Stormrunner

May 29, 2014 https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/770411.html Who/Where: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/bluewolfcheetah/ http://kaylaskritterz.com/ What: $300 of faux fur with cigarette smoke smell When: May 12 onwards Proof/Explain: BlueWolfCheetah posted some images up on their FurAffinity gallery selling off their stock of faux fur (those have since been deleted since all the fur was sold, so I wasn't able to get screen shots of those). In total, I ended up buying $300 worth of fur from them. Emails one, two, and three detail what I bought initially ($255 invoice and payment). I bought an additional $55 worth of fur slightly later on their submission on FA (invoice and payment). Their user page said that they had pets, which wasn't an issue as I also have pets. I received the fur a few days later, the second smaller shipment arriving shortly after. When I opened the fur however, I noticed all of it smelled like cigarette smoke more than a little bit. When I asked the seller if the furs came from a smoking household (which is something I've seen sellers warn about before out of courtesy), she said it did but the smoker's room was on the other side of the house and shouldn't be noticeable. Communication up to that point was fairly quick, I'd get a response within hours if not minutes of my messages. After that response it took multiple emails from me and closer to a day/a day and a half to get a reply. When I told them that yes, there was a definite smoke smell to the fur and it was going to be unusable, all they said was to repeat that it shouldn't be noticeable, and maybe I should try to febreeze it or hang it up. I replied back saying that I had tried that with no effect, and had to completely saturate the fur in baking soda and vinegar multiple times to get rid of the smell and wasn't happy with having to spend money on things that I had bought to fix a problem that I was not told about, and received no reply back. I sent another email asking for a small refund to help cover the cost of the cleaning supplies I had to buy, and have yet to receive a reply. Edit: resolved, partial refund recieved

May 29, 2014 https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/770057.html WHO: FA - SugarFactory / StarFruitStudios / Kahuna. / gummifruit DA - aloharilakkuma Tumblr - sugargalaxy Twitter - kahunaotter WHERE: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/sugarfactory http://www.furaffinity.net/user/starfruitstudios/ WHAT: Premade Design Partial Suit - Wish the Husky for $180 WHEN: July 13, 2013 to Present Day PROOF: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/mhxc1wlsuia9im5/AADLQqaaARtci-vgZPS61yg0a EXPLAIN: In July, I contacted StarFruitStudios about a pre-designed 'to be made' partial fursuit called Wish the Husky (Seen here: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/11072710/). Wish was to be started when she returned from Vegas (July 26th) and estimated to be completed within 1-2 weeks. There was one other suit in her queue that was to be completed by July 18th. I set a tentative deadline in August for a con I was hoping to wear him to. (https://www.dropbox.com/s/vw1r2ylhvla4k0e/initial_contact.jpg) I sent a $50 downpayment, and the remaining $130 the following Thursday (July 18th). (https://www.dropbox.com/s/r7i1cqcm5xnrp1v/payments.jpg) Measurements were sent the same day. Contact waned after this, but I saw she was working on several art commissions and the other fursuit commission in queue, so I wasn't too concerned. I checked in a couple times, and received updates regarding the status of fur and other supply ordering. I didn't receive any updates after October 5, 2013. In November, SugarFactory posted she lost her job. In December, she posted she was sick and would soon issue refunds. I attempted to contact her in December and January, but received no responses. (https://www.dropbox.com/s/9zcq79oo8grhufa/WIP_contact.jpg) In January, I noticed her friends leaving shouts on her page that sounded like she was still working on artwork. One of them I noticed was a collab, so I noted this other artist in hopes they would know more about sugarfactory's whereabouts. They said she was sick, and that she wasn't directly working with them. They suggested to be patient and continue attempts to note her. (https://www.dropbox.com/s/swahspy6s02s9q9/collab_contact.jpg) In late February, after an AB post was made (http://artists-beware.livejournal.com/742656.html), sugarfactory posted a journal apologizing and asking everyone to send in notes regarding refunds. She also stated that she would no longer take commissions. That journal has since been deleted. (It is worth noting that on April 10, 2014, sugarfactory started using the 'gummifruit' account to take plush and bandana commissions.) I sent her multiple notes after this (about 1-2 a month), which either received no response, or a promise that it would be refunded soon (within a few days). At the end of April, she posted that her bank account was compromised for fraud, and refunds would be delayed again. (http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/5716269/) I sent another note and posted a shout on kahuna. on May 21st, and received a response saying I would be refunded in 24 hours. Over Memorial Day weekend (May 23-25), sugarfactory attended Comicpalooza in Houston. The journal posted shows others still awaiting refunds as well: http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/5738187/ As of May 27, 2014, I still have not received a refund. (https://www.dropbox.com/s/k5g0tdxj10882zv/refund.jpg) All shouts and/or public mentions of refunds owed have been quickly deleted. EDIT: I was contacted by sugarfactory on 6/1/2014 and notified that she will be mailing out a money order for the amount owed on Monday, 6/2/2014. I will update this entry again once I have received it! EDIT2: Money Order was received on 6/5/14 for the full amount owed. Case can now be considered resolved.

May 27, 2014 https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/769814.html Who: Porter Corgi aka Little~Bit Where: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/thecorgi/ What: a tradition bust badge When: I commissioned the badge in 2012, was supposed to be done right away (within the week) as it was advertised as an "emergency commission" (couldn't get screen caps of the journal she posted as she deletes them often) then I got excuse after excuse, "I'm so busy" "computer/tablet broken" "I work all day, then train horses and give lessons all day. I'm trying to get your badge to you", I was then sent this link to this unpleasant digital badge, the quality was bad, it looked messy, pixel-y, rushed and not her art style at all, I reminded her I asked for traditional, she apologized and said she'd fix it no problem. The excuses continued. I then had to leave FA for a while because my account was hacked, I looked for her often, and tried to contact her multiple times, for a while she was gone doing stuff in armed forces, and then she was "done with FA forever" as seen on her old account http://www.furaffinity.net/user/little~bit/ I finally joined FA again this year 2014, over 2 years later. Since I joined I've been contacting her, 3 months ago I noted her about the long overdue badge, with the warning I was thinking about posting on artists beware, she apologized a lot and said she'd get it to me asap. It's been 3 months since she's said this. Proof: I don't have screenshots from my old account but these are the conversations we've had since I re joined http://s1352.photobucket.com/user/mlpblah_/media/162C47C0-FCA0-4362-B493-F4B4BCA0D1CD_zps489xrvjh.png.html?sort=3&o=4 http://s1352.photobucket.com/user/mlpblah_/media/469ED320-CB6D-4224-B845-63869D0D2E50_zps7nxziwvl.png.html?sort=3&o=1 http://s1352.photobucket.com/user/mlpblah_/media/D6095F5B-86A1-4E31-B0C9-3DB138AC42A0_zpsn3jcovau.png.html?sort=3&o=2 http://s1352.photobucket.com/user/mlpblah_/media/F35A5704-3FDB-4B3E-97E4-76B24698748C_zpsu6llokgr.png.html?sort=3&o=3 http://s1352.photobucket.com/user/mlpblah_/media/F4C79565-D2A9-4C69-9AD9-B76550D2B744_zpspqvonhli.png.html?sort=3&o=0 Explain: I've been trying to get this badge from her for over 2 years now, I'm so upset because I used to look up to her, I loved her art so much now I just want my badge so I never have to talk to her again. Apparently I'm rude for asking for my overdue art because she's doing charitable things. But I paid her to do this, you need to take your job as an artist seriously. Since I've been complaining she's posted this journal http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/5708600/ (sounds like I'm not the only one she's ripped off" saying "I have so much way overdue art I'm never doing commissions again unless I really want to" I hope she doesn't because I don't want someone else going through what I did from someone I used to think was so cool, and used to look up to. I'm very upset about this and I wish she'd see that. I don't think I'm ever going to get this badge, I'm going to talk to her about getting my money back. She's rarely on FA and always takes a few days to respond to me. I can't get screenshots of our notes in 2012 as my account was hacked and the password was changed.

May 27, 2014 https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/769612.html WHO: Grizurso WHERE: https://www.weasyl.com/~grizurso, http://www.furaffinity.net/user/grizurso/, https://twitter.com/grizurso WHAT: Custom digital art commission WHEN: March 25, 2014 PROOF: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/7d8z4dol3ull2lh/Untitled3.jpg https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/12s9hs497ex4ith/Untitled.jpg https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/44ypjww61zsthxh/Untitled2.jpg EXPLAIN: On about March 25, 2014 I purchased a custom art commission from Grizurso on Weasyl. Several slots were open and I messaged him to confirm there was still availability. After receiving confirmation from him through Weasyl that slots were still open I requested one. I sent him an email on March 26 with full details of the requested artwork and three references. He responded the same day with a sketch but it didn't match exactly what I was going for. I suggested a few changes and was quoted a price of $60 for the artwork. I paid $70 up front. The extra money was to compensate him for the extra time spent on the sketch. On March 27 he provided an updated sketch showing the proposed changes. The sketch was perfect and I sent confirmation of the sketch on March 28. After that he became completely silent. I sent a message on April 9 via email and another through Weasyl on April 15. In both messages I expressed concern over the lack of updates and asked for the current status. I received a response on Weasyl on April 17 stating there had been no progress for a variety of personal issues and he'd have an update to me as fast as he can. I received no updates of any kind after that date. Since then all of his artwork has been deleted from Weasyl and Furaffinity. His Twitter account has been entirely deleted as well. He appears to have vanished. On May 12 I sent him messages by email, Furaffinity and Weasyl explaining that I'd like a refund or the artwork. I have had no response. UPDATE: On Friday, 3/4/16, Grizurso contacted me unexpectedly on Twitter. He asked for my PayPal address and refunded me the full $75 I originally paid. He did this on his own without any prompting from me. I consider the matter resolved.

May 22, 2014 https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/768650.html WHO: Sickboy, Pales, horrorprince.deviantart.com, http://whorrorprince.tumblr.com/ WHERE: deviantart.com, virtualpetlist.com, and furry-paws.com WHAT: All digital art. The absolute best I can do for screenshot proof is provide the forum post where I discovered him on virtualpetlist.com (see: http://www.virtualpetlist.com/threads/sim-artist-looking-for-work-again.15631/) and on another forum that is now defunct. I recognized him because he went by his alternative name Pales on the defunct forum and I addressed him as Pales which prompted him to message me. I do have those messages but they're text based since they were backed up from the forum software. I never thought I'd have to use them as evidence. Eventually we switched to IM and screenshots will reflect that. WHEN: I’m copy and pasting what I wrote on another forum as I’ve tried to reword this several times and it’s just too hard for me emotionally. So I hope this suffices. Sorry if it’s too long.. I paid in advance for items in June with a deadline of July. Sickboy didn't meet the deadlines, however, he did give excuses which I was empathetic of. We extended deadlines several times. I often had to ask him for progress. Here is a conversation we exchanged over IM where I asked him about my items and how he addressed my questions. Although that conversation is dated October, I did ask him two to three times before October, once in July and a separate time in September. The week of September is the time he delivered 7 items and said he would complete the rest that week. I trusted he would, and again paid in advance that week for more items. He has not completed any items since September or that payment. I again asked him in January to which I received similar responses to the first conversation. Nearly a week later, I discovered that Sickboy had been anonymously mentioning my commission to others, complaining about how I had asked him about my commission, which urged me to cease working with Sickboy altogether. Sickboy explained recently that his tablet broke, that he was depressed over the passing of a friend's cat, etc. I am understanding, but I had been waiting for my commission for almost more than six months before these events transpired. Sickboy has told me an item takes him twenty to thirty minutes to complete. We originally agreed that he would complete the art, but circumstances changed, I requested that I be refunded, to which he agreed. This correspondence was through DeviantART. He told me he would refund me sometime in the future and when he had the money he'd message me through VPL. I was okay with this. I asked him how he was, just a general "how are you" and he blocked me from DeviantART. There is absolutely no reason why I was blocked, which leads me to believe I won't be receiving my money back, nor will I be hearing from Sickboy again. PROOF: Agreement: the first one: http://i.imgur.com/wm4eA49.png (6/27) & the second: http://i.imgur.com/Do0MtgY.png (9/8) Proof of payment: http://i.imgur.com/iFHOzfs.png & http://i.imgur.com/6NMJOaI.png Proof of him agreeing to finish the overdue art on 9/8: http://i.imgur.com/4k3hUdo.png (he did not finish them that night) Evidence of him cursing at me: http://pastebin.com/qpc2EEv4 Due to him accusing me of editing this pastebin, I am posting a screenshot of how it appears in my logs: http://i.imgur.com/7NK29Jv.png - I am sorry that it's formatted in a block of text. My logs apparently bugged out and I don't want to edit it to prove the point that they weren't touched. EXPLAIN: I’ve done everything I could to ask for my money back. Despite his promises to do so (as seen in his responses on my forum thread) he is now lying to others saying he doesn’t owe me any money http://comments.deviantart.com/1/449033043/3447744659 I’ve tried everything. I don’t know what else to do. I was scammed out of a lot of money. So much money that I’m not comfortable even saying it. That is why I’ve blacked it out. It’s embarrassing. Another thing I’d like to advise to potential buyers is that this person has a Terms of Service that isn’t very airtight and very contradictory. This has led me to the realization that the art he did do I will need to replace. So on top of the money I was scammed out of, I will also need to replace all the art he actually did to. I came to this realization based on his terms: http://sickboyart.co.nf/tos.php I did not have these terms laid out in front of me when I was commissioning the seller. I don’t feel comfortable that I’m required to credit him to use the art he did for me because it may lead to others commissioning him and rendering a similar experience. http://i.imgur.com/sRPGvEc.png To me, his terms are also very confusing and legally unfriendly. All efforts to sign over his work to me have went ignored. Edit: Please read: The problem with the Artist's TOS is NOT solely the credit but instead the legal loopholes and problems that may be faced with the rights of the work and refund policy. I was advised to get the work replaced because of the confusing terms. I do not have a problem with crediting artists so long my order is completed. The reason why the TOS is being mentioned is so that people are aware of all his terms before ordering. I was not I have personally made the decision to get the art he did do replaced because I disagree with these terms. Again I provide them here so potential consumers are aware. These terms didn't exist when I made my order.

May 21, 2014 https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/768071.html WHO: Raikhan / deli-cat WHERE: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/6003987/ http://raikhan.sofurry.com/ https://inkbunny.net/Raikhan http://deli-cat.tumblr.com/ WHEN: July 2012 - April 2014 PROOF AND EXPLAIN: Throughout the passed two years, I asked for updates and got either completely ignored for months at a time or received multiple "excuses" such as files got corrupted, or my mother has cancer. I stated multiple times that if the artist was unable to perform the duties to draw my commission I would be happy to just find someone else to do it and just get a refund. https://www.dropbox.com/s/7oxd1cfcocf53v8/excuse1.PNG https://www.dropbox.com/s/achlq8wuhsbqjod/excuse2.PNG https://www.dropbox.com/s/rov32ghc3rmvtn0/excuse3.PNG https://www.dropbox.com/s/62szgoanvjtfrp7/excuse4.PNG 7/1/2012 I query about price of the commission of 2 characters split payments agreement for progression on the commission for every payment https://www.dropbox.com/s/22gqwr147t04i2z/progression%20per%20payment.PNG 7/3/2012 Added additional character and renegotioated price. I organized the commission information in one large note with all the details needed for the art. https://www.dropbox.com/s/n228mpjp6ll4bs9/Commission%20Details.PNG 7/5/2012 Sent $50 payment https://www.dropbox.com/s/onn6hp93kqf3tfa/paypal%20transactions.PNG (this screenshot shows both my payments to her and the refund from her.) 8/9/2012 I am told that the sketch and color blocking is completed and asked if i want to see a WIP which I reply yes https://www.dropbox.com/s/ws91t9u4amgbf8u/sketch%20done.PNG 9/27/2012 I finally receive the WIP I was told was complete on 8/9/2012 I also sent another $50 payment https://www.dropbox.com/s/onn6hp93kqf3tfa/paypal%20transactions.PNG (same link as above, has all the transaction with the artist) https://www.dropbox.com/s/ucua4nluxjy9oa7/sketch.PNG https://www.dropbox.com/s/6lwj317ju5udo8u/sketch.jpg 5/11/2013 "color scheme" update https://www.dropbox.com/s/xy8aaexfi1p8z5v/matsi%20wip.jpg 5/11/2013 Last Contact until April 2nd 2014 when I posted into her shoutbox(she deleted these so I don't have screenshots of them) Here are 3 of the notes I sent to here one every few months asking for updates (since it took nearly 3 months just to get the sketches and because the poor communication I really wanted updated WiP before I sent the final payment because at this point I was already feeling like it was not going to ever be completed and I didn't want to lose even more money on it...) https://www.dropbox.com/s/zoj0h6sglel8gnh/ignored%20note1.PNG https://www.dropbox.com/s/93td92s9i13gpec/ignored%20note2.PNG https://www.dropbox.com/s/yq3jwg5b41en0vs/ignored%20note2%20still%20unread.PNG (you can see in this one that she STILL hasn't even read this note...) https://www.dropbox.com/s/pacvqiexnpcfr8m/ignored%20note3.PNG 4/2/2014 I get a response; stating that I never paid the full amount(I hadn't sent the 3/3 payment because I had no contact and received no updated WIP of the art, which should have been fully colored but not yet shaded... Also that I "never told her that the character had 3 heads and 4 arms" Artist stated she would be sending me a refund sometime within the next month minus time spent on the art, which she claimed was 2 hours(which certainly isnt 2/3 of the ~10 hrs I was charged total for the commission, going by the artists commission prices. Screenshot of her 4 shouts on my page: https://www.dropbox.com/s/lf2hsw8wv90tfhh/FA%20shouts.PNG The refund conversation went as follows... sadly I do not have screenshots of what I posted onto her page because she deleted them every time she replied: Her saying "You never paid the full amount and didn't mention that your char has 3 heads and 4 arms 😕 But I am done here, give me your paypal, I'll send you a refund." Me saying something about how I DID in fact say the character had 3 heads and 4 arms, and you can see that in the screenshots above where she even says something about how she wants to make sure the arms are positioned well.... and I also mentioned that I didn't make the final payment because she was ignoring me and not sending me a WiP where the picture was progressed enough to receive the 3rd payment. Her Saying The last WIP I provided was the main char almost done, atmosphere in, starting on bg. So much for WIP's not happening... Me asking When I will get the refund her saying "Mid of April minus the hours spent on it." Me asking hour many hours that was Her saying "2" 4/23/2014 I receive a "refund" from the artist of 50.56EUR, which is neither the currency the artist lists for what she charges for commission nor what I paid in, the transaction was also sent as a "payment for goods/services". this costed me several dollars in Paypal fees for being "a purchase" AND to convert the currency into USD, so instead of receiving a $70 refund from the $100 I paid, I wind up with $65. (I feel like this was very inappropriate, and that if you accept and list your prices in USD, the refunds should be in USD as well! And to send it in such a way that it charges me fees as if she was buying something from me instead of refunding my payments is nonsense.) https://www.dropbox.com/s/zrpdmno6yrrq5yt/currency.PNG I am happy that I at least got some of my money back, for over a year I thought I would just have no art and no refund...but I feel entitled to the remaining amount refunded and I feel scammed. I am posting this, not expecting to get anything more for me, but to warn others so that they do not have to experience the same thing I did from this artist!

May 20th, 2014 https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/767746.html WHO: HulaHula11 WHERE: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/hulahula11/ WHAT: Digital full colored image with background - $100 WHEN: Payment was sent April 29th, but the majority of the issues were from last night to today, May 19/20th PROOF: Payment Proof: http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/kayliimae/54117801/2848/2848_original.jpg Emails (I just posted all for total information! Issue starts in last two links) http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/kayliimae/54117801/4336/4336_900.jpg http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/kayliimae/54117801/4543/4543_900.jpg http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/kayliimae/54117801/4846/4846_900.jpg http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/kayliimae/54117801/4897/4897_900.jpg http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/kayliimae/54117801/5149/5149_900.jpg http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/kayliimae/54117801/5583/5583_900.jpg http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/kayliimae/54117801/5739/5739_900.jpg http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/kayliimae/54117801/5915/5915_900.jpg http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/kayliimae/54117801/6193/6193_900.jpg Their rant journal: http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/5773489/ If deleted, screencaps: http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/kayliimae/54117801/3227/3227_original.jpg http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/kayliimae/54117801/3387/3387_original.jpg Before finished commission (NSFW): http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/kayliimae/54117801/3595/3595_900.png After image (NSFW) : http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/kayliimae/54117801/3920/3920_900.png EXPLAIN: As how most of my commissions start, I sent them a form requesting they read my TOS along with asking for general information for the commission. After that I sent them a sketch, and they asked for revisions. So I sent another. They were still unhappy with it, so I sent them some thumbnails with 3 new poses at no extra charge thinking they didn't like the original pose. One of these poses was approved so I did a touch up. They were happy with both the sketch and inks, so I finished the image and that's when the trouble started. I sent them the finished files and they sent back 3 emails stating that the eyes were not colored (they were, but with a spotlight effect that made the eyes brighter, I didn't fight that) and that the nose should be black, not pink, even though in 2 of the 3 refs they sent, the character had a pink nose. They never specified they preferred black to pink so I went with the color shown in the majority of the refs. As this detail wasn't specified beforehand, I asked for a fee, because my TOS states that if the coloring is wrong and it's not my mistake, I ask for an edit fee. It was a small change but it's part of my TOS. Personally I should add, I asked for a fee at this point because I had already done multiple revisions of this sketch as the commissioner wasn't happy with it, I didn't think it was unfair to ask for a little extra for more of my time. TOS: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NvMkcR6HH9rpAa-nGTAX9WM_6M5IcmaX2-ttm-PrpJA/edit They replied back snappily in the last email and before I could respond to them, they posted a journal on FA calling me a "thief" and a "cunt". I am putting this on Artists Beware because I felt like I went out of my way to appease this commissioner with extra work for free but they did not specify preferred refs and got snappy when I used the color that was used in 2 of the 3 refs. And then they got angry and publicly insulted me when I asked for a fee as per my TOS that they should have read at the beginning of the commission process. I saw this and decided I didn't want any money from them, so I did the edits, sent the revised files, and told them to no longer commission me for future work. This beware is about their issues with communication and their treatment towards me.

May 20, 2014 https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/767609.html Original Entry: http://artists-beware.livejournal.com/667674.html Who: Ravinghachi/Neotoxin Wolf/Skittles/hellishballoffur/Rainbow Paw Creations Website: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/hellishballoffur/ Where: Saboten Convention 2012 What: Trade-RavingHachi was to supply two conbadges as payment for a premade fursuit tail. When: September 2012 Proof: Screenshots will be Provided below Details: Skittles and I agreed to a trade at Saboten2012: my $60 tail for two conbadges by her. After being given specific instructions, she did one of the badges,and while it was cute, it wasn't what I had asked for and she had agreed to do. When I mentioned to her that it wasn't quite was I was hoping for, she flipped out. She blocked me, deleted my comments, and told people 'it was settled and she had paid me'. This wasn't true: she still had the tail, and I wasn't compensated. Recently I again contacted her again about a refund on FA (screenshot). As before, she deleted my comments on her page (screenshot), but this time sent me an email. After a lengthy conversation where I was called a 'bully' multiple times for insisting she pay me fore the item she took, I was issued a refund. I feel I was terse, but my intent was not to 'bully' her. (It brings to mind calling the police bullies when they arrest you for shoplifting.) Although this is resolved, I'm posting the conversations. I'm not doing this out of malice, I'm sharing them so artists can make informed decisions before they conduct business with her. https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/mottenfest/8089253/10582/10582_original.jpg

May 20, 2014 https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/767370.html WHO: Kit_tric WHERE: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/kittric/ WHAT: Digital art, specifically character designs. WHEN: This week. PROOF: Better off putting it below. EXPLAIN: I put up a bunch of character designs I only used once to try and make a little extra cash. Kit_tric leaves a message that, as far as I can see, can be read as nothing other than a request to buy one of the designs: https://i.imgur.com/0q84nDu.png I PM him with my Paypal address, and not until over 24 hours later do I get this: https://i.imgur.com/lMiBRIm.png Which kind of seems like being flaky to me, but I guess I just wanted this here unless you get any 'offers' from this person on adoptables. I don't know them and haven't spoken to them before this, so it's not as if it's a friendly leg pull.

May 18, 2014 https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/766898.html WHO: FurryFapChap/CheeryLuna WHERE: http://furryfapchap.deviantart.com/ WHAT: A 6-page NSFW comic. WHEN: First contact April 9th, Commission canceled May 18th. PROOF: PP transactions showing original date of invoice, More detailed view of the request, showing date when I sent a reminder. EXPLAIN: Read from the bottom to the top in each image. http://i.imgur.com/iVAJzOS.png http://i.imgur.com/BUp2DpF.png http://i.imgur.com/D6BQPGE.png http://i.imgur.com/afllhGj.png http://i.imgur.com/qk6u8EW.png Shows the dates of his notes to me. I was contacted to make a short comic. I agreed to it and gave pricing. I figured I would be able to get a little bit more money if I could sell the slots for the two "random girl" characters since their identities didn't matter to FCC. I gave FCC a discount to do this and would sell of the slots for pretty cheap, but I would still be making an extra $40 so it would work out for everyone. Since I didn't know how long it would take to sell the slots, I said that he didn't have to pay until that happened. It took about 12 days to sell them both, but I did and those people paid right away. I sent an invoice on the 19th to FCC. I let him know, sent the roughed pages and several days later sent a reminder through PayPal. I've learned my lesson in the past about doing comic work before being paid, so I wasn't going to continue work until he paid. A few days later the request had still not been paid, so I sent a DA note reminding him. I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt and say that if for whatever reason he didn't get the request to send it to me directly. To which he responded that that is what he had already done (for some reason ignoring the request sent to his email address?) and got a receipt (which I wasn't shown). At this point, I am sure I was being strung along, but gave it a couple of days anyway. Three days later and still nothing. Since it is all on his end at the moment, I said it was up to him to contact PayPal and see what happened. If he paid with his card, then where did the money get sent? PayPal should know about this kind of error. He said he'd call them and straighten it out, but it has since been 12 days and I am tired of waiting. Not to mention that the other two people sent their payments in on the 18th and 19th of April and I don't want them to wait forever. I don't like having projects hanging over my head. I decided to send FCC a note canceling his slot and also canceled the unpaid invoice.

May 11, 2014 https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/766518.html WHO: Chocho WHERE: Furaffinity WHAT: Full body / Full color / Background piece ($100) paid for & charged back. WHEN: May 3rd to Present * EDIT: May 17th PROOF: http://puu.sh/8IzSP.png http://puu.sh/8IzUj.png http://puu.sh/8IA56.png http://puu.sh/8IAcl.png EXPLAIN: I was contacted by Chocho on May 2nd using my Google Docs form to request a commission. I responded on May 3rd with a request to invoice. They said they currently didn't have access to a desktop, so I sent them my e-mail to send the information to. It is worth noting that the last name of the client and the last name on the account were the same, so I accepted the payment without worrying too much. ***I understand now that this should have been a red flag and I will now enforce/refund any money given to me outside of invoices, no exceptions.*** I had been a bit later than anticipating to respond to them with a sketched piece on May 9th. The next day, they issued me a chargeback and I did not realize until this morning (May 11th). My Terms of Service outlines that I only issue half-refunds after the sketch is completed, unless the client contacts me with more information. Instead, they simply charged the money back and I was out $112 (as I xfer my funds to Canadian Dollars.) So I spent $12 CAD to give someone a sketch! I refunded the transaction in full, noted my policies in the refund details, and sent them on their way. I know paypal has iffy policies on art-transactions and do not have the patience to argue with them about $50. I was going to wait a period of time before I sent this beware to get a response, but due to the nature of the transaction, I figured I should submit this as soon as possible. My best guess is that the client may have dishonestly used a family paypal or credit card to issue the funds and the family member issued a chargeback after not recognizing the charge. I do not anticipate being refunded $50, nor do I expect to be contacted again, so this is a general beware that I do not expect to be 'resolved'. I have updated my Terms of Service and my own personal policies to reflect that I am an invoice-only artist to avoid any future issues such as these. I know this is ultimately my own fault. Thank you for reading. --------- Edit May 17th 2014: Here is my e-mail correspondence with Chocho to try and resolve the issue: http://puu.sh/8Pttt.png The latest note being sent to me May 12th. These journals went up on their page in the past few days (language): http://puu.sh/8PtmI http://puu.sh/8PtmX The short version is that they bank card was stolen and money was spent on it. I'm not sure why they linked their college courses as a reason for not having money (if it was stolen).

May 14, 2014 https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/766364.html I have this marked as adult because some of the stuff on her commission spreadsheet is for adult commissions. WHO: Skink/Paint. She no longer goes by Paint, but her other two bewares are under that name. I think this beware should be added under that name for her, as well as Skink since it is what she now goes by. WHERE: I commissioned her over FA on Paint, but she is active here- https://www.weasyl.com/~skink WHAT: I commissioned her January 19th 2013 for $110 worth of pay what you want commissions, to be divided into two images. A few months later, I commissioned her again for $30 colored sketch. (exact date not known because I paid for it over some sort of funding website and can't seem to find it on my paypal although I remember paying and I am down on her commission spreadsheet for this commission. See the spreadsheet later). WHEN: I made the first payment to her on January 19th 2013. She was fine in keeping contact with me whenever I sent her a note. The last reply I've heard from her in note form was on January 21st 2014. After that date she has not replied to any of my messages regarding the commissions. I wouldn't be so concerned, however she opened commissions March 29th and did finish a handful of these new commissions, posting them to Weasyl while I continued to receive no reply to my messages. PROOF: The initial commission agreement for the $110 commission took place over stream so I don't have a screenshot of my asking and her saying yes, however here is a screenshot of my paypal payment of $110 to her as well as screenshots of my name and commissions on her queue. As stated before, the colored sketch was commissioned over a funding website that I cannot remember, but that commission is on her queue as well. The payment- http://oi62.tinypic.com/ixfkus.jpg The queue- http://oi57.tinypic.com/15z5a46.jpg my commissions are near the top and bottom. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Ak6G1XPK44mudFNHWW83ODhYTmNsVkpNLWN5aE5RTmc#gid=0 this is the actual link to the google docs of the commission spreadsheet. EXPLAIN: I like Skink's style, enjoy how she draws my characters, so in the past I commissioned her as much as I possibly could. Until this incident she has been quick to deliver the artwork, so I didn't hesitate to pay her the $110 for these particular commissions, assuming that I'd get the work done pretty quickly, as it had been done before. It took her a little longer than usual, but it didn't bother me. She kept her watchers updated with journals about rough going-ons at her job, things that would normally delay commissions. Understandable. I sent her the occasional message for updates, but mostly just kept up with her journals, which stated what was going on with her life. It wasn't really until in January, the ~1 year anniversary of my paying her the initial $110, that I began messaging her more frequently about the commissions. The first note I sent was amiable, just asking what's up, and she replied with reasons why there had been further delay. The reasons were a little personal so I'm not posting the screenshots, but this series of notes wasn't an issue for me because she did reply and let me know that she would be telling me when my commissions were up for being worked on. I'm happy. My next note was a little over a week later. http://oi57.tinypic.com/dfeici.jpg It proposes a deadline and asks if she can get back to me if that date doesn't work for her. I receive no reply. She opens up for new commissions March 29th https://www.weasyl.com/journal/45742/daily-color-sketch-commissions-plush-and-charms Her old queue shows no signs of being worked on. April 1st I send another note. http://oi58.tinypic.com/2z68t4y.jpg Just reminding her. Still no reply. The same day I send her a note about a commissioner she was having trouble with that I had had troubles with in the past as well, and she answers it promptly. Granted I didn't send it to her for any reason than to talk to her about that commissioner, but I still am surprised that she answers the note right away. This is very frustrating for me to hear /nothing/ back from an artist about the commissions I paid for, who I can see is still being active at this point, from her Weasyl and Tumblr. On Tumblr I send her a message asking her to check her Weasyl notes. I send another note April 7th which is basically a repeat of my April 1st note. Finally, I sent this note April 30th http://oi62.tinypic.com/b4jjgk.jpg I guess in my Tumblr message or some other means I asked for simply a refund, because that's what I say. I don't have a record of that first message asking for a refund though. Honestly by the point of April 30th though even if I hadn't asked for one before, I wanted a refund. Since then I have attempted to contact her over AIM to no avail. When I try to send her a message over AIM it tells me that she doesn't receive offline messages and when I do manage to get a message to go through(?) (it appears as if she's invisible, but I don't get the 'no offline messages' message) there is still no reply. I want my money back, but I am getting no replies at all from her. If nothing else I can write up this artist beware to add to the others on the site which seem to be about this same situation. I wasn't worried about her giving reasons to delay the commissions because everyone runs into bad situations where they can't do commissions as fast as they'd like... but the fact that she opened up commissions for a brief time in March with the promise of using them as warm ups for her main queue, finished some of the commissions without even an update on the main queue, coupled with the other artist bewares compelled me to finally write this up. Skink is talented, but if this is repeat behavior from her then beware this artist.

May 16, 2014 https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/766036.html EDIT: The money has been refunded, now I'm just waiting on Paypal to approve the refund, but this has been resolved. WHO: Isabella-Price of FA, also has an account Costumes-by-Belle WHERE: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/isabellaprice/ WHAT: A Balaclava foam base head for a fursuit. WHEN: Payment was sent on April 5th, with an estimated time of "one to two weeks" As of writing this it is May 16th and I have yet to see a picture. Every time I would ask about the progress the ETA would be moved back, and obviously that deadline would pass every time. PROOF:Here is an image with all of the emails, including dates, as well as the proof of payment http://sta.sh/023ordupo2v5 EXPLAIN: So in late March I inquired about getting a foam head base from Isabella here, and after a week, payment was arranged with an estimated time of completion at one to two weeks. I did say that I wasn't in a huge rush, but I certainly didn't think it would take any more than a month. Well weeks went by with little contact, and only when I myself initiated. After a few weeks I switched from the FA forums to FA itself to speak with her, and she consistently gave me new completely meaningless deadlines. I made it clear that I was running out of time and specifically said at one point that if it could not be completed within the week that I would need a refund. Of course it was NOT completed in that week even though she said it would be. It should be noted that after I looked at her journals I noticed she had a very long queue of both digital art and head bases (and I wasn't even listed in them, I might add). Clearly, she had overbooked herself and should have known very well that it would be impossible to finish my base in one to two weeks. The fact that she omitted this truth to me I find to be a bit insidious. I will not reveal their identity but I did seek out another client to ask if they were having similar issues. It turns out they've been waiting for their base since November! At this point I have opened a paypal dispute to get my money back. I have not gotten any responses from the artist in a few days now but the best thing to make me content would be to just have a quick refund and be on my way. Though the quality of her bases looks to be well above average, don't commission her if you want your base done anytime this year. It seems very clear to me that this artist is quick to take on too much work (and all the money that comes with it) but is very slow to show anything for it.

May 12, 2014 https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/765943.html WHO: Verilotte WHERE: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/verilotte/ WHAT: Sold a character that wasn't theirs to TWO different people. Sold it to me for $200. WHEN: May.11.2014 EXPLAIN: 1. http://s26.postimg.cc/55ajvn86x/image.png They posted that they were selling this character. The REAL owner of this character put this character up for sale at the start of May and then decided to keep him. However, often people change their minds and sell in private. Which is what I thought happened. http://s26.postimg.cc/56khp2a0p/image.png The REAL owner (I have hidden their name since they have done nothing wrong, see later) has this posted up on their adoptable account. So following the trail it seemed legit that they were sold to verilotte. http://s26.postimg.cc/m0poundx5/image.png Someone had even mailed the REAL owner's main account asking if they had actually sold the dreamy to Verilotte. So I concluded from what I could get that verilotte did in fact own that character. I offered $200 to buy him and they accepted. http://s26.postimg.cc/yqtx7qlvd/image.png They asked me to send payment which I did do. http://s26.postimg.cc/d30djjw3d/image.png Two hours later the REAL owner post this journal about being hacked: http://s26.postimg.cc/mrif0fgah/image.png I found out through this journal that an hour after I bought this character for $200 someone else bought the SAME character for $250. I'm sure they will be making their own post about this issue, but I was SHOCKED it was sold twice. Will link once she does. I went to mail the REAL owner to see what was up: http://s26.postimg.cc/as6wt4apl/image.png I believe that her accounts where actually hacked. I am just in shock how far people will go to steal and sell adoptables. I did my best to check up on how legit they were to be selling the character but I found myself scammed in the end. +There have been many reports to fA staff about this, I have reported it as well +I have made a claim on paypal. The buyer has until May 21st to reply. Will update after that. If paypal doesn't side will me I WILL be going to my bank since half of it was paid out of my bank account. Edit;// May.17.2014 The other victim of this told me that she had LOST her paypal claim because Verilotte had "more evidence" than her. I looked at my claim and it says that paypal is reviewing the claim. I called paypal up right away and they told me that I had to file a claim with my bank as well (because half was paid out of my bank). I drove down to my bank and filed a claim with them as well. Pretty much both my bank and paypal are now looking into the issue. We both also have been trying to contact the fA staff with more information about the hacking with NO REPLY. We both tried to post shouts about it on dragoneer's wall as well. This might be the missing information I need to win my claim. Because Verilotte had "more evidence" than the other victim and I have no idea what they have, so the information from fA would be really handy. Edit:// May.20.2014 So paypal limited my account and closed the claim because I made a claim with my bank, which paypal told me to do. I am really unsure what is going on with my claim at the moment but I am going to call both paypal and my bank in the morning. When I go to look at the transaction tho this pops up: http://s26.postimg.cc/gf39qld89/image.png So it looks like I WILL be getting my money back, I hope. Edit:// May.20.2014 I was able to get my paypal account unlocked, and my money back. I am unsure if the admins want to make this as "resolved" because I did have to get through my bank and paypal to get my refund. I would still suggest everyone to stay away from Verilotte as I have not heard from them at all about the issue. They apparently responded to the claim, however paypal did side with me. Edit:// June.26.2015 Replaced broken images. Edit:// April.30.2018 Replaced broken images (Postimage switched their website from .com to .cc) Final Verdict: I was refunded my $200 by filing claims with paypal and my bank. Both my bank and paypal sided with me about this issue

May 6, 2014 https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/764601.html EDIT : All sorted and I got the money back. WHO: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/12strider and James Toxics Peters on Facebook , where most talking took place WHERE: Facebook. WHAT: $10 Digital Colored sketch WHEN: March 26th, 2014 the commission was taken , commission was done on the April 17th, 2014 , money was "taken" back on April 30th , 2014 PROOF: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/h9niaryevtfewwy/jqxvFnthX7 all Proof Is in Drop box , If I need to add more screen shots just ask. EXPLAIN: everything was Fine for the commission, communication was perfect with him , he would reply after about 5 minutes of me speaking to him , We did all talking over Facebook since I had him on my friends list for a while and everything was fine , I gave him his finished commission as seen - http://www.furaffinity.net/view/13233652/ - and he Said he loved it, The problems Started on the 30th of April. I use My husbands paypal as I keep forgetting to set my own up and he had gotten an email saying someone had done a Charge back for $10 , I was confused as I hadn't had any commissions for a bit and no one had said anything to me , so I found the name and Messaged Toxic as seen in "proof", He was fast as normal and Told me he would sort it , saying it was a paypal Charging back the wrong person , Which makes no sense , I wouldn't think that could happen , he said It also happened to another friend. Me being me I left it be and Told him to keep me updated. I asked If there was any updates or news since I thought It would be a fast and easy fix for him to do and I got an Alarming thing back " My parents kinda stopped me " , I told him right off to get it sorted right away , It may of only been $10 but Still That is money out of the paypal , I gave him till the next day to get it sorted , that's a hurry I know but I wanted to show I wasn't going to take any Lies , I gave him 3 days with little Messages to just remind him , he had seen them all but Was ignoring them all which has annoyed me. he still comments on other peoples things and comes online often, after a bit of digging around to find out something I was told by someone this " I'm not upset or annoyed or anything with her, it's just I need to sort things and being offline will help " about me. I have not even been given an update from him saying " I am sorting it out" Just" I had to dig to find out what is happening and It doesn't even give me a little bit of an idea of what is going on. Id normally give someone more than a couple days to sort something out but I have been given nothing to red flags everywhere by him. it happened to someone else with him according to him , paypal making a mess up on which person to charge back? , His parents telling him not to do anything? and ignoring my messages and then him telling a friend he will be offline instead of updating me and keeping me in the loop I never wanted to go to artist beware but all my messages are getting no where. I am also sorry for any Crammer problems with this post , I couldn't find anyone to proof read. I have no idea what to do at this point , I will just have to wait and see now. so Beware because I may not be the only one with this happening to me. edit: He has Finally Started to talk to me again , I didn't know he was 17 I really need to check peoples ages from now .