Search the Community

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/904389.html WHO: Onnanoko WHERE: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/onnanoko/ http://onnanokoart.tumblr.com/ Rainfurrest 2015 WHAT: Artist was paid $80 for a three-character digital art piece while at RainFurrest 2015. Commission was agreed upon in person and paid for up-front over Paypal. WHEN: Initial payment was made on September 26th, 2015. First contact email to explain details of the commission sent on September 27th. First email requesting an update on the commission sent on October 9th with no reply. Second email requesting an update of the commission was sent on October 24th with no reply. Third email requesting an update sent on November 29th with no reply. Fourth email requesting an update sent on January 1, 2016 with no reply. Fifth email containing ultimatum of commission update or reporting to Artist Beware and an invoice for the refund by the end of the month sent on April 17th with no reply. Invoice email for refund sent out on May 1. PROOF: Receipt: http://imgur.com/qr4D47t Initial Contact: http://imgur.com/2OnWMnQ First Check-In: http://imgur.com/gW5NRaF Second Check-In: http://imgur.com/Nrkg5vM Third Check-In: http://imgur.com/iPmcJmV Fourth Check-In: http://imgur.com/XapfZnq Final Check-In: http://imgur.com/uOYKY6v Conversing with the FA user (see Explain): http://imgur.com/4561BpW Refund Invoice: http://imgur.com/ZIPi0Kc EXPLAIN: Artist was met at Rainfurrest 2015 and agreed to a three-character commission done digitally and "take home", as the convention was coming to a close and there was insufficient time to have it get done before. The email containing the details of the commission was sent the very next day. Five emails requesting an update on the commission were sent out over the next seven months (from October 2015 to April 2016) with no replies. Refund invoice sent out on May 1. Emails were accompanied by shouts onto the artist's FurAffinity page (listed above), however those shouts and the shouts of other customers who had not been contacted seem to have been removed, though their correspondence to me over notes has been provided under proof.

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/903826.html WHO: PossiblySatan (DA), ActuallyCrowley (IG), HabaneroPup (AC website). WHERE: http://possiblysatan.deviantart.com/ , https://www.instagram.com/actuallycrowley/ , https://www.anthrocon.org/user/70644/habaneropup ; Transaction took place on Facebook. WHAT: Trade; pre-designed fursuit partial for some DVC supplies. WHEN: January 13th, 2016 to now. PROOF: Agreement cap, rest will be below: http://www.ezimba.com/work/160430C/ezimba12682725615300.png EXPLAIN: Transaction began January 13th, see cap above. The post where we made our initial agreement is unfortunately not available any longer, but I think the screenshot explains it. We then discuss them purchasing me extra items from DVC, in which I make a basket and ask if it's okay to which they agree. http://www.ezimba.com/work/160430C/ezimba12682735037900.png At this point we exchange shipping addresses. http://www.ezimba.com/work/160430C/ezimba12682737813000.png I send out my half and give them a tracking number, they don't look at my messages for a few days so I give them a poke. http://www.ezimba.com/work/160430C/ezimba12682780400500.png They apologize for the lack of replies and tell me why they haven't shipped their half yet. http://www.ezimba.com/work/160430C/ezimba12682780328800.png They end up shipping out their first half of the trade that same day, giving me proof of the transaction. http://www.ezimba.com/work/160430C/ezimba12682720564800.png Their half arrives in the mail. http://www.ezimba.com/work/160430C/ezimba12682742967600.png Like they had predicted, it got damaged and one of the horns fell off. I don't know much about apoxy so I end up selling it to someone else through FA (post was removed after sale went through, sorry). Couple days go by, I ask them about the supplies. They reply that they're in a tight spot financially. They didn't reply to my messages (or look at them, Messenger will let you know if someone does) so I make a pre-mature threat about writing them up on here. http://www.ezimba.com/work/160430C/ezimba12682712344900.png They get upset and tell me that they're having a hard time with their job and such, then get mad at me for selling the skull head after offering to send me back the partial I traded to them. http://www.ezimba.com/work/160430C/ezimba12682799866700.png http://www.ezimba.com/work/160430C/ezimba12682710160900.png http://www.ezimba.com/work/160430C/ezimba12682764952200.png At this point I'm tired and I just want my second trade half so I say this. http://www.ezimba.com/work/160430C/ezimba12682719969000.png They send me some videos of the suit (unrelated) and we agree that they will end up buying me the rest of the supplies. http://www.ezimba.com/work/160430C/ezimba12682778083300.png http://www.ezimba.com/work/160430C/ezimba12682712646600.png Over a month goes by with no word from them. I ask about the parts again, they're still not ordered. I suggest selling the suit to get more funds and they agree. http://www.ezimba.com/work/160430C/ezimba12682745650400.png The suit is re-sold at this point (again, post was probably taken down since it was sold). A week or so later I poke them, they let me know that they've worked out a payment plan with the new owner. We're now into April. http://www.ezimba.com/work/160430C/ezimba12682775133200.png April 23rd I ask again. Still not ordered, car problems. http://www.ezimba.com/work/160430C/ezimba12682711462400.png Today (April 29th) they order a tongue and the jawset. http://www.ezimba.com/work/160501C/ezimba12682743587100.png They let me know they're ordering it all in parts and not in one order like we originally agreed to. Note that they said "everything will be ordered" in the April 24th message, then say that they corrected themself without telling me. http://www.ezimba.com/work/160430C/ezimba12682714629000.png They tell me how long they think it will take to order the parts, then let me know it's "whatever". http://www.ezimba.com/work/160430C/ezimba12682763995900.png http://www.ezimba.com/work/160430C/ezimba12682780857900.png At this point I just hope I'll get my stuff at some point. It's being dragged out for too long, multiple financial excuses, "whatever".

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/902185.html WHO: Commissioner https://twitter.com/ShadowTheFox2 / http://www.twitter.com/ADshadowfox “Shadow” WHERE: Google Docs form & Messages exchanged via email & twitter DMs WHAT: Digital ¾ soft shaded badge, single sided printed, laminated & shipped 1st class usps, plus a rush fee to be bumped to the front of my queue WHEN: November 2015 PROOF: Story and Screen caps provided in chronological order after the break. It is a unique case of eCheck failure via paypal even though the invoice was clearly marked in paypal as Paid... Yet it wasn't when I cross referenced it with my active balance. 11/4/2015 - Shadow submitted a commission via my google docs form here http://fox.ci/z8HybCy https://www.dropbox.com/s/onevhf1lbbeqqpf/1.png?dl=0 - I Emailed him back his forms details https://www.dropbox.com/s/9m3nbli32xrhe9f/2.png?dl=0 - I sent an initial invoice https://www.dropbox.com/s/owut0bpvhbsy1x1/3.png?dl=0 - He asks on twitter DMs to put his as priority https://www.dropbox.com/s/01o5z0zccdr9a8g/4.png?dl=0 So I up the cost in the invoice to include my rush fee https://www.dropbox.com/s/utlz4h30csfr6f0/5.png?dl=0 - And he says he paid it, and I inform him I got an echeck https://www.dropbox.com/s/oj7nxc0cs53d1jr/6.png?dl=0 *This is the First Red flag I should have listened to when he says “Most payments go through but they get canceled later on” - E check email from paypal https://www.dropbox.com/s/3oq1ui70ps9jjbz/7.png?dl=0 11/6/2015 - I received a notice in payment delay via paypal via the echeck https://www.dropbox.com/s/n7yrrghzy0lw7ga/8.png?dl=0 - I inform him of this notice in DMs https://www.dropbox.com/s/0bhh3emigw4a53s/9.png?dl=0 About here is where in the middle of screen capping the conversations in twitter DMs today (3/25/2016) and writing up this beware he suddenly removed his name and profile image once I inform him today on 3/25 that I will be writing this beware. He is now a black circle as a profile image with only “.” As a name. Removing the Shadow @RMFC name he once had. 11/16/2015 – 11/18/2015 - I ask him to tell me what the payment reflects as on his end as I never received a payment canceled or confirmed from paypal. He tells me via twitter it showed as paid on his side so I began the work. https://www.dropbox.com/s/u3u5a0b5016ml5k/10.png?dl=0 - I checked the invoice link and trusted the paypal invoice stating it was paid when it was in fact not. ** https://www.dropbox.com/s/su3mzv1mif2xnhk/Invoice shown as paid.png?dl=0 **This is an issue and I explain later why* - I show him many wips via DMs and I completed the work and shipped it to him https://www.dropbox.com/s/ni90k2hze8g0osg/11.png?dl=0 - He confirms that the invoice shows as Paid on paypal but when he speaks to his bank they had actually canceled the payment due to no funds. We both agree we are both at fault on this issue https://www.dropbox.com/s/g7que2i1p1pq2h6/12.png?dl=0 However he does promise me he is no con man and will sort funds out soon. - This is next confirmed later by me physically checking my "Activity with Balance" in paypals detailed transaction log: I had actually never received funds. And Paypal never emailed me a second time stating it was ultimately never sent by his bank after the 1st email of “Delay in eCheck payment” on 11/6 https://www.dropbox.com/s/751a981pkbcjl43/Transaction not actually paid for.png?dl=0 I Should have verified this from the start when he said it was paid for but I trusted the invoice even though it was incorrect. From now on I have always confirmed payment was received by checking the detailed log with the active balance for reassurance. 11/25/2015 The customer received the badge. He also tells me he is trying to sell things on ebay https://www.dropbox.com/s/gddbc9ku58o0mv1/13.png?dl=0 11/30/2015 Now his “sister” DMs me randomly telling me a sob story about how Shadow feels so bad but is trying to get funds together. I acknowledge her and tell the customer not to be stressed. He tells me he is having a rough time and I do empathize https://www.dropbox.com/s/8e4avq8p4df9b8k/14.png?dl=0 12/6/2015 He used my art that he didn’t pay for and filled out a Fursuit form to a maker: https://www.dropbox.com/s/orxjlq29ge0asmm/12 6 Suit quote.png?dl=0 12/7/2015 He is still using the unpaid image as a profile image. I remind him not to until he has paid for it. Also commenting on peoples posts how he would pay $100 for things but when confronted says “It was a joke” https://www.dropbox.com/s/pice1tnq7yhrck9/15.png?dl=0 And https://www.dropbox.com/s/lg0dl9uo4i2lfmi/6MWZGRu_.jpg?dl=0 12/12-12/18/2015 On the 12th I ask for an update and he says he wants to mail the badge back. I explain that will not work. I do not hear back from him until the 14th when I confront him for using the art again as an icon after I told him a week ago not to. Says he will have the funds by that coming Tuesday. That day comes and goes and I don’t hear anything. This is when I warn him I will file an Artists Beware https://www.dropbox.com/s/d3u72vfp7g48s8q/16.png?dl=0 1/31/2016 I ask for updates in DMs and I am emailed back, more false promises and stories. He has a signature that he is actually in Job Corps https://www.dropbox.com/s/fbtdq2ha7glsx7y/17.png?dl=0 Further proving he has some kind of job er go income. 2/6 He says he will file his W-2 and pay me. I do not reply to him. See previous screen shot. 3/25 I catch him using the art, again (this time I took a screen shot before confronting him via DMs) He tells me his foster mom demanded all his return. I give him one last ultimatum May 1st to pay me or have an Artists Beware written up. I then see all the things I then list below ranging from 3/1-3/21 from him using the art over and over again and change my mind to submit the beware on Monday. The very last thing he says is to “Just put it up.” https://www.dropbox.com/s/n7jtwfzupuoztje/18.png?dl=0 Browsing through his timeline and notice he is using the art again and again that is still unpaid for: 3/1 Role playing again using the art I told him months ago to cease using it: https://www.dropbox.com/s/8jxbawfbav95l6q/23.png?dl=0 3/21 Using the art again https://www.dropbox.com/s/9ewreoinsshpfg4/21.png?dl=0 3/21 Also using the art attempting to get more art https://www.dropbox.com/s/age5ozi129cx6la/19.png?dl=0 Still continues to use the art in other places online besides twitter as well https://www.dropbox.com/s/pmgdoes5lv3hx7k/Steam screenshot.png?dl=0 Im done with the excuses. I will see to it that this was a unique case due to the fact that the paypal invoice was marked as paid even when it clearly, once I checked my account with balance history, was not. I have NEVER had an issue with Paypal invoices being marked as paid before and this case was very unusual. I even contacted Paypal them seves over the phone to express my concern over this issue being very unclear as a seller. From the start I felt very rushed by the customer, played and now used. I do not recommend anyone ever working with him again. He has had 5 months and still continues to use the unpaid for art that I completed. EXPLAIN: Tl;Dr: I’ve been strung along since November 2015 for a rushed badge that when we both thought it was paid, I come to find out it was not. Customer confirms it was paid and then says, after speaking with his bank, that it was not. I confirm this only after viewing the details transaction log in my paypal, and contacting paypal over the phone myself, to reveal and confirm that the invoice stating it was paid, come to find out it was actually not. Was given excuse after excuse and the client still continued to use the unpaid art, even going as far as using it as a reference to try and get free art from other artists. I’ve let this slide long enough. He hasn’t paid me and I don’t foresee him ever paying me. I held off on writing an AB for this long as the $41.25 for the badge was clearly not worth this headache plus the time dealing with him over and over again trying to be paid for work I already did and now having to write out this beware. It is a unique case in the fact that the Invoice clearly states it was PAID, but proper precautions were not taken by checking my detailed log to verify this. Since then, I have never accecpted echecks due to paypals faulty system in marking invoices as paid even after banks decline a transaction. Do not waste your time with this individuals business proposals. I will update this AB entry should he ever decide to pay me for my time.

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/900218.html WHO: Peridotkitty http://www.furaffinity.net/user/peridotkitty WHERE: Furaffinity.net and Skype WHAT: 42 page comic with a Cover ( $1500/$3150 paid ) WHEN: June2015- Present(March 2016) PROOF: All payments First payment (Jun 14 2015) Second payment (Jun 28 2015) Third Payment (Aug 13 2015) fourth payment(Sep 29 2015) Incomplete cover work(From Peridotkitty's Trello): [COVER] NSFW Incomplete comic work(From Peridotkitty's Trello) [COMIC WORK][COMIC WORK 2] EXPLAIN: I work on an anthology comic project with my fiance which is set to be published. Both of us work on comics for this as well as hire other artists. Artist hired receive a retainer fee( I pay this) to start them off before moving forward. With hiring artist we also gather funders to be a part of the comic. There were three funders for Peridotkitty's comic (names are hidden at mods' request) Funders were invoiced through my paypal (I work under LLC) and funds were sent to the artist.Payments for hired artist were sent monthly until the full project amount was paid unless the artist failed to produce enough progress in a timely matter at the funders discretion, that progress being a minimum of 2 completed pages per month. Now if certain uncontrollable life situations occured, we are understanding and funders are notified of what's going on to give the artist appropriate time to recoup and catch up. If the required progression does not occur, then a refund is requested. Bi-weekly check ups were also required in order to make sure proper progress had been made and to keep the funders happy. Help to the artist for anything was always offered and provided if needed including editing, storyboarding, and scripting. The Beginning---------------- May 2015-June 2015 Discussion was made with Peridotkitty about the comic and how it would work out through furaffinity and eventually moving to skype.( Sadly,my notes will not appear past 1350 notes but logs are available [1][2])The agreed price was $75 per comic page(total of 42 pages) and a cover for $3150. During this process the idea of funders came about. Three were found and the retainer was sent on June 14th and a second payment on June 28th [SKYPE LOG 1][CASTING JOURNAL]NSFW More discussion was made about the comic and the script completion [SKYPE LOG 2] [SKYPE LOG 3] Sent another payment on Jun 28 [SKYPE LOG 4] July 2015-August 2015 References of the cast were provided in Peridotkitty's shared dropbox folder for the comic during this time. Conversations were friendly but quiet for July as my fiance and I were prepping for Anthrocon. Peridotkitty was contacted a bit about the dropbox progress folder set up for the funders which we shared with them to see the project progression. [SKYPE LOG 5] Anthrocon came and went and there was little communication regarding the comic until August 6 [SKYPE LOG 6] [SKYPE LOG 7] Correspondence during this month became harder and I believe this is due to Peridotkitty's Patreon and her owing a lot more work due to it. I was understanding of this and explained this to the funders.Another monthly payment was sent to her. [SKYPE LOG 8] [SKYPE LOG 9] No major progress was made to her sketches. September 2015-October 2015 At this point we became worried. I started to inquire about whether she needed any assistance with her pages.Attempted contact was made and became more difficult.No progress other than the sketches for the first couple of pages were done and Peridotkitty suggested that her public trello should be linked to the funders to keep their minds at ease. [SKYPE LOG 10][SKYPE LOG 11] [SKYPE LOG 12] [ SKYPE LOG 13] On September 25th, project structure was being changed where the freelancers were to sign a contract. Peridotkitty read the contact and found it to be fair. There was a tiny error in the contract (Wrong comic title) but was edited. (Contract will not be linked unless requested).Terms of the contract required a minimum of 2 completed comic pages monthly, withholding of monthly funds if progress was unacceptable yet gave the artist a chance to catch up in a timely manner before being fired and requested a FULL refund. PeridotKitty was set to fax the form...but she was told to wait until further notice due to the high cost of collecting faxes from kinkos. [SKYPE LOG 14][SKYPE LOG 15][SKYPE LOG 16] There was little to no response from Peridotkitty during October regarding the project and the funders were starting to get more agitated .On October 15th, she sent me a message that she had gotten a job which would take away more of her time [SKYPE LOG 17] November 2015-December2015 During November I hired my assistant Carmel in helping with correspndence with the freelancers. Communication became more sparce and Peridotkitty was spending most of her time doing other commission work and streaming. [SKYPE LOG 18] On November 15th, I dictated a note to Carmel to send to Peridotkitty seeing as contact with her through skype was becoming a major issue. In the note it was discussed the worry of the funders for the lack of progress and that monthly payments would be withheld until proper progress was made.[CARMEL NOTE 1] November 18th, Peridotkitty got back to me about withholding funds. During this discussion she also talked about making turnarounds for the characters. (Please note that this is not part of the project but her own doing). She even mentions that she was still refining the first page of the comic after months. [SKYPE LOG 19] November 20th, Peridotkitty was contacted again about the contract and the possibility of mailing it.Peridotkitty never provided the needed information. Afterwards the skype conversation fell silent. Rook dictated to Tia more notes to her on November 27th and two in December. [SKYPE LOG 20][CARMEL NOTE 2][CARMEL NOTE 3][CARMEL NOTE 4] January 2016-February 2016 Funders were pretty much unhappy with the major lack of progress and were ready to ask for a full refund. Contact was attempted again on January 4th with no response. Another note was dictated for Carmel to send to Peridotkitty stating that this is the ultimatum to keep her job. She was to complete the first 3 pages of the comic by the end of January and the next 3 by the end of February. Peridotkitty got back to me on January 11th and requested color armor references for one of the character as not having that stopped her progress. [CARMEL NOTE 5][SKYPE LOG 20] January was a rough month for us due to personal matters and getting the colors took longer than we expected. They were added to the dropbox folder on [January 28th] and because of this she was given more time to work. She had to finish the first 3 pages by the end of Febrauary.But it must be said that during the month of January, all of her sketches for the first 3 pages were not refined as seen in her progress folder and in her trello. Not even inked. Flats were added to the cover but it still wasn't done. Peridotkitty gave more excuses which we tried explaining to the funders...but their patience was pretty much over. [SKYPE LOG 21][SKYPE LOG 22][TRELLO 1: COVER]NSFW[TRELLO 2: COMIC1][TRELLO 3:COMIC 2] The pressure was on during February and I desperatly tried to get in contact with Peridotkitty. [SKYPE LOG 23] March 2016 In this time frame of 9 months she added flats to the cover and did incomplete sketches for the first 3 pages. Not a single page was completed. We decided to terminate Peridotkitty on March 20th and asked for a refend. During this correspondence Peridotkitty kept making excuses that not all of this was her fault and that blame should also be placed on me . I was patient, I was understanding, and I defended her when talking to the funders and kept them informed of her life situations but the lack of major progress after months was enough.She had the resources to do what she needed to do but didn't. She mocked me for paying in advance, for not having a signed contract and my overall position.The question of a refund was not responded to. What ensued was the following conversation: [Firing note 1] Initial termination note [Firing note 2]Peri's response. She takes little responsibility for not doing the work and adds the blame on me. [Firing note 3] [Firing note 4] [Firing note 5][Firing note 6](Question about refund. Peridotkitty did not address this) [Firing note 7][Firing note 8] [Firing note 9]Peridotkitty's attitude quickly shifted [Firing note 10] [Firing note 11] Her last response in regards to a journal I made which has nothing to do with this transaction. [Firing note 12] My last note to her where I cut off communication. I honestly had to step away. All correspondence has since ceased. On March 21st I filed a claim with paypal. Sadly only $700 of the money could be disputed. The claim was [closed on March 23rd] as Peridotkitty told paypal that ALL work was completed up til March and that I was just being an unsatisfied customer.This was through a phone call and we are requesting an email of what she said to post here. Paypal did not contact us to hear our side when making their decision so I filed an appeal. March 24th, our appeal was also closed and none of the money will be sent back. I am not fully blameless and there are things that should have been handled better. I dont think there's much of a legal standing in regards to the new contract...but that doesn't justify keeping money for work not completed from 3 people.A partial refund would be fine but after her insulting responses towards me I felt that I wouldn't be able to get a decent conversation out of her. Funders were notified of the loss and have been understanding and I am more than thankful for this. This is a huge lesson learned.I accept any critisim on my part to help me in my dealings in the future. [EDIT]------------ March 23, 2015 I forgot to add the final note she sent me in response to Firing Note 12 [Firing note 13] March 25,2016 edit Firing note 3 above has the wrong link. Correct link is below. [Firing note 3] March 26, 2016 update---- Peridotkitty has posted her side of this situation here and on her FA . Apparently her fiance was the one who sent the malicious notes against me (Firing note 9 and onward). Whether I believe it or not is another thing.I have discussed with my fiance the possibility of a repayment plan and she has left a message to her. "Rook was unwilling to deal with you at all... seeing as how an apology about how you or 'your fiancee' acted at the end; I'm sure everyone here can understand why. I wonder why you didn't put those up there so your fans can have context on why he stopped communicating with you all together. But if you are serious, it isn't about paying him back, it's about taking care of the 3 funders. He is willing to let you set up a payment plan of a reasonable monthly amount to the 3 funders. You can contact me for their information. He says you can pay back one their 575 and the other their 600 for a total of 1175. And that he will settle up the remaining balance with the 3rd funder himself writing off that amount as service rendered. It's more than you've done but he's going to make a show of faith as well as responsibility. He would like you to publically keep track of the repayment to those two funders, he also wants them to get the full 600 and 575, so you would be on the hook for the transaction fee amount as well." March 26, 2016 update 2---- Terms have been agreed to and Peridotkitty has been given the funder' pages to get their paypal information.Monthy payments are being scheduled. Although these terms have been agreed upon, I will not mark this post as resolved until both funders are completely refunded. I will be handling the 3rd funder's refund myself.

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/899868.html Who: Eroishi Where: http://eroishi.deviantart.com/ What: 2 digital art pieces (1 nsfw and sfw) When: December 6, 2015 - February 12, 2016 Proof: http://imgur.com/a/wRZi4 Expalin: I requested 2 pictures, 1 nsfw and 1 sfw pic. Things went smooth until two weeks later, I messaged him about the payment I sent him. He told me that he never received the amount. I got worried and asked how he resolved the situation before since he told me that something similar happened for his patreon account. However, he simply said that the money was never received, leaving me to figured that he didn’t bother to resolve the solution. During the process, I called PayPal and they told me that the he received my payment. I told him to contact PayPal or find a way so that we can chat together, but he refused to comply, only to agree to talk to PayPal. I messaged him again after 3 days and he didn’t reply. So I waited. Since he never replied within a month, I could only assume the worst, which was that he’s lying to me and I was scammed. So I called him out for being a scammer, and he said that it was because he “had no internet” and had to wait until early February to get it back. So I gave him the benefit of the doubt. After two weeks, I asked him to give me a refund, but he refused. I questioned him again about showing me proof, and he had to wait for the internet to return. So I waited two days. During the process, I showed him my screenshot that I have proof of sending him the money. He said that everything is correct, yet he kept telling me that nothing was received. I asked him politely to the best I can to update me on the information he was trying to tell me. He finally showed me his end of the transaction to see that he “didn’t receive the payment”. So I proceeded to calling PayPal again (for the third time) and informed them of the situation. They refused to check and only said that he indeed received the amount I paid him. I sent him (and it was panic) a few emails to connect on PayPal together to resolve the situation together. Instead, he refused to reply to any of emails. 1 week later had passed, and it came to the drastic solution that he’s not willing to work with me at all. I had to resort to threatening him to contact PayPal immediately on what’s going on. He instead replied, declaring me a liar for the exact same proofs we showed to each other. This confirmed to me that he had scammed me for a simple $36 two picture commission. Since I had paid with friends by mistake, I’m not able to get my money back. This was a mistake on my end. Also, I feel that I learned not to freak out when a situation like this should ever happen again. And I also believe I shouldn’t be sending multiple messages at once out of panic (which may led to this). I also wondered if it was really on PayPal error if he really didn’t receive the payment I made to him. However, he refused to comply with my suggestion of calling PayPal again.

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/898979.html WHO: kgosiarts / reverseinversefursuits WHERE: Kgosiarts @ FA (old account) Reverseinverse Fursuits @ FA (current account) Facebook page WHAT: Fursuit partial (faun legs) WHEN: Feb. 15 2015 to Nov. 3 2015 PROOF: Initial contact Agreement on details and payment Payment sent DTD is sent and arrives Issue with fur order Asking for an update Flood happens Contact stops Sent messages over FA (read, not replied) Contact on Facebook: One, two, three, four EXPLAIN: A long, long time ago… Back in Febuary of 2015, I was browsing through the forums of a boffer game I used to play in and came across a post made by Kgosi offering faun legs along with a special offer. I sent them an email expressing interest in the faun legs/special sale and had a couple questions about fursuit stuff because I had zero experience with fursuit stuff. Kgosi responded quickly, answered all my questions, and we agreed on a bi-color set of faun legs with resin hooves. Due to a small medical issue, Kgosi agreed to build the feet/hooves around a pair of boots I had and would install a hidden zipper in the back so I could easily take them on and off. I paid right away and sent out the DTD a couple days later. Kgosi lives about two to three hours from me, so the DTD arrived in no time at all. Progress on the legs apparently began only to hit a snag when the fur Kgosi bought over Etsy specifically for my faun legs was "destroyed in the mail." Kgosi was refunded, and progress resumed when they got new fur from somewhere else. I heard absolutely nothing from them until July of 2015 when I contacted them asking for an update. Kgosi responded, claiming a flood in their work area damaged the legs; however, the boots and DTD were in a tote at the time and thus survived, and they were already "half way done" the replacement set of legs which would be sent in about two weeks. Two weeks later, nothing. I sent Kgosi another email in August and received no reply. Eventually I made an account on FA and sent them a note that was read but never replied to. I sent another note later and once again, it was read and ignored. So I contacted them on Facebook and they finally replied, stating the legs had been sent in June. I showed them a screenshot of their email from July about the flood, and Kgosi replied saying they no longer had the emails so I forwarded the entire email thread. (Which is the blank email in the "Contact stops" screencap.) After some back and forth, they said they contacted their local post office and was told the package had been sent and was past reimbursement. So I asked for the tracking number and called my post office, and the helpful gentleman on the phone said the tracking number didn't exist. Remember how I said Kgosi lived about two to three hours away? I figured there was no way in hell a huge box going to a place a couple hours away would just vanish, and so I called the post office by Kgosi's known residence and was told the tracking number didn't work because it had "too many numbers." I sent Kgosi a final message on Facebook with this information and requested another tracking number, along with any evidence that these legs I bought actually once existed. The message was read and never responded to. During all the waiting, the fur mishap, the "flood", Kgosi was actively posting finished projects on their FA account. (Which lead me to believe I was being strung along the entire time because they post pictures of every piece of work they finish.) They originally had a Trello page with a list of their commissions and commission statuses, but it's been long since deleted. I do remember the list being pretty long, though. According to some messages left on their old FA account and their Facebook page, I'm not the only one who was waiting forever for work from them. I doubt I was the only one who paid to be scammed, either. I did try to contact Paypal like people suggested to do in my advice post, but I couldn't get through to an actual person and it was too late to get my money back at the time. More so now. I know this is all partially my fault as I let so much time pass between messages, updates, etc. and got snippy towards the end. I didn't ask for any WIP shots either. I had no idea how to handle a fursuit commission, but now I know better. Unfortunately, this experience has left me incredibly wary of fursuit makers.

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/899593.html WHO: Puppygas/AmyToes WHERE: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/puppygas (FA), http://amytoes.deviantart.com/ (DA) -> Has adult content WHAT: 7-version plus bonus mystery art YCH (8 images in total) WHEN: 9/19/2014 (Autobuy) -> 9/22/2014 (Payment) -> Present Day PROOF: (Identifiers and explicit adult details have been redacted to the best of my abilities) The YCH I autobought: http://sta.sh/0hja80pytsq Details of YCH: http://sta.sh/01u6pvchmrej Paypal payment: http://sta.sh/01ri84mz71o Last interaction with Puppygas: http://sta.sh/01nhv3vbk1uu Last journal entry of Puppygas: http://sta.sh/02dh8oem9oxy A note I sent 4 days after that journal was posted: http://sta.sh/01228bx1se1h EXPLAIN: On 9/19/2014, I autobought a YCH piece from Puppygas and sent over the details for it. On 9/22/2014, after reviewing the details, Puppygas gave me a Paypal address to send payment to. I waited a while, but heard nothing back. On 12/10/2015, I got Puppygas' DA name and sent her a note through that site, to which she showed me a few pics and asked me to be patient. Eventually, on 12/14/2015, she gave her last response after I asked her to fix a few things about the pic. After that, no responses to my other notes on DA and FA since then. I really did not want to make this entry, but for a pic series that was to be completed by the end of December 2014 with constant progress updates, only to have to fish out her from the progress sketch showed to me followed by finding out only one sketch (not even a complete picture) was completed in the year and 3 months after I first bought it, I can't stay quiet about it anymore. I do not want my money back at this time, but I do want what I paid for to be completed. Her last entry on DA was on 2/1/2016 and I sent her a DA note a few days after that. Perhaps it was bad luck that I missed her, but it would be even worse luck if this YCH remains unfinished. She should've had at least told me other ways to contact her other than FA and DA. I tried those, the email address I sent my Paypal payment to and I got no response as of today. I want to point out that she's not a bad artist, but her lack of communication with me is the reason why I'm posting this.

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/898774.html WHO: Riikai WHERE: Deviantart WHAT: Full body YCH + a bonus chibi. WHEN: March 2nd 2015 -> present PROOF: When I AB'd her YCH I sent her a message with references + told her I paid Proof that I actually paid it I am listed on her YCH that I paid for her AB I asked her to put me on her To-do-list I asked her for some updates I finally asked for a refund EXPLAIN: I first saw Riikai’s YCH via watch list, and I ran over in my head if I wanted to buy it or not, and then I bought the AB. She was very kind and allowed me to send the references and I sent the points immediately. I was highly understanding of her current To-do list, as it was large... so I told her not to rush it. A few months later, I noticed I wasn’t on her to-do list at all so I asked her to put me on her todo-list, which she promptly put me on. A few months later, I noticed she didn’t have her to-do list on her DA anymore, so I asked her for any updates. After no response, I asked for a refund, which has gone read but unresponsive. I must admit that I am also at fault for not asking for updates either. And me asking for a refund didn't exactly sound pleasant either. However, at this point I really do not care for the YCH anymore and would prefer a refund, but at this point I don't expect it. I honestly wouldn't have minded if she had stated she was busy with school or had a reason for it, but because she hasn't given me any excuse... or actually responded to me after telling her I paid... I can't really give her the benefit of doubt anymore.

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/892416.html Three weeks ago, I submitted a lost contact notice on an artist that I commissioned in June 2015. Because the artist has now deactivated their known account without contacting and/or refunding me or their other commissioners, I'm escalating this to a beware. WHO: Computernurd @ deviantART WHERE: http://www.computernurd.deviantart.com WHAT: "Your Character Here" Pixel Doll ($5.00 USD) WHEN: The records I have show that I paid for the pixel doll on June 25th, 2015. I later requested an update on August 31st and a refund on November 11th, both of which were never responded to. I haven't heard from the artist at all since the initial transaction. PROOF: Here is the comment chain where the initial transaction occurred. I then requested an update and, later, a refund, but I never received either. Here is proof that I paid for the commission. EXPLAIN: As seen in the screenshots provided, I paid for the commission via the friends and family option when the artist requested it, so I understand that I am as fault here as the artist for failing to protect myself. I know better than to trust an artist this blindly now, so I consider it a lesson learned, but I found it suspicious that, within a week of the lost contact notice that I posted, the artist deactivated their account suddenly. The last time I visited their page before it was deactivated, there to-do list had at least three other commissioners on it, so I doubt that I'm the only one who has been scammed.

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/894790.html [Editor's note: The Twitter linked in the original post appears to be under someone else's ownership currently.] Who: thegalen/philistinefruits/2-Devils Where: Current Deviantart, abandoned Deviantart, current twitter. What: A single character full colored commish When: The exact payment date Proof: The payment show the exact date for asking commish I've lost the chat for the proof, but maybe he forgot, so I re-ask again via email, but so far he didn't finish my commish, I ask again, but this time say will refund but didn't do so. Then I saw his new Deviantart account, but as he already knew I was coming to ask the progression, he block me at DA & Skype, and I'm also ask for refund, but rejected. EDIT: Seems that he's active at twitter, have money to buy some games but didn't refund or finish my commish. EDIT 2: After he saw this post, he's immediately finish my commish.

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/886127.html Text: WHO: rakkphotography on deviantart, audience0fdeath on weebly, #101897 on furry-paws. WHERE: Occurred mainly on furry-paws.com, but also on deviantart. WHAT: Digital art WHEN: Dates are listed above, but generally we first started talking on 3/29/15. First set of unpaid art completed 4/26/15, second set 5/5/15. Repeated attempts at contact between then and now. Payment still not received as of 1/1/16. PROOF: (Click for massive image) I then emailed them here. And then some deviantart replies here. I sent them another message later and they opened it but never replied. Proof of activity below in 'explain'. EXPLAIN: Rakk approached me after I made a thread advertising commissions. They seemed extremely kind at first and paid for their first commission batch promptly, so I didn't feel like it was dangerous to continue accepting payment after I delivered the art. Stupid move, and now I only accept part or full payment before. Live and learn. After offering to combine two commission batch payments into one, they didn't pay and stopped replying. They claimed they were sick and in the hospital. Up until today, I believed they were still in the hospital. However, that doesn't seem entirely true. I snooped on their weebly page and found their blog and instagram, both of which they've been incredibly active on. Proof of their activity on instagram. 2+ posts every single day. Posting to their first blog here(post too long to screencap it all, was just talking about training dogs) Seen here, they were also active this September, when they were ignoring me and claiming to be in the hospital. Here is their activity on their other blog. So obviously this person has had ample free time. They're posting selfies, writing blog posts, playing games, etc. And yet they refuse to get back to me or pay me for over half a year now. Yet, they're using my art on their blogs and weebly. I hate to have to write this about someone who was previously so kind to me, but it is what it is and I don't want any other artist having to deal with this. Bonus points! Since submitting and waiting for a mod to get back to me, this is now their instagram. Yep. All of those photos(besides the very last one) in 2 days. Clearly, too sick and busy to pay me. (thank you to CelestinaKetzia for helping me with this post! hopefully I got everything right this time!) edit: Since posting this, they've now sent me the full amount.

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/893234.html WHAT: http://imgur.com/IsHqBOW http://imgur.com/kxUayIa http://imgur.com/2qAhpmy the commission was for a 16 page vorish art series involving 2 mlp ocs WHEN: i first contacted the artist on April 7 2014, i sent money for the full series on April 9th 2014, i received the first page on October 14 2014 i have not received any more PROOF: http://imgur.com/E9qRwMi EXPLAIN: on April 7 2014 i contacted the artist to ask for a commission. we worked out the details and on April 9th i sent the full price for the series. after that point i sent several notes asking for updates http://imgur.com/sIW5Ayc http://imgur.com/TmDPq1J http://imgur.com/zZFT3ZC http://imgur.com/ivxWdg6 on October 14 2014 he finally sent me the first page but since then i haven't received any more pages http://imgur.com/LoephSz after the images shown on the previous picture he stopped responding at all to most of my notes and i tried on both deviant art, and furaffinity http://imgur.com/NBcChGv http://imgur.com/hatJESP http://imgur.com/2jLGuXi the event that made me decide to post here was on January 19 2016 i attempted to send a message to him on furaffinity and found out he blocked me http://imgur.com/51HfXgQ

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/897763.html WHO: Huskynugget WHERE: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/huskynugget/ WHAT: Physical Art Badge WHEN: Commissioned/Paid December 22nd, 2015 / Paypal Claim filed March 6th, 2015 PROOF: Screenshot of commission entry saying it would be shipped Dec 26th-30th/Start of Commission & proof of payment This message is from January 26th, over a month after when they said they would ship. They did send me this image, proving that the commission was finished. Still not shipped by Feb 6th. I sent them on email on Feb 5th after they failed to reply on FA despite adding favorites on their account. Still nothing and hadn't heard from them by Feb 16th. Didn't hear from that that Thursday, but finally on Feb 23rd, they said they shipped it out. After not recieving anything... EXPLAIN: I commissioned this user for a physical badge on December 22nd, which they said in their original post would be shipped out between December 26th-30th. They finally sent me a completed picture of the badge On January 26th - nearly a month after the projected ship date. Though waiting so long was annoying, I wasn't too concerned yet, especially considering they sent me a picture. However, after that, it took them another whole month to get it supposedly shipped out. I would normally be understanding even considering this, but the artist never once contacted me first regarding this commission - it was always me sending them messages, asking for updates after not being contacted, and I even sent them an email once after not being replied to on FA. Their reasoning for being slow on shipping was because of snow and not being able to make it to the post office, and I get it - the weather gets fierce over on the east coast. However, after not receiving anything for nearly two weeks, they said they couldn't provide proof of shipping because they had just "dropped it in the mailbox." ...Despite their previous excuses. On March 4th, I very nicely explained why I was unhappy with this entire transaction, and asked for a partial refund. I felt this was fair, considering a) how long it took them to complete and ship out, b) poor communication on their part, and c) no good reasoning for why it took so long. They became defensive and said they were not trying to scam me (which I never claimed they were), and just gave me more excuses. They did offer to make me a full body badge free of charge, but I must admit that I'm no longer interested in working with them after this whole thing - for how long the first one took, I don't really trust them to complete and ship another one in a timely manner. I replied to them and told them all this, and they didn't respond. It hasn't been too long since sending my last message, but despite this, I decided to file a paypal claim after getting some advice on the matter from others in the community. They also said it was just a letter, so it's safe to assume that this was sent first class mail. While I acknowledge that mail could just be delayed, I've never had a first class letter take this long and actually make it to me. I also don't even have a high quality digital version, since they sent me a photo and not a scan (though I have no interest in owning digital art anyway, and the physicality of the art was important to me). Even if the badge does show up - which I think is unlikely considering my experience with buying/selling with the mail system - I still feel it's necessary to make this post based on their poor service. UPDATE 3/14/16: So literally a day after I submitted this post, the artist said the badge was returned to them in the mail. Thankfully they were quick to send it out again, this time with a tracking number, and showed me proof of shipping on top of that. I'm glad that it worked out in the end. ;-; Cause in the past, this type of situation has not for me, aha.

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/897422.html Who: Ryunwoofie Where: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/ryunwoofie/ https://www.weasyl.com/profile/ryun https://twitter.com/Ryunwoofie When: Sent payment on December 14 2015 11:04 AM and still waiting Proof: Discussion of transaction: http://imgur.com/aokHCIz Paypal receipt: http://imgur.com/gfDY1Qs Reminders: http://imgur.com/fH9pbot http://imgur.com/N1OVNc8 The first one is because i wished to know where is my commission, or a little new about that, she shown to me the list, but nothing change. And the second one, it's the same than the first. I took a emergency commission of a Color Sketch that Ryunwoofie offered on December 14th at 2015 05:30 PM . I sent a few reminders to her, and i wasn't angry or mad at all, because i hate to put pressure on an artist, and it doesn't help at all. She said i would be on the "to do list" but nothing, and it's like that since the first remind about the commssion. But recently and since the notes i sent, she posted many many pics, YCH's and taken more commissions, and nothing changed. And i use this Artist Beware as example : http://artists-beware.livejournal.com/840382.html I can not recommend commissioning this artist due to their lack of professionalism and to say the least the massive backlog Ryunwoofie has.

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/893913.html WHO: Shakespeare @ WHF | http://klngandy.deviantart.com/ WHERE: Originally occured on WHF (Wolfhome forums), but contact eventually had to be moved to their DA since they'd been banned. WHAT: Two minis (a type of commission of mine), and an adopt they purchased. WHEN: Minis were ordered Dec. 3rd, and finished Dec. 6th, adopt was purchased Dec. 7th. PROOF: inquiry about purchases, as well as finished product; http://sta.sh/0197av9imegn http://sta.sh/017ncw7x1mek http://sta.sh/0ihtuh4ly5p messages regarding chargeback; http://sta.sh/01g6lh4aldl0 http://sta.sh/0weoyrifv9e - their only response http://sta.sh/010l6c20zicm http://sta.sh/0wf1mhlsyeg http://sta.sh/033xm3cxm3x http://sta.sh/01nf98k45ajc - was a little more blunt here, because I thought maybe if I mentioned making an A_B they might finally talk to me, and we could start working things out. proof that WHF account & DA are linked; http://sta.sh/075w49tjzvp payments; http://sta.sh/02gk8a6tmvrq http://sta.sh/01cjs6gb6d3l EXPLAIN: They first messaged me on-forum asking for two minis which I happily agreed to, they sent refs and payment and I finished the commission three days later. They seemed very satisfied with the commission, and never asked for any changes to be made or showed any dissatisfaction with the work, I thanked them for commissioning me, life went on. They posted in a thread of mine some days later asking to buy an adopt for an off-site friend of theirs, I said that'd be fine, and they promptly sent the payment with a note attached. Things were great until come January 27th I woke up to two chargebacks issued by them under the reason of "unauthorized payment." I immediately messaged them on-forum to ask why they'd issued the chargebacks, to which they simply responded it was their bank and that it'd be resolved within 48hrs. I said alright, and asked to be kept updated. I was going to wait until Friday (exactly two days later) before I messaged them again but decided to give them until Monday, just in case. In those days, nothing changed and I heard no news from them. I messaged them on Feb. 1st asking for an update since nothing had been solved, and the message is still sitting in my unread folder. I found out a little later they'd been banned from the forum, so I moved to their DA to keep in contact and sent the same message to them there, asking for an update to see if they'd heard anything from their bank. The message had been read but wasn't responded to. I sent them another two days later warning them if they proceeded to ignore my messages that I'd have no choice but to assume everything was intentional and make an A_B on them, but that I didn't want to and would much rather try and work things out between each other if they'd just let me know what was going on. The message sat unread for three days before I sent another, but having checked on their account, they'd logged in since it had been sent. I sent them one final message two days ago, hoping that maybe if I was blunt and they saw the "A_B" warning in the first sentence before DA cuts off the text and you have to click on it to read more, they might want to finally talk to me. They didn't, I guess. The message is still unread, but they've logged on since. As of 2/9/2016, the chargeback issue hasn't been resolved and I've heard nothing further from them. edit: The same day I posted this (2/9/2016) later in the day, the chargebacks disappeared. Shortly after I was negative $40 for the chargeback fee, $20 per chargeback. The dispute had ended in their favor. I contacted paypal and let them know what was going on to try and, at the very least, reverse the $40 charge. They did do it once I explained that the person even said that it was their bank/accidental. They encouraged me to send them all the proof I have, but that it could take up to 80 days to be resolved. The good thing is, it sounded hopeful that this time it'll end in my favor. The bad thing is, of course, I have to wait awhile. edit: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/kingandy/ - their fa has been located thanks to thekingtheory & exo_formicidae! proof is that the same character is linked to both galleries; http://www.furaffinity.net/view/18394296/ http://klngandy.deviantart.com/art/Andy-Refrerence-575438216

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/892163.html WHO: Jace Wallace / Wakkawa WHERE: http://jace-wallace.deviantart.com/ & http://wakkawa.tumblr.com/ WHAT: $150 digital painting commission WHEN: November 26th, 2014; sketch received and payment sent December 12th, 2014 PROOF: Initial order: http://i.imgur.com/8VBVvr0.png http://i.imgur.com/szyi0dE.png Proof of payment: http://i.imgur.com/QV4EzFw.png EXPLAIN: Well, it's finally time for the official A_B post. I asked for advice back in June, and since the situation is more or less "resolved", it's time for me to put it all together and post this as a warning to others. I commissioned Jace at the end of November in 2014, the same day he put his commission post up. He's an art idol of mine and I'd wanted art from him for ages, so I jumped on the opportunity. He always seemed very professional to me, so a $150 commission seemed like a good idea at the time. The original commission post said they would be finished by Christmas (2014), and he sent me the sketch WIP on December 12th. http://i.imgur.com/Jy4btWg.png The WIP at this time: http://i.imgur.com/Vs5UUDe.jpg At that time, he said his plan was to send out more WIPs that weekend and have them finished the next week. http://i.imgur.com/TpYsWTe.png After that message claiming that WIPS would be sent out that weekend, I didn't hear from him again. In fact, he seemingly disappeared from the Internet altogether. Not too strange, possibly, considering it was the holidays. However, he had made a firm promise of a deadline, and with the commission being $150, I was a bit more wary than I normally might have been. I let the Christmas deadline come and go, but on January 10th I noted him asking for updates: http://i.imgur.com/keQ7LmU.png As it is still, it went unread and unopened. I continued not to see any activity on DA, Tumblr, or anywhere else. I was getting worried, mostly due to the $150 amount and the fact that I have been burned before. Since I hadn't seen him open my note, I decided to email him in hopes of getting an answer that way, on January 24th 2015: http://i.imgur.com/rvEROmB.png And I never got a response to that either. On January 30th, I sent Jace an email and a note on deviantArt telling him that I would be opening a Paypal claim. http://i.imgur.com/dDiUr7J.png As I say in the message, it was mostly to get the money back in case he was unable to access the computer as I didn't want to let Paypal's claim window come and go. Even with Paypal's claim window having been increased to 180 days, I felt uncomfortable enough to do it at this time given his complete lack of responsiveness. Jace must have seen the claim, for he mysteriously reappeared just a few days after I opened the claim. I received the next WIP on February 2nd, 2015. I cancelled the Paypal claim at this time, despite the fact that he made absolutely no note of it or that he had even seen it. http://i.imgur.com/S3umDjv.png The WIP he sent at this time: http://i.imgur.com/ZTqd2N0.jpg It was quite off putting to me that he made no mention of the claim or the wait much at all. But, then again, I felt a bit bad for filing the claim in the first place -- especially with his reasoning of mental illness. I figured, since he had given me an updated WIP, he would have the piece done pretty quickly. My response to him is here: http://i.imgur.com/kiuiFpu.png which he never responded to either. More radio silence. I sent him a note on May 15th, 2015: http://i.imgur.com/8gJHWmT.png to which I got no response. (I do believe he opened/read this note.) The next time I heard from him was in June of 2015, strangely and conveniently after I sent him a note telling him that I would be contacting my bank about the money (given that Paypal's claim window had then passed for me, by a few days) and posting an Artists Beware post about the situation. http://i.imgur.com/RXa81Ov.png (He was still active on tumblr during this time.) His response, with a slightly updated WIP: http://i.imgur.com/fwz0yd0.png The WIP at this stage: http://i.imgur.com/UHguQJN.jpg This was when I posted asking for advice on A_B. I was mostly just pleased to actually have him RESPONDING to me again, and at this point I assumed that if I went ahead and posted the A_B on him right then, I would NEVER get the piece. So I tried to get him to agree to a deadline. He then agreed to have the piece finished by the end of July, 2015. http://i.imgur.com/aIMFmDP.png http://i.imgur.com/YVLH7OX.png So, another month and it would be done. Obviously, that came and went. Surprisingly, he took the initiative to note me on his own on August 1st, telling me that his tablet had broken. (I had already seen him post about it on his Tumblr, which he was continuing to update regularly with paintings and posts.) Again, pleased that he was CONTACTING me and not ignoring me, I accepted his claim that he would have it done the next week. http://i.imgur.com/1Nk8ri2.png http://i.imgur.com/A3sUxI3.png Aaaand that didn't happen, either. He did not contact me again past that point, AT ALL. (I send him another note on September 3rd, 2015: http://i.imgur.com/BbhcdiY.png ) In fact, the only way I got him to contact me again was rather direct and annoying. On top of updating his Tumblr regularly while ignoring my messages, he had gotten into the habit of streaming quite regularly on his Twitch account. Sometimes games, sometimes painting personal works. I subscribed to the channel, and was receiving emails whenever he started streaming. At first I was just happy to see him working on something, and didn't interact with him. However, when he continued to ignore/"not see" my messages, I decided to bite the bullet and reach out to him during a Twitch stream. On October 25th, 2015, I entered his Twitch stream and inquired after my commission. He had his mic on, so I don't have a record of his responses, but here's the chat: http://i.imgur.com/jOrPowU.jpg Basically, he reassured me and told me a very long story about how he had gotten locked out of his DeviantART account AND the email account associated with it, so he hadn't been able to log in at all. He promised to email me after the stream. He sent me an email that night and he attached another WIP and claimed it was pretty much done, just needed to be cleaned up and tweaked. (Note: this was quite a small screenshot that didn't allow me to see closer details.) http://i.imgur.com/d7KZdbe.png My response: http://i.imgur.com/vW59uJl.png The WIP he sent at this stage: http://i.imgur.com/3kNQwSj.jpg And, again, that was the last I heard from him. I actually let him be for a while after that email, mostly due to how incredibly fed up I was at this point. Plus, he said it was close to being done, so I figured it wouldn't be long. Again, wrong. I emailed him on January 12th (3-4 months later) asking if he had any updates on the piece or on his situation. http://i.imgur.com/Lr2bYa6.png I got no response. He continued to be active on Tumblr, quite regularly posting text posts and art. So, on January 27th, I emailed him. http://i.imgur.com/1uUNoke.png Of course, I do realize asking for a refund at this point may seem out of line to some, but like I say in the email I figured it would be the easiest way to resolve it. I didn't want to wait around forever to get the finished piece and would have been satisfied with the file as-is and a partial refund, even 10% of 25%, ANYTHING so that I could FINALLY take it off my list and forget about the heartache. On January 28th, 2016, he emailed me and claimed the piece he had sent in October was the finished piece, minus the rendering of one hand. He then claimed he would send me the finished file as soon as he smoothed out the hand. As well as a quite P.A. comment about the fact that if this had been for a freelancing company, it would have cost me $2000. http://i.imgur.com/V2OP8si.png Half an hour later, he sent me the .psd of the 'finished piece'. It is almost entirely unchanged from the screenshot from October. And, to my dismay, it's quite rough and not as refined as the sample piece he used for his commission post. There's a part in one of the character's irises that bleeds into the eyelashes, really badly. The ear is a block of unrendered, unfinished painting. The male figure is very rough and untouched compared to the female figure. Overall, the entire thing is quite sketchy, quite unrefined, and quite unfinished -- when compared to his sample. At the very least, it is not what I would hope for after over a year of waiting for a $150 commission that had a much more refined example. Here is the final file he sent me: http://i.imgur.com/91E4qbU.png Note that it's barely changed (if at all) from the WIP from October. Over 3 months for that lack of work done on the piece. Here are some closeups of a few of the problem areas I identified: http://i.imgur.com/ePJmE2v.png http://i.imgur.com/FRBDd1n.png Again, here is the image he used in his commission post: http://i.imgur.com/t0PaIRP.jpg As it is, this situation is "resolved". I'm NOT happy with the piece, but I sincerely doubt he will ever give me any partial refund (the piece is, after all, 'finished' according to him) and I don't care to see how long it would take him to refine the piece more (I'd prefer not to wait another full year, really). And while I feel the end result is not in line with what he was offering, my complaint is about his unprofessionalism rather than the art itself. Art is subjective, and though I may not be happy with the piece, it is "finished" in his eyes. My gripe is his refusal to keep in touch, the constant ignoring of my messages, and the continuously broken deadlines. In the end, this is a beware to all other artists and commissioners out there. Do not commission Jace Wallace. I have no clue if he plans to ever open commissions again, but if he does, it's not worth it. This is hands down the most frustrating experience I have ever had with an artist. It's not even the year+ wait that bothers me -- I've waited that long before, I'll wait that long again. But EVERY time I attempted to contact him, I was ignored, unless I had made a direct claim that I would be pursuing action against him, or I approached him directly IN PUBLIC. (There were a few times when I commented on his submissions on DA or profile on DA, but he has hidden the comments at this point.) He set deadlines, and then he broke them with nary a word. He made excuses, avoided contact, and continued to be active on Tumblr regardless of the owed work. At least with other artists I've had this problem with, they disappeared entirely. With Jace, he was still active on Tumblr almost this entire time, just deliberately ignoring my messages on DA, Tumblr (where he was active, WHILE HE WAS ACTIVE) and via email. In the end, I feel disrespected, insulted, and disappointed - and I don't want anyone else to go through the same situation. EDIT: The final email he sent to me, after I submitted this A_B post and informed him I would be doing so.

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/892001.html WHO: Kiu (http://www.furaffinity.net/user/kiu) WHERE: Furaffinity WHAT: Painted bust. WHEN: Beginning of June 2014 PROOF: http://i.imgur.com/shMF1Kq.png http://i.imgur.com/7J5KTQ0.png http://i.imgur.com/wUIsqhj.png http://i.imgur.com/pYxcKSE.png Payment proof: http://i.imgur.com/ZjfX9gj.png EXPLAIN: I had watched Kiu after I saw a bust that she had done for someone. Sometime later she had posted a journal about being open for a bust slot, so I nabbed it. I was in the process of waiting for a ref from another artist of an adopt that I had bought earlier that week. Since I never received the ref after a few days, she messaged me asking if she would go with my second option. I told to Kiu go ahead with it.. That was the last that I ever heard from her. I have left her a note, a shout, and even tried to email her by the email address I received for sending money to her through Paypal. Shout: http://i.imgur.com/NzTeFA8.png Note: http://i.imgur.com/QGbCLyU.png Email: http://i.imgur.com/M5Qnoik.png Update 1/22/2016 I am posting this as a beware for anyone that might recognize the style of this artist and want to commission then. I have decided after over a year and a half that it was time to just make this into a beware. I am pretty sure at this point the artist has pretty much vanished. I have talked to a friend of mine, and they had mentioned that a friend of theirs was ripped off by them too. Yes, I know that I could have contacted my bank at anytime about this, but my bank altogether is already a nightmare to deal with.

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/890413.html WHO: Tolenderwolf WHERE: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/tolenderwolf/ WHAT: Adult YCH WHEN: March 22nd 2015 - 12th April 2015 PROOF: Facebook Messages (Multiple Messages) PayPal Reciept( Note: Real names, shipping & CC details censored FA Notes (Multiple messages) EXPLAIN: Auto bought & paid for a two character YCH auction by Tolender as I'd previously won one from them before with good results. I waited for a month with no results and poked them about it. Got the reason being they'd been sick, No problem for me I can understand that. A few more months go by with no result in art surfacing. I poke him in person at a convention while he's at his dealers table got a half hearted response, I message on may 14th for more information. Tolender responds saying he's been promoted at work. Again this is fine. Then on June 28th 2015 Tolender posted a journal apologising to those he owes art saying that over the next three weeks he will deliver on his art. Come August 2015 with still no signs of art. I contacted him in the hopes of a refund. However his PayPal was closed after it was reported by someone for using it as payment for adult artwork. I waited for responses from Tolender & received nothing. I opened a dispute with paypal in an effort to recover the funds. On September 2nd 2015 PayPal resolved the claim in my favour. PayPal Resolution Jan 19th 2016: Tolender has been in contact again apologizing for not doing the work. He has since offered to do the piece for free. The offer was accepted.

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/891244.html WHO: Kahuna Otter/ Sugarfactory / SugarAussie WHERE: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/sugarfactory/ https://twitter.com/sugaraussie WHAT: Digital art on a physical item: It was a two sided, two character dakimakura (silk full length pillow) that was to be shipped to me in the UK. WHEN: - Slot was confirmed and paid for on 28th August 2015 - Refund was offered on 2nd December 2015 - Final contact before starting Paypal dispute 10th January 2016. PROOF: I hope it is okay, these are all filtered in my post in links as it will make a lot more sense with the explanation part. EXPLAIN: On 28th August 2015, Sugar Factory posted a journal offering a one time commission slot for a dakimakura of your character for $150. I emailed her my reference and my idea. She replied confirming I had the slot http://yksi.org.uk/sugarfactoryAB/Screen Shot 2016-01-10 at 21.09.16.png Cut forward a couple of emails which included discussion of making it two characters on each side for an extra $20 and I was ready to pay. I sent my payment via Paypal on 28th August as seen here: http://yksi.org.uk/sugarfactoryAB/paypal.png She confirmed she would start straight away http://yksi.org.uk/sugarfactoryAB/Screen Shot 2016-01-10 at 21.09.50.png 
On 30th August, I was sent a sketch of the first page, and then slightly later, a complete line art for the first side as seen here http://yksi.org.uk/sugarfactoryAB/lines 30-08-15.png I confirmed this was good and no changes needed to be done. Communication stopped until 30th September where I emailed her for an update regarding this and another piece of art I had also commissioned (a set of telegram stickers). http://yksi.org.uk/sugarfactoryAB/Screen Shot 2016-01-10 at 21.26.41.png Reference here is also made to a badge i commissioned before which, she never sent to me but instead just posted to her twitter (which I didn’t follow) and a friend of mine linked it to me. At this point I was informed that she would send the high resolution copy of the badge and that all digital work was back on schedule. Communication once again stopped until 2nd December where I raised my concerns that there was no progress on the piece since August and that I was hoping it would be done for Christmas. At this point I was reassured that she would try and get it done, and if not she would issue a full refund for the item; I hadn’t even asked/considered a refund at this point. http://yksi.org.uk/sugarfactoryAB/Screen Shot 2016-01-10 at 21.30.30.png On 3rd December, I asked whether a refund would be easier for her than trying to get the art done in time, and was told she was researching options but if it doesn’t work out she would refund me that night. http://yksi.org.uk/sugarfactoryAB/Screen Shot 2016-01-10 at 21.32.28.png I queried again on the 4th and was told she was waiting on responses from companies. I decided on the 8th December to message again to see if there were any updates and was informed she had decided to issue a full refund AND complete the art but asked if i was okay waiting a week for the payment. http://yksi.org.uk/sugarfactoryAB/Screen Shot 2016-01-10 at 21.35.24.png I replied saying I was okay waiting but that i would feel awful if she were to do the art as well. On 20th December as I hadn’t received the payment I sent another email to her http://yksi.org.uk/sugarfactoryAB/Screen Shot 2016-01-10 at 21.37.02.png At this point I was getting fed up of excuses and no progress and a lot of correspondence occurred that day about how I was in breach of her TOS and that she only agreed to refund me because I was a friend of a friend (despite her offering the refund to start with). I stated i would like a date with which the refund will be paid and was told that she would pay me in smaller amounts until the full amount is paid, I was okay with this suggestion. http://yksi.org.uk/sugarfactoryAB/Screen Shot 2016-01-10 at 21.40.45.png I received no small payments, but on 26th December I received an email saying she was near the full amount. http://yksi.org.uk/sugarfactoryAB/Screen Shot 2016-01-10 at 21.41.52.png On the 30th I emailed to ask if there was any updates and could she send what she had so far even if it wasn’t the full amount. I was informed she was at the hospital but would when she got home http://yksi.org.uk/sugarfactoryAB/Screen Shot 2016-01-10 at 21.42.31.png On 4th January, still nothing from her, I was told she was dealing with a quick emergency and would pay the following night. http://yksi.org.uk/sugarfactoryAB/Screen Shot 2016-01-10 at 21.43.41.png On 7th January I queried what happened with this, and was told she was waiting for a payment. http://yksi.org.uk/sugarfactoryAB/Screen Shot 2016-01-10 at 21.44.42.png 
 Today I emailed again, explaining it was getting ridiculous and indicating i was close to getting Paypal to sort this out for me as i felt I was getting nowhere dealing with her directly. http://yksi.org.uk/sugarfactoryAB/Screen Shot 2016-01-10 at 21.46.11.png A lot of emails went back and forth tonight which i have bundled into a screen dump you can see here http://yksi.org.uk/sugarfactoryAB/Untitled 2.png I was faced with blackmailing that because of me her partner can’t eat, and that I will be hurting her as a business and putting her in debt etc. I have no idea what she is going to do, or what choice she has made as per the last two screenshots. I have raised a Paypal dispute now, and I have escalated the claim though I have no idea if this will be successful or not. Edit: I have been successful with the disput with Paypal Thank you for all your kind comments though

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/888964.html Where: Her abandoned Deviantart, Her current Deviantart, her Furaffinity, Her Inkbunny. What: An idea of color palette on my original character When: Around September 2015 Proof: I ask my friend to use my money to send to her. Explain: I commish to her based from this journal (in case of hide/ delete her evidence, check here), it was suppose to be full color commish, but then this conversation coming, not only block me at Deviantart, and block me at Skype afterward. I use PayPal reminder, but she keeps rejecting it. EDIT 1: When I saw this, I knew that she have enough money to refund to me, but no, she reject at PayPal. EDIT 2: Though it was unsatisfied, she's refund 20 USD along with the lineart to me. At this point this situation is resolved.

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/887117.html EDIT;; Art has been finished,and can be viewed here. (finished Jan18th 2016) Things have been resolved! http://www.furaffinity.net/view/18823351/ (NSFW WARNING)!!! WHO: Aphrodisiac, WHERE: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/aphrodisiac/ WHAT: 2 Character colored sketch WHEN: I sent payment on July 24th, 2015 (http://i.imgur.com/FhAIP6N.png) PROOF: July 23rd: Proof of accepting my commission,agreeing on price http://i.imgur.com/uDSsbTR.png July24th: Proof of payment received - http://i.imgur.com/FhAIP6N.png Proof of posting adopts, YCH, etc: http://i.imgur.com/Oi3uCES.jpg (adopt), http://i.imgur.com/TQNSD1u.jpg (Xmas ych) EXPLAIN: I contacted Aphrodisiac for a colored sketch commission of my girlfriend and I back in july, of a colored sketched. I had commissioned them twice before this, and the turn around time was super quick. Took no longer than a week on both, so I wasn't worried about a turn around time. Payment was sent July 24th. I heard nothing from them until I messaged them a few times asking for updates, in all cases there was none. I felt a little uneasy, as their postings slowed down, and the only submissions they were posting were YCHs, adopts, and another commission journal (September 25th, taking four $50 references, while having 7 colored sketches still not done, http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/7065590/). This was the first of may warning signs, I sadly chose to ignore. From september on they posted constant drama journals, and a lot of personal journals. I asked for a refund, which they do not take, so I was denied. Long story short, it's been 5 months, with 0 progress besides this WIP sketch i was sent on December 3rd (http://imgur.com/YsyhFc7) They posted a journal (Today, dec 28th) offering journals here (http://i.imgur.com/eFhZoye.png), where I didn't really understand what they ment as it basically sounded like they were saying that they would partially refund you if they had started your commissions, and then sell whatever they started as a ych for more profit. Another user commented as well calling them out on this, then they hid all the comments but these (http://i.imgur.com/ggygjrw.png) where they say it is okay to basically steal $10 from people who request refunds. Shortly after deleting the journals. After my comment they sent this (http://i.imgur.com/NccJ8uf.png (BOTTOM BIT FIRST, my reply is on top),where they replied very passive aggressively, and unprofessionally. (http://i.imgur.com/i5fhQSz.png) Long story short, I would recommend against commissioning this artist, as they have been very bitter, and unprofessional.

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/887741.html WHO: SilverDeni WHERE: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/SilverDeni http://silverdeni.deviantart.com , trade was agreed on in a stream WHAT: A very long overdue two-character art trade WHEN: The stream where we talked about a trade was sometime in December 2012, I don't have an exact date saved anywhere though. Sent notes to ask about the trade during the years, it's 2016 now and I have yet to receive even a sketch. PROOF: Notes/replies about the trade (I'm both Johis & Lhuin in these): Some notes/replies on FA after I sent her the finished painting. Hope these make sense, I'm honestly a bit confused with my inbox/outbox especially as it's been so long but basically I sent her the link to the finished painting, we talked about if the characters in her half of me and my partner's characters would be in anthro or feral form and she said she wants to make a speedpainting video of it. http://orig02.deviantart.net/b445/f/2016/005/c/3/deni9_by_lhuin-d9mty4z.png http://orig05.deviantart.net/bc6e/f/2016/005/c/9/deni7_by_lhuin-d9mtxeb.png http://orig15.deviantart.net/d253/f/2016/005/1/7/deni3_by_lhuin-d9mtxew.png http://orig05.deviantart.net/4d0a/f/2016/005/c/2/deni6_by_lhuin-d9mtxec.png http://orig10.deviantart.net/31a7/f/2016/005/9/0/deni4_by_lhuin-d9mtxer.png The last one was in May and I was feeling pretty hopeful after that (as you might be able to tell, I honestly thought I might finally see some work), but again, 7 months have passed and that was the last I heard of the whole thing. I never saw any of the attempts she mentions here. Now these are actually screenshots I found someone else had taken of the comments I've left on her page and her reply to me (so the red circles are not by me). It was mentioned in an issue unrelated to our trade itself that I stumbled upon but just thought it was interesting someone else had noticed it. The last one was a reply to a comment I made on her FA page just asking about the trade but I didn't save it: http://orig08.deviantart.net/0dbd/f/2016/005/d/1/deni1_by_lhuin-d9mtxf9.png I saw someone else had a similar issue so I jumped in to ask about mine http://orig12.deviantart.net/751e/f/2016/005/3/b/deni2_by_lhuin-d9mtxey.png She mentions a sketch here but I never saw it Sadly I've already removed the image from my FA gallery but here's proof of the date I made it: http://orig02.deviantart.net/b7d8/f/2016/005/0/0/deni5_by_lhuin-d9mtxem.png And an email where I sent the full res to her (2nd of January 2013): http://orig08.deviantart.net/32fe/f/2016/005/f/3/deni8_by_lhuin-d9mu05u.png EXPLAIN: I went to watch a stream SilverDeni was holding in late 2012 (like I said I don't have any proof of this date anymore and didn't think of saving any screenshots of this). She asked me for a trade and I was happy to accept as I liked her work. I made my own trade part shortly, but since then I've just been waiting and waiting for her half and every time I ask I just get a new estimate of when it'll be done and/or reasons she hasn't been working on it, but then that new estimated time of completion passes and I hear nothing until I ask again. I've been asking about the trade quite a few times during the years and have yet to seen anything at all, not even a sketch. I didn't spend any money on this, but I did spend quite a lot of time on the drawing and the experience has left a bad taste in my mouth as I was really excited about the trade - and the fact that most if not all the contact about this has been initiated by myself. I'm not expecting to see any work anymore, all my attempts to ask about it just end up in another empty promise. I know she's been busy with school etc. but has been doing plenty of personal art and other work. So just posting this as a heads up I guess. I'm kind of past the point of caring now when it comes to getting the art itself, but I just found the whole experience really unprofessional. I might have been a bit too forgiving in some notes as I really did want the trade and didn't want things to go sour. I was thinking of giving her a final nudge about it but I don't think it would have done any good based on the 3 years of communication (or lack thereof) and I'm a bit tired of hearing more empty promises.