I got an email saying the payment was reversed and given back to him. Turns out I'm not covered as a seller of goods unless the item is shipped, so he was able to make a claim he never recieved it and I lost my case because I couldn't ship this intangible good. WHEN: Livestream took place on December 3rd and he recieved his art the same night. PROOF: EXPLAIN: When the hold was placed, I was confused but figured something wasnt verified with his account or such. I didn't contact him at this point, I answered the case in the resolution center and waited. Today I got an email that the payment was reversed, and I saw that the $10 had been sent back to him from my account. Upset and irritated, I noted him about it and he said "Oh I've been having issues with paypal for the past couple weeks. I don't know what it is." I told him he needed to resend the money or I was gonna delete the art and go through paypal for a resolution. He acted slightly irritated, saying "*sigh* fine just delete the art". I already completed the work, so obviously I wanted to be paid for it. I called paypal and spoke with their customer service. It turns out he filed the claim that he never got what he paid for, and I had no defense with it being 'intangible goods' that I did not ship. This is why I lost the case. I DID get my money back, however I am extremely displeased with the way the commissioner acted, trying to get his money AND have the art. He has been blacklisted now and I have changed my commission policy to having all the work I do shipped out so I can protect myself. EDIT: this commissioner is now suspended from FA for doing this to a countless number of artists within the same 2 week span. he is APPARENTLY working with paypal as of dec 30 but stopped replying to all comments/emails after that, so who knows. It's official though: I'm no the only one this same thing has happened to.

Dec. 15th, 2012 at 12:06 AM gishkishenh WHO: Legal Name: [censored] Alias: "Beth Brookins", "Ravynwolf", "Southpaw art" Business name: Advanced Deployment WHERE: Dominantly via e-mail and facebook. On-line website: http://www.advanceddeployment.com/ WHAT: Laser cutting services in wood and acrylics. WHEN: Oct 12- Present PROOF: Please see Explanation for full proof. LONG list of e-mails and correspondences. Please see below, Paypal payment on Nov 19th: EXPLAIN: Earliest contact was Jul 8th. I had been inquiring about her Laser services for some time [cost, etc]. I had 2 items done up in August 27th, and told her to open a tab for me [I foresaw more on the way]. Oct12- Nov5 : Everything goes smoothly. Our correspondences contain the usual me sending designs, her cutting them and sending me previews. After I collected the pre-orders, I had sent her an e-mail in regard to how fast we could get the entire sum cut. I was keeping in mind the fact that her schedule would become hectic from Black Friday and onwards. I kept this in account, because I didn't want to stress her out [I know the feeling] and suggested a good compromise; I'd get all the work to her in time for her to cut it all up, and give her 1 week so that she could prepare for the Black Friday [I can post all this correspondence, but it really doesn't imply any wrong doings, and it's 20 e-mails of just us talking technical. If need be, I can easily post it]. Here are the links to the pre-order posts I made with HER photos [so this prooves these thigns were actually made]: Nov 3rd: http://fav.me/d5jwygj Nov 5th: http://fav.me/d5k8wmw Nov 5th: http://fav.me/d5k8xj9 Now this is where things began to become sketchy. On Nov 12-14, we are simply working out the details of the bill- counting cuts etc. It's all good, no conflicts, things are a-ok. A week later, I get billed. Nov 19. I even inquire that she included ALL the previous cuts [when she opened my tab]. I paid the same day, and awaited the package. [Same link as Proof]: http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a23/Gishkishenh/Artist Beware/proof_zpsf9d35a28.jpg A week later, I had arrived home [I was tending to my sister, so left town for a week] and no sign of the package. On Nov 27th, I sent her the following e-mail, and her response above: 2 days pass, and on Nov 29th, since I hadn't heard a thing from her, I emailed her wondering if there was any movement on the situation... her response above: A little while later, this was the e-mail I got, and my responce: This is where ALL contact stops. Days go by, and on the 4th of Dec I sent her a little reminder: No answer. I waited 2 days [Dec 6th], and sent her another e-mail: Still no word. Now, I'm wondering what is going on. I feared that maybe she had an accident, so I go to facebook to see if she posted anything [we friended one another there]. When I did, I found that I was un-friended, and she had been active on the days I had sent her my e-mails [I can post pics of this, but Facebooks is a little more personal, so I don't know if that oversteps boundaries?] I sent her one last e-mail: Now I was a little upset. The package was overdue by 2 weeks. I live in Vancouver BC, she in Bellingham WA... normally, a week would have sufficed. 2 weeks, if it was considered "international" air mail [even thought we are so close]. I had also been waiting on this package for a seasonal convention that I could sell the merchandise in order to get seasonal funds for myself. The package never came until this day. She did not even contact me, until this day. I opened a Paypal Item Dispute on Dec 11: http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a23/Gishkishenh/Artist Beware/paypalclaim_zps64bf62f2.jpg Still no answer from her. No movement. My ultimate fear is that this entire ordeal was to trick me for the vector designs of my art. Last year, she had contacted me in regards to selling a similar content and product, and asked me if I would like to contribute the same design content [North West Pacific First Nations style art]. I'll be updating with the Paypal Claim judgements, and any other movements on the subject. If she responds to me [finally] or not. EDIT On Friday Dec 14th, I had received the package. nearly a month after it was supposed to be sent, the date on the package reads "Nov 28th" as the shipping date [pics to come]. So my conclusion was that after the Nov 27th e-mail exchange where she lied about the stepped-on receipt... she put the package into the mail the following day. Rather than come clean about forgotten the package [which would have been a-ok with me- I KNEW she had a hectic Black Friday], she opted to lie and disconnected any communication from me. To this day I still have had no contact from her.

Dec. 6th, 2012 at 9:00 PM WHO: Shivra on FA WHERE: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/shivra/ WHAT: A colored badge. WHEN: September 2012 - now PROOF: http://www.iaza.com/work/121205C/iaza11027866969700.png Where she originally agreed to the commission http://www.iaza.com/work/121207C/iaza11027880786200.png Paypal transaction http://www.iaza.com/work/121207C/iaza11027828540500.png Her e-mail with the artwork http://www.iaza.com/work/121207C/iaza11027861535200.png E-mail with me giving her my address and asking about the badge months later EXPLAIN: I saw that she was having a sale for pelt badges on FA, so I sent her an e-mail for one. She said that she would personally deliver it to me at FurFright. I was unable to find her, so I sent her my address and well... I haven't seen my badge since. 😕 She's taken on some more commissions since then. I hope people get what they paid for.

Dec. 6th, 2012 at 6:09 PM WHO: Onai http://www.furaffinity.net/user/onai/ WHERE: FurAffinity WHAT: Full fursuit WHEN: June 1st, 2011- Nov. 15th, 2012 PROOF: Refund policy List of notes First note and response by Onai Third note and response by Onai Second note and response by Onai Fourth note and response by Onai Shout on her page After leaving a shout on her page, about to give up hope on receiving any update or anything about my fursuit. Offered a refund after leaving the shout. Proof of payments: Paypal payments. Same as above; bank transfers to Paypal. W.I.Ps: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/6117510/ - July 14th, 2011 08:03 AM http://www.furaffinity.net/view/6117510/ - July 14th, 2011 08:03 AM http://www.furaffinity.net/view/6119396/ - July 14th, 2011 04:42 PM http://www.furaffinity.net/view/6119415/ - July 14th, 2011 04:46 PM http://www.furaffinity.net/view/6119422/ - July 14th, 2011 04:47 PM http://www.furaffinity.net/view/6119435/ - July 14th, 2011 04:50 PM http://www.furaffinity.net/view/6119447/ - July 14th, 2011 04:53 PM http://www.furaffinity.net/view/6119460/ - July 14th, 2011 04:55 PM http://www.furaffinity.net/view/6119493/ - July 14th, 2011 05:03 PM http://www.furaffinity.net/view/7074310/ - December 21st, 2011 05:47 PM http://www.furaffinity.net/view/7195946/ - January 11th, 2012 11:27 AM EXPLAIN: In June 2011, I've commissioned Onai for a full fursuit. It seemed like she was working on it a month after noting her, with head progress being made in July 2011. A few months go by with no real updates; just a few IMs here and there. I wanted this fursuit to be done near the end of September 2011 because I was going to a furcon in California and Onai's agreed to have it done by then. (Sorry, I don't have proof since I've lost all my older Skype logs between her and I.) End of September comes by and the fursuit wasn't completed in time. No problem, I suppose, I can wait a few more months, I guess. A few more months go by and Onai's uploaded another image of my fursuit. It looks like she's making some more progress in my fursuit, can't wait to get it! Another month goes by and another upload of my fursuit head! A few more months go by and I am becoming anxious if or when my fursuit will be finished. I message her here and there and so does my mate, asking when it'd be finished or how's progress so far. She typically says it's doing well or she'd have some real life issues and pushes back the fursuit progress. More months go by and still no progress. I am now getting even more worried and anxious. I left a shout on her page--which she quickly removed and messaged me on Skype--and now all I hear from her and see are excuses of pity and stories about personal life instead of any information about my fursuit I had commissioned. At this point, I am quite upset by all of this, to the point that I only want a refund, not the finished product. I would be satisfied and move on with close to a full refund, if not a full refund of the $1250 I gave to her ontop of shipping costs of sending two DTDs. I don't think that I would enjoy actually receiving the fursuit anymore at this point, simply because of all the disappointment that I would associate with it, wanting it for so long, and only seeing progress and updates of others while mine remained in the shadows, ignored and forgotten, much like how I have felt.

Dec. 6th, 2012 at 3:16 PM malytwotails LSS: "Zardis" buys soap from http://www.contactcaffeine.com , is displeased with it, we sent her a refund immediately, and a month later, she posts inflammatory journals about us out of the blue. So here's some caps, since she's admitted in them that she called PayPal with the intention of having them issue a larger refund, past the value of the items she purchased., and while Con*Tact can eat a bar of soap here or there, I am horrified to think she'd try this on a real commission she was displeased with. WHO: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/zardis (RL name omitted because she's a minor) WHAT: I don't really know what exactly to call this. :/ WHERE: Through our own website, email, and FurAffinity WHY: ???????? WHEN: September-December 2012 Woke up to this today. She deleted the original journal, which then became this beast (I am Poison, in the comments): Here's her original complaint, now that you've read all of her current complaints. This is dated 11/1/12 I never did see those photos. Our reply, with the same date. This is her original reply she sent us, on 11/1. We considered the issue closed at that point. And here's our 11/2 refund, with both transactions. Note that just over a month has passed between the two, because we shipped her soap and she was displeased between those two dates. This girl has previously purchased from us. In fact, we missed her FREE sample last order, and she sent us an email complaining over the omission. We made up a pack of samples for her, on our own dime, wrote the customs form, drove it to the post office, waited in line, and paid out of our own pockets to send her additional free merchandise, just to keep our customer's goodwill. Now, our site says all over it "Caffeine soap is not intended for those under 18", and I couldn't help but notice that on her fursuiting FA, she mentions she's 15 (dated 2010). So even if it hasn't been edited since then, she'd still be a minor, which leads me to worry about PayPal - don't they have a strict over-18 policy? CONFIRMED: She is 16 as of this post, and using PayPal as a minor (with her own money) So, that's it. I thought that we closed the case, guess not! Beware! EDIT: This is the threat note she received from the FA account "Cerberus." , sent right around the same time as her journal posts, from an empty FA account. http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/malytwotails/137829/639344/639344_original.png EDIT2: Followup from FA administrators regarding the threat, stating that she sent herself the note. http://artists-beware.livejournal.com/637279.html?thread=24707935#t24707935 EDIT3: We've now received notes from her boyfriend, "shady." on ConTact's account. (already sent in my harassment ticket) http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/malytwotails/137829/639703/639703_original.jpg http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/malytwotails/137829/639882/639882_original.jpg EDIT4: She's sent us a private apology over all of this (and apologizing on her boyfriend's behalf), and we're considering the issue closed and resolved. EDIT5: She's back and arguing again over $0.01 , apparently http://artists-beware.livejournal.com/637279.html?thread=24723039#t24723039 EDIT6: After spending a day and a half arguing with a 16 year old on the internet, I'm entirely out of energy for this anymore. It's as resolved as it's going to get.

Nov. 30th, 2012 at 7:56 PM dreada_lockz WHO: TrickyBunnie (now known as Countess-Noir)-main account: Heavy-Inamorato WHERE: http://countess-noir.deviantart.com/ WHAT: digital art-2 characters, Lineart-$8 in total WHEN: August 16th 2011-present PROOF: The exchange of details- The payment to her Paypal account- The note i sent to her in January, along with her reply (she replied using her main account) The final note i got from her before i didn't hear anything more from her- EXPLAIN: I saw that she was doing commissions sometime last year and her prices looked pretty decent-so i sent her a note asking to commission her to draw two of my characters from my WIP project. We then exchanged notes and i sent her the payment (this was August 2011), i then noted her sometime in 2012 asking her about the progress, she then noted me back apologizing for taking so long (i don't mind waiting for commissions as i'm quite a patient person) so i said to her it was alright. I then noted her in March 2012 asking about the progress, she replied back saying that it just needed to be inked in and she apologized again for taking so long with the digital drawing ( and the fact she was doing two job shifts) I noted her back saying "thanks for keeping me informed"..by then i was getting a little anxious. Since then, i have yet to even see a work in progress of my commission....she has even gone as far as deleted her commission status on her Countess-Noir page. EDIT-UPDATE- Just a quick update regarding the year long commission with the artist i mentioned in the previous post. I sent Countess-Noir a note asking for the progress of the commission and if it was possible for a refund. An hour later, she noted me back asking me for my Paypal address (which i gave her)...and this morning, she send me my $8 dollars back. Note regarding refund- Paypal-refund received!- Though i'm pleased to get my money back-i won't be commissioning her ever again.

Nov. 30th, 2012 at 7:44 PM WHO: She goes by Vanyabear http://www.furaffinity.net/user/vanyabear/ Dymitry http://www.furaffinity.net/user/dymitri and her old name was Shwee http://www.furaffinity.net/user/shwee WHERE: I commissioned her on fa through her vanyabear account http://www.furaffinity.net/user/vanyabear/ WHAT: I bought two badges off of her when she was having a sale, they were traditional badges laminated with clip. She started deleting all of her submissions after I bought them though so no screencap. WHEN: I paid for the badges August 29th 2012. PROOF: Paypal payment http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k305/Wahaneta/vanyapaypal.jpg EXPLAIN: I contacted vanya on one of her submissions during a sale for badges she was having and paid for the badges August 29th later that night. She posted on my page pictures to the badges the next day. Aug 30th. http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k305/Wahaneta/vanyascreenshot.png Shortly after she posted them to my page she deleted them from her gallery. The pictures were of two finished, laminated badges of my characters though. Two and a half weeks went by and I sent her a simple and friendly shout asking if she had shipped the badges. She replied with this http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k305/Wahaneta/vanyascreenshot2.png Sept 19th The journal she is talking about she deleted less than two days later. The end of the month came and went, and a month after the last shout I sent her another asking again if she had sent the badges yet. She replied on October 18th http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k305/Wahaneta/vanyascreenshot3.png saying that she would have them out the NEXT DAY. I didn't get the badges in the mail so I asked her again this time I was getting impatient because I wanted the badges for a convention on November 3rd. October 26th http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k305/Wahaneta/vanyascreenshot3.png She told me to read the journal she posted, which said that she just had a minor surgery and was in the hospital for a couple days. Now I understand that she wasn't feeling well but at this point I had already waited 2 months for these badges and she had no excuse for the previous delays. At this point she had explained in her surgery journal that she was too broke+busy+sick to do anything. She then posted this journal begging money and commissions for a dildo from bad dragon Oct 30th http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k305/Wahaneta/vanyadildo.png I felt I had to ask her again when my badges would be shipped. She was already taking on new commissions but she didn't have the time to ship out one envelope. I then threatened to post her here on Artists Beware. She said she was shipping the badges with a refund as soon as she could make it to the post office. Another month had come and gone and I never received anything from Vanya. Then on Nov 27th she posts this http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k305/Wahaneta/vanyagoodbye.png She took the time to go through and delete all of her submissions, journals, shouts and favorites and all out abandoned her account. On the Journal two other people beside myself commented asking "what about our refunds?" So I started talking to other people who had commissioned her. She left every single one of us without a way to contact her and never refunded anyone. The next day Nov 28th the account that she had "given" to her "friend" posted a shout http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k305/Wahaneta/dymitripost.png I won't lie, I don't believe for an instant that she gave away her character and her brand new fursuit to anyone. I sent her "friend" a note asking if there was anyways to contact her. http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k305/Wahaneta/dymitriexplain.png They tell me that Vanya is without internet and that is why she is no longer online. Yet I still see her posting updates on facebook http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k305/Wahaneta/vanyafbshot.png There are also no posts at all about her having a surgery on facebook and it's pretty obvious that she is still the owner of her Demitri character. All I can say is stay as far away from this person as possible. She owes money to so many people and I am surprised she has never been posted on here before. I never received my badges or any sort of refund or even an apology. UPDATE: She did send me a refund for the badges on the 11th of December but today(Dec 14th)she sent me an email calling me a stalker http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k305/Wahaneta/vanyaemail_zpsadc17d72.png even though all these screen caps were all directed at me or were posted publicly. I had hope for her when I saw that she posted her suit up for sale to pay back all the money she owes, but then a friend linked me this http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k305/Wahaneta/vanyafurbuylie_zps6f5e147a.png Apparently she plans on spending all the money for refunds on a new $800 suit when she is only selling hers for $700. Needless to say after the whole experience with her I hope to never hear from her again and I wish the best for the other people she owes money to.

Nov. 29th, 2012 at 10:43 PM WHO: Adielle/StarlitUniverse/Danielle/Nemeah/Jael Morey. WHERE: http://starlituniverse.deviantart.com/ (deactivated as of June 22nd 2012.) , http://adielle.deviantart.com/ (her main commission account, also deactivated), GaiaOnline under the name Nemeah. She also has a facebook for commissions: https://www.facebook.com/starlituniverse(gone as of Nov 29) , a newer deviantart account: http://nemeah.deviantart.com/ and a tumblr: http://jaelmoray.tumblr.com/ WHAT: A digital copy of 1 couple pencil sketch with sepia texture. WHEN: 2010 Aug 3rd. I won an auction (under the name Wosat) that was raising GaiaGold to fund a contest. PROOF: What StarlitUniverse was offering in the group auction. Me asking for my bid to count for the 5m+ tier. Giving her some choices and she picked one. Telling me the picture was half-done. EXPLAIN: None of the gold and items went to StarlitUniverse, I was asked by the artist organizing the auction to send it to the contest organizer. Her last contact with me was by PM on gaiaonline in late Oct/early Nov. 2010. I do not have that PM anymore. In it, she told me she was busy but that she hadn't forgotten me. Later I found out that she was going through some serious real life issues. I didn't want to add to her stress, so I left her alone. Around December of 2010, I was leaving GaiaOnline for an extended period of time, so I sent StarlitUniverse a PM, telling her she could reach me through my deviantart account. She became one of my watchers there shortly after. When I had finished with the school year, I sent StarlitUniverse a deviantart note in April 2011. My dA note to her asking for an update. She read it but did not reply. A few months later, she posted a journal on both of her dA accounts saying she was still having serious real life issues. The artist who organized the auction, contacted me in May of 2011, and offered to complete StarlitUniverse's part of the auction. I thought that was awesome of them to do that and I accepted. They did not end up doing so, which was perfectly fine, since they had already completed their part of the art from the auction. In June of this year, I sent a PM to the person who organized the original auction, and let them know that I was going to try to contact StarlitUniverse again about the art. They offered to try contacting her for me. I tried to contact her again. I sent a message to both of her dA accounts, her tumbler and her gaiaonline account. She read the PM on gaiaonline but did not reply. The artist that organized the original auction was kind enough to refund me part of my bid. So the whole thing is resolved. Offering a refund, Refund details and they mention that StarlitUniverse replied to their PM. I sent off one final PM to StarlitUniverse, informing her that I had been refunded. I considered the matter resolved. On November 29th, I found her new Deviantart account and tumblr and was surprised that she was accepting commissions when she had not completely refunded her previous commissioners. I only know there was at least one commissioner that is still waiting because we had talked about our experiences with StarlitUniverse in deviantart notes. I had originally written up this beware in July but I didn't feel comfortable posting since technically it had been resolved. But now that she is accepting commissions, I feel that I should at let you know what happened with me. Edit: I accidentally added one too many /ljcuts. Fixed.

Nov. 19th, 2012 at 5:49 PM Artist in Question: Pirate-CashoozombiepirateURL where they base their business out of: http://pirate-cashoo.deviantart.com http://www.furaffinity.net/user/pirate-cashoo http://pirate-cashoo.tumblr.com (They request commissions here, too) http://www.hentai-foundry.com/user/zombiepirate (WARNING –NSFW adult site) http://pirate-cashoo.sofurry.com Time Period: ORIGINAL REQUEST/INQUIRY MADE via email: MAY 10 2012 PAYMENT MADE 50%: $75.00 May 11, 2012 (PAYPAL) PAYMENT MADE REMAINING 50%: $75.00 May 26, 2012 (PAYPAL)FIRST DRAFT: MAY 26 (It was approved by me)2nd DRAFT: New sketch sent to me (She wasn’t happy with the original) September 15, 2012.3rd DRAFT: Another new sketch OCTOBER 3, 2012LINEART: OCTOBER 17, 2012NEW ETA for FINISHED PRODUCT: 7 days (or so) from Oct 17, 2012.INQUIRIES: about progress/status: Nov 8, 15, 18th (2012).... no repliesNEW REPLY From PC: Nov 19, (2012) (after post to AB, unrelated)UPDATE: From PC: Nov. 22.: Apologies for not keeping deadlines UPDATE: From PC: Nov 22.: Colored draft *YAY!!!* Finally. I think this may almost be resolved.UPDATE: NEW REPLY From PC: Dec 2.: She has given me the deadline of Dec 21st and offered a free sketch in compensation for the trouble.UPDATE: PC posted a public apology on DA and FA admitting her poor practices: http://pirate-cashoo.deviantart.com/journal/An-open-letter-to-all-of-my-customers-341302281 'm not sure if this changes anything, though unless she changes the way things are going. I sent her an email with lots of advice and tips on how she could better her freelance strategies but it seems others are doing this, too. I got a reply that was similar to her journal - I don't believe she really wants any advice or help even though people are trying to help. Stubbornness isn't going to fix this problem.UPDATE: DEC 2: New Promised deadline of Dec 21 offered and aggreed to by Cashoo. I sent her a reminder on the 19th about this, too.UPDATE: DEC 22: Just received my FINISHED PIECE! FINALLY! YAY! It is BEAUTIFUL and she put a lot of work into it. So I am happy I got it at least. I will mark this resolved. Item(s) Ordered: 2-PERSON Full-body COLORED SKETCH WITH LINEART. PRICE QUOTED/GIVEN: $150.00 (Basically, I asked for something similar to this: http://fav.me/d4tbnqj) 2 characters, no wings or anything crazy. JUST HUMANS with no detailed background.Proof of Purchase: PAYPAL:Explanation of Situation: Note: I am not accusing PC of being a scam-artist, but some serious business standards need to be reinstated and adhered to by this artist as clients like myself are getting very upset about her current practices. This needs to be addressed.I did my research before even making my purchase with her and thought it was a safe bet. The issue here is communication/miscommunication/missed deadline/turnarounds and ridiculously slow response times, etc.Many times over I had almost suspected she had taken my money and run, but then weeks later, I'd get a response apologizing for another ridiculously long wait of weeks or even months between letters.I'm still waiting on my finished piece long past the original deadline of June 15th, 2012 though.Here's how this has gone:I had been watching Pirate-Cashoo on Deviant art for some time when I noticed she FINALLY opened up her commissions. HERE IS THE DA JOURNAL I RESPONDED TO: http://fav.me/d4zcncw She states here: “These will be done within the month/by June 15th. Or if you have a particular deadline, let me know! Depending on the complexity, one commission can take up to 3 days total to finish. I'm really trying to push myself as an artist with these.” I got a reply back that day (May 11th) with the estimate ($150) and where to send the paypal money. She said I could pay half now and the other half after I got the sketch, which is what I did. The sketch came May 26th and following it, I paid her the rest (SAME DAY): $75.00. I am listing below how things went after that. I have documented them here though often her replies were so huge that I truncated some of them in the screenshots. She has also been taking MORE commissions every few weeks/months since I ordered mine. First ETA: MAY 11 “You'll receive a preliminary sketch within the next 7 days or so to look over before I hop into it.” SKETCH RECEIVED: MAY 26. (2 weeks) No reply after I approved the sketch.NEXT MESSAGE SENT: Jun 12 No reply. I wrote again JUL 25:PROOF: “I am writing you because it's been over 2 months since I've heard anything from you and I wanted to know if you could just give me an update on my commission. I don't mean to bother you, but I sent you the payment in FULL already 2 months ago back when you showed me the sketch, and I haven't heard a thing since. (If you need the paypal Invoice #'s just ask) I am not upset about the time frame, I just feel that as a paying client, I should at least be kept in the loop about what I paid for.” REPLY: JULY 25 “Ohh my goodness, I'm so sorry! I was in the middle of the lineart, but I was thinking about partially redoing the sketch, because it's got some serious anatomical issues, and I've improved my anatomy since then.” and a big story about all sorts of “troubles....” she’s having. SECOND ETA: “I should be getting to yours within the next week or so. I hope you understand.” (AS OF JULY 25) NEW INQUIRY: SEPT 3: PROOF: “I was wondering, Have you been able to make any additional progress on my piece yet? Last time I heard from you was July 25th - so, it's been over a month and I've not heard anything still.... You had mentioned getting to it in a week or so, but I've not gotten any updates since then.” REPLY FROM CASHOO: SEPT 8 Apologies, etc etc.... and “I'll be spending the next 2-3 days finishing up all sketches that haven't been done yet, which will include yours. I've redone yours a couple times and tossed them, but I think I've decided on what I'd really like this time!” “...But I'll be finishing your commission within the next two weeks FOR SURE” SEPT 13: FROM CASHOO “Well, I just spent the last ten minutes bawling my eyes out. I just...I just shut my computer down for the night, and apparently I didn't save. I...I don't know why my program didn't ask to save before I closed it. I seriously cannot believe it. It was so good, too... great pose and composition and everything. I.... seriously, seriously can't believe it. Oh my goodness...” Accidents happen, I get that, too. SEPT 15 I get a new sketch. NOTE: only a sketch. No more replies after I approved the sketch. NEW INQUIRY: OCT 2Proof:"Hello again Umm, didn't want to bother you, but any progress on my piece? Were you able to adjust the sketch? I know you mentioned the piece would be done within 2 weeks "for sure" but this was over 2 weeks ago... I didn't want to have to bug you, but I keep seeing new sketches on your tumblr... so... I'm sort of wondering where the heck mine went.” REPLY from CASHOO:OCT 3I GET MY NEW SKETCH. *yay*. I APPROVE. OCT 17: I GET THE FINAL LINEART AND A REPLY.PROOF:REPLY FROM CASHOO: “I have one commission in which its deadline is the 20th, and it's got a full background and everything, so I unfortunately have to work on that today. BUT, I'll definitely finish yours within the next 7 days or so...the hardest/longest parts are over, and the coloring is simply smooth sailing from here~” No reply. INQUIRY 1: NOVEMBER 8 “ I know you're busy but it's been a few weeks since you wrote me and you'd mentioned a while back... 7 days... but it's been 3 weeks now again. Any progress by chance? I noticed you opened more commissions for xmas, but please be sure to get mine done before you do those since I've been waiting since April/May and it doesn't seem fair that I would have to wait until after xmas.”No reply. INQUIRY 2: NOVEMBER 15th “Hey there, I haven't gotten a reply, so I'm writing again... apparently my messages are getting lost in your mounds of email I know you're busy but it's been a few weeks since you wrote me and you'd mentioned a while back... 7 days (or so)... OK, I get it - 1 week, 2 week, 3 weeks.... but it's been 4 weeks again and not so much as a reply or an (I'll be late again note) or ANYTHING....&rdquo etc. INQUIRY 3: NOVEMBER: 19th PARTIAL LETTER: “If you can't finish it for whatever reason or aren't inspired, or just don't want to - than by all means please tell me that or give me a partial refund or something. Otherwise, I just really want some honesty, that's all. I am a paying "customer" nonetheless and I have the right to know where my product is regardless of the circumstances and I seriously don't think that it is NOT reasonable for any client to INQUIRE about their product they purchased 7+ months after payment, and 4 WEEKS after an estimated delivery time. I saw on your FA even that you said in ref to that other person waiting months : "And, like some other freelance artists out there, a long wait time (about 4+ months, I consider) is guaranteed more effort and detail put into the final product. And if it's been an abnormally long wait time (7-8 months and beyond), there's a 50% discount on whatever next commission the customer gets, even free if the customer is thoroughly displeased." I'm sorry to be so concerned but we're going on 8 months almost here... You said it yourself: abnormally long wait time. And then, you gave me another eta over a month ago and no reply since. I mean, I think you can understand why I am still very concerned here... I can still wait if you just asked me to, but I don't appreciate being given deadlines that aren't kept or that I am not even told about changing, etc.”NEW REPLY AS OF NOV 19th:This was AFTER my post to AB. Unsure if it was provoked by this or not...(note: I truncated this a little because there were a bunch more personal family "issues" in there). I didn't think needed to be posted here. Also, she states that she doesn't know why so many people are getting upset with her about turnaround times. It's not just the turnaround times - it's also the money and the fact that we get deadlines that aren't kept, no replies, etc etc.NEW REPLY: NOV 22.It's very long, so I will summarize. I just got a new and lengthy letter from PC and although it seems to be thoughtful and kind, I am still empty-handed here. I am a little relieved that she has finally apologized for being terrible at keeping deadlines and "estimates" for turnaround times, but the message contained no further details or wips about my commission either, nor did it mention anything else about when I might get it. I appreciate some of her honesty, here. She is very upset about the whole AB drama, but I have tried to assure her that, despite her suspicions , we are not trying to "ruin her business". (this is what she has told me she is suspecting of AB). She's trying to sound nice about this whole thing and so am I, but niceness doesn't seem to be getting me anywhere and I still don't have any additional wips.IMPORTANT UPDATE: NOV 23. I sent PC a letter with some advice and bullet points on how I think she could improve her commission process (because it’s not nice to just say someone’s doing something wrong and not tell them how to fix it). I have finally gotten a colored draft and an honest explaination of how she works and how she runs business - basically deadlines are only kept if the client demands a deadline and all other pieces are worked on when she gets to them. Understood, but I thought I had been given several deadline/etas, but I guess not. So I am starting to believe that alot of these issues are from miscommunication and not keeping estimated turnarounds, etc. I am finally relieved to know that she's still working on my piece and that I haven't been forgotten. She also told me a lot of things about her work ethics and schedules that opened my eyes to why these are all taking forever (much of it is still not good business practice, but at least I have an explaination now). Much of this is also just miscommunication. I feel a LOT BETTER now knowing all of this, and I wish she’d tell all of her clients the same thing.... Partial letter: “A lot of the problems you've addressed that I've run into are due to sudden changes within this year from my previous years in this line of work. For example, in all of my years of doing this business, I've never had problems or concerns with 4-6+ months of waiting with little contact and no WIPs. Only earlier this year did I start regularly sending WIPs to clients, because I thought it would be a fun idea to do so. Before then, though, the client would pay for the commission, wait a few months, and then receive a message with the completed commission. And it worked out wonderfully, without fail...until these last few months. And it's weird, I'm not sure what exactly has made the change, but ohhh well~But...obviously, if I want to continue with this commission business, I have to adapt to my environment in order to be successful with it.Also, I always try to make sure to mention either publicly or to each inquiring customer that they don't have to pay all upfront (most I have are half upfront, and half after completion), and that they can choose a reasonable deadline if they so desire. Those who give me definitive deadlines get their commissions done on time. Otherwise, I assume they don't mind, and I try to mention that beforehand. I have forgotten on occasion, but for the most part I mention deadlines for sure.Oh! And setbacks can indeed set me back 4-6 months, as I illustrated in my last note to you...I hope that made sense! A commission of your type typically takes about 7 days to complete alone. With a queue of only 15 commissions of the same type already ahead of it in line is about a 4 month wait minimum until the commission is even started. I had about 20, and some of them had three characters and some had detailed backgrounds, which adds a few days to those commissions (typically). The thing that's really killed me is that I've been forced to take more commissions, because my consistent slew of bills can't be met entirely with my commissions, which take too long to complete to keep up with the bills. It's this self-defeating death cycle, and I've dug myself into this hole as a result...Sadly though, I wasn't aware of how inaccurate my estimated turnaround time was when I took your commission until I started improving my skill and putting more detail into my overall work...and shot myself in the foot in the long run.”

Nov. 18th, 2012 7:51 PM amocin Who: Rabbit Valley - Andrew Rabbit Where: http://www.rabbitvalley.com/ What: We were working with Rabbit Valley to get a printed copy of our Adult Webcomic. When: July 16 2012 - Nov 16 2012 Proof: Screen shots will be posted in the order of Explanation. Explain: My husband has been handling all of the communication for this, even though some emails state my name, and some his, its all him, so there should have been no miscommunication between the two. I am posting on his behalf though, because he is really just assisting me in dealing with the print job while I work on the art and all the other stuff. It starts off pretty normal, we contact Rabbit Valley and get contacted back by Andrew and there is back and forth on quotes for the print, as well as what kind of format he would need the comic in for their printers. Here is the screen shot of our talks in the first round of emails. I have put red points next to the emails that I will explain here. If I should expand some, please let me know. AUG 17: We have ironed out all details by this point and Andrew asks us to send him an email on Monday (Aug 20th) to remind him to send out our sample comic. SEP 1st: We contact him asking for an update on the printed sample and he told us we should have gotten it in the mail. In a previous email he stated it would be sent to him first, and then to us, we were never alerted that he got it. We were told it should have been sent out a week ago, and to keep a look out for it. Sep 3rd: Are told he will call the printer in the morning for information. Two days later we ask him for news, and was told he left them a message. We wait another day before asking if he heard anything back yet. We are told that the printer may be avoiding him. Sept 10th and 12th: We ask for another update and are told that Andrew will no longer use his current printing company and is moving to a different printer. There is no mention of what happened to this printed copy that was sent... maybe it got lost... maybe it never got sent. Sept 17th: Andrew tells us he found another printer who is printing us up a copy that day and he will send us a tracking number within a few hours. Sept 18th: We ask for another update and are told that the printer wants us to change our format for the comic so it will fit their printing needs. We get the edits their printer needed done and sent out on Sept 21. I already felt there were warning signs at this point that maybe we should end our side of things with this guy, but our options for printers were very limited with the nature of our book. However, at this point I have a bad feeling with the sudden drop of a printer company that supposedly sent us out a sample comic, and then telling us that the new printer was already printing and ready to ship in a few hours, only for issues to come up the next day where a package never got shipped. Between Sept 21st and Oct 2nd the emails are just discussing payment options, print options, and quotes of prices. Now here is where the fun really begins. OCT 5nd: The printed copy comes in the mail and there are many issues we have with it, mostly to do with the colors not coming out as they should, and the pages being cut off in areas that they shouldnt have been. We inform Andrew of these issues and work with him to get them fixed. We send out new formats on the same day of Oct 5th. Oct 10th: Ask for update on new sample. Are told he sent them out to the printer. Oct 12th-15th: Please excuse the ancyness of constantly asking for updates. At this point we both feel that if we dont contact Andrew first, we are not going to get contacted, and this is already past the day we wanted to have this printed up, but that may be our bad for not understanding how long prints normally take. At this point we are three months into this without having a solid print. OCT 17th: were told an updated printed copy will be sent out the following day. Oct 24th & 26th: We ask for another update on if the copy was sent out. We are told that the printer was going to ship out this sample "This week" rather then last week. OCT 30th: Were told about a printed copy being sent to Andrew, and then he would send it to us. Nov 5th & 6th: We ask for another update as we have not heard if he got the sample, and nor have we. We're told Andrew would email the printer and find out what was going on. Nov 12th: We ask for another update, and are told that Andrew is just getting back from a trip, and will call them that day. Nov 16th: After we contact him, yet again for an update on the printed copy, he writes us back to tell us that he contacted his printer, and they said that they could not do the print job and that he was dropping us as a client. He also states that he told us he would be out of town that entire time, when his previous email said he was just getting back into town on the day that he said he left.. Shortly after this he contacts us again telling us that the printer could not get the colors out properly, and that he is ending our transaction. No money was ever exchanged but a good four months of our time was spend on this... Now... Please keep in mind the times he told us a new printed copy would be sent to us, and how he contacted the printer asking for updates... After his last email, my husband dug up the printers email from a time we had been CCed on an email. He took the liberty to contact the printer and ask them what we could do to resolve the issues with the print, and hopefully cut out the middle man and get us a printed copy of the comic. What transpired here sent us both into a fit of rage that thankfully remained contained within our household. Yes... From Oct 5th, those files, they were never sent to the printer. Those samples that should have been printed and sent to him, never really existed seeing as he never sent out the new files. So now we are working directly with the printer to hopefully get the comic printed up, and have cut out the middle man Andrew who seemed to jerk our chain for a good long time. Update: From what it seems like now, the printer wrote us again after looking into the issue. So it would seem that RV did get the second sample, and just never informed us about it, and may have told the printer that he was working on an extra proof on his end to resolve the issues with the print, rather then having us try to fix it. The worst part about this... is I dont even know why this happened. Was it that we pestered for too many updates? Was it because we wanted a very low quantity of books? I have really no idea.. Update 2 - Dec 3rd: We received the new sample from the printer, which was using the same file we sent to Andrew. The colors are perfect so I really have no idea why we were told the colors were still too dark. We have put in our full order for the books.

Nov. 16, 2012 at 12:53 PM I originally came here seeking advice on the situation, which can be seen here, but it was suggested that I still make the beware because of said person's behavior. This is my first actual beware post, so I apologize if it's done incorrectly. WHO: Thera WHERE: https://www.furaffinity.net/user/thera/ Though everything happened here on this journal. WHAT: One digital sketch. Here's screen shots of our initial conversation when she first ordered the sketch. Though everything can still be read in the journal I linked above. This is the finished commission. WHEN: November 6th, 2012 until now. PROOF: This is the paypal screenshot showing when she initially sent the eheck. This is the screenshot showing that the echeck failed to send. I sent her a note about the failed echeck asking if she could send it again or perhaps have someone else do it for her. She did reply to my note, which can be seen here, but she also commented on the original commission journal where the transaction took place. All of it can still be read in the journal linked above, but here are screenshots anyways. EXPLAIN: I hope it's alright if I just copy/paste from my advice journal, if not I can edit it. On November 6th, 2012 I opened for $5 sketch commissions and Thera wanted a slot. So we work out all the details, got everything settled and agreed upon. There was a slight bit of confusion on what she wanted at first, but we got that all worked out with no problems. She sent the payment, it was an echeck, and I started her commission. I finished it the next day and she was very happy with it. She even colored it and did a wonderful job at doing so. Now I've /never/ had any problems with echecks clearing so I really didn't think I'd have a problem this time. So like I stated, I did her sketch and finished it the next day. Now on the 14th, of this month, I got an email saying that the echeck failed. I sent a note to Thera asking if she could send it again or maybe have someone else send it for her. She replied saying she wasn't sure why it failed, but this was the second time it happened. She also told me that she wasn't sure why it failed because she had enough to send it, but paypal wouldn't let her send it until she added more money. So she asked me if there was anything else she could give me in exchange and I said no. With pretty large medical/dental debt over my head I really need every penny. A little while later she replied saying that she tried to send it again, got charged a fee, lost $70, and told me to please let her sort out her "financial bullsh*t". She said that this wasn't her fault because she didn't know this would happen. Which I got kind of confused by because she said this wasn't the first time this had happened, but okay, I understand that things happen sometimes. So the next reply I got from her is a story explaining about the last time it happened and her current family/money issues. I proceeded to reply with how I was sorry that her life was falling apart, but it wasn't really fair to me nor did it really concern me because I did the work they paid for, but in the end I didn't get paid. And that maybe she shouldn't commission people if her life is falling apart and she doesn't have money to spend. Honestly at this point I'm trying to be understanding, but it's kind of hard because she's dumping all her life problems on me and they don't concern me. I don't even know her on a personal level. The first time I talked to her was when this transaction started and I haven't contacted her or talked to her up until now. Now from this point on she starts getting kind of nasty with me. She's getting angry/frustrated and keeps using vulgar language towards me when I've been trying to be as calm as possible. Maybe I came off as cold hearted or something, I'm not sure. I mean I do feel bad for her, because honestly it sucks when crap goes down hill, I know, but I've always heard that business transactions should be kept as such. None the less, she tells me that all of this has happened in two days. So I go on to tell her again that I am sorry that her life is falling apart, but it doesn't concern me and she really has no reason to be so angry at me. She says she's not angry at me, that she's just upset in general, which is understandable, but really she shouldn't be taking it out on me. She should calm down and think about it before taking frustrations out on someone else. She has yet to respond to my last comment though. I was originally just going to accept the loss and just take it as a lessoned learned, but she says she still intends to pay me. She said I'd have my money in three days, but we'll see. I won't hold my breathe or anything though. I hope that's okay, I'm not very good at explaining things. 😧 I can edit anything as necessary. EDIT as of November 21th, 2012: I received a payment from taasla paying in place of Thera. I really appreciate it, so thank you again! I guess this can be marked as resolved then.

Nov. 9th, 2012 at 12:44 AM annoyeddragon It should be noted that this beware is similar to one that already exists on Paint, posted by Acroth. http://artists-beware.livejournal.com/tag/artist-paint As you can see from this old journal by Paint. http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/2950583/ We're both on there (I'm ADF). The only difference is Acroth had the sense to go after a refund opportunity were as I stuck around longer, naively thinking if I was just patient and showed understanding during delays; that Paint would either do my art or refund me eventually. But here I am months on, still waiting. I stuck with her all this time and I'm afraid to say I am no better off for it 😞 I wish I didn't have to post this, but I haven't much choice given the present situation. Who: Paint, they prefer Skink but I'm used to calling them Paint. Where: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/paint/ (NSFW page content if you have an account) What: Three separate commissions agreed at different dates. I've created copies of the conversations concerning each one, censoring out e-mails and any mature details. They are in order of when they were taken on, with the first being the most late. Conversation - http://img248.imageshack.us/img248/6821/paint1q.png These were eight different nude poses of a character I called Emily for fun, which was an unusual human/lizard hybrid from a transformation story I wrote. They were coloured sketches and the price tag came to $50. Unlike the other two commissions, this one was half completed and I have received four of the eight images. But progress inexplicably stopped. Conversation - http://img849.imageshack.us/img849/4240/paint2a.png This was a character sheet for a new lizard sona I was hoping to get as an alt to my current one. It involved a clean/adult version of the same sheet. The price came to $71. No progress has been made on this commission. Conversation - http://imageshack.us/scaled/landing/94/paint3jd.png A transformation comic of a mature nature where a couple turn into anthro iguanas. Most of the details for this commission were agreed during a livestream so there is no record of those conversations, the above was just getting the details down so they had something to reference during the stream. The price came to $75. The stream ended before Paint could get around to my commission, so she told me to attend tomorrows stream where she would work on it. I did, but she was too busy doing newly paid for commissions from that stream to work on my one, so it never got done. Some may ask why I would be silly enough to take up a third commission with Paint when she already owed me two that were late... I was assured the reason they were delayed so long was because Paint worked better during a stream, that work gets done during a stream. So I trusted her when she said a commission taken on during the stream would get done, but of course it didn't... When: When I started to feel no progress had been made for too long, I started contacting Paint regarding this. A record of these conversations can be found here. http://img689.imageshack.us/img689/7392/paint4.png As you can see, the artist/customer relationship slowly disintegrated over time. While initially expressing a will to get these commissions completed, communication later collapsed. Proof: Here are the payment details for these commissions. Most of the discussion regarding these commissions are in the links included in the above section. http://img687.imageshack.us/img687/541/paypaltransactions.png Explain: I feel I have done everything I could of to resolve this matter. I kept in touch, I attended streams when I was told she could do them then, I was open for negotiation on how to move forward with them. I went above and beyond some others when it comes to showing patience and understanding with Paints regular problems, but ignoring my messages has really left the situation hopeless. The only alternative to maintain conversation would be to invade a journal or stream and hijack the discussion for this purpose, which inevitably would have led to me being made to look the bad guy... The worst part is, and probably why I've tolerated this for so long, is because I don't want Paint to dislike me 😞 I still don't, but I cannot imagine she will be happy to see I have posted this. My question to her would be "what else could I have done?" because I tried everything. I begged you to work with me to resolve this matter in the end and you responded with the silent treatment, what more could I have done? I hope she cares enough about what other people think that being posted up on Artists Beware will prompt her to want to get this matter sorted. But given she is already up here for reasons similiar to my own, I'm just not sure... Best case scenario is I'm refunded for the commissions (accounting for reductions for the completed Emily poses) and we can both move on. Maybe in time even get over this experience and get back on good terms again? But that's just me being hopeful. Refunds $171/ $171 Refunds are to be made every Friday over six weeks, so $28.50 per payment. 17/11/12 - $28.50 received 24/11/12 - $28.50 received 30/11/12 - No payment was receieved this Friday. 03/12/12 - Paint had forgotten and apologised, will be getting payment later. 04/12/12 - $28.50 received 07/12/12 - $28.50 received 15/12/12 - $28.50 received 24/12/12 - $28.50 received

Nov. 6th, 2012 at 5:57 PM WHO: SoulEevee99 on Deviantart WHERE: http://souleevee99.deviantart.com/ WHAT: Stole an icon template from me and has been altering and selling on DeviantArt for DA points. WHEN: Just discovered today, apparently they started October 13th of this year PROOF: Their journal entry asking for commissions with icons (Screencap in case of deletion) Original icons by me on my FurAffinity Overlay showing trace EXPLAIN: LATEST UPDATE: Followed onto FA and sent more harassing notes from Grovyle I do a lot of commissions on Chicken Smoothie, a virtual pet game. I began selling "dango icons" like the ones linked to my FurAffinity on the Proof section in October of 2010 for collectible pets on CS (Link to thread. Date is off since I edited the post, but according to my records I started selling them in October.) I stopped selling them last year in favor of new products. While browsing around the art shops on CS, I found SoulEevee99's art commission thread, which linked to the DA journal above full of stolen icons that were paid for in DA Points. A lot of their friends are using these icons not knowing they paid for stolen material. I confronted the artist and not only did they deny their theft, their SO is threatening to report me for harassment. The comment thread is capped here, I am Rainbow-Smashed. (The replies occurred while I was typing this post) I admit my initial post was rather threatening, I should have been more polite and I fully acknowledge my tone was harsh. This is the first time I've had my art sold and I'm pretty upset. Even though it may be for DA points and not real money, it's still disappointing. I have filed reports both on Chicken Smoothie and DeviantArt. Their art commission thread on CS has been locked but I have yet to hear back from DA. The SO and the artist continue to deny their theft and I've ceased communication after my last reply with sources. I will let DA handle it and hope they rule in my favor. UPDATES POST-APPROVAL: So this is more recent events that have occurred since before this entry got approved. It's been a wacky whirlwind lemme tell ya. The thief's friends jumped on me for trying to get my work taken down and defended their friend. Even with SoulEevee's friends trying to pick fights with me, I ignored them and decided to wait until DA's ruling. DA got back to me on my report and told me to file a DMCA due to "complications in the case." (I'm assuming the complication is that I use different usernames in different places but it beats me tbh.) I sent in a DMCA takedown notice to their violations department on November 7th. As of this entry's approval and this edit (November 11th) the stolen art remains up and the thief has hidden comments from me, their friends defending SoulEevee, and a friend of mine trying to convince the thief's SO that my work was indeed stolen. All that's left is comments in Czech that I don't understand. I foolishly did not cap all the comments. But they did decide to put up this journal yelling at people and vaguely discussing my accusations. At this point all I can do is sigh and hope DA complies with my takedown notice. EDITS (NOVEMBER 12th, 2011): SoulEevee has decided to harass me not only on DA but Chicken Smoothie as well. DA Comments (link to thread. It's on my page and I will not be hiding these.) DA Note Chicken Smoothie post They have also provided a blog post to try and prove that I am a thief. Blog post dates can be altered and the "stolen icon" is really a painted over version of Wildstorm's icon on Chicken Smoothie. Blog post (with original icon) Post with Wildstorm's icon Overlay Image data of "original" icon proves it was made on November 12th, 2012, not 2009. (Big big thank you to !) Sora-kun is not only my furry name but my FurAffinity page, active since 2006. I am slightly disturbed by the coincidence. They also made this journal post and linked me to it on my profile comments to further harass me. I have reported this user for harassment on Chicken Smoothie and DA and have asked them to leave me alone, a request they have not complied with as they and their boyfriend, Grovyle, keep trying to pick a fight with me and continue to smear me on their own pages. As of November 13th, I have ceased communication with both Grovyle (the boyfriend) and SoulEevee. NOVEMBER 14TH UPDATE: Even after my request to stop using my stolen template, SoulEevee has still been using it. SoulEevee, using Grovyle as a messenger, is now claiming a third party gave them the icons, claimed the work as their own, and gave SoulEevee permission to use them. Since SoulEevee has yet to provide a name for this third party (which I would expect they would offer up as soon as they were caught) I strongly believe this is also another lie to try and avoid taking responsibility for their actions. My DMCA notice on DA hasn't gone through (all icons are still there) or have been replied to. My ticket on Chicken Smoothie has been picked up and I am working with Chicken Smoothie staff to build a harassment case. I'm fairly certain they can't do anything about the offsite harassment but I included that in my ticket (as well as this AB) to give background as to how deep this goes. UPDATE 2 ELECTRIC BOOGALOO: My harassment ticket was responded to. I was told to simply block SoulEevee when it seems like Grovyle is doing the harassment. Grovyle has started not only sending me messages, but has been harassing another member of this comm as well as leaving messages with their friends on FA. To top it all off, I got the passive aggressive non-apology to end all passive aggressive non-apologies (comment thread on DA.) This is just salt in the wounds and my nerves are already very VERY frayed. I've said my piece and blocked them. I will block them on any other accounts they try to contact me with. I'm beyond fed up. To all who are getting harassing messages from Grovyle; please report them and accept my deepest apologies for their behavior. NOVEMBER 15TH: DeviantART has denied my DMCA takedown notice. A lawsuit isn't worth it at all (due to international problems) so I've filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau regarding DA's denial of my DMCA. NOVEMBER 18TH: Grovyle has sent me three notes on FA. Not only that, they started watching me! Note 1 Note 2 Note 3 (Links to this. Dead link.)

Nov. 4th, 2012 at 4:06 PM I never thought I'd find myself posting here, it's a really disappointing feeling. WHO: Eccentricpaw WHERE: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/eccentricpaw/ WHAT: Trade. I did a digital piece in exchange for a perler bead badge. WHEN: 3 months ago was when the trade was completed. PROOF: EXPLAIN: I saw Eccentricpaw doing these really cute perler bead badges, so I approached him asking if he would do an art trade for one, you can see this in the comments here: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/8373278/ We agreed, and so the trade was set up. They completed their half 24 days after the agreed date, their finished half can be seen here: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/8563657/ Four days after they post their half, mine is finished and posted, and can be viewed here: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/8591153/ Shipping was discussed shortly afterward, Eccentricpaw asked me for $2 to cover shipping, and so I sent that their way. The paypal screenshot can be seen at the bottom of the "proof" picture. Then all the problems came. Excuses, claims of a lost package, etc were made. I'm not sure if they forgot I had paid them for the shipping in the first place or not, because in that last message they said they didn't have the money to get it sent out, despite me paying for it. I was going to wait and see if the package would arrive after that last note, but at this point I am just so angry and bitter about the situation that I just went ahead and created a beware. I understand Eccentric was having trouble finding a home and had financial issues on their plate, however to my knowledge they had a month or two to get my half sent out before that occurred. Handing me the badge at MFF? I'd be furious! I paid for you to send it to me, not wait over four months to have it in my hands. They're starting a new fursuit business from what I heard, I really hope they give better customer service to those who plan to commission them than how they dealt with my badge. I am extremely unhappy, disappointed and stressed out with how this whole event unfolded.

9:33 PM chestnipple WHO: Zipi WHERE: furaffinity.net/user/zipi WHAT: Commissioned for digital art, but never payed for it, even after the drawing is finished. (two pieces, one payed, the other not) WHEN: Request was done on July 3. First drawing was finished on July 9, seccond on July 10. Payment for the first commission was got on the same day. Seccond payment never happened. PROOF: Request: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/63960948/abZ/request.png Commission one finished: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/63960948/abZ/first%20com%20sent.png Commission two finished: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/63960948/abZ/seccond%20com%20sent.png Aggreement on payment for the two pieces at the end of the month, and payment for the first piece on the same day as the pm was sent: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/63960948/abZ/payment1.png https://dl.dropbox.com/u/63960948/abZ/payment2.png https://dl.dropbox.com/u/63960948/abZ/end of the month.png At the end of the month, I ask for update about the payment: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/63960948/abZ/no%20reply.png Getting no reply; I send an other note a little over a week later: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/63960948/abZ/ask%20again.png I get a reply 5 days later, after making a journal asking for people if they had contact with zipi and could help me with it (the journal got deleted after I got a reply): https://dl.dropbox.com/u/63960948/abZ/reason.png I send an other pm over a month later; asking about payment: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/63960948/abZ/ask%20once%20more.png The pm is read, but I get no reply (there is a little yellow enveloppe next to unread messages): https://dl.dropbox.com/u/63960948/abZ/got read.png I try to contact them with a shout, but got no reply: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/63960948/abZ/ignore.png User is obviously active on the website: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/63960948/abZ/activity.png User also commissioned other artists after commissioning me: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/63960948/abZ/other%20commissions.png EXPLAIN: I have done two commissions for zipi 4 months ago, but got only payed for one, and the user is now ignoring me when I try to contact them. They also commissioned other artists since.

Oct. 25th, 2012 at 11:35 AM namelessimp I read all the rules and got things together as best I could. This is my first (and hopefully only) time posting to livejournal. I blocked out names, and tried to clip and give dates where necessary, please let me know if I need to fix anything else! WHO: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/plum/ and http://tale.deviantart.com/ WHERE: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/plum/ through notes from this journal: http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/3669416/ WHAT: I ordered four $5 icons from this person back on August 15th, they confirmed payment on August 17th WHEN: The payment for those four icons of $20 was sent on August 17th. As an artist, I know sometimes it takes awhile to get artwork done. I left them alone for awhile, but on August 30th I posted a shout on their wall asking them (since I saw they had been unactive on Furaffinity, and had not even read my note right after they confirmed payment) on deviantart how my art was coming along. PROOF: http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x227/kuraikozo/proof1.png - ordering art http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x227/kuraikozo/proof2.png - order confirmed http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x227/kuraikozo/proof2A.png - paypal confirmation http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x227/kuraikozo/proofnoanswer.png - noticed unchecked note http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x227/kuraikozo/proof3.png - left a shout on Deviantart just asking, since they hadn't looked at my note -Got a response note from Tale/Plum a few days later saying it would be done in two weeks. I'm not familiar with deviantart, so I accidentally deleted it- http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x227/kuraikozo/proof5no4.png - sent another note after no word http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x227/kuraikozo/proof6.png - no answer, left another note, and shout which remain unread and unanswered http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x227/kuraikozo/proof7.png - no response, but saw activity - Her favorites activity. She has been active after my unsent, unread notes and shouts. So I can only assume she is ignoring me or doesn't care. EXPLAIN: Ordered and paid for art on the 17th of August, it's now the 25th of October and still no progress pictures, and now I have lost contact with the artist. I saw some really cool pixelated icons from Plum on furaffinity and thought they looked really cool! I saw she had done and finished a lot of commissions, so I thought she seemed trustworthy. I checked her deviantart since she has a link in her profile, and everyone seemed pleased with her work time and ethic, so I thought everything would work okay. So I sent her a shout asking if she was open for commissions, and she made that journal. I sent her a note about it(Aug 15), and she responded very quickly (Aug 17) and the payment was sent the same day. I waited for awhile because I know it takes time to get art done since I'm an artist as well. After waiting awhile, and realizing they hadn't been active on furaffinity or even read my last note saying thank you, I decided just to leave a shout on her deviantart page on an account I don't really use, to get her to read my note on FA(Aug 30) but we resumed talking on deviantart. Tale sent me a note a few days later (probably around Sep 1st or 3rd) apologizing and she had two sketched out. I apologize for not having the screenshot, because I clicked delete thinking it was like the "mark as read" feature on Furaffinity, but she said she'd get it done soon. I thanked her for it. I waited and waited, and finally I sent her another note about it since she had not contacted me, showed me the sketches, or updated me. (Sept 25). She replied a few hours later, and promised it in a week. I thanked her, and said I understood. At this point is when I really started to get wary and thought I should just ask for a refund now. But she seemed sweet and apologetic, and had many previous commissioners so I thought to just give her some more time. Two weeks after our agreed week deadline, I sent her another note (Oct 8th). She didn't reply but I saw she was actively favoriting things on deviantart. They were not just pictures, either, but rather lengthy comics that took some time to read. I figure if she had time to read through and favorite long comics that she had time and an obligation to answer a note about a business transaction. So I sent her another note on Oct 16th and also left a shout on her page. By this time, it was too late (past 45 days) to open a dispute on paypal. I sent paypal an email today, asking if I was still able to dispute the transaction and explained what was going on. At this point, I'm just disappointed. I know it's not a large sum of money, but I was going to give those icons as gifts to my friends, and the artist has blown me off. I just don't want anyone else to deal with this. If anyone else has a way to contact her, or to talk to her, please let me know. I see she has many satisfied customers and stuff in real life to deal with, but I don't want to be slanted and taken advantage of for it. It takes a few seconds to send a note explaining, which she has if she's favoriting long comics, or to refund me. I have bought dozens of commissions, and have had very few problems. I'm sad that it had to come to this. But I feel at this point I'm being ripped off and won't get my icons done or my money back. Edit: I received all my money back from paypal. I find it kind of strange she just happened to only have time to respond after the refund (within ten hours of paypal sending me the refund), but things have worked out. I got my refund and I hold no grudge against the artist! She offered to compensate with an icon, which was very nice of her, but I'd rather this whole thing just be behind us. Here are the final notes: http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x227/kuraikozo/proof9.png http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x227/kuraikozo/proof10.png http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x227/kuraikozo/proof11.png

Oct. 17th, 2012 at 4:22 AM col_eviscerator WHO: Mirandaleigh, Mirachan, Miranda WHERE: http://smokingpen.com/ http://mirandaleigh.deviantart.com/ https://www.furaffinity.net/user/mirandaleigh/ WHAT: Five quick ink sketches in return for a papo allosaurus from her amazon wishlist WHEN: First made the arrangement in March 2010, asked for an update via FA notes in December 2011, and by email on October 2012 as well as in a journal on her FA page. PROOF: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/50799487/stuff/MirandaLeigh/Mirachanemailcap01.png https://dl.dropbox.com/u/50799487/stuff/MirandaLeigh/MirandaLeighSS2.png EXPLAIN: Okay, in 2010 she made a journal offering five sketches in return for objects from her wishlist. I purchased one and sat in to wait. For the past two and a half years I've contacted her...three times I think asking for updates and received nothing until I asked on a recent journal here: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/50799487/stuff/MirandaLeigh/MirandaLeighSS1.png and here: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/50799487/stuff/MirandaLeigh/MirandaLeighSS3.png And continuing in the journal itself: https://www.furaffinity.net/journal/3908827/ Dunno if AgentKira is just a sockpuppet or what, but I blocked them because....it just ain't worth a flamewar. It's only twenty bucks, I'd accept a refund gladly. It's just..the principle of the thing. Being patient, getting no response, then..just...how she handled it when I asked in public. Anyhow, if I left anything out, I'll edit in more screencaps. UPDATE: Received email from Miranda : https://dl.dropbox.com/u/50799487/stuff/MirandaLeigh/MirandaLeighEmailCap01.png I do not know how I should proceed.

Oct. 16th, 2012 at 5:58 PM violet_foxx WHO: lightningvampirewolf WHERE: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/lightningvampirewolf/ WHAT: a pair of fursuit ears WHEN: August 22nd initial contact and money sent EXPLAIN: Never received items or any proof they were worked on or shipped. Initial contact: August 22nd (Highlighted my words in blue, her words in pink.) Agreement on how much will be paid: August 22nd Proof of payment: August 22nd I asked when they will be completed: August 24th. They said Tuesday which would be August 28th. August 29th, asking for an update. September 3rd, asking for another update. September 13th, after FA came back up, I ask for proof or a refund. No response for a while, but I get this. September 30th, still haven't received anything. September 30th, still no pictures. October 9th, ask for refund, still no real proof. I got pictures of some foamed ears but they also conveniently had another pair of foamed ears just lying around, so I highly suspect the foamed ears are just the ones "lying around". No contact has been made since then, I've never received a tracking number or any pictures, and I've opened a dispute, with no contact back from the seller. I'm going to escalate it to a claim. I wouldn't advise commissioning this person for anything. Edit: 10/22/12 still haven't received anything in the mail, no tracking number, no pictures, no contact. Edit: 10/29/12 PayPal resolved the dispute in my favor and I have been refunded the full $38. Edit: 5/5/14 screenshot of LightningVampireWolf offering art as compensation on 12/6/12, after the refund. I declined, and no art was received.

AngelWolf on FA http://www.furaffinity.net/user/angelwolf/ An un-formal art trade: Badge for Badge. Most of the communication, sadly, was done through FA shouts which are easily deleted and are no longer able to cap. The trade was initiated some time before I completed my half back in July 2010. After close to 3 years now, Ive given up on ever receiving this badge. I honestly dont recall when it was began. But I do remember her asking me via shout if we could do a badge trade. If I could guess it would have been shortly before AnthroCon 2010 so June 2010 until today. See below all in proof screen grabs, All of the screen grabs: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wintersnowolf/sets/72157631774762737/ My half of the trade: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/4201234/ I completed my trade by mid July, in a timely manner which can be seen here: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/4201234/ I left it to her to see whenever she felt fit to complete her half. Several notes (as well as shouts asking for an update) were exchanged. The only notes on hand I have are here: Nov 3, 2011: http://flic.kr/p/djThR7 Her reply on Nov 13, 2011: http://flic.kr/p/djThME My reply back asking a few things Nov 13, 2011: http://flic.kr/p/djThNY No reply to that note. She then posts her art: http://flic.kr/p/djTh8p I even typed up a nice comment, super happy to have finally seen it! I get no reply... Nov 18, 2011, I give her my address and ask for her address so I can send out my half after seeing hers: http://flic.kr/p/djTiRF No reply to that note... Several months go by and here and there I do kindly remind her of our trade, via shouts, and asking when can I send my half to her. I remember one reply said something along the lines of "Since you live overseas, its going to be very expensive to ship, I dont have that money right now to do that :(" Okay, so you cant cover a $5 overseas shipping charge. No big. Ill wait. I ship things overseas all the time. In fact, I ship things on a weekly basis Then, it really got old; she's taking more trades, and more commissions. All the while my other shouts asking when I can send my half to her go un-replied. Finally sick of it, I tell her to just give me an address so I can at least do the right thing and give her my half. Testy, I write up a pretty annoyed reply, but after broken promises for additional arts, and a -watch later (from much earlier I noticed, not due to this last note) I have come to being sick of having her name sit on my waiting list for a trade. I had full intensions of shipping her half out, and not even caring if I ever received mine. I get this reply to my note last night: http://flic.kr/p/djThLE Okay, so I do not bother you for over a year to finally do our trade, then once its finally done you take another year before I even bother asking you again to mail it out and you accuse me of harassing you; I didnt know waiting 2+ years for a trade was harassing : So, Im sick of it, and decide to leave the note unanswered, block her, remove her from my watch list and Im going to just throw the badge away. Its not worth waiting to send out old, out-of-date art any more. And just to show I still do, yes in fact, have the badge to this day! I placed it in an over-sized envelope, with a blank piece of paper & cardboard backing since the day I posted it to FA (and finished it), in preparation for shipping. Here is a photo I took today of that badge: http://flic.kr/p/djUdiW Biggest worry; I see she is trading with more people, and taking commissions for more art: Buyer and Artists Beware. This girl is nothing short of someone that clearly holds no responsibility for her actions and has no intentions of fulfilling a trade, much less a paid commission. And if you want anything more than a low quality scan forget about it. The original has no chance of making it to you ever it seems. If you dont have a place to mail things to in the first place, dont take a trade and waste peoples time. EDIT: Angel has reached out to me to give an address: To keep it fair, since she cannot receive my half then I do not want hers. This is merely a beware to any one else to see the lack of communication and the year+ time it took to even trade. Had I known she never wanted to physically receive my half I would have never spent the extra time to cut, laminate and prepare it for shipping so it could serve its purpose as a badge to wear. As someone below stated we are both equal in the fact that neither of us have physically received our shares. I dont wish her to spend money on shipping it out.

Oct. 8th, 2012 at 8:46 PM WHO: synxirazu-niam @ FA WHERE: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/synxirazu-niam WHAT: Was a group picture but i paid for my slot. WHEN: Was paid on Jun 30th, 2011 since then I've sent several notes to know the status of the picture. Some of them were replied others not. PROOF: Ahead! Attached pictures of the notes. So, the Jun 30th, 2011, 08:06 PM I paid to synxirazu-niam paid 18 USD for a picture never done. His mainly excuses were that he needed more people to join since it was an harem picture but he had like 5 persons already, that was a big picture and that was moving. I sent him a note on Nov 19th, 2011, 12:09 AM, the same thin that he needed more people and confirmation form other. So i waited much more. On Feb 24th, 2012, 06:23 PM again i sent him a note, told me that the picture will not be done but he will do a picture for me in "refund". We were agree and i sent him then the description and everything he needed. The Jul 8th, 2012, 02:23 PM I sent him another note, asking if he had news, he said that was working on it... Since then no more news and he emptied all his gallery but still uses his account. Tired of all these shit i left a shout on his front page requesting my money back, that was three days ago, no reply, no money back, instead of that he deleted my shout. At this point I don't care about the art, I don't want to deal with him anymore, I just want my money back that for me its a lot.

Oct. 8th, 2012 at 1:28 PM staple_gunner EDIT #2: ribbun has finally sent me my refund, so this can be marked as resolved! finally.. who: ribbun where: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/ribbun / http://www.anipan.com/#!326 what: a mock 'sticker set' commission like this. they were only open for a limited time, so i snagged myself another one later in the day. later on, i had bad feelings about getting another, knowing she'd burn out on them eventually... but i resisted on changing my mind, knowing she needed the money for a reason i can't remember atm. when: 4-5 months ago, in may, after i received mozaik's sticker set. proof/explain: after having received mozaik's piece, i immediately wanted another so i told her i'd note her and had sent the note with the details and told i was put on the commission list. i promptly sent the payment (that was the basic rule, to send it when you were added to the list) on may 6th, the same day she had posted my previous commission. she knew it was from me, when she saw it in her paypal- because i always title my paypal payments with my username, and what it's for. i was getting tired of waiting throughout june. i was busy on vacation, and didn't really mind how long she was taking. later on in the beginning of july, i instantly regretted getting another, knowing she of course, must have just lost the inspiration to get them done. at first, i sent a note on july 13th, but it remained unread. i gave it time, knowing she must've been busy... so i emailed her instead, asking about a refund, on august 4th. i included my friend, ange, thinking it was easier to just let her know we both wanted one; ange is in the same situation as me, waiting on a sticker commission. she replied the next day, on the 5th telling me how she had just moved, had no internet, and it would be a few more weeks until i could get a refund. that's okay, so i waited until august 30th. that should be enough time, right? so i sent another email. she gave me another excuse. i emailed again, on september 17th. no reply. i emailed AGAIN on OCTOBER 4TH. no reply. my main problem is, after sending various emails asking for the status, is that after telling me she'd pay me back 'in a few weeks', she had stopped replying. i figured, you know, she has things going on, i'm fine with waiting. until i discovered she's been active on both of her tumblrs and on anipan, uploading art and... ignoring me possibly? i've had issues before on waiting for a while for art (it was a commissioned design), as have my other friends who have commissioned her. she is somewhat slow when she's not motivated, which is understandable.. but i assume if she's using these sites, she probably actively checks her email, a listed contact on her fa page?? so why am i not getting a reply while she's on other sites?? so.. at this point, i don't know. i really would like my refund without these redundant excuses popping up- $12 isn't that hard to make with her skills. i shouldn't have to have waited 5 months, playing tag over email for weeks. EDIT #1: since it took this post so long to be approved, i have to mention i sent ribbun a message over tumblr a few days before posting here which she replied to... and then i replied to her. no refunds still, after giving her our emails within that day. so then i sent this message, screencapped it on tumblr in case she doesn't reply/get to it or whatever and we have yet to see any money in our paypal accounts from her. so, yeah, i guess i'll have to continue playing the waiting game.

Oct. 1st, 2012 at 6:53 PM sharpecostumes WHO: FurryEcho on DA WHERE: http://furryecho.deviantart.com/ , www.furryecho.com WHAT: A set of premade paw pad molds to be used for fursuits http://furryecho.deviantart.com/#/d5akgqi WHEN: August 13th to now PROOF: First contact: http://imageshack.us/a/img195/7961/furryechocontact1.jpg Payment invoice and payment clearing: http://imageshack.us/a/img687/38/furryechopayment.jpg Notes sent in attempt to contact and ultimatum: http://imageshack.us/a/img267/4558/furryechocontact2.jpg EXPLAIN:Had found Echo through a group upon DA. I had seen she was selling paw pad molds and liked the overall shape and promptly commented on her posting about acquiring a pair of them for purchase. Her responses were quick and within the day she had sent an invoice for the payment. Upon opening the invoice I noticed that there was only an option to pay via an e-check. I paid and sent her a note letting her know. She acknowledged and a day later I saw the check had cleared, of which I noted her once more to let her know. She had comments left upon her main page from previous people receiving their packages and none that had not as of yet so I did not worry. Almost a month went by and I did not hear a response from her nor did I receive the molds. I noted her in inquiry of the package and sent her my address once more in case there was any difficulty. I had seen she checked her DA daily so felt that she would see it. I found her website and had sent her an inquiry very similar to the first note but no copy was sent to my email to post here. A few days went by and I waited for a response and checked my notes previously, seeing as none were responded to although she continued to be actively checking her DA. I checked Paypal to see how many days left were upon the purchase and I sent her one last note requesting a response or a refund, trying to be polite and straight forward. I gave her one week to respond. Today is the week deadline and I still have yet to receive a response, both notes are still unread. I have contacted paypal and opened a dispute in hopes to get the refund. I dislike having to resort to such actions like this and would like to send a positive note for her out as she has some very neat products to offer, but wish to warn future customers that they may send a payment and not receive their item or a response. :::Edit::: Paypal voted in my favor and refunded the cash paid to her. Just checking her DA I can still see she's on it daily and all notes are still unread. I would say case closed as I did receive a refund via Paypal but would hesitate those wishing products from her . I still hope this to be a fluke and all future clients are satisfied.

Sep. 25th, 2012 2:29 PM shadcroly WHO: Shiuk, Shiuk Salamander WHERE: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/shiuk/, transaction took place at RainFurrest 2011 WHAT: Digital Art priced at $80 (NSFW, details in image Email_August_2012.png ) WHEN: September 24, 2011 (RainFurrest 2011) - Last day I was going to be available at the convention, bought commission from Shiuk and paid in full up front. December 1, 2011 (FurAffinity Notes) - First checkup on the status of commission. Timely reply later that day. January 21, 2012 (FurAffinity Notes) - Request for commission status update. No reply. May 18, 2012 (FurAffinity Notes) - Request for commission status update. No reply. June 21, 2012 (FurAffinity Notes) - Request for commission status update or refund. No reply. August 6, 2012 (Email exchange) - Reply from Shiuk offering to refund my purchase. September 17, 2012 (Email exchange) - Request for update on refund. No reply. PROOF: REFUND PROOF: http://s749.photobucket.com/user/Shad_Croly/media/Artist Beware/Refund_zps47e31985.png.html EXPLAIN: The whole story is basically outlined in the timeline of events as shown above. At RainFurrest 2011, I purchased a commission from him, but it was towards the end of the convention and I didn't want him to rush mine and the commissions ahead of me done, so I paid extra to have it done digitally and sent to me at a later date. I paid in full up front. Over the course of the next year's time, I've attempted to contact him via FurAffinity notes and emails asking for updates on the status of the commission and getting very few replies. After loosing my job in February of 2012, I made the decision to request a refund. In August, he finally emailed me back, offering a refund. Since then, I've made attempts to contact Shiuk though email, FurAffinity notes, and both InkBunny notes and Facebook (at the suggestions of a few friends) on a possible ETA for the refund, with no success. UPDATE 1: I've been attempting to contact Shiuk once a week (or so, give or take a day) ever since September 17 and have continued to receive no word back from Shiuk. Looking at my FurAffinity Notes Outbox, all of my FA notes to Shiuk show as not being read, and with this persistent silence, I can only assume he's also ignoring my emails to him and my notes on Inkbunny. UPDATE 2: At the request of a friend of mine, I'm no longer sending him notes and emails once a week, but have switched to messaging him every time I see him uploading something somewhere (typically on Inkbunny), or once a month, whichever comes first. I've still received no words back from him, but he at least knows I'm trying to contact him because he deletes my shouts on his FurAffinity page whenever I ask about my refund or link to this journal entry. UPDATE 3: I sent Shiuk an email, saying that I would take my case to the FurAffinity admins and to Paypal if he didn't deliver my refund within a week's time; not exactly the smartest thing to do, on top of being continusouly stressed by this, which is not the best mindset for making decissions. I received an email back from Shiuk (see November_1_2012.png) saying that misunderstood the initial message (and I will admit I'm wrong if I did) and that he'd have the refund for me when he is "capable of doing so"; since that doesn't give me any time frame of reference, I asked for clarification. UPDATE 4: This issue has been resolved. I've received my refund from this artist.

Sep. 18th, 2012 at 7:23 PM phoenix_audubon Hey, y'all. I am sad that my business with an artist has come to this. I will admit, I should have typed this up much sooner, but I've been pretty busy up until now (which I'll get to later). WHO: Kipper (on FA), kipper_snax WHERE: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/kipper WHAT: Digital badge WHEN: November 5, 2011: I paid $20 down payment for the badge November 12, 2011: I watch Kipper draw my badge during a Livestream (video has since been deleted). November 14, 2011: Last $20 payment made. (No contact from Kipper. I'm busy with last year of college.) May 3, 2012: Noticing donation stream journals on his page (http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/3419122/), I PM Kipper about the status of my badge. He responds asking if I want a PSD or PNG file. (I thought he would print out the badge himself, but I'm capable of doing that on my own--I just want what I paid for.) I respond that I'll take a PNG, as I don't have PhotoShop. No response. July 1, 2012: PM Kipper again since I haven't received the badge file yet. No response. July 19, 2012: PM Kipper again since I haven't received the badge file yet. No response. August 24, 2012: After Kipper posts about taking commissions for "emergency money" (http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/3773443/), I PM about my badge. No response. PROOF: This is the PayPal history showing my payments. This is Kipper's note to me indicating he's ready to start drawing in his stream. This is Kipper's last response to me, about what file type I want. These are the last three PMs I sent to Kipper that went unanswered. NOTE: The "sketch" refers to a donation sketch in December 2011. Kipper hadn't sent the file for that, either. I was able to find it on his Flickr page, and I mentioned that to him. He still didn't respond about it. This is what my FA Outbox currently looks like; the black boxes are PMs to others. As you can see, all the PMs to Kipper are not bolded, which, I believe, means that he has read them. EXPLAIN: As I mentioned before, I was busy with college, along with work and family junk. So, maybe some of that is my fault for not following with Kipper as much as I should have. I also gave him a sort of a pass when he posted vent art (http://www.furaffinity.net/view/8042000/) where he rants, "just[sic] wonder what I'm doing here sometimes...and Im[sic] kinda losing the drive for it." Still, now that's he up and taking commissions again...I don't know what the hold-up is to just send a file. I mean, it's pretty much done from what he did in the Livestream... I don't know what else to do. It's way too late to request the money back from PayPal, although the Help pages do say I can still report anyway, so that the negative feedback is reflected on their profile. However, the 1st payment mentions "FurAffinity" in the notes (although the 2nd one does not), and I don't want Kipper's account to be suspended if I bring it up. All I can say at this point is...it'll be awkward should I run into him at RainFurrest...

Sep. 14th, 2012 at 10:20 PM ht_hollie WHO: Alyssa, aka KaiserFlames WHERE: http://kaiserflames.deviantart.com/ WHAT: As stated in the artist’s email here: http://i45.tinypic.com/302vypf.png WHEN: I first contacted KaiserFlames on June 8 requesting commission details. We worked out what I wanted and the price on the same day, at the end of which my payment of $94.20 was sent. A follow-up sent by me on July 25 received the response of: http://i49.tinypic.com/308iru8.png I requested a second piece to be added to the original order, and sent the details through on July 26, after agreeing on an additional price of $75. I didn’t send payment immediately, as I hadn’t yet seen anything from my first paid-for piece. Then – http://i49.tinypic.com/2rqhpgi.png To which I replied - http://i48.tinypic.com/20tny2h.png There was no response. The eagerness for my money, and then the lack of an answer when I asked for the work I’d already paid for made me start to think there was something wrong going on. After seeking advice from friends, I requested a refund on September 12. http://i49.tinypic.com/2j0yqz9.png That was when the trouble started. Suddenly, I was frustrating her by asking for the money I’d paid for the work I hadn’t received. http://i50.tinypic.com/oq8tuf.png Lots more fun and games followed, including sob stories, attempted guilt trips, and more blame-shifting. The situation is, as of now, unresolved. My last email to her offered reasonable solutions before I open a dispute with the bank: http://i47.tinypic.com/1jlxqs.png PROOF: http://i45.tinypic.com/302vypf.png