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https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/985962.html (Update at 7th Jan 2019 for 21st April 2018: See Below) WHO: Faris Batwan / Fuzzy Bat Suits WHERE: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/farisbatwan/ / http://www.furaffinity.net/user/fbsuits/ / https://www.facebook.com/pg/fuzzybatsuits/posts/?ref=page_internal WHAT: Partial fursuit / paws (Initial payment $975, been refunded $350, $300, $186 ($139 remaining)) WHEN: Starting March 8th 2017 – Still ongoing as of 28th February 2018 EXPLAIN: Everything was fine to begin with as was usually the case. I ordered a pre-made head that came with a tail and custom paws, the maker was very eager for the sale and replied very quickly on FA notes until I payed via PayPal. [FA Notes screenshot] A couple of days later something happened in my personal life that meant I had a large bill to pay for, as things hadn’t been shipped yet and I hadn’t been told that the paws had started being made or received other notes so I tried to cancel the order. To which I didn’t receive a response for another few days, and was ultimately told that they had spent all of the money on new equipment as soon as they received it and don’t have any money to refund me. [FA Notes screenshots] We went back and forth in notes a few times before I was told that the paws couldn’t be refunded since they were custom and so was the tail, even though the tail was in the listing to begin with and there had been no photos of the paws sent to me to show they have been completed. [Telegram screenshots] I reminded them the tail was from stock and therefore not bespoke to me and then I still had the paws sent out to me since the quality of their work seemed excellent. There were no photos taken of paws that were sent to me at all, additionally I was told that they had been sent by priority mail. [Telegram screenshots] Up to this point I had been told a few times that they were having bad weather pretty much seemed to be on a daily basis that didn’t allow them to check emails/telegram/notes etc. I had also been told to contact them on Telegram as it was their preferred method and then after not replying to me for a long time they said they preferred email and would definitely respond within 48 hours which they didn’t unless it affected them monetarily later on in the year. [Telegram screenshots] I originally bought the partial, and ultimately just the paws, for CFZ17, but they never showed even after the delivery time frame was weeks in the past, remember it was supposed to be priority mail. I asked the maker to contact the delivery company about it and the maker waited weeks until they eventually did and told me that we had to wait until half way through July before a claim could be made for a lost parcel. [Telegram screenshots] July came and went after I sent a number of messages to no response, which is around about the time they changed their mind and said to email them since they no longer like Telegram. Time passes and I still hadn’t received a response from the maker so I filed a PayPal case on them since they wouldn’t refund me or respond to me after numerous attempts to reach out to them. [Telegram screenshots] I had an message effectively calling me a scammer and saying I was damaging the business and she couldn’t pay me anyways even if I won the case [Telegram screenshots] After a few messages they eventually agreed to pay part of the money owed to me, but not the full amount. [Telegram screenshots] I was however promised once more that they were going to sell some pre-made heads to be able to refund me the final amount due to me. [Gmail screenshots] The last communication I had was in November from the maker with no final refund or communication, I contacted them again in the new year at the start of February and also got no response. [ Gmail screenshots] Apologies for the length of this post and any incidental errors, it has been ongoing for a year now. PROOF: FA Notes: https://www.dropbox.com/s/kgo77onymfvhmwx/FA Notes Screenshots.png?dl=0 Telegram : https://www.dropbox.com/s/s1rldas9khzz0nx/Telegram Part 1.png?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/nj8fq4iakomlbdd/Telegram Part 2.png?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/sa5lvtq0kxud0ev/Telegram Part 3.png?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/2dozgo95j38b3mx/Telegram Part 4.png?dl=0 Payment Screenshot: https://www.dropbox.com/s/kwt966haw4l53by/Payment Screenshots.png?dl=0 Gmail: Update 7th Jan 2019, overdue from 21st April 2018 Faris got in touch with me on 21/04/18 via email apologizing and stating she will issue a refund for the remainder when she can. I replied simply that I would like to be able to mark it as resolved and to let me know when she could refund the final amount. As of 7th Jan 2019 I have not heard anything further. Tired of ads? Upgrade to account with Professional

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/981645.html UPDATE: (5/28/18): Oh &#$%ing boy. Hello again my friends on AB. I have an update. Upon really thinking about it, I am so, so tired and annoyed. On the same day that this was resolved Fuu had said they'd send me the completed laminated badge in the mail within the next week (https://imgur.com/a/bQYXUWH). Cool. It's almost June and I have NEVER received it. At this point, I give up. Not active on their art twitter. Highly active on their personal twitter. They uploaded everyone's finished badges on instagram except mine? Like okay, maybe I'm being petty, but maybe someone else gets me. It's not like there was only one of said badge, but the reason this is SO beyond annoying for me is that I'm so tired of asking Fuu to just. Get. It. Done. Get it done and we don't have to speak about it ever again. But now, I'm fed up, and Fuu get's a bad review from me. I was sympathetic, but now, I'm really not. UPDATE (1/18/18): Fuu has contacted me with the finished art and even offered me a full refund. I declined the full refund as I was just happy to have my art. Fuu is by no means a terrible person and has very humbly owned up to their mistakes with absolute grace. Lovely human being, but just a poor example of customer service, which I hope to see them improve on in the future. WHO: Fuudles/ButlerInHeels WHERE: https://twitter.com/Fuudles WHAT: Coloured badge WHEN: Invoice for payment was sent September 5th, 2016. I remember clearly because I was not in the country when I contacted them. First signs of trouble appeared near the end of the year when they were taking on more commissions and not completing ones they had previously taken. EXPLAIN: I was under the impression the artist had an excellent work ethic as people were retweeting their completed commissions in a very timely manner. This set them up as someone who was excellent to commission because they had good prices and high quality work. I was very happy to receive a slot from them. I’m pretty sure that I was the last person they accepted in that batch/run of badges. I received an inked WIP ten days after the invoice was paid. They posted a coloured WIP in October of my badge flat-coloured with something like fifteen-odd other commissions in the same stage of completion. I thought it was excellent that they were getting so many done so fast. I was not at all concerned and was willing to wait 1-2 months because I knew they had lots to do. Come January 2017 they had a computer crash and their hard drive was toast. If anyone is sympathetic, it would be me; I was in a similar situation ages ago. I was under the assumption that my file was not recovered as I waited another 2-3 months for my commission with nothing. I was not informed whether or not my art was recovered (spoiler alert: it actually was recovered, but did I know that? Nope.), and while it may be my responsibility to ask, it’s also the artist’s responsibility as someone who is running a business to be upfront and clear with their customers, no matter how many people they owed art to. Over the course of 2017, I constantly saw Fuu finishing commissions that I was highly certain were taken long after I had paid for my own. They were opening commissions for convention pick-ups, completing them all in easily a week or less. At this point, I’m getting really irritated; they are obviously fully capable of completing commissions quickly, and I couldn’t understand what was taking so long. I was also thinking about other people that might be waiting alongside with me. I could easily go through the WIPs they have posted in the past, and tell you who has and who hasn’t gotten their art. MOST people have gotten their art, but for some odd reason, I feel as if I have been forgotten. I’m sure there are a handful of others who feel the same way, but are too afraid to assert themselves. Come July 2017, I finally messaged Fuu as the one year mark was coming up. I said to them I felt as if I was forgotten and they assured me I wasn’t. They said come mid-August and after Midwest FurFest, would be a good time to expect my commission to be completed. Come September 2017, and I had not heard anything. In all fairness to Fuu, I understand doing owed art and working at a job is very difficult to balance. And I was also very patient because I was sympathetic. But it’s not an excuse when you have already proven yourself to be very quick to finish commissions only to pull the rug under your customers. Come January 2018, I realize I have not seen Fuu on my newsfeed in sometime - turns out they have been inactive on their art account and main account for almost a month with no warning to commissioners. To wrap it all up I feel jerked around, lied to, and my patience has been taken advantage of. Regardless if the art is completed, this kind of customer service is unacceptable and disregards the integrity and loyalty of your commissioners. PROOF: https://imgur.com/a/wHznd I first messaged Fuu on September 3rd, 2016. Invoice was sent and paid on September 6th, 2016. I received a WIP on September 15th, 2016. A coloured WIP was posted on October 15th, 2016. That’s as far as the art has ever gotten Updated: On January 3rd 2018, because it’s now the new year, I decided to send Fuu another message. Obviously this one is not as kindly worded as my other messages. https://imgur.com/a/RVOeA It remains unread since January 3rd, 2018. They also still seem to be inactive on both their art account and main account. I still am completely unaware of what caused their disappearance as there is nothing to tell what caused it. Obviously it can be cause for worry but nothing indicates something very bad has happened, so, at this point, it seems pretty fruitless.

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/978874.html Who: Coff Where: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/coff/ What: 2 sketch commissions, 8 USD each. When: 1 was commissioned 23rd November 2016, the 2nd one on the 7th of December, 2016 Explain: I saw the artist one day while browsing FA, I had never commissioned an artist before, so I wanted to give it a try. They were very polite and nice to chat with, so I didn't think there wold be any issues at all. Then the days went, the weeks went. I wondered why it took so long, as they opened up more complex commissions and YCH, which I thought was to bring in more money, as hey, 16 USD isn't that much really. They then posted journals about their current health and such, which, sure, it sucked, but wasn't really a reason for me to be angry. Now, about two months ago, they contact me and tells me that they can't do the commission as they constantly has to redraw the characters. At least they could've told me sooner ! I told them that I'd like a refund and that I'd return once I had gotten over the canceld commission. Haven't heard from them since then, my notes has been unread, comments ignored. They posted a journal about their current situation, but I've been patient with them and I've had enough! I've sent them a money request on Paypal, with a note telling who I am and why I'm sending it. which has also been ignored. I feel terrible about doing this, but I don't see any other option. Proof: the screenshots of our latest conversation about two months ago as well as the unanswered notes. I also link the paypal recipts as well as the money request to them. I've also linked the notes I've sent to them that has been ignored by them. The request for a refund is on its own image, at the lower end of it. Hope this is more ok ? Link: https://sta.sh/2reczwmgggj Edit 14th of December 2017 Received my refund near midnight on the 13th of December. Glad that the issue has been solved.

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/979026.html WHO: GreyScarborough, Grey-Scarborough, Grey_Scarborough WHERE: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/greyscarborough/ https://grey-scarborough.sofurry.com/ https://grey-scarborough.sofurry.com/ https://www.weasyl.com/~greyscarborough WHAT: NSFW Digital Flat Color Commission, for 25$ WHEN: Jul 19th: First contact Jul 20th: Commission details explained and paid Aug 18th: First time asking about the state of the commission (It was said to be completed within 2 weeks, instead 4 weeks have passed) (Artist responded). Sep 15th: Second time asking about the state of the commission (Artist did not respond). Sep 23rd: Asking for their response (Artist responded). Nov 3rd: Third time asking about the state of the commission (Artist did not respond). Nov 16th: Forth time asking about the state of the commission (Artist did respond, saying he "will dig it up today"). Nov 24th: Fifth time asking about the state of the commission and first time seeing a sketch. The sketch was not what I asked for, artist knew about it. Nov 25th: I complain about his inability to work with me properly and demand him to finally start working with me constuctively, or to refund me by the 10th of December. Nov 26th: His reponse: "Ok we'll eat shit and take a refund on the 10th you pompous fuck." He just kept insulting me, while I tried to work constructively with him. Nov 27th: He finally explains himself, yet keeps being insulting and blocks me. No further contact from then on. Dec 11th: Yesterday was the last day I demanded him to refund me. It didn't happen. Money is officially stolen by this date. EXPLAIN: On the 19th of July I decided to commission Grey_Scarborough for an adult piece of art. He was quick to respond, we exchanged details about the commission and I paid him the next day. He claimed it would take him 2 weeks to finish the piece. I am "free to request a WIP whenever" and contact him at any of his messengers. Sounds good to me. I didn't hear anything of him for 4 weeks, so I sent him a note on the 18th of August, asking if he forgot about me. Again, he was quick to respond, told me he was busy moving, admitted he was behind schedule. No problem to me. I responded with some kind of smalltalk, to which I didn't receive a response. Also, not a problem at all. September the 15th, another 4 weeks have passed. I'm asking for updates. Telling him I'm not intending to rush, telling him to take his time. Though I was giving an emphasis on the fact that 9 weeks have already passed. I asked about his queue, where I am placed at. I didn't receive a response. One week later I sent him another note, asking if he is going to answer me eventually. Slowly losing my patience. He responded the day after, saying he thought he responded to me already. He told me he "hit a pretty bad road bump, but we should be pretty square now." I should "keep an eye out", he'll "bump me an update soon". I responded ecstatically, telling him not to rush it. But I wished we would have a more active base of communication. Told him about a story of a previous bad experience with another artist (though resolved). He didn't respond to this. November the 3rd, another 6 weeks later, I ask him if he could start anytime soon. I didn't receive a response. I noticed he uploaded another artworks and YCHs especially. Apparently, he needed to make more money, while he couldn't finish anything else of his queue. November the 16th, another 2 weeks later, I told him he didn't respond to my note, and asked about the status of my commission. He responded the same day, saying he'll "dig it up today" and send me the "current version" of it. November the 24th, another week later, I asked about his progress. He responded the same day, saying he "found the work" (!?) and he "had done the dang pose wrong", telling me he was sorry about that. He included a link to a sketch, which didn't represent what I was asking for at all. I responded the next day, losing my patience, criticizing his work ethic, yet staying constructive and not being insulting (Even though I admitted, that "I am pissed right now"). I was in disbelief that it took him 4 months to work on my commission, while not even doing what I paid for. I told him about the times he didn't care to respond to me, how I expected him to come forward to me, instead of me having to poke and ask every few weeks, how I paid for this commission alredy, how he makes me belief he might have stolen my money. I questioned him about the other artworks and YCHs he kept posting, while he apparently could not bother to work on my commission. I told him his work ethic was insulting to me. I also told him that I'm sad it went this way. I had hoped it would've been better for us. "I sincerly hope you do understand." I made some demands to have him work with me more proactively and constructively. I gave him my contact data for Discord and Steam. I promised him to work professionally as possible with him. I would focus on the progress of the commission and I wouldn't complain to him about his work ethic any further, if he agreed. I told him the picture has to be finished within the next 2 weeks, as he originally promised, or I'll demand a refund. Which was due yesterday, which I didn't receive. His response was, I quote: "Ok we'll eat shit and take a refund on the 10th you pompous fuck." I was shocked at his response, to say the least. Yet I didn't respond back in any insulting manner. Again, I showed him how the situation was and how he tore my patience apart with that last piece. I criticized his work ethic again and told him I was appalled in which insulting manner he responed to me, a customer. His response: "No. Fuck you. I really don't care about you, or your views, or suffering to be polite to you. You do t deserve it. Fuck you." This only became more childish the more we went on. I told him he was taking my critique way too personal. Yet again, I criticized him. Especially pointing out, how he claims to be "overly social" with his customers and how he is "always seeking to improve", as it's stated on his profile page. I reinforced my previous statement, saying I never attacked him in person. I asked him to keep his dignity. I told him he can refund me at anytime, 10th of December being the deadline. He, again, responded with a lot of vulgarity. Later notes went a bit back and forth, so I won't explain the exact details of them here, yet I will post it in the screenshots below. It's interesting nontheless. - I warned him about carrying this issue towards artist beware, to which he said he didn't give a fuck, he would refund me eventually. He was still very abusive in his choice of words. - He claimed what he did could be done in a "quick edit", yet comparing the sketch to my instructions, it's obvious that it needs a complete redo. I wouldn't have complained if it was just a small error. - Admittedly, I lost a bit of my temper in between, though I didn't attack him personally. - He called me a liar and claimed he did respond to every single one of my notes. He prompted me to read his TOS (explained in the paragraph below). - I proofed him wrong and criticized his TOS. To which he "dares" me to make the Artist Beware post. - I asked him what his deal is. - He told me his personal opinion of me. - I responded and criticized him again. I told him that IF I personally insulted him in any way, I am sorry. - He told me I am delusional. Something about "stead pay"!? - After the last note he send me, to which I tried to respond, he blocked me. I wasn't able to contact him any further. It came to my attention that he claims in his TOS that he "will cancel the commission with no refund if you're abusive." And I believe he makes use of his own rule here, despite me not attacking him in person once. Besides, TOS rule or not, stealing money is stealing money. You can't make it legal by writing up a rule of your own, saying it is legal. Well then, the next 2 weeks until yesterday, I waited for my refund. He didn't do it, so now we're here. PROOF: Proof of Payment: https://i.imgur.com/D1oukQ9.png (as much as this proof goes, anyway...) Full conversation from start to finish and pictures (NSFW): https://imgur.com/a/xfXpl

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/977755.html WHO: SaltedDriftwood / LostSaltSpiral / LostVioletLotus / BraidedBurgundy WHERE: http://twitter.com/salteddriftwood http://salteddriftwood.deviantart.com/ (Account I did business with.) https://lostvioletlotus.deviantart.com/ http://twitter.com/braidedburgundy (Account refund was requested from.) WHAT: Two pre-made adoptables. Requested refund as "item was not as described." WHEN: First pre-made design purchased January 2017. Second purchased August 2017. Refunds on both requested November 2017. EXPLAIN: January 13th of 2017, SaltedDriftwood purchased a pre-made adoptable. They paid, I sent them the file. August 22nd of 2017, they purchased another. They paid, I sent them the file. This involves personal issues which do not relate to the transactions, but lead up to the paypal claims. SaltedDriftwood and one of my friends followed each other on twitter. My friend grew uncomfortable with them because of their own personal issues, and silently softblocked and unfollowed them. When SaltedDriftwood noticed, they messaged me, asking me why. I was not comfortable being put in that position, and declined telling them. They then liked a reply I had made to my friend, which upset him, on top of knowing SaltedDriftwood had tried to contact him through me, an unrelated party. I told them this upset both of us, and the reasons my friend wanted space between them. An argument broke out, SD removed me from discord, and I assumed that was the end of that. Today, I received notices from Paypal that SD wants refunds on the pre-made designs from August and January, citing that the "Items are not as described." I had missed a DM from them on Saturday, Nov 25th (I received the refund request Monday, Nov 27th)-- I do not conduct business on twitter, so I don't have a tab dedicated to my DMs on Tweetdeck, and didn't see the message. It was also filled with responses to the personal issues from the conversation on Discord. They are asking for a refund on items they received in January and August because of the personal disagreements, despite the fact the items were pre-made and they knew full well what they looked like before they bought them. At the time of writing I have responded to the claim offering a full refund provided they do not keep the design. I am waiting to hear back on that. They requested a partial refund on the design they bought from me in January. I told them I would give them a full refund on the condition they do not keep the adoptable, or no refund and let them keep the adoptable. I am waiting to hear back on this as well. I am aware I could refuse the refunds, but I do not feel it's worth it to prove the receipt of digital goods to Paypal, and would rather this be done with. As a note, I do allow for my designs to be traded and resold, and I do not need to be notified of any transfer. PROOF: https://sta.sh/2stt9cjsjhk?edit=1 Initially I thought I was unable to offer a refund on the condition of the item being returned, which was why I had asked them to de-escalate the claim-- I thought I was only able to offer a refund and let them keep the item, which I did not want them to do. I realised I was misreading the error Paypal was giving me, and responded with the Refund+Return offer. EDIT 11/29/17: They have dropped the claim on the design from January and approved my refund offer. However, I have no way of marking that they are returning the item from August, and I am now blocked from any contact with them, so I have no idea how to move the claim forward from here. I assume the ball is in their court to prove the item is returned? Which I'm not sure how to do, given that it's a digital item. Proof of attempt to clear up refund / of being blocked Proof of claim status I'm completely unclear on whether or not they still want the refund or how to proceed at all. EDIT 11/29/17 #2: A friend of theirs got into contact with me. SaltedDriftwood is now refunded in full.

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/975718.html EDIT: Paypal Customer Protection Refunded me the $50 that was owed. Artist never tried to talk to me or solve this problem thus this beware will still be kept up. WHO: Telegram: @BarkingEllie https://www.facebook.com/pg/DorkyDogSuits/ http://www.furaffinity.net/user/Ellieshepherd http://www.furaffinity.net/user/dorkydogsuits https://twitter.com/barkingellie?lang=es https://barkingellie.tumblr.com/ https://www.instagram.com/barkingellie/ WHERE: Telegram WHAT: A Fully Detailed Reference Sheet. Value of $100. Got Refunded $50. WHEN: April 30th I Got the offer from her, and after a few days we got a deal. May 10th is when I paid for the comission. ($100) with a plus of $50 that I did as donation. Problems started in August when she started to ignore me for long periods of time. EXPLAIN: Everything started fine, we discussed prices and options, etc. I would often check on her afterwards since I consider $100 to be quite a high price, though I was willing to pay a lot because of how complex the character is. This person denied giving me access to a ''to-do list'' at all cost. (seen in screencaps) She would often give excuses to explain why she ''doesn't'' have a to-do list. We had a few random days where we would have long chats about life and this one time she mentioned her friend and her run a fursuit business and her friend wanted to buy some fur supply and I donated $50 to help them buy it. I want to say, I am NOT interested into getting this $50 back since it was donation and plus has nothing to do with the actual comission. After August is when I started to feel discomfort towards the treatment amongst the artist and me. Being ignored for almost a whole month made me doubt about this comission so I asked again about the to-do list. Got again another explanation why it doesn't exist and decided to keep quiet for some time. During ALL this time I was given the same ''I will do it this upcoming week'' message over and over though NO sketches OR Work in progress were shown to me AT ALL. Once September arrived I gave her a final message asking for either a To-Do list, to see a WIP OR a Full Refund. Got a reply two days after that telling me they were doing the lineart. I got frustrated and asked why would they be doing the lineart already if I had not seen any work prior to that nor had I aproved it. Artist replied with a short message saying ''If you don't like it then it's not worth finishing it :)'' I got mad over this message and decided to ask for a full refund. She promised to do it 'next week'. I had to wait for a whole month until that happened. BUT I only got half of it refunded. Got a promise of the other half being done as soon as she gets her next payment. A whole month has passed and this person has been ignoring my messages since. Plus I got adviced by one close person to check her furaffinity and facebook (Dorky Dog Suits, her business page) since people have been starting to show up leaving comments about her ignoring them and not getting refunds either. PROOF: Transcript of the Conversation here in both spanish and english(translated): https://sta.sh/2qsuuicgafp?edit=1 All Screenshots of the Conversations both in the telegram group (decided to keep the name of the group hidden) and in private: https://sta.sh/21mm46gupc6e?edit=1 PS; Conversation Transcription was cut in certain parts because the topic that was discussed in those parts had nothing to do with the comission. It was all just simple daily life chatting.

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/975454.html WHO: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/-deymos-/ their tumblr: https://darkhumorist.tumblr.com/ ( NSFW WARNING ) it's pretty much inactive as well WHERE: on fa @ http://www.furaffinity.net/user/-deymos-/ WHAT: fullbody commission w color for 18 euros WHEN: March 29th, 2017 EXPLAIN: I commissioned deymos for a doodle commission ( a fullbody w color ) back on March 29th of one of my oc's. https://i.imgur.com/dveGtDs.png I sent her the little form that she had on her submission post that advertised her commissions and sent it through notes. https://i.imgur.com/dXGQ8hl.png I sent her the payment through paypal: https://i.imgur.com/wYIrdLX.png?1 I censored out something in the screenshot since it shows their real name. Two months pass by and I decide to send them a note asking about an update on my art which I sent on May 23rd. I normally don't try and bug artists too much when it comes to commissions but I figured it would be alright to ask since some time had passed. The note in question: https://i.imgur.com/iNnzPhR.png and https://i.imgur.com/q3kkCuC.png They replied to me a day later with this: https://i.imgur.com/4395WBc.png in the note they stated that I would see my art within the week which I was super excited about. I thanked them for responding and then I left them alone after that. By the time I realize it, three more months have passed by. I send them another note around July 5th asking for another update. https://i.imgur.com/KvdPWA4.png Currently as of now, the note has still not been read. By now I'm already starting to get concerned and worried about the lack of responses. I sent them one last and final note asking for an update: https://i.imgur.com/JufRJCI.png which was on Sept 12 which has not been read either. I kind of effed myself over, which I know is my own fault. There is no way I can do a chargeback or get my money back at this point since I waited too long to do so. I decided to leave them a shout on their fa in the hopes that they would see it if they ever got on their fa. https://i.imgur.com/dbkH3TI.png At this point, I'm unsure of what else to do on how to resolve this. They have no other social media that I know of besides Tumblr which I found out to be just as inactive as their furaffinity account. I tried sending an email through their PP email but got no response back. Other than that, I would highly advise against commissioning this artist. Any help would be appreciated! I also apologize if there are any mistakes here or the format looks awkward. I've never posted to AB before and it's my first time. I just hope I'm doing this right. Feel free to let me know if I need to add more on to this! PROOF: Notes: https://i.imgur.com/dveGtDs.png and https://i.imgur.com/dXGQ8hl.png Proof of payment: https://i.imgur.com/wYIrdLX.png?1 May 23rd commission update: https://i.imgur.com/iNnzPhR.png and https://i.imgur.com/q3kkCuC.png Artist response: https://i.imgur.com/4395WBc.png July 5th commission update | Unread: https://i.imgur.com/KvdPWA4.png sept 12 commission update | Unread: https://i.imgur.com/JufRJCI.png FA shout: https://i.imgur.com/dbkH3TI.png

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/974901.html Where: Furaffinity.net/user/sharpe19 What: Premade head, to be upgraded with a matching tail. When: September 2016 Explain: Sharpe was taking offers on this premade suit nicknamed at the time Alchemy https://imgur.com/fdz80W1. Sharpe did make it known that a new hood (neck/ears) would be made for the winner which I thought was too cool to pass up. I sent them an email private offer of 1800 with the request of a payment plan on 9/19/2016 https://imgur.com/6n2vueu.This was the highest bid at that time, and the payment plan was welcomed! I also inquired about a design (this is prior to being the “chosen” buyer) which Sharpe seemed intrigued by. She asked if a deposit of 800 would be doable https://imgur.com/BCS4ls6 and that my offer is very interesting to her. At this time, I also asked if at this or a future time she would be willing to make me a tail and maybe hands/feet as well for extra funds of course. She agreed to a tail and to possibly add crystals as well! By this time, I was notified that I WAS the buyer (I’m not sure where that message is... I literally don’t have an email or a FA note so weird) and asked for her Paypal to send the first part of my deposit https://imgur.com/ryQN3in. By now I had made my first deposit payment of 600 and was going to get the remainder the following day. I was waiting on Paypal to clear funds of a sale of mine to finish my deposit to Sharpe https://imgur.com/DyhGIzK and was able to put the remaining 200 down on September 30th Some time passed (about a month) and I had sent another 750 to Sharpe while awaiting my first check from my new job https://imgur.com/HlCaOS3. NOW all was going extremely smoothly Sharpe was very quick to respond and lovely to work with. I had 0 issues with communication. I’m going to switch from email to FA notes as I was assuming photos would be uploaded to FA instead of sent via EMAIL (what my previous makers have done in the past). I let a few months go past, I was off FA for a small break, but decided to send a poke her way to see where we were at with the commission https://imgur.com/Qy5NYzz. Now this is about 6 months after the payments were made. I know sometimes life gets busy and I am VERY flexible when people are up front to me with what’s going on… but this response was honestly a little awkward for me https://imgur.com/opSPYdv it appeared she literally had no idea who I was. NOW that being said our primary form of communication was through email, and I’m not sure how others work but for me I document peoples Emails/FA/DA/FB whatever methods of communication I can just so I can keep in touch. But I brushed it off as just simple confusion as to who I was! It happens. https://imgur.com/r0J7p5B this is just me clearing up which commission I was and getting a few verbal updates. Sounds like the Hood didn’t turn out as well and needed to be redone-reworked before progressing. Sure no problem! Quality over speed in my opinion! https://imgur.com/DaoaH0p first talk of getting some updates. They never came but that’s ok life gets busy I suppose. Now were onto June of 2017 where I again asked if we had any updates https://imgur.com/1SGuIdv to which I was responded with a note that seemed promising and that work was almost complete (unless I’m reading into it wrong, to me it sounded like all it needed was airbrushing) https://imgur.com/JYUUm4S. This got me quite excited so I decided to let her work and try back later if she didn’t get back to me first. Well now were pushing the “Almost a year” mark and I am honestly starting to get antsy as I had conventions I was planning to wear this to and really didn’t expect it to take a full year to complete a hood replacement and a tail. https://imgur.com/mix1MqY I was a little confused by the response as I thought we were almost done with things and apparently it was just a first test run? Of the fur? https://imgur.com/1BtiaAr and at this point I had given up mentally that this project would get done. Sharpe was spending (I follow her on twitter) most of her time working on personal costumes/cosplays/projects and I felt like I was completely tossed on the backburner. This is when I asked a SECOND time (because she either ignored or didn’t read) for an estimated time of completion https://imgur.com/CisL4Jc.She said it would be Most likely August, but for sure before Halloween. Finally, a date set I can stop pestering her! https://imgur.com/Z5F4JO9 Well were officially at/past the one-year mark, august came and went and so I inquired one more time to be sure were on track for Halloween https://imgur.com/tyrNaxi to which they assured me we are https://imgur.com/HH4PmBV.To me, and please let me know if I’m wrong, I was under the assumption my suit would be IN HAND by Halloween when I asked if we were on track… Is that wrong of me to assume? Completed Payments https://imgur.com/AnCPEK6 So the original plan was 1800 but I did not complete my final payment of 250 dollars. I was holding on to it until the product had either photo proof, or completion proof or SOMETHING because I have been burned MORE than a handful of times. Well Halloween is tomorrow. I have 0 progress photos, proof of work, I literally have only her word. She messaged me asking for my address, however when I did ask for photos I was met with a really odd response of “Depending on how late you’re awake” https://imgur.com/wXg9Yilwhat?? What difference does it matter how late it is... why is it SO hard for Sharpe to provide me ANY proof of work?? At this point I just hope I can get my refund as I have ZERO desire for this character anymore. I’m not sure if it’s just my expectations or what but a year of waiting with no progress updates proof or anything really left a sour taste in my mouth. I’m a very patient person but I really feel like my commission was not taken seriously or professionally in the form of timelines/completion. It just seems like my commission didn’t/doesn’t matter and that I was only a quick paycheck for someone to use. As of 10/29/2017 I was relayed it would be shipping out "this weekend" (the weekend before halloween) however it was not, and I still have 0 photographic proof of ANY work. Sharpe is a really nice gal, super communicative and will respond very quickly. I just think her time management is lacking. Personal and new projects took priority over my paid commission. I just hope I can get my refund promptly. Beware is only warranted for lack of time management and prioritizing issues. She makes great work, and she’s very communicative. I missed out on every event I wanted to wear this piece to and actually ordered a new costume in the meantime as backup for Halloween as I had a feeling it again, wouldn’t be completed on time. I hope Sharpe steps up her game on her time management and prioritizing pieces. Update 11/8/2017: At this time Sharpe and I have agreed on a full refund, she will be selling the suit (this is the current listing link https://www.thedealersden.com/listing/alchemy/129915) and the profits will be coming to me. Im glad we could come to an agreement. I will update as soon as refund payments are made. Update: 11/16/2017: I have received the first payment of 450 dollars, with an agreement on a payment plan that will total just over 1300 dollars in a matter of 5 weeks. I am currently at work, and unable to get a screenshot but I will update this post promptly.

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/968610.html WHO: Eltalite/Elty/Demu/Rhey WHERE: FurAffinity (x3) - https://www.furaffinity.net/user/elty https://www.furaffinity.net/user/demu/ https://www.furaffinity.net/user/rhey/ Weasyl: https://www.weasyl.com/~demu DeviantART (x3) - https://eltalite.deviantart.com/ https://inkydemu.deviantart.com/ https://demu.deviantart.com/ DeviantART Group - https://whitevale.deviantart.com/ Tumblr - http://eltalite.tumblr.com/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/eltalite Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/eltalite (There may be others I am unaware of. I apologize for this.) WHAT: An Original Species Adopt Found here: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/18744417/ was sold to me for $250 and has since been reclaimed. I was not given a refund for it, and the individuals that are aids to the seller as well as the seller in question all refuse to even speak to me. WHEN: I bought the design on January 10th 2016. A dispute between me and the artist occurred sometime in October 2016 that got me blocked by them everywhere, including emails after an email exchange with the artist. The adopt was "reclaimed" on August 24th 2017 and after a brief attempt at an email exchange I was dismissed, and ignored. (Please note that I live in the UK which will cause time zone differences between me and the artist as they don't live in the UK) EXPLAIN & PROOF: On January 10th 2016 me and the artist entered an exchange via notes that displays my interest in buying the adopt in question. The artist accepted and I sent them the payment without delay within the space of an hour. (Notes: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzhBESqCaxDiUDFVS3EydDlvSGs/view?usp=sharing, PayPal: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BzhBESqCaxDiQUJHNFdFWi0yVjA) On October 2nd 2016 Demu posted a journal concerning the his original species Ferrin, stating that female Ferrin no-longer had breasts as they lay eggs instead of producing live young, negating the need for the females to produce milk. I posted some comments on this journal and Demu took offence with them and blocked me, on every platform they knew or could discover I was on. Now when I purchased the adopt they make it a requirement that we adhere to an agreement called the Ferrin Adopt Agreement. this agreement is updated regularly and I can not provide the version that I initially agreed to or the version of it that was enforced at the time I was blocked. The current version is here: http://whitevalestudio.com/athenaeum/doku.php?id=documentation:adopt_agreement . The reason this is relevant is because it was last updated on November 2016, after October 2nd 2016 when this incident be tween us took place. The oldest version I can find is here: https://sta.sh/0kw73r0l6sq which was updated October 2015 Now after being blocked initially I felt terrible and disgusted with myself to the point it had a negative consequence on my mental condition, so I panicked somewhat and emailed them to apologize (https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzhBESqCaxDiaGR3RUxRT0FqVGs/view?usp=sharing) . This didn't go down well. But being in the panicked mood that I was and the overly emotional state that comes with my depression, I kept talking (https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzhBESqCaxDiMnFveHFWY3pkem8/view?usp=sharing) because that's how I am. It's how I've been forged and is a sad factor of how I work no matter what. This I can explain, for those that wish to know. That also did not go down well (https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzhBESqCaxDiU1NQaXl1T2FTSEU/view?usp=sharing, https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzhBESqCaxDicVlVVTNGVmt2QkE/view?usp=sharing), they blocked my email and I could not reach them (not sure how you "block" an email) so anything I sent to them after a certain point would not be seen by Demu, or anyone else with access to the email. The reason this is important is because in the version of the Adopt Agreement I was bound to it stated that if I wanted to sell an adopt I needed to inform Demu of it first, with me being blocked, I could not do so in any way shape or form. So this for me potentially dissolved our agreement as that can happen when one makes it impossible for one party makes it impossible for the other party to fulfil their part of said agreement. So by blocking me everywhere, Demu essentially nullified the Adopt Agreement between us meaning it did not apply to me any longer or the Ferrin I adopted. But the opposite could also be true as the full legal depth of it is rather tricky as it's essentially impossible to copyright a species based on a design and words alone, because of how copyright law works. So for me I was left in a sort of limbo, and wasn't exactly sure how to progress. So I settled on a compromise. I would bind myself to the majority of the Agreement as it was written on the date of me being blocked from contacting them via email, I would check Demu's account once a month to see if I'd been unblocked to establish that the Adopt Agreement would then be reestablished between us as the original issue was resolved, and in 1 year (October 2nd 2017) if I was not unblocked, I would check the new Agreement and decide if I wished to follow it, if not I would ask a friend to contact Demu and notify them of this and state I wish to sell the design to not cause a conflict of interest. i tried to illustate this ion the ferrin I adopted with the Artists Comment box that comes with everythign one uploads to FA and such sites (This screen shots were sent to me by Demu's staff as their evidence against me https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzhBESqCaxDiUFhKQVg0M1RmN3hHNVZUcEhnNllseHJzWkpN/view?usp=sharing)That was the plan anyway. But on August 24th 2017, a member of staff working for Demu contacted me and stated that they were reclaiming the mentioned adopt (https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BzhBESqCaxDibkJNRW14SlpMUnM). One reason for this is because of the above linked part of my Artists Comment box, where I say I will not follow it after the point of being blocked, and the others were because I keep a public list of the people that have blocked me (http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/8003830/, Print Screen provided by Demu's aid in case it gets deleted: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BzhBESqCaxDicGlMbkJwelhFdnpqUmJUSUpjdFlYWXNWcHQ4) on an Announcement Board style Journal, this is to ensure anyone that follows me is aware that those artists shouldn't be recommend ed to me since I'm blocked, I can't communicate with them. trying to would defeat the purpose of suggesting them, the other is because I have a journal entry entirely dedicated as an apology towards Demu (http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/7838301/, Print Screen provided by Demu's aid in case it gets deleted: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BzhBESqCaxDiX0JCdi1WMzdEdUZFcl8tMGRZTUtURmM3LVV3). These are notices and a public apology which is in of itself an acknowledgement of wrongdoing. The apology itself was posted in September 2016 and in my previous emails to Demu I informed them about them, and yet are only now bringing it up as an apparent issue. So I responded, again panicking as that's just in my nature and as such it's not going to be very...elegant (https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BzhBESqCaxDiWGNvMUlCaEI0SU0). After that my mind started to swirl with the idea I'd been robbed blind and so I looked up about how PayPal deals with the issue. too late as it has a 180 general limit after the original exchange. This lead me to worry, but then a friend calmed me down and said that it might be best to file a dispute anyway so you have a filed objection but make it so Demu gets a chance to respond. So I did, but the options of what was "wrong" didn't fit the description of what was actually wrong so, i just picked one at random, and filed my complaint with some of my argument included as well as my suggestions on ways to resolve this (Link 1: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BzhBESqCaxDiNzJobktUOWh6cHc, Link 2: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BzhBESqCaxDiTUNlNlF0aTRQYkU). This didn't go down well as I then received another email, that not only dismissed everything I've said but also made many accusations towards me as an individual (https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BzhBESqCaxDiYjl0LXpmOHFTcVE). So to this I responded, with my friend keeping me calm throughout the exchange so that I could put things more elegantly as shown here: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BzhBESqCaxDiNnJFSloxM3ItQzA. This email has been ignored and will likely continue to be ignored. Throughout the exchange since being blocked Demu and their associate has made personal attacks against me as an individual, which for me adds insult to the injury of being left $250 worse off. So for me they have established themselves as a scam artist. I once had further evidence that would support this claim entirely, but I have lost it since my laptop broke and my bookmarks did not import entirely when I used a temporary one. Anything else would be conjecture at this point and I'd rather we all deal with facts. I as an individual know my faults in this and can learn and grow from it, I can explain some of the issues Demu and his aid have with me but again that would be conjecture. If Artist Beware staff permit I will elaborate in response to any comments that inquire about it. UPDATE 1: The artist RamTheDragon has offered to do their own version of the design for me so I'm not using Elty's art anylonger. For free. The finished image of said piece can be found here (https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BzhBESqCaxDiVXJZMy1xd04zTUU) and here (http://www.furaffinity.net/view/24790880/). They have expressed a willingness to be named, for their kind gesture. Also in my upload of the image here (http://www.furaffinity.net/view/24790880/) which i have also Print Screen here (https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BzhBESqCaxDiMWpJZ3Zla0JJTVE). I have also sent an email, shown here (https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BzhBESqCaxDiY3FpbDdaVmR5Rkk), to Elty/Demu, to express my intent on keeping the character. UPDATE 2: The artist (Elty) of said Character has contancted me via email here (https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BzhBESqCaxDiWlN2dm9mMHp5SzA) and here (https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BzhBESqCaxDiSkZ6YUtfTnVuT0U). The artist has commented below. Any future conversations between the artisst and I share in private will either be expalined or shared here, to help anyone that see's this Beware in future be as aware of what has transpired as transparent as possible. UPDATE 3: The artist Elty, has been entire appologetic about what has happened. It seems that a friend they trusted to help them manage their emails abused their position of power. This is presumed to be because of issues in their personal life which has nothign to do with either I or Elty. Their original act of reclaiming the character was not a power they were granted by Elty and as such the official statement by Elty the Whitevale team is that it never should have been taken and that the act was more or less a type of theft on their part, caused by a singular member of the team (who has now lost their position). So the issue is resolved.

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/959184.html WHO: swizzlestix WHERE: in FA, his account is http://www.furaffinity.net/user/swizzlestix/ WHAT: digital art WHEN: 20 March 2014 EXPLAIN: He receive the money and he don't want to do it and ignore my messages. PROOF: I paid to Swizzlestix $80 for a pic on 28 May 2013. I waited until 20 March 2014, then i cancelled it because he didnt continue to do it, and i tell him to return my money. He gave me the runaround until 1 August 2014, i decided to give him one opportunity to do it. I waited until 15 December 2014, that day i decided to cancel it at all. Up to today Im waiting my money and he dont replay my messages. Only I see is he stole me $80. Here you see we chating about the commission: I dont have skype conversation. Here is the proof of the payment: Here I post screenshots of the messages with him: Here I tried to contact him by FA: But he never send my money. Following 2 screenshots I tried to contact him by email, without replay: And more tryings by skype (i only have 1 screenshot): (Wednesday, 06 january 2016) And much more messages on twitter and FA and IB and weasyl without reply. UPDATED: He returned my money 30th June 2017.

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/958083.html WHO: Ignri on FA WHERE: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/ignri/ WHAT: Digital art. $180 commission with alternate versions and additional background through my moving fundraiser. WHEN: June 14th (6/14/17), and ongoing EXPLAIN: User commissioned me for a commission through my moving fundraiser. After they approved the sketch, they decided to get a partial refund to buy a similar commission elsewhere to “save money.” After the conversation, I told them I would be giving them their refund in 2-3 business days after the money transferred back into my account from my bank, but they filed a dispute against the invoice and refused to let me properly refund them for the commission when the funds became available. The user approached me wanting to get a commission through my moving fundraiser with an alternate version and a background added to the piece. He sent in an order form with all of his information for the commission, and I reviewed it and quoted him the price of the commission on June 14. He agreed to the price and paid it same-day. FA note commission quote and agreement: https://www.dropbox.com/s/scda3kskug1yisl/AB_Ingri_01.png?dl=0 Paid invoice: https://www.dropbox.com/s/k7h6brggzw59aqw/AB_Ingri_003.jpg?dl=0 Commissioner notifying me of paid invoice: https://www.dropbox.com/s/e1c3bv6ci9ofecy/AB_Ignri_02.png?dl=0 Because of a bigger log of commissions I’ve gotten through the fundraiser, I was able to get the sketches done for him to review the next week. The sketches were done and sent to the commissioner on June 20. He responded positively to the work, so I was confident to continue working on the commission to completion within the next couple days. Sketches completed and delivered: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ykdw77beap7zfy4/com_Weavile2_Ignri_v1.jpg?dl=0 - NSFW https://www.dropbox.com/s/ca3qq5pos1bdtvl/com_Weavile2_Ignri_v2.jpg?dl=0 - NSFW Positive response to receiving the sketches: https://www.dropbox.com/s/wg1cv7nae5tu3fx/AB_Ignri_03.png?dl=0 The next morning on June 21 I received another note from the commissioner stating that he wanted me to put a hold on his commission, as he was waiting to hear back from another artist that was doing a similar piece for him and he was considering requesting a partial refund from me to “save some money.” I responded explaining I couldn’t hold the commission, as the commissions through the fundraiser were meant for the fundraiser only (all fundraiser commissions had freebies for the fundraiser ONLY) and it was going to be ending at the end of the month. I asked him in the same response to let me know quickly whether or not he wanted the refund, as I would need to make time to transfer that money back into my PayPal from my bank immediately for him. His note: https://www.dropbox.com/s/8w5oe7r9w5cchtr/AB_Ignri_04.png?dl=0 My response with two of his questions: https://www.dropbox.com/s/nhgpv85hscs9bu8/Screen Shot 2017-06-22 at 3.07.48 PM.png?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/jb47h7vncmz73n8/AB_Ignri_05.png?dl=0 This led to a series of notes of him asking me questions regarding the commission, and me responding to those questions as concisely and clearly as possible while asking again if he wanted the refund. I explained to him that the partial refund total would be $140, where the original first version sketch would be $25, and the alternative second version would be $15, totalling $40. I also explained that I wouldn’t be able to continue the commission later, because on top of moving at the end of the month I’m starting a new full time job and having a backlog of commissions wouldn’t be timely or ideal for my schedule. I started becoming uncomfortable with the conversation, and thinking back to his original reason for the refund that I found to be rather skeevy, I decided to explain that I would be cancelling the commission and refunding him for his partial refund he told me he was already considering. FA note chain: 1. https://www.dropbox.com/s/lt3ikfpt6u51yxr/AB_Ignri_06.png?dl=0 2. https://www.dropbox.com/s/q0tb67fj7ek3r69/AB_Ignri_07.png?dl=0 3. https://www.dropbox.com/s/t7jo3thortzcjxg/AB_Ignri_08.png?dl=0 The refund being transferred to PayPal from my bank: https://www.dropbox.com/s/63j36vp3i0zi8vs/TRANSFERFROMBANK.png?dl=0 He responded in defense to having his commission cancelled and refunded (linked above as number 3 under the FA note chain). I responded to this by noting him the completed sketch files that were finished for his commission that his $40 expense paid for, and that I would note him as soon as the transfer for his refund completed and the money was sent back to him on PayPal. After some time, he responded to me in defense once again. His note: https://www.dropbox.com/s/lfq407aao4qhizq/AB_Ignri_09.png?dl=0 I responded to his note clearing the air of why he was refunded and my stance on the situation, and that I no longer wished to continue this topic of conversation and the only notice he would get from me was when his refund was available and that I transferred the money back to him. My response: https://www.dropbox.com/s/rqk5a1ht5hqs1p4/AB_Ignri_10.png?dl=0 He had read it, but never responded to my note. On June 22nd, I came home to find over $100 in the red in my PayPal account and an unresolved dispute issued by the commissioner, stating it was a precaution for “just in case.” My girlfriend sent me money to get me out of the red. Dispute and bank transfer: https://www.dropbox.com/s/9pa0dywv1t25jpk/AB_INGRI_PAYPAL_02.png?dl=0 I contacted the commissioner on FA regarding the dispute. (At the time I referred to it as a chargeback, as I was mistaken. I realized after the fact this wasn’t a chargeback, but a filed dispute with the commissioner. I got confused since the funds had been taken out of my balance and assumed the taken funds = chargeback.) I explained that because he filed it, all the funds for the FULL amount of the commission ($180) were immediately taken from my account, and that wasn’t the agreed upon refund total of $140. I further explained that, because of the dispute, he would not be receiving his refund when it arrived from my bank because he wasn’t entitled to the full $180 amount. My note regarding the dispute: https://www.dropbox.com/s/crm79s1m8ynlo6u/AB_Ignri_11.png?dl=0 Instead of speaking to me directly, I found that the commissioner was using PayPal’s Resolution Center to relay information, so I chose to respond there. Eventually after a brief back-and-forth, he stopped using the Resolution Center and replied to my note on FA. First Resolution Center conversation: https://www.dropbox.com/s/3gcregue1qj2x2r/AB_Ingri_PAYPAL_01.jpg?dl=0 I tried to work with him in resolving the case one-on-one, despite the nature of his replies. I had gotten the refund earlier than expected and explained that I was readily available to issue him his partial refund when the claim was canceled, as I couldn’t refund the agreed partial $140 amount through the invoice if the claim was still open. It was forcing me to refund the full $180 amount. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem like he was willing to work with me. I couldn’t trust that the commissioner would return $40 to me if I gave him the full amount of $180. Conversation about the dispute (I mistakenly referred to it as a chargeback at the time): https://www.dropbox.com/s/edbs1jf05jrwyt1/chargebacknotes.jpg?dl=0 I updated the Resolution Center messages stating I was ready to refund the commissioner once the dispute was canceled. PayPal Resolution Center conversation: https://www.dropbox.com/s/fsagu2pumaqss2z/PayPalResolutionContinued.jpg?dl=0 (The website footer was blocking a portion of the messages, so I had to get snapshots of the comments from my phone and put them to the side of the covered messages.) He never read my last response, so I sent him one final note to give him a chance to comply in the morning (June 23): https://www.dropbox.com/s/hbpv3gmfyvz4tig/finalchargebacknote.jpg?dl=0 On the morning of June 23, the commissioner hadn’t read or responded to any of my notes, so I contacted PayPal over the phone about the matter to see what should be done. The commissioner didn’t seem to want to take the partial refund anymore and seemed to want a full refund (as suggested in this chain of notes https://www.dropbox.com/s/edbs1jf05jrwyt1/chargebacknotes.jpg?dl=0 ). The representative reviewed all of my evidence and information right then and there over the phone, and decided to escalate the dispute as a claim right away on my behalf due to the commissioner’s behavior after I explained the issue with the refund situation. Though I wish it didn’t have to come to that, I did what I was advised to do by the representative and submitted the same evidence to the claim regarding the payment - me canceling the invoice, me stating the agreed-to terms of the partial refund amount and when the refund would be delivered, me delivering the sketches/work done prior to canceling the commission, my notice that the refund was available to the commissioner and him not complying or allowing me to refund him. Basically, every single note exchanged between myself and the commissioner. The representative stated the commissioner could either cancel the claim to accept the $140 refund now, or continue the claim and have to wait up to 30 days for PayPal to review the claim and it would be out of my hands until the investigation was finished and the claim is closed by PayPal. I had hoped he would decide to cancel the claim so that he could receive his refund immediately. He later read my note, but never responded. I looked back at the dispute and found that he had decided to continue the claim for PayPal to review: https://www.dropbox.com/s/dzfciwch5ou0ka8/underreview.jpg?dl=0 I finally did get a response later in the evening, and I responded to let him know of the situation as it stands now: https://www.dropbox.com/s/9wsgn3wuq93spy5/paypalclaimexplain.jpg?dl=0 In hindsight, I believe I was rather defensive myself in my response to his note explaining why I was refunding him. A similar (but much less severe) case happened with this same commissioner in early 2016, which guided my decisions to cancel his commission and my response. I also know now it would have been best to leave the funds in my PayPal account for just such a situation as this. I had been transferring all the funds received from commissions for the fundraiser as soon as the commissioners had approved their sketches, as I was completing these commissions within 1-2 days after the sketches were approved. My thinking on transferring the funds this way was to make sure they were there during the duration of the fundraiser and so that I could organize the funds in preparation for signing a lease and putting down the deposit and first month’s rent on a new home. I’m honestly not sure what to do at this point other than to just… wait? I ultimately only want to be able to give him his $140 partial refund as soon as possible. I’ve been wanting to block him, but I know it would be inappropriate to do so as he’s still - despite this situation - completely entitled to his refund, and I don’t want to cut him off entirely due to that reason. PROOF: Chain of FA notes in order from when the sketches were originally delivered before the commission cancellation to the final note sent to the commissioner regarding the reason for his refund: https://www.dropbox.com/s/fqnxuigtd39b69f/notechain.jpg?dl=0 Chain of FA notes in order regarding the dispute: https://www.dropbox.com/s/edbs1jf05jrwyt1/chargebacknotes.jpg?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/9wsgn3wuq93spy5/paypalclaimexplain.jpg?dl=0 Quote agreement and paid invoice: https://www.dropbox.com/s/scda3kskug1yisl/AB_Ingri_01.png?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/k7h6brggzw59aqw/AB_Ingri_003.jpg?dl=0 Artwork finished before the cancellation of the commission and delivered to the commissioner: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ykdw77beap7zfy4/com_Weavile2_Ignri_v1.jpg?dl=0 - NSFW https://www.dropbox.com/s/ca3qq5pos1bdtvl/com_Weavile2_Ignri_v2.jpg?dl=0 - NSFW Dispute with refund transfer and full Resolution Center conversation: https://www.dropbox.com/s/9pa0dywv1t25jpk/AB_INGRI_PAYPAL_02.png?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/fsagu2pumaqss2z/PayPalResolutionContinued.jpg?dl=0 UPDATE: I had called PayPal and spoke to a representative about the case, and they told me there was nothing more I could do on my end until the claim was closed, or PayPal contacted me via e-mail if they needed any more information. This evening (June 28), I received this e-mail from PayPal: https://www.dropbox.com/s/pg8dwwonrc66xi6/claimemail.jpg?dl=0 I responded to the claim: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ug92hs7046qlhec/claimupdate.jpg?dl=0 I received this e-mail in response: https://www.dropbox.com/s/vedz5or60tbav1e/claimemail2.jpg?dl=0 Hopefully the refund is accepted, he can receive his refund and the claim can be closed. UPDATE 2: I received another e-mail response that the commissioner agreed to close the claim by accepting the partial refund of $140, so the claim was closed in my favor. I've since notified the commissioner that the refund was delivered to him and blocked him. E-mails: 1. https://www.dropbox.com/s/43o1q5fzf9428hu/closedclaimemail1.jpg?dl=0 2. https://www.dropbox.com/s/un6qlp07fc4b78o/closedclaimemail2.jpg?dl=0 FA Note: https://www.dropbox.com/s/efoq411k83k6ayz/closedclaimnote.jpg?dl=0 Hopefully this experience helps others who've experienced similar situations with commissioners, and can see how the process worked for me so it gives some insight on what to expect in case an event like this happens with someone else. PayPal was nothing but pleasant with me and had an absolute willingness to work with me on the matter.

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/954122.html WHO: Joshain Lucarian WHERE: https://www.facebook.com/joshain.lucarian WHAT: Laminated headshot Badge w/lanyard, Tail badge, and badge clips. WHEN: Commissioned on September 8th, 2016 and still on going. EXPLAIN: I had commissioned Joshain back on September 8th 2016. Although they are very nice and I am a VERY patient person I am very unsatisfied with the updates I recieved. I believe I got one picture showing me the draft of the tail badge I ordered. (I ordered laminated headshot, tail badge, badge clips, lanyard.http://sta.sh/024y1yhi0v75 Please note in the screenshots a friend paid for me. Unfortunely, they paid through paypal friends and family. http://sta.sh/0a27gtna27m) Other than the one WIP picture to my knowledge I recieved nothing else. I would ask for updates every few weeks, (I lost our earlier messages on my other account - due to a Facebook sweep) and even then it was hard to get in contact with them due to their messages not working. http://sta.sh/01g74e4wxrs9 - September 18th, 2016, They had informed me they were beginning their commissions again as they had taken a break. This message had been sent to both this account and the other I was more active on at the time - I had answered on my lost account which is why there is no response here. (Started on last image ) February 15, 2017, I had poked him again since it was a while since I had last heard from him. He told me he had messaged me asking for my address but my account was down. Since they were ready to be shipped I had asked to see them, he told me he wasn't able to send them at that moment and will later but so far hasn't. http://sta.sh/01wzylghjlda / http://sta.sh/019ei49rbdfo - He took down my name and address to remind themselves to send it. http://sta.sh/02ajnw8rm5jw - By February 26th, I had yet to recieve anything in the mail so messaged him again asking, he hadn't as a friend had his sketchbook. After that, I had left him alone. (Same image) March 11th, I asked him when I should expect my items and that was when he told me he had already sent it out through regular mail that Tuesday. He let me know he'd keep an eye out on it, in case it was sent back to him. http://sta.sh/0woep2tb6el - March 19th, I still had yet to get anything in the mail so once again shot them a message, neither of us had gotten anything in the mail. http://sta.sh/028kricc326c - March 23rd, 24th, 29th and April 3rd, I've sent him messages only to be ignored by him. Aside from him telling me he mailed I have no way to prove it as I did not receive a tracking number or other information. So far, I haven't received a thing. I've gotten art from Germany and it didn't take this long. I've tried for the past few days to resolve this by refund or anything really. I have had to resorted to posting to their wall and commenting on posts they've made to get their attention. So far my comments have been deleted and unanswered. So, I've been tagging them in statuses to get them to respond. Their facebook chat log show them online and active often. http://sta.sh/02aakq50ik7c / http://sta.sh/04svxu7c2hl / http://sta.sh/0a8edb27udr / http://sta.sh/0220haaevn1v / http://sta.sh/0xhk7cmxy2w - All the attempts I've made to get in contact with him, the last time I've heard from him was April 19th only to be told he was busy and he would message me back. But, of course he never did. //Also, the beware I speak about was a facebook group I had been apart of. A friend of mine recommended here to me, we are both hoping it helps. On one of my statuses a friend of his came to defend him, http://sta.sh/026jljohd3j7 / http://sta.sh/09m9icukx6j / http://sta.sh/021xhr09zsas - They stated that if their friend was doing this there had to be a reason. So far, I don't see a reason as everything had been going well until they supposedly mailed out my items. PROOF: All images placed in one album - http://sta.sh/21jca6tqdai5?edit=1 At this point, I have to assume they're blatantly ignoring me and I won't be seeing anything from this transaction. If anyone has any ideas on what I can do, that would be great. Thank you for your time and have a good day.

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/947383.html FINAL EDIT: So after posting the last update, a few things have happened. My claim was never responded to, however the note I sent to them a week earlier warning of the chargeback was (see their response here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/xvaik3o7szvka0r/Inkeyu Response.png?dl=0 ) I was hoping that true to their word, they would refund me there and then, so gave them my email and ignored the fact I found them to be rude (whilst I appreciate being busy, if you run commissions through a site you have an obligation to at least inform them once in a while on where they stand). They never got back in contact nor did they refund me. As of today (29th March 2017) Paypal have ruled in my favour as they never got in contact with Paypal, proof of the dispute resolution is here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/gdzagfydino29w1/Screenshot_2017-03-29_at_18.51.04.png?dl=0 I will now be blocking the seller on FA, and consider the matter resolved. Edit: I've removed the IG account, and as of yet, there is no response to my chargeback threat. I also can not find any more of my notes asking them for updates (as I regularly clean my mailboxes, if I find any or receive a reply or issue the chargeback, I will keep you updated.) I've also included evidence that my chargeback has not been opened, as well as that my Feb 6th note was read. Edit 2: They never responded to the chargeback note (or opened it) so have included evidence of the paypal claim (I escalated straight to them), they have until the 27th to respond to paypal, as of today (21st of March) there is still no conversation between them and the seller as it still says "awaiting response" on the claim. First off, forgive me if this is incorrect in any way, I'm new here and am incredibly anxious about posting and didn't really want for it to get this way but I feel I've been patient enough after 4 months of minimal contact and I have now issued a warning about a chargeback. Please note I wouldn't have been this patient if it wasn't for the fact this person seemed to be in dire need when I commissioned them. WHO: Inkeyu of FA also known as Karma Kolors / KarmaManyBlood WHERE: FA: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/inkeyu/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/KarmaManyblood Etsy:https://www.etsy.com/shop/KarmasKolors?ref=pr_shop_more -The latter links seem dead however WHAT: Mini character in a bottle pendant. PROOF: - Initial discussion: https://www.dropbox.com/s/x6euqpv14nqgkgt/Initial_Discussion edited.jpg?dl=0 - Proof of purchase: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ebbmxgyoubn8byo/Proof_of_payment edited.jpg?dl=0 - Us discussing details: https://www.dropbox.com/s/8rojbr59x49g5qs/Discussing Pendant (1).png?dl=0 and https://www.dropbox.com/s/hpwe9vm50u5wzrp/Discussing Pendant (2).png?dl=0 and https://www.dropbox.com/s/11rikcsntduqrkb/Discussing Pendant (3).png?dl=0 - One of several attempts to get in touch: https://www.dropbox.com/s/wk96n03skt54oq0/Feb 6th Contact Attempt.png?dl=0 - Evidence that screencap has been read: https://www.dropbox.com/s/01denkbf162xk7b/Previously_read_note edited.jpg?dl=0 - I have screencaps of me talking to another customer (which I can add if needed) - Me threatening a chargeback: https://www.dropbox.com/s/8us4e8s8kvpku1w/Inkeyu chargeback warning.png?dl=0 Chargeback currently unread (Thursday 16th March, 8.45GMT): https://www.dropbox.com/s/5th9d5bcvh5ktko/Chargeback_unread edited.jpg?dl=0 Paypal claim (still awaiting reply, 21st March, 22.54GMT): https://www.dropbox.com/s/6bn8cncsfav55t2/Chargeback.jpg?dl=0 WHEN: December 2nd 2016 (given her 48hr warning of a chargeback March 15th 2017) EXPLAIN: I came across this individual in an FALAH (FA Lend a Hand) ad saying she was in a dire situation and needed funds, so was initially going to do a half and half trade of cash and writing for one of these pendants. I got paid around then, so instead decided to pay them the full asking price of $25 after some discussion (see "initial discussion" above) since I figured they'd appreciate it more. They asked for payment, which I sent on December 2nd 2016 (see "proof of purchase"). They were initially chatty (see links under "discussing details") and in good contact for a fair few weeks. Around six weeks in, I sent them a polite message to ask for progress, which was responded to by them saying they were busy as their situation was even more dire (I could only find their journal asking for help, and will link this if needed). I did some boosting online in an attempt to help them on my Twitter in the hope they would get to my piece faster, and left them be for another couple of weeks. I then attempted to contact them again (and several times since, like in the Feb 6th screenshot "one of several attempts to get in touch") and noticed that my notes were getting ignored (see "evidence read"). I would contact approximately once a fortnight, and every time the note was opened but never replied to. By this time I was beginning to feel put out, so decided to contact the customer ahead of me in the queue. They explained that Inkeyu worked in the same facility as them, and was under a lot of work pressure, but was going to tell them to respond to me and keep me in the loop (can link this if needed). This was around the end of February and I've still had no contact. I feel crap for doing it, but I'm finally at a point where I am a little suspicious and a little bit dejected. I've issued a 48hr warning before I file a chargeback (see "chargeback") which has been currently unread (see "chargeback unread"). I feel like I've tried to help someone in need and it's backfired on me, and now I fear I'm taking money from the mouth of someone who really needs it even though I don't want to lose that money myself. Chargeback warning issued on March 15th at 20.08GMT and I will update as and when needed.

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/944483.html WHO: Cuttleb0ne WHERE: twitter.com/cuttleb0ne WHAT: A plantigrade fullbody fursuit WHEN: Quote sent 12/28/15 Down payment sent 01/13/16 PROOF: Proof of all current payment Only wip I've ever recieved EXPLAIN: Cuttlebone quoted me $2,500 for a fursuit of my saber character with a payment plan of a 30% down payment and the remaining 70% due on completion. I was very excited for this commission so I sent the down payment on the 13th and told him that my only deadline was this coming MFF in December, expecting that this would be plenty of time to get things done. For a while things were going smoothly, I sent my DTD and some extra payments because I was nervous about making sure I could pay him all off on time, since I wasn't quite sure when he would be complete. I would ask for updates periodically, as there hadn't been any progress on the suit other than him sending me a picture of fur samples in June. He suddenly stopped responding to my inquiries from September to November link . When I finally got an update (no progress) I told him I didn't mind if just a partial were done by MFF, trying not to cause stress. He did not respond again until the weekend of MFF, telling me he had no progress, but was going to give me a schedule of when the parts would be done, hoping to finish the suit before the end of the year, I never got that schedule link . I asked for another update on January 12th and got no response, noticing that he was active on twitter I got a little flustered and sent a message saying that I was tired of having to fish for updates and that if he didn't want to do business with me anymore to let me know and we would talk about refunding. We agreed to continue the commission , but I stated that I would need weekly updates even if no progress had been made. He complied for about a week until I got no response from Jan 23rd to Feb 12th link and I had to threaten an AB and Paypal chargeback to get him to respond. I have currently been waiting since the 18th for a reply from him link . In conclusion, do not commission this maker if you don't want to have to threaten an AB to get a response. UPDATE 02/28 After letting him know about this AB and a dispute on one of my older payments (since it was the last day I could do it), along with firmly asking for a refund when I had previously asked him to decide whether he wanted to refund or continue, he replied and apologized for the unpleasant experience I had. He said he was unable to work on the suit due to not having access to materials. I confronted him about some suspicions I had that he was making premade suits, and he confirmed, stating that they were to refund other customers (and myself now). Currently I am waiting for a payment plan for the refund.

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/944093.html WHO: Mew / Xionica (fursuit character name) WHERE: https://www.furaffinity.net/user/mew | https://www.furaffinity.net/user/xionica/ WHAT: Fursuit partial (being resold) - fursuit shown on their Xionica page. WHEN: Around March / April 2016 is when I first paid on it. July 9th was my last payment. PROOF: Everything is chronologically placed in my dropbox but I'll also post the links chronologically through the explanation as well. https://www.dropbox.com/sh/7obu4yppo7mpeoc/AABEqW-37KC12Re0dkVVD1eDa?dl=0 Proof that Mew and Xionica are the same person: https://www.dropbox.com/s/r09u3mcg7kz3df4/proofxionica1.png?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/5qcv6ag4prt7ssy/proofxionica1-2.png?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/od0mn2v4b0gwu4t/proofxionica2.png?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/8w0zjqsaksgoeh6/proofxionica3.png?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/4glw9wo9b0zb8bp/proofxionica4.png?dl=0 She sent me art of the character that wasn't even posted on Xionica's account. She said that's where the fursuit was hosted and that she would sell account, char art, and the FurAffinity profile along with purchase. This proof shows that I made payments on it and that it was to her paypal she specified: https://www.dropbox.com/s/bvs314m94rqpr26/proof1.png?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/ya9g567bal6x32x/proof2.png?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/zffc0bfpv3o68x1/proof3.png?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/n5yz7egwakzzfu2/proof4.png?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/gbdp8rktycbmpot/proof8.png?dl=0 - This was my final payment. EXPLAIN: I was scammed out of 107$ on a fursuit partial, being sold to me by Mew The story behind this: Originally I agreed to buy this fursuit partial from this person that I considered a friend because I wanted to help them out with bills + the design was VERY well detailed for only 500$ + extra art included. You can see the fursuit in question on her Xionica account. This was back before I had a job, having no means to pay for this fursuit but Mew told me I could do it if I just posted commissions / adopts / etc and eventually it would pile up to equal 500$. Every payment for the commissions was sent directly to Mew through her paypal email. It was to avoid paying a double fee for paypal. She was very adamant about making sure I paid her buyer's fee for her which is against Paypal's TOS but I thought since she was my friend it was okay. Because of this, most of my payments are either small increments of 5-20$ or were sent directly via commissioners to avoid taking so much out of fees. In total, from my actual paypal, I only sent her 9$ from my own account. This is an image showing she was calculating the fees she was receiving from my payments into the total purchase: https://www.dropbox.com/s/p7ubkcyszn826tx/proof7.png?dl=0 - "I'll let you know your total once I see the fees" That's when all the shit started happening in my life. Lots of my adopts and commissions wouldn't sell, highschool graduation, college, then medical stuff and I lost my job 2-3 months after being hired so now I'm disabled. But I always kept her updated to let her know what was happening and that I was just going through a rough patch in my life. https://www.dropbox.com/s/723gvbl09uhnjhg/proof9.png?dl=0 - as we were friends and I was helping her out because she needed money for bills, I thought she would understand. But then she sent me a message on Skype, January 30th of this year - saying it had been a YEAR since I paid.. which was a flat out lie, the last payment was 7 months ago on the proof images of 107$. https://www.dropbox.com/s/7oahsay2cmjxg9v/proof11.png?dl=0 She sent that to my skype probably knowing I was having skype issues because I talked about it often via statuses and I hadn't been online in forever (and MIA due to medical stuff) because I just couldn't sign on. At least 2 months of inactivity via my new skype. Plus she added my new skype from my status that told people my old skype wasn't working. https://www.dropbox.com/s/gtwae9im4w4dnx7/proof10.png?dl=0 She didn't bother to message me on FA or Toyhou.se or try to get into contact with me, choosing the most convenient way for her not to get a response. About 4 days after that message, I remembered about the partial and contacted her on Toyhou.se to let her know I was still interested. https://www.dropbox.com/s/1a0wd49julhef9w/proof12.png?dl=0 I asked if she had discord. It was obvious I didn't see her skype message at this time. Instead of telling me THERE about the fact that she wanted to resell the fursuit, she just curtly said "No, I do not." And tried to cut off all communication. https://www.dropbox.com/s/g627j3bphjymkq9/proof13.png?dl=0 She never responded to my second note where I said I would try to get skype working and that I really wanted to discuss the fursuit payment. https://www.dropbox.com/s/qof5t18qf9g42ex/proof14.png?dl=0 She read it but never responded. https://www.dropbox.com/s/0e0ik0yrtzta7ed/readnote2.png?dl=0 So I finally got Skype working today and what do you know? I stumble upon the message. https://www.dropbox.com/s/z2runvyncuqyqw6/proof15.png?dl=0 So I responded asking her to refund my 107$ payment if she was going to resell the fursuit, since I'm not getting my product. NO WHERE in our conversations was a deadline mentioned where I had to pay in full by, no downpayment agreed to.. it was just one friend slowly inching towards their goal to help another friend and to buy a fursuit. And guess what? SHE UNFRIENDS ME ON SKYPE 30 MIN LATER, as you can see by the "messaging disabled" on the bottom of that screencap. Perplexed, I messaged her on FA, telling her that I WILL force refund the payments or sue her over this matter. You can't just take 107$ of my money and run off with it. https://www.dropbox.com/s/qmcmv7y636wl81k/proof16.png?dl=0 I also suggested that if she didn't have the money to pay, she could trade me a character I saw on her Toyhou.se that would be worth the price (plus she was selling it anyways) and I could come to an agreement after that, because it was some form of product. She read that never responded, has been active uploading art so I'm done. https://www.dropbox.com/s/2a8pdbnvrtjiuhd/readnote1.png?dl=0 So after this TL;DR.. Mew is a scammer. She took 107$ of my money that was put down for a fursuit, and she ran off with it. She refuses to respond to me so it's clear I have to take this matter into my own hands with the public. I'm gonna post this in hopes that she'll never be able to scam anyone else out of their money again and so that maybe, just maybe she'll give me back my money or gives me something of equal value.. because I don't think this will settle well with a paypal dispute, even with the proof images from skype because all the money was sent directly from my commission / adopt buyers.

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/943772.html WHO: Miss Kitty's Custom Commissions on FB WHERE: https://www.facebook.com/scarykittenincorporated/ + their personal FB WHAT: 2 digital pieces for $20 WHEN: Aug 21st 2015 - current PROOF: https://gyazo.com/812ea7cf305d5ba62095ca8a97e35bb6 - initial commission request https://gyazo.com/a914d9eabbfc4e277314c5425b500675 - I was still admin of a FB group at this point, I guess the GFM is unrelated but IDK? https://gyazo.com/447de3058f93728c3bed8508007ee092 - End of 2015, still no arts. https://gyazo.com/0979ef74a606627369ebbb2328046507 - I think that’s pretty self explanitory… Hasn’t looked at my messages or replied. EXPLAIN: I think the caps tell the story. I don’t think there’s really anything to add here. My patience has cost me money. x.x I’m also not the only person with this problem but I’m only speaking for myself.

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/940141.html WHO: Piranha.Petting.Zoo on Instagram | Karkass on Furry Amino WHERE: https://www.instagram.com/piranha.petting.zoo/ (set to Private now) & Furry Amino WHAT: Piranha.Petting.Zoo/Karkass has been has been tracing/altering my art for her Commissions and Trades on Instagram and Furry Amino. WHEN: 10/14/2016 – First post of stolen art on Instagram 01/25/2017 – I was first notified about her. 01/27/2017 – She finished removing my art and set her Instagram to private so only followers can view. PROOF: So sorry there are a lot of links to evidence, she used roughly 23 pieces of my art as either commissions, trades or claimed them as her own. I’ll be as concise and organized as I can. I did my best to censor the proper information but please let me know if I missed anything! *Please note at this time she has removed all of my art and made her Instagram private so I’ll be including screenshot links. I hope this will suffice.* Their Instagram Gallery at the time I first checked (my art is circled in red) Direct Link to their Commission Information that uses some of my altered work as examples Screenshot in case they pull link access to it Theirs | Mine(NSFW) Theirs | Mine Theirs | Mine Theirs | Mine Theirs | Mine Theirs | Mine Theirs | Mine Theirs | Mine Theirs 1 & Theirs 2 | Mine 1 & Mine 2 Theirs | Mine Theirs 1 & Theirs 2 | Mine Theirs | Mine Theirs | Mine Theirs 1 & Theirs 2 | Mine Theirs | Mine Theirs | Mine Theirs 1 & Theirs 2 | Mine Theirs | Mine Theirs | Mine Theirs | Mine Theirs | Mine Theirs | Mine Theirs 1 & Theirs 2 | Mine Their post with my art in their Commission Que on Furry Amino | Mine My Messages to Piranha.Petting.Zoo: 1st @ 7:25 PM CST 01/25/2017 2nd around 9:00 PM CST 01/25/2017 EXPLAIN: A kind user on Twitter brought it to my attention on Wednesday, 01/25/2017, that the user Piranha.Petting.Zoo on Instagram was using my art for her commissions and trades. As seen above she has altered numerous pieces of my art for her commissions, trades, and a couple personal pieces for herself. Even further, her Commission Information, that was previously linked on her Instagram, uses my altered art as her Feral Fully Body, Headshot, Bust and Anthro Full Body commission examples. There is also a post up on her Instagram where she talks about at least some of what she's made in commissions. Given I did not see much if any art that was possibly her own work, I doubt the money she's talking about having earned was done 100% through her own talent. LINK I will say, initially I wasn’t sure if I should try and post a Beware or not. After I collected evidence I decided to message her directly to ask her to remove my art immediately and stop using it for her commissions and trades. I felt maybe if we could resolve it privately it’d be for the better. She never responded to my messages directly, but while I was working on collecting direct links to her posted art I noticed I started to run into “Page Not Found” errors. Upon refreshing her gallery I noticed she had removed a little over half of the images in question. I felt this was possibly a good sign, since she started removing them within about 15-30 minutes of my first message to her. A little over half of the images in question were removed quickly, but for some reason she stopped with a few remaining. I figured I’d give her some additional time to get them removed, I didn't want to get too aggressive with her if I could avoid it, and who knows maybe she couldn't finish removing it all right then. In the meantime I started to see if I could find her anywhere else to make sure she wasn’t just removing the art from Instagram, but continuing to keep it up elsewhere. I asked a friend to see if he could locate her on Furry Amino, since the user who brought her to my attention had also mentioned she had originally been doing commissions and trades there (this was prior to seeing her comment about what she was making on commissions there). My friend had an account on the app already, so I asked if he could just double check for me to be safe. He was indeed able to locate her on the app, and informed me of some posts she had there which prompted me to sign up so I could check for myself. She is on Furry Amino under the username Karkass, and it seems she made a post there about 15-30 minutes after I had sent my first message as well. LINK Her comment about current commissioners made me curious to check her Queue, and she does appear to have at least 2 commissions listed currently. One of which may be using another piece of mine. LINK It was at this point I started to feel Karkass was not necessarily removing the art because she truly felt she had done wrong, but only because she'd been caught. Especially given she still seemed intent on finishing these last commissions with "the same style". So I sent one last message to her on Instagram that evening asking her to please have the remainder of my art removed from her Instagram and Furry Amino by the next evening (Thursday 01/26/2017), and to cancel and refund any commissions she’s currently working on that use my art. She did finally finish removing my art from her Instagram on Friday (01/27/2017). Unfortunately, the piece in her Queue on Furry Amino remains up at the moment, so she has yet to honor that part of my request. Her post on Furry Amino that Friday further eroded my confidence in the sincerity of her actions. LINK It was after that last post, followed the next day by her locking down her Instagram to private for followers only, that I decided to go ahead and try posting a Beware. Her behavior through all of this really makes me worry she’s not truly intent on stopping what she’s doing. I could be wrong! She may legitimately be looking to revamp her style through her own talent and not by using my art or anyone else’s. I hope that's what she's doing, but I’m concerned she may now just be looking for someone else’s art to use, and/or she may continue to use mine. I really don’t know. I hope my concerns are for naught. However, I wouldn’t want this to happen to anyone else, nor would I want her to continue to scam her commissioners and those artists putting in their precious time and hard work on art trades with her when all she’s doing is altering other artists’ work. This is a beware to artists and commissioners alike to be heads up in regards to Piranha.Petting.Zoo aka Karkass. She has used my art for her commissions and trades, and she may continue to use mine and/or other artists’ art in the future.

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/939896.html Who: Vani / VanillaKitsune / @ashketchumsays / stripesandteeth Where: Twitter When: Commissioned them June 15th, 2016 I commissioned Vani on their Twitter back in June when they were taking a lot of sketch commissions there. I bought two sketches and received initial passes pretty quickly, but since then it’s been very difficult to get in contact with them much less get an update. Break down of events and screen caps below cut. All screen caps are in the Dropbox folder below, and are numbered to be chronological, except for the proof of payment which is the first document. https://www.dropbox.com/sh/gnsxt1by8i2dmvk/AAAON_cgjDhnjltT0I8dFCHma?dl=0 June: -6/15/16: I DMed Vani on Twitter like their post said to do, and gave them references and paid promptly. I paid for two 11x14 sketch with shipping, but was later asked to pay for shipping again. -6/26/16: I received preliminary sketches that were very rough and I approved them. I was excited to see progress so soon and was told they’d be finished promptly. -6/29/16: A few days later I received a long DM from Vani saying that they would be attending AX and couldn’t finish the sketches before then. As an artist that sells at cons, I understood and told them not to worry. Afterwards I didn’t hear anything until August. August: -8/14/16: I DMed Vani to check in and ask how the sketches were going and again received a long DM, explaining that things were rough but on an upswing. I trusted they’d work on commissions when they were able and left them to it until November when I saw they were going to MFF. November: -11/28/16: I DMed Vani again after I saw they were going to MFF and tabling there as well. I asked if I could pick up my sketches at the con and they said they would have them ready for me. I ended up not being able to get away from my table the entire weekend and messaged them when I got home. December: -12/5/16: I DMed Vani again apologizing that I couldn’t get to their table to pick up my sketches. At this point, I have not seen the finished sketches and have no reason to believe that the sketches have actually been completed and would have even been available for pickup. Vani tells me they can mail my sketches, and asked me to send $6. I promptly paid, completely forgetting that I had already paid for shipping initially. -12/30/16: Vani posts a 10 page google document explaining their year and the struggles they’ve been through. I read the whole thing, and only gathered that they were stressed from taking too many commissions in between moving a lot and having financial struggles. They clearly state that they can’t deal with the stress of being contacted by customers, which admittedly upset me. January: -1/7/17: At this point unaware of their post, I DM Vani one last time asking if they had mailed the sketches. I didn’t receive a response, so I publicly tweeted at them. -1/11/17: I tweeted asking if they had shipped the sketches, received a reply from a random third party directing me to the 10 page manifesto. After reading the whole thing I e-mailed Vani like they requested and tried to pick up where we left off on Twitter. -1/25/17: No response to my e-mail, so I send another asking if they had received it. At this point I am not expecting a reply. Speaking as an artist, I have been through similar situations that Vani has gone through. I’ve been in very tight spots financially and been forced to move and scramble to find housing. I honestly don’t mind waiting for artwork so long as the artist is able to clearly communicate delays and issues just as I would with my customers. Vani very clearly can’t handle custom work but continues to take more and put themselves into this situation. They are now putting the blame of their anxieties and shortcomings on their customers who are simply asking when they can expect their artwork. I’m incredibly disappointed and honestly even if I were to receive a refund or the finished artwork I couldn’t in good conscience recommend anyone work with Vani.

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/939315.html Where https://inkbunny.net/Lando What 60$ commission. I commissioned once before, took a month more or less, so as it was the same style as the first one, I thought may the same or two would do. When 23th june 2016 Proofs Skype deleted the first month of june, but here is the log from july to now. https://d.pr/pvFM https://d.pr/hLs1 https://d.pr/1FY5 https://d.pr/XoMN https://www.dropbox.com/s/2ang7hikop5m0p6/img1.png?dl=0 That's the last thing I know from him. Payment: https://www.dropbox.com/s/8i72d6rev8nm88x/img2.png?dl=0 Further details: So, last year, I commissioned Lando, from InkBunny, a pic from our munks, like a grey and white sketchy style that he does very well. It just took like a month or so to get finished. So, more or less after half year I tried to commission him again. I asked if he was taking commissions that time, and said me yes. So I payed him the amount he asked, more or less the same as the first comm (60$). Said it would take the same time, may a bit more, because he never drew rocket raccoon, I thought it was ok, we all want very good draws. But since then, I only started to have comments like "soon", "the next draw is your comming", and so, as you can see in the pics. I also know that I can be a bit impatient, basically because he WAS my fav artist, but looks he didn't get bothered at all, all the contrary. Once he said me real life things were happening, and I understood that, but since then he told that now could focus on the commission, but only the last pic of the conversation is the last I know from him. He just passed me some sketches from rocket he was practicing and the very initial idea of the commission. Nothing else. So, as you can suppose, I'm disappointed with who was my favorite artist, who I got friendly chats on skype, and now, I just get ignored and scammed. I don't know what else I can do. I tried to make in paypal a petition of "asking money" from him, like a refund, last week just to make contact with him, but as always, no response from him. Also mention that in his account of IB has activity.

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/936264.html WHO: Wormskin On Furaffinity WHERE: https://www.furaffinity.net/user/wormskin/ WHAT: Commission Type Was Half Body Digital Art WHEN: May 1st, 2016 - Present day PROOF: https://i.gyazo.com/53bec47615ad2cadfeabbbbc466e8d63.png https://i.gyazo.com/f581a688565103e79797eb5aee01805b.png https://i.gyazo.com/9bd2c423cb4dc5a5059378e5e4263533.png EXPLAIN: It started off when I saw his artwork on the front page of FA, I loved their art style and wanted to get a commission from them. after contacting the artist and explaining to them what I wanted (look at the above screenshots) they sent me an email and I paid for it. 7 months later and I haven't heard from this person, I even sent them a note asking about the art but it was never opened. https://i.gyazo.com/fe3dfcf3df83946ff0046e5946000ca4.png https://i.gyazo.com/caf3d8457586c0ba030c72ea8908210c.png https://i.gyazo.com/3d0c608b7a7fbcf142e88b8382a2018e.png I really don't know what to do at this point, I'm out of $41and the artist has seemed to just drop off the face of the earth. if ANYONE has any info on this person please note me on FA.

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/933659.html WHO: Greycat Rademenes WHERE: http://greycat-rademenes.deviantart.com/ (DA), https://www.furaffinity.net/user/greycatr (FA) -> Both NSFW WHAT: A 2 character color picture for $90 WHEN: 12/11/2015 (payment) -> 3/16/2016 (last contact) -> Present Day PROOF: (Identifiers and explicit adult details have been redacted to the best of my abilities) Details of my Commission: http://sta.sh/013r1r3pado7 Payment of Commission: https://sta.sh/01tcxdl753ud Last Contact: http://sta.sh/04oyr12l9g5 EXPLAIN: On 12/11/2015, I paid for a 2 character color commission from Greycat Rademenes. I patiently waited for the picture to be completed, so I send him a DA note on 3/16/2016 asking about the status of my commission. He responded in a timely manner, but then a while later, he never responded when I asked him about my commission. I tried his Yahoo! E-mail, G-mail, FA notes, DA notes and some DA shouts, but he never responded to them. I don't want to believe he's ignoring me, but he hasn't given me anything to suggest otherwise. I've had no problems with him in the past, but this is something I've never encountered with him before. I really hope that he did not get too bogged down with his other non-art commitments (work, school, other people's commissions). Again, he hasn't given me anything to suggest otherwise. I only want my picture to be completed. I'm only posting this because of the total lack of communication on his part. All I need is a simple, one sentence response about my commission from him. I only ask reasonable requests like that to be done. UPDATE 1 (11/21/2016): After a few DeviantArt notes, I finally got a response from Greycat. He did not forget about my picture, but it would've been nice if I could see it firsthand to confirm the claim that he did work on my picture I commissioned nearly a year ago. Partly, but not yet fully resolved. Greycat's response: https://sta.sh/01rs8uyx2kii UPDATE 2 (11/22/2016): After 2 Tolstoy-length DA notes, Greycat is currently working on my commission mentioned above. My commission is NSFW, so it cannot be shown here. A bit more resolved than last time, but still not yet fully resolved. Greycat working on my pic: http://sta.sh/01cwjziz8i0 UPDATE 3 (11/27/2016): After another note, he has finished my picture and sent a copy of it to my email. Again, NSFW commission, so it cannot be shown here. I can consider this issue fully resolved, but I wish Greycat would keep in touch more often so a fiasco like this won't happen again.

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/923369.html WHO: TheAquaticRebel (dA) -- Deactivated August 2016 -- New account http://kreayashion.deviantart.com/ Deactivated as well (August 28, 2016) -- (edited) http://loyderwo.deviantart.com/ New new account (Appears to have been abandoned) WHERE: http://www.theaquaticrebel.deviantart.com // http://kreayashion.deviantart.com/ // http://loyderwo.deviantart.com/ WHAT: $150.00 YCH fully detailed commission WHEN: May 27th, 2016 - August 4th, 2016 PROOF: http://ninjakato.deviantart.com/art/The-Aurora-Singers-YCH-CLOSED-611035951 (Original piece) http://comments.deviantart.com/1/611035951/4137225015 (Comment inquiring to purchase) http://ninjakato.deviantart.com/art/The-Aurora-Bringers-YCH-Comm-612444595 (Completed piece) EXPLAIN: In May of 2016 I opened a YCH with multiple characters which were $150.00 each 'The Aurora Singers' (YCH CLOSED). One was bought by someone and a short time later the other was bought by TheAquaticRebel. At the time I was doing commissions under post-pay -- Meaning I would be paid after completion. I had done this originally to save myself anxiety by feeling the need to rush to get a piece of artwork done because it had been prepaid. While TheAquaticRebel had offered originally to pay beforehand -- http://sta.sh/0e24dsjhdb6 I declined because I was pretty busy at the time and didn't want to run the risk of taking too long to get work done (I was in the process of packing to go overseas for a few months). Between May 28th and June 1st 2016 I had completed the commission and sent a note to let TheAquaticRebel know it had been completed and I was ready for payment to be made -- http://sta.sh/026ikm0uink5 I figured it had only been a couple days and I hadn't heard anything back from them to warrant a possibility that they wouldn't be able to pay. The other person who had bought the other half had paid promptly within a few hours after I'd sent the finished product. Unfortunately, that's when the situation went downhill and I received this as a reply -- http://sta.sh/085pjoiu0ra I had never heard of this happening but I asked around a bit and prodded Google.com for information of similar situations and ways to fix/repair it, not only to be paid but for TheAquaticRebel's sake as well because I imagined that situation is a pretty scary one to be in. A few people told me that PayPal doesn't shut down your account or delete it unless you ask them to under the pretenses that your account has been hacked/used by someone else without permission. Also, someone else pointed out the "PayPal bill" section which TheAquaticRebel spoke of -- PayPal doesn't send bills... They send business activity and payment histories monthly to show how much you have made/earned and how much you have bought in that month. Still, I gave TheAquaticRebel the benefit of the doubt and figured if anything they had a bank account and would likely offer to pay with that instead should their card take too long to arrive. The day after (June 4th, 2016) I sent a reply to their note inquiring as to when I could expect payment as banks usually only take 4-7 business days to send you a new card (even in the UK) and I was going to be unavailable for a week and a half or so as I would be traveling and thus unable to view my dA notes http://sta.sh/0rqa1qoxwye A week and a half's time seemed ample time enough to get everything sorted, more so when money and possibly identity theft was involved; I'd be chomping at the bit to try and get everything sorted! A day later I got this http://sta.sh/0bl5yxjjcnb as the only reply which seemed to be the tipping point for me to understand this person was yanking my chains. Their reply was so lackluster and 'meh' -- as if to say "I owe you $150/115£ but I can't be bothered" -- which really kind of annoyed me as I kept thinking of how I'd be in that situation. I'd be in slight hysterics because this is finances that were being messed with AND I'd owe someone 115 quid for work they'd already done. However, I digress -- I replied with as at this point I was beginning to realise the outcome was likely going to be dismal and it was looking less and less likely like I was going to be paid. Time warp to a few weeks later in which I hadn't heard any updates or gotten any notes from TheAquaticRebel about what was going on despite asking them to keep me posted. I don't know of any banks that take 2-3 weeks to send a new card and it's pretty easy to set up a new PayPal with a bank card (I use it myself and have had to change cards before). There had been no word from them so I sent them a note to inquire -- http://sta.sh/024dabpy0amk and funnily enough they replied the same day with -- http://sta.sh/07l9sx60i0e I had NEVER heard of PayPal doing this unless the person didn't have the amount in their accounts (PayPal or Bank) and even then, looking up this situation all I could get close to was a glitch that was a one time thing and usually sorted itself out after re-sending an invoice. However, after talking to other people about this -- I was curious for multiple opinions at this point -- they openly admitted that this just seemed like another excuse; a convenient one at that -- Fake a PayPal glitch. Regardless of my unease -- More so at the fact this all seemed phishy to me and I was not sure I wanted that kind of connection to something of that oddness -- I sent them my PayPal.Me link instead for them to send the payment. I got nothing, including no notification from them letting me know they'd even bothered to send a payment. So at this point I wanted some kind of visual proof of this situation happening, a screenshot if anything -- http://sta.sh/0s60gw7erao because I was ridiculously confused by that time. I couldn't find any direct information about this glitch being consistently replicated like TheAquaticRebel was claiming. Again, I got nothing -- no proof nor reply. August 4th, 2016 -- a couple weeks later I once again wanted to try and touch base with TheAquaticRebel on what was going on with the payment as I felt surely by this time they would have figured something out but at this point with the lack of proof that there was something wrong I was being told by several people to flip them onto Artists_Beware because to them they seemed to be nothing but a scammer -- http://sta.sh/01izcvl8v9et I got this reply -- http://sta.sh/018l60fboufu This is where there was the massive red flags -- mostly over the "PayPal won't do anything about it" because I knew damn well PayPal's support team are not that useless. I've had issues with my account before and any time I'd called them, no matter what the issue, they were always willing to help. They would pretty much always have an answer and if they didn't they would advise on ways and things I could manage things. The fact TheAquaticRebel spoke as if PayPal's people were like "Oh, you can't pay merchants for things? HAHA, OH WELL, nothing we can do :lol: Sorry~" The only thing; the ONLY thing I can see happening is them saying "The issue wouldn't on our end but your bank's as there's likely something going on with your account there. We'd advise you to call your bank and discuss it with them. For now what we can do is suspend any payments leaving your account within the last month since the time of the invasion until now to prevent any further unauthorized usage of your account and funds. If you are continuing to have issues using your account even after calling your bank and getting the OK from them that everything is fine, please contact PayPal again and we will investigate further." Which is pretty much what I got in an email reply when I inquired about the situation with PayPal's help team. TheAquaticRebel also made it out as if they were upset which their lack of cooperation really betrayed that -- More so when all they had to do was provide visual proof of what was happening as I even offered to give insight to help them. However, again... I gave them the benefit of the doubt and offered once more to help alleviate the situation -- This time by offering to bill their bank directly so it would be easier as there'd be no faffing about with PayPal as it was obvious there was issues with it -- http://sta.sh/029jxiy70vor I was concise but stern on the matter and I heard nothing back. A few weeks later I sent them http://sta.sh/019bmkyv12n3 and from then on I had heard nothing back AND they have since deactivated their account... So, here I sit -- Literally having to just deal with $150/115£ worth of work done never to be paid. However, if I can do anything I can warn people about this person. I gave them more than enough time and patience when dealing with the situation. I know it seems harsh but again, with the lack of proof and cooperation I feel genuinely put off and therefore I was told to place this publicly as a warning. I wouldn't be nearly as upset about $20 or even $40 worth of work as I could simply redo the piece but $150 is too much to just throw off without a warning. I'm well aware I should have taken prepay when it was offered, but I had my reasons for not doing so at the time -- Not to mention there might have been bigger issues if I had. EDIT-- (Apologies but they made a new account AFTER I had submitted this so there's some things to be added) TheAquaticRebel deleted their new account which was kreayashion after someone who'd seen my warning asked about the YCH. They then moved to the new new account loyderwo in which they noted me asking me to read a journal they'd written addressing the issue. The claimed to have been harassed before and after on Instagram -- which I should mention I never even knew their Instagram nor did I mention any other site they were on as I didn't even know of any others. So, if they were indeed harassed on there it wasn't because of anything I'd said. I had also not made this situation public until a few days ago when I was advised to make a warning in case others had had the same thing happen with her. It was only then that I had someone note me with other accounts she had made elsewhere but I did not mention a single one of them other than her dA. I was unable to see any comments posted on her page, or even if there were any as she'd deleted her account very soon after. I read the journal she'd written and it basically states they cannot pay me due to being hacked and their PayPal again being messed with so at this point I'm just severely at odds on the situation. I'm out $150.00 of work and I feel like I've been played. I know I should have asked for prepay; lesson learned. However, this just feels like she didn't have the payment even when she said she did otherwise she would have been okay to pay through her bank instead.

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/921066.html WHO: Meora_Hedva WHERE: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/meorahedva WHAT: $223 Traditional Painting to be mailed out WHEN: Originally contacted and paid for in July 2014 PROOF: First response at contact for info, price, and where to send money: http://imgur.com/DeCHHZ7 http://imgur.com/NkVa72e http://imgur.com/tGQc7Z4 EXPLAIN: Sorry that I don’t have all the screenshots of the conversations listed. It was a mixture of notes, shouts, and emails, and some I absentmindedly deleted as I didn’t know this would go on for so long. I tried to put together the important bits though! The original contact with the artist went great! I had waited for a while so I could save money before contacting her, and saw she remained active while doing so, and figured why not splurge a little on some fantastic art. As the links show up above, we came to an agreement on a large coffee painting, framed, to be mailed out to me for $223. I gave her the character I wanted in the painting, but left majority of the idea and details up to her. She told me to expect a 4-6 month wait, so I left her be. I sent an update request in April 2015, was told pretty quickly it was still being worked on as the paints need time to dry - great! I’m happy for the update and knowing she was working on it. Attempted Contact again in May 2015(unfortunately I lost the email where she did respond) but she said she had been busy and hasn’t been able to work on it, but would soon! I attempted contact with her through a couple notes and then shouts in November/December 2015, and she finally responded to me in January 2016 to let me know she had finished my commission: http://imgur.com/fIPfcU6 I emailed her with the new email and she sent me the painting files in March 2016, and a promise to mail it out once she found a frame: http://imgur.com/6ct0z7Z Waited and poked late in March 2016 through email and shout (I know shouts seem excessive, but it was how I got her attention last time), and received an email back that she still did not mail out the painting, then said she had to wait until April for a frame to arrive, which she didn’t say at all beforehand. http://imgur.com/DW5TXXz I had waited a little longer, emailed her three times between April-July 2016 for an update and, due to silence on her part, I had to resort to giving her a deadline to respond back to me before bringing it to A_B's attention. http://imgur.com/ZVb2Vkb Additional Pokes: http://imgur.com/wDi2jTp http://imgur.com/cQh1x05 All she has to do is mail me the painting, which has been paid for. I have even offered twice to pay her more for the shipping fees since they have risen since 2014. I should also point out that every time I try to initial contact for her update, she seemed to have disappeared online everywhere for months. I usually try to not commission people who have a habit of disappearing for long periods of time, but before I commissioned her she updated constantly, and we even had a mutual interest in each other’s work, so I wasn’t prepared for the lack of communication. It’s a shame overall. I still love her art, but a painting that was supposed to be done and mailed within 6 months has turned to 2 years of botchy communication, and right now about 4-5 months of silence on her end. I do not know what else to do to get her attention, so unfortunately I’m trying Artists Beware.

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/914048.html WHO: HornedFreak WHERE: https://www.furaffinity.net/user/hornedfreak/ WHAT: Digital Art, $30 commission WHEN: Initial transaction was on March 22, 2016. I haven't seen any progress on my commission, or my name added onto HornedFreak's trello for two months. Only after I poked her about it did she add my name to the que. PROOF: http://imgur.com/oKmnQ9D - Original Journal Advertisement https://www.furaffinity.net/view/13012988/ - Ref Link 1 https://www.furaffinity.net/view/16875996/ - Ref Link 2 (NSFW) https://www.furaffinity.net/view/17174232/ - Ref Link 3 (NSFW) Aforementioned ref links were directly linked in the journal. https://www.furaffinity.net/view/12777499/ - Ref Link 4 (NSFW) Said link above was linked in the transaction note. http://imgur.com/biFXnh1 - Note conversation involving money transaction. http://imgur.com/3i73reI - Me asking for an update on my commission in May. http://imgur.com/z1hN9Wg - My second attempt in trying to contact the artist https://www.dropbox.com/s/vyqjdqpz91rxm82/User_control_panel_--_Fur_Affinity_[dot]_net_-_2016-06-26_14.49.05.png?dl=0 http://imgur.com/0vRsX2h - Journal of her new commission advertising a few days after I spoke to her asking for an update. http://imgur.com/QAsbwJR - Trello que updated a few days after I spoke to her asking for an update. http://imgur.com/oD4YmSu - My note on June 24th asking for a refund. https://www.dropbox.com/s/hlyfujzgbwfwmvo/User_control_panel_--_Fur_Affinity_[dot]_net_-_2016-06-26_15.24.33.png?dl=0 - Proof that she had read my note in my note outbox. http://imgur.com/EJ7e46e - Finished commission posted two days after I asked for a refund. (NSFW) https://www.furaffinity.net/view/20389722/ - NSFW EXPLAIN: She opened commissions on March 22nd, 2016, and she took mine. I asked her what I wanted, and let her do her thing. I haven't received an update on my commission in a while, and my name wasn't in her trello que, so on May 12, I sent her a note. My note was read, and I didn't receive a response. So I tried again a week later. I received a response on May 19 that my commission is in progress, and my name got added on her trello que. I was content for the time being, so I gave her space. A few days later on May 23rd, she opens up a new batch of commissions, which left me a little confused because at the very least, my commission in the batch I was in wasn't finished. I waited another month to receive my art, and I was getting a bit flustered by the lack of communication, and I don't know when she'd get to my commission since the progress seemed a bit slow with no update at all. I didn't see any art. So on June 24, I send her another note asking for a refund, since I saw no artwork of any kind sent to me. The note was read, and I received no response. However, two days later (today), I saw that she posted my commission; didn't notify me about it either. x_x. At this point I'm really miffed because I wanted my money back from the lack of communication, I didn't want the art anymore. So from my standpoint, it felt like she hurried to do my commission, and posted it to prevent me from getting a refund that I had already asked for two days prior, and she was aware that I had asked for it as the note was marked read in my outbox. Edit: http://imgur.com/Ku2tgKu - Conversation about the refund. As of 6/27/2016, she has refunded my money. So I consider this matter resolved.

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/910500.html Included are links to screenshots of the journals etc in case of deletion. WHO: soaru@dA (old account) / hatchimi@dA (new account/formerly Dollrot) WHERE: http://soaru.deviantart.com/ http://hatchimi.deviantart.com/ WHAT: Digital art - Pixel icons x4 - $40 total (+paypal fees) (92 total icons owed to others on her to do list) WHEN: Soaru had claimed to have been diagnosed with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in early May 2014. We were all very understanding of her situation and that there would be delays with her commissions. ( https://i.gyazo.com/2d18a1584409cebc7fd6d15f3f87241e.png journal link: http://soaru.deviantart.com/journal/Carpal-Tunnel-Diagnosis-453965909 ) and then another notice to commissioners: ( https://i.gyazo.com/cda7fca79f835063a19bd737fd96fc10.png journal link: http://soaru.deviantart.com/journal/Attention-commissioners-454227201 ) I first noted soaru about the icon commissions on July 17th, 2014, then the agreement was made and I sent the payment the same day. (see screenshots in ‘proof’) Soaru had then made a journal on July 26th 2014 to state that she had unlimited pixel slots open for the summer ( https://i.gyazo.com/ff5ccf459452bb685191edc39e486352.png Journal link: http://soaru.deviantart.com/journal/work-work-work-470968786 ) Unlimited slots never being a promising sign, but I am a patient person, and didn’t think much of it at the time. A few more updates regarding soaru’s recovery and commission progress were posted between August 2014 until August 2015 (I will get into these in my explanation below). The final update on August 25th 2015 was about her recovery and any updates for commissioners, and since then the account has been dead. PROOF: commission note paypal transaction EXPLAIN: As stated above, soaru had been diagnosed with Carpal tunnel syndrome. She posted a journal about it on May 14th, 2014 and continued updates on her situation. When soaru had opened commissions, I sent her a note expressing my interest, and the agreement was made on July 17th. I sent the payment the same day. On July 26th 2014, soaru posted a new journal stating that she had unlimited pixel slots open for the summer, ( https://i.gyazo.com/ff5ccf459452bb685191edc39e486352.png Journal link: http://soaru.deviantart.com/journal/work-work-work-470968786 ). I didn’t think much of this at the time. On August 20th 2014, Soaru posted a commission update ( https://i.gyazo.com/1b08df12e524cd8658c41b2a8160a8c6.png journal link: http://soaru.deviantart.com/journal/Commission-update-476955835 ), stating that she was working very hard on completing her commissions right now. She asks for our patience due to work and having to take breaks because of her carpal tunnel. I was in no rush for my commissions and only wished for her recovery, as I really couldn’t imagine how awful it must be to suffer from carpal tunnel as an artist.. She adds “I did not forget about your commission, don’t worry.” The next update was on October 6th 2014. Soaru states that commissions are now closed for a good year or so. She tells us that she is very busy with work, so commission progress is moving very slowly, and apologises for the wait. I can appreciate that she is going through hard times, so a few months isn’t much to wait given her situation. “I will not update you on how your commission if coming along because there are too many of you to note. I assure you I WILL complete the commission as soon as possible. So please be patient with me. You will receive your commission when you get it.” And no, I have no idea as to when you will receive it, and for that I'd like to apologize. I also won't be providing any refunds. You will get what you paid for.” I’m a patient person and I could appreciate that taking unlimited slots as there would be a lot of people on her to do list, but looking back now, not receiving any kind of progress report on how your commission is coming along is a pretty bad sign as well as stating that you have “no idea when a commissioner will receive their commission.” But again I was willing to wait and a few months wasn’t anything to complain about given her life situation. (https://i.gyazo.com/83b4d48b277187c21701d02963b5f5f7.png journal link: http://soaru.deviantart.com/journal/Commissioners-PLEASE-READ-486724217 ) Between October 2014 and February 2015, there was no real update on soaru’s commission progress or her condition. Apart from posting a journal in December asking if her commissioners would mind if she used her new base for their commissions or not. (I requested to stick to the original base I had ordered as it fit my characters better). ( https://i.gyazo.com/934a152cd6297a6082aef184dc9e00f3.png journal link: http://soaru.deviantart.com/journal/Question-for-people-who-have-commissioned-me-498366584 ), though you could hardly call this an update. Finally on February 10th, 2015, soaru posts her public to-do list and an apology for the delay with her commissions. (https://i.gyazo.com/67931c13a0edf8575e38623994e9681c.png journal link: http://soaru.deviantart.com/journal/TO-DO-LIST-UPDATED-PLEASE-READ-THIS-OMG-512941211 ) On this list there are a total of 96 commissions yet to be completed. At the time, I simply thought she’s stated many times she is working hard to get these done so over the course of months hopefully her list will get shorter and shorter, and she will get through these and can look past this tough time in her life. The next and major life update was posted on July 13th 2015: ( https://i.gyazo.com/8e096687c3b8c8bc92baef371ba68a41.png https://i.gyazo.com/7e8bc4738ff1ea001597797b8e525eec.png journal link: http://soaru.deviantart.com/journal/Life-Update-ADDED-546016180 [screenshot & link to updates journal linked at the bottom: https://i.gyazo.com/12e87e334c506d2f8477ef92f83e50d7.png journal link: http://soaru.deviantart.com/journal/updates-447349674]). Soaru talks about how she realizes how unhappy a lot of her commissioners are with her services, her surgery and the date being under negotiation, and that she has been going through recovery. “I'd like to assure ALL MY COMMISSIONERS that I am not running away with your money. I WOULD LOVE to provide refunds to all of you, I cannot stress that enough. But I simply do not have the funds to do so. I know I've already asked you all to be very patient with me, and some of you have and I'm very grateful for that. I do not expect everyone to be understanding of my situation financially/mentally/physically, but you WILL receive your commission.” Her last update and sign of any activity on her account was on August 25th 2015. ( https://i.gyazo.com/0153602488fb599d70ff0bb7bad6a9fa.png journal link: http://soaru.deviantart.com/journal/Recovery-Update-556158826 ) A promising recovery update stating that soaru’s wounds are healing well, she still experiences some pain but it should disappear soon. She says she should be able to start commissions mid-September. She says she’ll be sure to post a journal update, as well as join.me streams of commission work, and finally that “You will also be provided with WIP's of your pixel so you know I'm actually doing your commission.” I cannot speak for everyone on her list but I have not received any kind of work in progress shots from soaru. Since then, soaru had provided no updates about surgery dates, delays, or any kind of work in progress to assure people that she was indeed trying to work on these commissions as she had been stating for the last year. Many of the comments on her page and in her journals talk about the lack of any kind of update given the situation and the wait for all of her commissioners. Soaru is even ignoring notes and comments from her clients. Many of the comments urged her to think about trying to refund even just a few commissioners to lessen her workload and to just resolve the situation as quickly as possible. Soaru also states that once her recovery is over she will be working her hardest to finish all of her commissions in response to another comment. I tried to note her back in January: ( https://i.gyazo.com/cf393ed24d2d8fe08285099283e79359.png ) to ask about changing characters since it has been so long that I had forgotten who I had even requested, but there has been no response. However, in my sent notes it is marked as read. Around late February, a friend and I (who is also on soaru’s to do list) came across a deviantart account named dollrot, but recently changed to hatchimi. At the time there was no evidence that hatchimi and soaru are the same individual, however we did find her art style to bear very close similarities to soaru’s. For some time we just kept an eye out since there wasn’t much posted to hatchimi’s gallery at the time and it could just be a similar style. Here is a comparison we compiled of all the similarities we found (style wise) : http://orig03.deviantart.net/d537/f/2016/154/f/1/comparisons_by_theangelofmemories-da4ubbh.png Over the course of the last few months we’ve tried to gather as much evidence as we can that links hatchimi and soaru as the same person. A few things we noticed: Her icon style is in the same style as her old one (they’re not made from the same base, but the way the eyes are pixeled have the same technique done on them, plus they almost overlap in terms of head placement over body) She still uses bases extremely frequently and they all have their toes pointing inwards with their hands by their sides with closed fingers. A similar technique with the way she shades her noses, and the highlights in the character’s eyes Handwriting comparison http://orig02.deviantart.net/06b4/f/2016/166/2/f/handwritting_by_royal_jelliefish-da6ck3m.png The first semi-concrete proof comes in the form of a work in progress shot from soaru, and something I noticed when I popped in to one of hatchimi’s picarto streams a few weeks ago. This is Soaru's wip screenshot with her file location atop the SAI window. notice the "C:/users/mew/desktop/file/cootiewootie.psd" Now, look at the location on this screenshot taken from Hatchimi's picarto stream. Same user name and location as to where the file is saved. "C:/users/mew/desktop/file/BASEA.psd" Along with the similarities of their style, noticing that they share the same user name and have the habit to save on the desktop is too much of a coincidence. Now, the evidence we have found that positively links soaru and hatchimi as the same person was something I noticed when hatchimi posted her artvsartist meme. She has since taken it down but you can still view it via google cache here: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://hatchimi.deviantart.com/art/artvsartiste-611370644 screenshot: https://i.gyazo.com/ad467bb0d3af2f1e4794c2464916a57f.jpg A while back soaru had posted a self portrait to her deviantart, and looking at the two images it’s hard to think they’re two different people. Please note the same piercings and gauge in her ear as well as the facial similarity. http://fav.me/d8hcuq8 screenshot: https://i.gyazo.com/090fdf9f9535898df2d0febda19d16d6.png A friend had found soaru’s old paypal/email address through the icon commission transaction. Hatchimi’s current paypal does not contain personal information linking her to soaru, but with some digging with the ‘soaru’ email address, we have discovered it is used for her instagram account that has been up since 2012 and is still active: https://i.gyazo.com/b536e315ee2473202d9842807a0a1561.png When lined up side by side from the image from the artvsartist meme: https://i.gyazo.com/09f0a7f2270ec47712465a1e29420878.png The name that appears in the transaction for the payment to soaru from 2 years ago also matches the name on the instagram account if there is still any doubt that they are the same person. The evidence collected in this case was through a group effort from her dissatisfied customers I have reached out to. **Edit : 17/06/2016 We have posted jorunals on deviantart revealing our findings and to spread the word. my friends (who has been in contact with hatchimi to send her the beware post and to see if the situation could still be privately resolved) : http://royal-jelliefish.deviantart.com/journal/ARTIST-BEWARE-Soaru-Hatchimi-615658826 Hatchimi has also posted a journal with her defenses and some evidence of a conversation between herself and soaru through email, as well as a note she sent inquiring about commissions to soaru. http://hatchimi.deviantart.com/journal/Harassment-soaru-drama-615813488 Someone picked up that there is a tab open in this screenshot for 'msn canada' it isn't by any means concrete but it could confirm her location, and this could be another piece of evidence that links another similarity between them. http://orig06.deviantart.net/ce3f/f/2016/165/e/a/ccb568bad3054274b7fe6f00b4a87a34_by_hatchimi-da6aqen.png anoher edit: a user found a page in the waybackmachine that has her country listed as canada: http://web.archive.org/web/20151024030234/http://dollrot.deviantart.com/ So we can prove that she and soaru share the same location. A big question for me in all of this is that why now of all times would she choose to reveal this screenshot of her noting soaru about asking about commissions? Surely its a strong piece of evidence to support that the two are different people, so why wouldn't she send it to us sooner rather than this much later? http://img10.deviantart.net/289a/i/2016/168/6/a/proof1_by_hatchimi-da6mxv6.png (screenshot in case of deletion: https://i.gyazo.com/f95a0191f17fd6a7aa8e13112f34e47b.png ) At first it looks fairly normal, but someone commenting on the beware journal checked their old notes from before they changed their username, ane the previous username shows up in older notes, not the new on since hatchimi was formerly Dollrot until earlier this year, why does it say "Hatchimi said the following" and not "Dollrot said the following"..? Another commenter then claimed that it is possible to run a test on images which will tell you if the image has been edited, and the screenshot came up as edited in photoshop, so this tells us that the note screenshot is fake. Here are the websites one can use to detect a doctored image: http://fotoforensics.com/ http://imageedited.com/ Hatchimi is still denying that she and soaru are the same person, despite all of these new revelations, I will continue to update as more light is shed.