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May. 19th, 2012 at 1:00 PM mmyesidosay EDIT: As of this morning Vella has issued me a refund and what I feel to be a sincere apology. I'd like this to be marked resolved, and if she comes across the drawings in the recovery of her PC, I'm more than happy to pay for them then. :) EDITEDIT: Vella was able to find my two drawings and send them along my way. I returned her refund, as they look fantastic, and again, she was very pleasant. I've been a bit iffy about posting this for several days now, but my jimmies are rustled, and not quite sure how to proceed. I feel bad about doing this, as I KNOW the artist has been going through rough times, so I apologize, I've just no idea whats going on with my commissions, and repeated attempts to find out have been ignored. WHO: VellaCRaptor WHERE: http://vellacraptor.deviantart.com/ and http://vellacraptor.livejournal.com/ are the accounts I was able to get in contact with her through. WHAT: Two small portrait commissions totally $4 I believe, offered via TeenyCom (http://teenycom.livejournal.com/1063202.html) WHEN: Ongoing since early October of last year. PROOF: Initial transaction made in the comments of her TeenyCom post. I'd been having issues with PayPal, so asked for confirmation via notes to be sure she got my payment. When she did not respond, I asked again, and was finally sure it had cleared into her account. EXPLAIN: When Vella offered small commissions to be done in between her larger ones, I fully expected a wait, and was completely okay with that. Her art is adorable, and I was so excited~ But as the months ticked by with no word at all, I decided to dredge up the post and see if anyone else had gotten their art. A few here and there had, but took me a bit to actually find out what the issue had been. Okie Dokie, seems her computer crashed. Bad things like that happen, I wasn't at all upset, though I had wished she had told us that there would be some form of delay or issue. Vella gets an Artists_Beware post sometime after this I believe, where she states that she rarely checks LiveJournal anymore. It was now early April, and I still haven't heard word, so I shoot her a note via FurAffinity, which goes unread: Normally I would have waited a bit longer before trying again, but hadn't heard from her in so long, I figured I'd go ahead and shoot her an email as well, my reasoning being that if she had stopped checking FA as well, I'd be silly for me to try that as my only means of communication. And again, my email goes unanswered: I sit around for a few weeks, before finally realizing she has a DeviantArt. I shoot her a note, and finally, a response! Just.. telling me that yes, she'll still do them. I'm missing a note where I get excited and thank her for her response, but after several days of nothing once again, I ask for a possible date she might be finished with them. And once more, this note goes unread. (please remember to read DA notes bottom to top!): Aaaaaaaand then nothing. I can see her popping on and off DA multiple times a day, so to be ignored feels pretty bad. Finally, I decide that $4 isn't worth this sort of aggravation, and ask for a refund. It gets read, but no response. I send another note, and I apologize to both AB and the artist if I got snippy, I've never been in a situation like this before, and was getting pretty fed up with the lack of communication. As soon as I send this one, I get a response, with nothing more than 'I thought you already got yours'. Okay, maybe I was a dick and had. I go back and check all y accounts, and nope, no response from her in any of them. I tell her this, and as of today (May 19th), my note has still been unread. I'm at a loss. If my art has already been completed, then fantastic! Im okay with delays, Im just so frustrated with not having any idea whats going on. The only way I found out there was a problem at all was by drudging through her conversations with other commissioners in that TeenyCom post. I know shes been having issues IRL, but just a quick note to acknowledge that she at least remembers I'm on some list somewhere would have been fantastic. After seeing Vella's last A_B post, I had really hoped things would get better, it's been well past PayPal's refund date, so Im at a loss. Thanks all for your time and any suggestions!

May. 11th, 2012 at 8:40 PM celestinaketzia Who: Tashumitsu (http://www.furaffinity.net/user/tashumitsu/) / Tani-Da-Inki (http://tani-da-inki.deviantart.com/) What: Sketch trade. When: I finished my part of the sketch trade in February of 2011. Explain/ Proof: I posted a journal on FA back in February asking if anyone was willing to do a trade for my boyfriend's character, Gabriel. I have since deleted it, but Tashumitsu replied saying they would be willing to do it. We exchanged info (mind you they already had what character I wanted), and I finished my piece shortly after. http://www.furaffinity.net/view/5212952/ (SFW) And then I hear nothing from Tashumitsu until April when he shouted this journal on my page- http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/2277883/ Ok, that's excellent. :) I thanked him and then proceed to wait a bit more. It's now August and I haven't even seen this half sketch, so I shoot him another note. http://taasla.net/silly/notetashu1.png Well, ok! That's good. You can see my response, but he never responded back to me whether or not he had started it, or if it was sitting half done. Silence. I waited and noted Tashumitsu on October 8th. I'll admit my note may not be polite, but I was kind of at a loss on what to tell him. http://taasla.net/silly/notetashu2.png That note didn't get responded to, but I did notice activity in his account. Frustrated, I sent him a note titled Last Contact. I can't seem to find the actual note anywhere, but I did say that unless they responded to me I would be going to A_B. They did respond saying they would get on it and asked me what A_B was. Accepting that, I responded back with the following note. http://taasla.net/silly/abcontact.png Shortly after this I got a job offer and had to ship out for training and moved shortly after. The whole thing slipped my mind until April-ish and I went over to their account. He had posted a journal asking for people they owed art to respond. I responded. http://taasla.net/silly/oowedart.png I heard nothing until today where another artist posted a journal asking for art trades. Now that I am calm, I regret posting in her journal (and if you're reading this, I apologize again for bringing that into your space). I should have noted them, but I was incredibly upset at this point. Tashu stated they wanted to trade with them meanwhile owing me for more than a year. That was the last straw and here I am. http://taasla.net/silly/finalstraw.png The artist's name has been edited out to protect their privacy. My comments were hidden by me as they don't need that on their journal. In short, don't trade with Tashu. You will be waiting a very long time with countless excuses. Edit: Fixed some flubs with Tashu's gender. :) If anyone spots any instances where I still refer to him as she, please let me know. While this was in queue, Tashu has delivered his half of the trade seen here. http://www.furaffinity.net/view/7965448/

May. 10th, 2012 at 1:33 PM red13nanaki WHO:AluminemSiren WHERE: FA WHAT: $25 Portrait Commission WHEN: October 27th 2011 PROOF: Journal Entry http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/2853928/ Paypal Receipt http://img593.imageshack.us/img593/3028/co124wcol124maillivecom.jpg This is my first post here and I believe it has come to the point now where more attention needs to be brought to this. Because I am not the only one going through this situation. Back in October AluminemSiren had opened up for some more of his portrait commissions. I had liked his style so I had jumped at it since I was around when he put a journal up on it for a change. I ended up being one of the first people to comment in the journal, paid right after it and was on the actual list of people to be completed first. After some time he continued to add to the waiting list and also ended up opening up for more icon commissions for "new glasses money". I know how it is with art and I figured it was kind of an emergency so I never said anything. Though at one point I checked his portrait queue journal to see if it was updated at all or if maybe he updated mine and I somehow missed the sketch of the drawing. At which point I had noticed one of the new ones he was taking where he said he would have the sketch to them in a day or two. http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/2853928/#cid:23299249 Finally last month after waiting about six months for the drawing I started throwing him comments as to what was going on because he put up yet another journal for more icons because they "need something to do" and "won't have time for portraits." I had commented in that journal to try and get an answer from him and at the same time I sent him a note on it. http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/3373137/ He has since then hid my comment in the journal and replied to me afterword finally. Here is my note to him and the one I got back from him. http://img801.imageshack.us/img801/6375/wwwfuraffinitynetviewme.pnghttp://img716.imageshack.us/img716/6375/wwwfuraffinitynetviewme.png After which I had sent him a reply on a few things that I would like changed with the drawing. http://img824.imageshack.us/img824/6375/wwwfuraffinitynetviewme.png At this point I have yet to hear back from him again on anything and I had sent him another note asking for an update on the drawing and it is yet to be read. http://img31.imageshack.us/img31/6375/wwwfuraffinitynetviewme.png For as long as I've waited for this I don't want any kind of refund or anything like that. Especially since he has given me a quick sketch on the drawing. I just want to get the finished product from him and not have this drag along anymore. Update 5/27: He's commented on the actual post here, " Sorry, I haven't really replied to any of my notes since I came back out of town. I'm going through a really rough breakup, and been emotionally drained, maybe even depressed, and I've lost the motivation to do much of anything at the moment. I don't like to explain myself anymore because I think most people will think I'm just trying to think of the latest, greatest excuse to not work on my commissions, but I really have been an emotional wreck these past few weeks and it's killer on my motivation." He has yet to try updating anyone on his actual FA page, yet has been faving art and has shouted on one of this friend's pages. Update: 9/19/2012 I figured I would attempt to update my post here, though there really hasn't been much at all to update on. There really hasn't been much mention or updates to anyone's artwork except for this post months ago http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/3560664/ and I never heard anything back as far as the changes on mine. Other than where he has the list at mine is marked as inking. I've also been hesitant on updating this or asking him for any sort of update because I didn't want to get any lash back from any of it. I've already received that when this was originally brought up and one of his friends took it upon themselves to start something on my page. http://imageshack.us/a/img694/706/screenshot213i.png The one thing that was discussed was even if he has no control over what his friends say or do it is bad business practices to have your friends run amok and cause problems while there are some problems that need to be dealt with. I would personally not shop at a place where the owners friends were allowed to act out and cause problems in the store while I was shopping there. As far as any of the comments making fun or joking about the "where's my art and such" there hasn't been anything else on that as far as I have seen. So that had finally stopped. Right now it's at a standstill again and don't know whether I should contact him again about the art or not. Update: 10/10/2012 He has been slowly working on the drawings once again. At first he was working down the list, but is not jumping around it again. Completing one of the commissions that is toward the bottom of the list that was taken a few months after the ones at the top. After he said in one of his journals he was going to group the commissions up and work down them in said groups. http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/3560664 He is also apparently going to jump to someone else's because they brought it up with him in a recent journal, but again they haven't been waiting as long as some others, but he is going to work on theirs first. http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/3911849/#cid:29141729 Update:12/20/2012 Back on October 17th he had posted a journal stating that after a break from attempting to catch up on his backlog he was going to jump back in and work on it again. Since then there has been no more progress and the only update he has posted on his profile was on November 2nd when he stated he had a Weasyl account. On December 5th I had shouted on his page asking for any kind of update on the drawing and it's gone completely ignored. Someone else asked as well on the 10th and it's gone ignored as well. He has been active on the account however because he has been watching new users. So he is once again avoiding the entire situation.

May. 7th, 2012 at 9:55 PM wilhawk Last iFC, I wanted to get a badge from him. Something simple. He was doing sketches and badges of characters dressed up in Video Game attire. During my huge kick with Tales of Vesperia, I wanted my character dressed as Karol Kapel from Tales of Vesperia. WHO: Dariuskoopa or DMK WHERE: iFC 2011. WHAT: I commissioned him to make a badge of my character in person. WHEN: Ever since August of 2011 at last years iFC. I've noted him various times in regards to the progress an at least getting an email of the completed product. I saw him at MFF as well, and he told me that he would bring it, provided I noted him, which I did, and something else that I forgot to do. He doesn't send anything in the mail, due to past bad experiences. I've noted him countless times and he said that he has and would email it again, but I have yet to get any emails on it. PROOF: http://tinypic.com/r/eb1l5y/6 http://tinypic.com/r/r26a9y/6 http://tinypic.com/r/3539khv/6 http://tinypic.com/r/2cr2b9t/6 EXPLAIN: He's a friend of mine and I wanted to give him some business at the con, so I got a badge and heard he doesn't send stuff over the mail. Bad experiences and I can dig that. I mean, if something sucks enough, you find work arounds. I've been noting him since August of 2011 and I have been getting responces on it, and notes stating that it was emailed to me, yet I still haven't received it. He did a journal of people he still has to email stuff out to and to note him, which I did, and I still haven't gotten anything on it. Granted, it's been a couple months since I've last noted him because I'm getting tired, but still. The transactions were in person, so there is no receipt or anything of the like, sadly. I'd just like to see my work that I commissioned for.

May. 1st, 2012 at 3:10 AM fenrirs_child WHO: Flarveon WHERE: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/flarveon/ but purchase happened on FursuitAuctions here on LJ WHAT: Fur purchase WHEN: Purchased March 9th/10th, Paypal forced refund went through yesterday. PROOF: Purchased from this posting: http://fursuitauctions.livejournal.com/2417221.html (post is too long to capture on my computer, but here is my purchase agreement http://img684.imageshack.us/img684/2488/tneonorange001129.png ) Paypal record (including forced refund) http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/9485/flarveonpaypalredacted.png EXPLAIN: I saw Flarveon's posting on FursuitAuctions for some neat furs from NZ, and I picked a few out and promptly sent payment. Initially, due to the large response, she said she would pick the furs up from the store on Thursday or Friday her time, and mail them out same day or Monday. I didn't hear anything back, so I sent her a message on LJ that I didn't receive a reply to, so I noted her on her FA on the 19th. I got a response back right away, saying she'd been delayed and she'd be going on Wednesday. http://img703.imageshack.us/img703/408/firstnotecolors.png (I am red, she is blue) I believe I went to note her after this time, and her profile said at the top not to note her, so I believe I made a shout instead. I can't seem to find my screencap of the shouts I made though. Well, after I did that she made another posting on fursuitauctions updating everyone that she would be going on Monday http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/7953/fursuitauctions001241.png <-second from bottom post). I didn't hear anything from her, so I commented on that post on the 27th asking for an update. That went ignored. http://fursuitauctions.livejournal.com/2435651.html#comments I also made a shout on her page. I don't have her page, but I do have the reply shouts she made on mine from my control panel http://img834.imageshack.us/img834/1616/usercontrolpanelfuraffi.png So, she said she picked them up, and couldn't get to the post office. Well, didn't hear anything again, so I believe I made another shout, which prompted her to make another post on Fursuitauctions she's going to pick it up on Wednesday http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/7953/fursuitauctions001241.png top post I commented on that post on the 10th asking for an update, no response. On the 11th, I got some shouts saying she had gone to pick up the fur, but there was an earthquake, so she would refund instead and was transferring money to her paypal (as seen in above link of shouts). I didn't hear anything for a few days, and it came to the end of the window for dispute, so I filed for it and sent the rest of the people who had purchased furs on that post a heads up that the dispute window was closing. After myself and another person filed our disputes, she posted this on FursuitAuctions http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/5968/fursuitauctions024900.png so I noted her http://img576.imageshack.us/img576/5913/flarveonnotecolors.png (I'm red, she's blue). She says she will respond asap, but this is the last communication I received at all from her. I gave the dispute 4 days for a response, and I know she had internet because she commented on plenty of stuff in the meantime. I escalated the dispute to a claim, and at no point during the ten day period for seller response did she respond, so Paypal pushed my refund through. I'm grateful for that at least, but this whole ordeal was unpleasant to say the least. Any sort of update had to be prompted by me, sometimes through several methods of communication. I got told at least three different stories about the fur being picked up when it hadn't been, and by not responding in any way to the dispute/claim she made this drag out as long as possible. I'm sympathetic to the earthquake situation, but it has to be said if she had gone and done this at any point in the preceding month (what was it, three times she had said she'd go, or four?) the earthquake would have had no bearing on this transaction whatsoever.

Apr. 24th, 2012 at 9:21 PM pumpkin314 WHO: Stellary/Absinthe aka Inky/Stellary on Chatlands WHERE: main base: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/absinthe, commission transactions took place on TheTotemLands (prior to closing) and on Serenity Isles WHAT: 2 "poses" from TTL ($8 each [edit, my email says $6 was sent for the one pose which was completed, but I believe the other two were considered $8 as the ref was $20, if I remember correctly]) and 3 poses on Serenity ($13) each; one owed TTL pose completed WHEN: Commission began around June 2009 PROOF: Original emails (TTL): Commission on Serenity: Note asking for a refund: Recent emails asking for an update/refund: Recent PM on wolfhome asking for information: Unfortunately I have no paypal screenshots of the transaction as the account I used to pay has since been closed, however I would assume that her replying she had received payment should be enough proof on my end. EXPLAIN: Back in 2009 I commissioned Inky for a refsheet of my character, however I changed it from a ref to 2 chat poses (and got a third pose later which was completed) and told her to keep the extra (as seen in first email) [also this proof is lost as TTL has been closed and I never thought to get screenshots of these PMs]. This art was never completed and I lost contact with her. In 2011 she posted a topic to sell poses again on the chat SerenityIsles and I contacted her then about the owed art and was interested in getting some new commissions. One of the owed poses was completed and that was all. Later in the year I attempted to contact her as she had posted another topic selling custom chat poses. At this point she said she would probably no longer do poses but could instead offer me another type of art in place of these poses. Unfortunately, life got the best of me and I was unable to reply for a few more months, this is my fault completely and not a lack of communication on her part. However, I emailed her again almost two weeks ago without response. A few days after sending the most recent email I forwarded it again to her. Tonight (4/24) I tried to send her a private message on another chatlands forum she was taking commissions on. She has read the message but has yet to respond. EDIT: Finally got a response from her. I sent her a second PM on the forum she is actively making poses on and got a response. Private Messages: For the record here is the previously mentioned email about being "banned": I will accept blame for the email not being sent immediately. I had written it up and attempted to send it from my school wifi on my phone but must have left the wifi zone and caused it to wait in my outbox until I was back home and using stable wifi. The choice to keep her from selling on Serenity was not only my choice, as stated in my replies, but the choice of several team members giving their input and opinions on the matter. She had taken not only my money but the money of other users on Serenity and they were, luckily, refunded. And I managed to dig out the transaction in my paypal history: And her topic on the Wolfhome forums actively selling poses: I was honestly shocked that she was treating me so unprofessionally because of a grudge about a supposed ban on her account on the chat I manage. Whether I had banned her or not I would hope that she would be able to treat me respectably and professionally as this is a business transaction between two people, when money is involved there should be no room for grudges. EDIT 2: Taking on more commissions: Recent journal about how little she cares (yet needs to make a spectacle of not caring): http://screencast.com/t/Qhjj8g7805 http://screencast.com/t/D1Pixolf (no time for art but still managing to complete her own personal art as well as premade characters) Art she has completed recently: Sketch of ref sheet: http://screencast.com/t/7KUk7Q6hG5v Completed ref sheet (finished within 24 hours): http://screencast.com/t/bYzwDyIvZP Premade "hell hound" sales: Topic posted: http://screencast.com/t/gC2ppMqURLM Final bid: http://screencast.com/t/AkIa3INBQQ She claims to have no time to draw due to her work schedule, but she is able to create sketches for herself and even had the time to finish a ref sheet. Since taking the pose commissions on WolfHome she has completed one and has created several poses for herself (here are two of these: http://screencast.com/t/t6t2hmk7No8). She has also been able to make and sell premade characters (I know not too much work goes into these but still she could use the time to work on commissions). She went and made a journal about how little she cares about being posted here, which shows she will most likely never change her ways as she does not care about her reputation or how others view her. I'm giving a short break between my last PM to her and my next one, so she can not say I have not been patient. EDIT 3: More comments from her "I don't care" journal: http://screencast.com/t/PhCTc802oN She's posted a journal asking people to leave a comment in order to receive a refund. Oddly enough, this is exactly what happened with me last time and she ended up not refunding me anyway. Here's the journal: http://screencast.com/t/sAppy7EcpAD I also don't feel like I should have to comment on her journal just to remind her of what she owes me when I told her less than a week ago. Will keep this updated as it all unfolds!

Apr. 18th, 2012 at 5:08 AM anime_amy Hello everyone. I wanted to bring attention to an artist and see if anyone else has had any issues with Sarcy - FA is http://www.furaffinity.net/user/sarcy . My husband and I had gotten to know her and her husband at AC 2010. She posted a journal that they were in a bit of a financial crunch and would be doing full sketchbook commissions for $150 to be filled over the course of a month. My husband wanted to help them out, so we commissioned her for a sketchbook. This was on August 30th, 2010. We sent payment that same day. Initially all was well; we received updates and saw a few sketches that were in the book over the next few months (the sketches that she showed for progress I can no longer find in her gallery). Our last communication through notes with Sarcy was on March 30th, 2011, where she stated that she didn't think that she could finish it and offered us a full refund, which she could pay off in it. My husband had talked with her husband multiple times over instant messaging, and we had been in several of her streams, and understood that they were going through some rough times at that point, too. We responded to her, letting her know that we did want to pay her for the work that she had done, and even if she didn't want to finish it, that we'd still like to have the art that she did do, and offered that if she wanted to pay us a partial amount (that we never settled on) we'd be more than willing to do that. Her response was that she was having some personal issues, and never really addressed whether she would refund us the partial amount, or full amount, or how we should proceed. The last communication we had with her was on a journal that I had posted before our wedding looking for some wedding-themed commissions; She replied to it, and said that if we wanted, she would do a commission in exchange for knocking off some of the money that she owed us for the sketchbook (which we hadn't seen any money from at all). We have not heard anything more from her at this point, and wanted to make other commissioners aware of our situation, as well as see if there are any other people that are in a similar situation as us. *UPDATE* I wanted to post a follow up to this, I just received a note from Sarcy stating that she was going to be paying us back. Will update this once payments start being made.

WHO: Beowulf/crunchbuttsteak http://www.furaffinity.net/user/beowulf/http://www.furaffinity.net/user/crunchbuttsteak/ WHERE: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/beowulf/ http://www.furaffinity.net/user/crunchbuttsteak/ WHAT: My husband commissioned Beowulf two years ago, at AC. I was with him at the time of the transaction, I was there when he gave Beowulf his sketchbook, I've got the original piece right here beside me as I'm typing this. I'm making this post because my husband cannot (he's navy, I handle most everything right now). Anyways. Yesturday, 4/9, I was browsing my FA, and I saw another piece posted by Beowulf. This piece WAS my husband's piece that he had commissioned. Except it was recolored and some parts changed. But very obviously belonged to my husband. Now, I know for a fact that neither of us gave permission for the piece to be reused, and even if it had been asked, we would have said no. I fully understand the recycling of rejected sketches, but this was a fully finished traditional piece that had been digitally colored. I immediately sent Beowulf a note about this, and left a discreet comment on the piece, telling him to check his notes. At no point did I publicly call him out for having done this. He read the note, and the piece dissapeared within moments off of FA. However. No return note was sent. No apology, no explanation for the re-use of a commission piece for another commission, nothing. This leaves me with a bad feeling. I forgive easily. All I wanted was a note of apology. I understand that mistakes happen. I understand that our commission was several years ago, and maybe Beowulf had the original file saved and forgot that it belonged to someone. I don't know. All I know is that he deleted the piece, and said nothing more to me about this. So i'm posting this as a warning. Don't get me wrong. He was awesome to work with, does beautiful work, and was a good guy. If this event hadn't happened, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend him as someone to commission. But this just leaves me sour on him as an artist. WHEN: Original commission was at AC 2010. New piece was posted 4/9/2012 PROOF: The original, posted on my husband's FA: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/3027941/ Screenshot of the newly posted piece's description: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v172/tresh/Beowulfscreenshot2.png Saved image: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v172/tresh/1334013834beowulf_usarmy-commish.jpg EXPLAIN: We loved the art that Beowulf did. He has a wonderful style, I love his work, I even wanted to commission him again. But this makes me rethink that. While there was nothing signed or the like saying that he can't reuse the piece, it's still in very bad taste I would think to do this? So I'm posting the artist-beware to let people know about this, so it doesn't happen to anyone else. Reusing a commission for another person's commission is just not right...or so I think. Edited to add: I spoke to my husband about this, and he told me that in his emails there would be a copy of hte commission from when he paid Beowulf to digitally color it. THis was again, several years ago. So looking at the digital color, dated from early 2011, there's actually even LESS changed than I previously thought. Colored image from early 2011: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v172/tresh/Raziel-web-rez-coloration.jpg Edit 2: Overlay of the two pieces: http://img692.imageshack.us/img692/3977/beowulfoverlay.jpg

Apr. 9th, 2012 at 2:58 AM prguitarman April 10 Edit: A day after I initially sent in this post for mod approval, Aluminem actually contacted me with an inked copy of the commission. I asked for some changes, and was sent them fairly quickly. The commission is still not complete, but progress is happening! I'd say this has been PENDINGfor now since I finally got a reply and progress on the art. April 11 Edit: Setting this back to pending, after a few comments suggested I shouldn't jump the gun on saying it's resolved when it isn't. April 17 Edit: Alum is currently taking more new commissions and says those will be done by early next week: http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/3373137/ http://i.imgur.com/Rt3AW.png May 19 Edit: Alum has kind of disappeared off the face of the earth again. WHO : AluminemSiren WHERE: FA WHAT: $25 commission "portrait" WHEN: December 12 PROOF: (Paypal Receipt)(Aluminem confirms payment) Hello there everybody. This is actually my first post here and I hope it's worth even being mentioned. For the [past four months](screenshot), I've been trying to get in contact with AluminemSiren about a simple $20 Character Portrait I'd like to get from them. I paid them on the day I contacted them and Aluminem said they'd get me a sketch the next day, but that didn't happen. Time passed, and I actually forgot about it until a month or two later. I tracked them down on FA again and inquired about it, and then a general post appeared shortly after stating they were simply[procrastinating on the art for everybody.](screenshot) I left comments there asking for the [status two months ago, then one month ago.](screenshot), and about [20 days ago from the time of this post](screenshot) , all of which have been unanswered. Someone else actually replied to my month-ago status saying they were also wanting to know the status of their commission as well, but they have since hidden the comment. Meanwhile, Aluminem has been actively talking to other people in their journals and shout pages. During this time, Aluminem has taken [several] [new] [commissions] [while] [leaving] [o][t][h]er people like me on the [waiting list](screenshot of a few of the journals, but not all) (screenshot of waiting list). For example, Razorblitz asked for a commission [three months ago] and it's listed as "COMPLETE!!"(screenshot). kougatalbain is also above me on the waiting list even though I paid before them, as are a few others. I am not sure if that list is in 'to do' order but I've been placed at the very bottom. Aluminemsiren won't give me the time of day and I'd really like to know if I'll ever see this commission from them. I very well know that life happens and [new jobs] really do take the energy out of you sometimes, but I feel there could have been time in this 3-4 month long gap to at least write me a reply. Judging by their [20+ commission list] and the amount of time I've been waiting it may be a very long time until I even see a sketch. (It won't let me add tags for this post on both [Livejournal and Semagic], sorry about that)

Apr. 4th, 2012 at 6:30 PM wesfox WHERE: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/CHIMERASYNX WHAT: $160 digital commission WHEN: Jan 15th 2010 till now (April 2012) Details: I commissioned Chimerasynx on Jan 15th 2010, with the knowledge that it going to be a wait of up to a year. http://arcanofox.foxpaws.net/artistbeware/1.png http://arcanofox.foxpaws.net/artistbeware/2.png In late 2010 they stated that they would start posting some of the commissions taken around the time I purchased mine around Thanksgiving/Christmas, of which none ended up being posted. http://arcanofox.foxpaws.net/artistbeware/a.png When asked they stated that they were delayed, but that mine wasn't among the bunch that would have been posted. http://arcanofox.foxpaws.net/artistbeware/3.png More waiting. At the 15 month mark, around April 16th I pinged them for an update again http://arcanofox.foxpaws.net/artistbeware/b.png To which they replied that something "catastrophic" had happened, putting their art on hold. http://arcanofox.foxpaws.net/artistbeware/4.png I let them off the hook and continued to wait. In August 2011 I pinged them again, this time getting a different reason why there was nothing yet to show for me, and apparently anyone else. http://arcanofox.foxpaws.net/artistbeware/c.png http://arcanofox.foxpaws.net/artistbeware/5.png On October 29th 2011 I PM'd them asking for an update, and stating that I'd either accept a refund, but would be fine waiting for the artwork but would need some sort of in-progress shot to prove that it was being worked on. More waiting, and eventually they responded with: http://arcanofox.foxpaws.net/artistbeware/6.png The end of the year and their promised deadline of Dec 31st 2011 came and went, and I PM’d them again. http://arcanofox.foxpaws.net/artistbeware/d.png No response, so I PM’d them yet again. http://arcanofox.foxpaws.net/artistbeware/e.png A month later they finally got back to me about the missed deadlines and promised me something the next day or Monday of the next week. http://arcanofox.foxpaws.net/artistbeware/7.png More time passed, the promised material never arrived. Finally they told me that it would be one or two more days. http://arcanofox.foxpaws.net/artistbeware/8.png Nothing obviously was sent to me the next day or the next week, or at any point after that and now here I am. They haven't read my subsequent notes on FA, however they have read notes by others and refunded at least one other person who posted a public shout to them (Chimerasynx then deleted that shout, but the person thus refunded PM'd me to let me know what had happened with their attempt to get their money back). However Chimerasynx so far hasn’t read or replied to any of my notes asking for a refund from the same time period as that, so I'm frustrated beyond belief at this point. I then posted a public shout on their page, hoping to get them to respond. So far nothing. http://arcanofox.foxpaws.net/artistbeware/9.png I really don't care about the artwork at this point, but after being strung along for multiple years with no evidence that they've even touched the piece (despite claims to the contrary), I just want a refund and then consider the issue dropped. If anyone has additional contact info for them, which hopefully they read more often than FA notes, that would be appreciated. I really hate to have to assume the worst here, especially given their level of talent, and pending them getting back to me, I'll have to start looking at various options regarding fraud filings with my bank. The lack of response, the missed deadlines, failed promises and changing excuses need an explanation, and I need a refund. Edit: see the update posted lower in this thread, this issue may resolved / nearly resolved in a good way. :)

Apr. 2nd, 2012 at 7:21 AM eye0ffcenter WHO: Acorn/Squirrelworks WHERE: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/acorn/ and http://www.furaffinity.net/user/squirrelworks/ WHAT: A waist up sketch commission of five characters WHEN: From April 14th 2011 - Feb 6th 2012 From first to most recent interaction. PROOF: http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t154/eyeoffcenter/Acorn/Newcanvas.jpg and http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t154/eyeoffcenter/Acorn/proof.jpg EXPLAIN: I took the commission through a journal that she posted. Screencap: http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t154/eyeoffcenter/Acorn/Newcanvas.jpg I also ordered another commission (which was a discount thing that she was doing at the time for female characters). She had me on her list of commissions and said that I didn't have to pay until I got an approval sketch. She never got around to it. I never paid, thank goodness, so it's not a big deal, but still relevant. I don't have any screenshots for this one and the journal I ordered it in is gone. After four months of waiting for the sketch commission, I contacted her again and she replied telling me she forgot about it. Screencap: http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t154/eyeoffcenter/Acorn/forgot.jpg Even though the journal I ordered it through was then and STILL IS up (at the time of me posting this). Journal: http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/2255182/ After waiting a little under a month more, I contacted her again and she replied saying that she'd been suspended for a week and unable to access notes. Screencap: http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t154/eyeoffcenter/Acorn/suspension.jpg Let's not forget that my commission was in a journal and not in notes and that a week suspension is not an excuse for a month MORE of waiting. After this, I apologized to HER, because I really wanted the art from her. She asked me what kind of pose I wanted, so I thought I was getting somewhere. Screencap: http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t154/eyeoffcenter/Acorn/details.jpg Bolded text is a link. After this, she told me she would upgrade it to a full body sketch since I'd waited so long. She was very polite throughout the entire ordeal, so don't misunderstand. What I am reporting is definitely not her attitude. I waited about a month longer and then messaged her asking for a WIP (after seeing that she'd uploaded a couple of WIPs, which. I figured that after THIS LONG, she would have worked on it a little. Keep in mind, she'd been posting multiple other commissions and personal work daily. Screencap: http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t154/eyeoffcenter/Acorn/WIP.jpg After this, I waited a week. Since she said before that she would work on it, I thought she might have SOMETHING to show for all of my waiting. To which she replied that she had no idea how to pose these characters. I already told her what I wanted five weeks ago. So I replied giving her all of the information that I'd already given her again. Screencap: http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t154/eyeoffcenter/Acorn/Description.jpg I contacted her again after nine days asking her how long she thought it might be before I'd see any results from her. She replied saying that she'd been really busy (doing more commissions?) and that I'd have to wait until she got all of her Halloween commissions done. Really? Just... Really? I waited ANOTHER MONTH before contacting her again. Screencap: http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t154/eyeoffcenter/Acorn/Askingforarefund.jpg This seemed to scare her into actually working on it (though I can't be positive of whether she'd worked on it at all before this point). Three days letter, I get a WIP. Screencap: http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t154/eyeoffcenter/Acorn/Unfinishedsketch.jpg Submission: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/6988259 Here, in the comments, she asked me for more detail so that she could finish. Screencap: http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t154/eyeoffcenter/Acorn/Commentsonsubmission.jpg And her finger slipped here, but no one can fault her of that. I waited two more months to ask for an update to which she replied that she still had all of my information. This is the last I've heard from her. Screencap: http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t154/eyeoffcenter/Acorn/LastwordfromAcorn.jpg I waited a month after that to ask her about it again. The note is still unread after half a month. It's been a year and it's still not done. Screencap: http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t154/eyeoffcenter/Acorn/Unreadmessage-1.jpg This is what I have: http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t154/eyeoffcenter/Acorn/1323223101acorn_eyeoffcenter.png The only unfinished one is my character. This would literally take her like ten minutes to finish. Mood: accomplished Edit: I received the finished image. Submission: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/7728551/ She was very professional about it after the initial journal and the turnaround was quick. I am very happy with the finished product.

YCH post by artist here: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/30480041/ After taking 5 slots, only completed and posted two of them, and has not responded to my comment left on the original post back in March and does not look at/respond to notes sent about it. Queue still lists this commission. Last posted finished slot from this YCH was posted in March.

Mar. 23rd, 2012 at 6:26 PM ryuusin WHO: insomniacovrlrd Where: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/insomniacovrlrd/ what: digital art When: april 2010 - present Proof: full conversation from me first commissioning him http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/9035/note2b.png image showing the notes from the start from 2 years ago http://img832.imageshack.us/img832/6991/note3.png Note sent a year later with no reply http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/2808/note4.png recent notes sent to him still yellow meaning hes not looked at them http://img818.imageshack.us/img818/7752/note5.png Paypal confirmation of payment to him 2 years ago http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/3567/paypalub.png Explain: started 2 years ago, i commissioned a picture from him and payed the same day consisting of a 2 character image at $50. he took many commissions so i know it would take a while. months went by and he put out few actual commissions from others. 1 year has gone by and no update and even still few commissions were coming out but many of his own works and projects. 1 1/2 year he makes a journal about if he has forgotten any commissions to leave a comment. i have and he replayed that he would start on it. that was the last i heard from him. 2 year that journal gets deleted and he starts opening more slots. i try to contact him but he never reply and doesn't even open my shouts or FA notes. they are still yellow on my screen. present, tried contacting him through various means through messengers. still no reply on any of them. i may be very patent, but this is ridiculous and rude.

Mar. 20th, 2012 at 5:15 PM freeziclepop WHO: shootitout WHERE: deviantArt WHAT: Digital art trade. WHEN: October, 2011 PROOF: http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n161/weirdsonic/One.png EXPLAIN: In October me and shootitout had decided on doing an art trade, it was discussed, the characters to be drawn discussed. We chatted throughout this time. I finished my side of the trade, they were very happy to receive. Entire conversation on the piece can be seen here: http://freezicle.deviantart.com/gallery/33755790#/d4dir83 They even used the image they received on Neopets. (With my permission) After a month had past without me hearing on their side of the trade, I decided I'd remind them about it--maybe they had forgotten! They didn't forget, they clearly stated this. They promised it would be finished soon. Over the six month period, I've been nothing but friendly, reminding them on their uncompleted trade. Mind you, I've only reminded them about four times. Maybe they misinterpreted sarcasm, and got angry with me, I'm not sure. They seem to be very easy to ignite. All-in-all, I'm sick of waiting, I don't want their half anymore. Just be warned, and don't do trades with this person. They were incredibly rude and defensive, their friends even joining in to pitifully try and support them.

Mar. 2nd, 2012 at 11:43 PM poizenkat WHO: Falvie WHERE: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/falvie WHAT: Valentines day single character commission for my partner, Thornbeast WHEN: February 11th, it was agreed to be finished the day before valentines day. Was instead finished March 1st. PROOF: http://i.imgur.com/NiY8O.png EXPLAIN: She posted a journal about couples commissions. I asked in note about a private commission with a single character to be done the same day as the valentines day commissions, as it was a gift for my partner for valentines day. She accepted and we both agreed to payment at completion. I decided to ask her to say it was from my second account, which is linked to my partner's commissions account http://i.imgur.com/bJy4V.png then she had told me that she would finish it the next day instead. The day came and passed with no acknowledgement from Falvie, so i proceeded to ask her about it a bit later http://i.imgur.com/cPex3.png That was fine, she seemed really sweet for a while. I was a bit frustrated, but it was okay with me.... Then comes her posting a journal for a stream. She said that she will finish some owed commissions and be TAKING ON MORE on the stream http://i.imgur.com/pK918.jpg . Ended up with her seeming to not really finish many if any of the outstanding commissions and to just be taking more and more money from others. I asked her if she would be finishing my commission as she had said she would, and while complaining about it being late and saying how tired she was... she ended up sketching it. I had asked at this point for her to instead do the Spring form of this character instead of the winter form; http://www.furaffinity.net/view/6921917/ she agreed and said she would do that in the coloring stages. The next day she streamed and said that she will only finish outstanding commissions if they get ANOTHER slot IN STREAM. http://i.imgur.com/nKMLO.png so I had to chase her for a slot, and I was quite lucky to get one too since she's usually hard to catch a slot from. Sadly my laptop has been having issues so I couldnt cap everything, but whenever I would ask for a correction she would say she would do it and NOT do it or she would complain. My partner sent the payment for me, as I was having paypal issues. I can get a screencap when she is around if anyone would like. I asked her to fix the colors on the character and make them more gray, she complained and said that she would do it later and that it should be close enough now anyhow (its supposed to be a very dulled down character in general). I also asked her to make the gradients less smooth and kind of spiked out like in the reference. She agreed, but never fixed it. Edit: These markings were quite clear on the reference I had given her in the note at the beginning of the commission. The things were what she had missed, and not a change that I had neglected to tell her. These things were not mentioned until she had been coloring them, as they were color related and I could not have anticipated her skipping over them. As well as that, the change from winter to spring form (adding the vines and flowers) were made at the beginning of the commission around the time she had begun the sketching stage if not before /Edit I then asked her if it was possible to make the eyes a bit more orange and she complained and refused to do that as well. I also asked her to fix the face markings and she replied with this; http://i.imgur.com/7MYN3.png since I was getting fed up and did not want to deal with her anymore, I decided to play along. I found this extremely rude, however. She also rushed when fixing it and it shows in the piece. http://i.imgur.com/lk7c3.png She ended up forgetting the vines and flowers on the character. This she decided to make up for with a quick sketch instead of fixing it (I would have rather she fixed it, however.) http://i.imgur.com/Lddw1.png either way, I do appreciate the gesture and was happy that she made up for the mistake. As she was drawing the sketch, someone had asked her about their commission. Falvie was EXTREMELY rude to her. I can provide screenshots if they are wanted, but this is for that commissioner to post and not me. Hopefully her entry will be accepted soon, because I was horrified at Falvie's behavior. She had basically said that she knew she was unprofessional and did not care that she would lose customers for it. She did not seem to care at all about the people whom paid her or will be paying her to do her job and called the user a scammer for being disappointed for waiting so long. This was as she was streaming for me, so it was extremely uncomfortable to be caught in the argument. (Edit: http://artists-beware.livejournal.com/574006.html ) Finally everything was done and the image was posted. I was happy with the picture (other than the rushed fixing of the face markings), and actually still find it beautifully done regardless of the problems i have had with her. I had thought that I was done with her at that point. Someone called the character male in the picture and I corrected them happily. No problem, it happens all the time right? Someone else then said that falvie makes "the weirdest shit look awesome" so I replied saying something similar to "Well, I think Thorn is always awesome 8P" And then... when I looked to see the picture again I realized that Falvie had hidden all comments I left (even me complimenting the artwork) and said to the second person i mentioned, "Nevermind them. I have to make things look awesome, otherwise it wouldnt be fun!" or something similar to that. I asked her why she had hidden my comments, as they were not hostile or anything (maybe one could be taken as such, but the others?) and she deleted the submission. In my confusion I asked her why she deleted it on her page and had said that if I had done anything to anger her then perhaps it would be okay for her to repost it at least for my partner's sake? a few minutes later my partner went on Falvie's page to see this; http://i.imgur.com/yNLc1.png with the link to this; http://i.imgur.com/b62gN.png I was confused and insulted that she would do such a thing, but I had hoped it was a coincidence. I commented again after she had stopped spamming her page, because I had just wanted an answer to my question. She then proceeded to spam her page AGAIN as seen here; http://i.imgur.com/7m7cu.png and then she posted a journal soon after. I dont know if this is a coincidence, but it was RIGHT after, so it is possible it has to do with me. If it does not, then I apologize for assuming; http://i.imgur.com/Ouba7.png (Edit: yes, this does have nothing to do with me. My apologies.) Here are some other relevant journals I have screencapped; http://i.imgur.com/Zkf9k.png Edit: for clarification's sake, she OFFERED the commissions to be done the day before valentines day. This is evidenced in one of the journals in the link directly above. I was told to note her, as this was supposed to be a private commission. As well as that, Thornbeast's reference sheet very clearly showed the cheek markings as linked above where it was mentioned. Edit: She posted a public apology...saying that I hurt her and could have dealt with this privately. If this were possible then she would have replied to my question and not blocked me (as I see I am blocked now.) I cannot accept such an insincere apology as this. Instead of apologizing, she had "called me out" on "hurting" her instead of apologizing. Not only were both my accounts blocked, by my partner was blocked as well. Edit: As I am blocked by Falvie, I would like to apologize to her here. Though you have made some terrible decisions (in my personal opinion) you do not deserve the harassment you are getting. I sincerely apologize for the troubles and harassment this has caused. I would also like to apologize for being a demanding customer. Saying no would have been okay with me. It may have annoyed me a bit, but being a traditional artist I understand how hard it is to correct some things. I did not mean for this to happen, as all I was doing was leaving a "negative review" of sorts. I had no idea that this would blow up into the mess it is. I am very sorry. All in all, this artist has a lot of potential as a commission artist. She has lots of talent and can finish art in good time when she actually gets to doing it. Problem is, she has a terrible attitude and I wouldnt recommend commissioning her outside of quick IN STREAM commissions or for any complicated characters that will have things that may need correcting. I am happy with the art she had given me, but not the missed deadlines and general unprofessional attitude as well as complete disregard for paying customers. I apologize if anything is confusing or horribly misworded.

On June 17, 2019, after seeing a post on reddit (https://www.reddit.com/r/DnD/comments/c1l10a/art_i_will_draw_your_pc/) I went to Sketchy Kyle's fiverr to place an order for a commission totaling $42. The set due date was June 22, 2019 but on this day the artist opened a dispute to extend the deadline to June 25, 2019 citing personal reasons and being busy with other commissions likely coming from the same reddit thread. I agreed as waiting is usually no worry for me, but days then weeks passed with no updates. On July 18, 2019 I messaged them in an attempt to get back into contact with them, as fiverr showed that they had been online recently. No answer. Again I attempted communication on August 2, 2019, and again no answer. On checking their fiverr profile it would seem that they have deleted their account. Thanks to fiverr I still have the $42 but it is locked to the platform. I'm afraid I'm not the only one from the reddit thread that received the same treatment so I hope that if they should surface with a similar username others can be aware of their practices. I am unaware if they have a twitter or other social media unfortunately. videogifevidence1.mp4

In October 2017, I commissioned REYKAT for a fullbody sketch of one of my original characters for $25 USD. Their TOS states that waiting times ‘can depend, so think twice whether you are ready to wait or not’. I saw that although they seemed to have a big queue of commissions and continued to accept more, they were frequently posting commissions and so I assumed they were on top of their workload. They have no public waiting list or commission queue, so I had no way of knowing this for sure, but I decided to take the risk. My commission was accepted and I was told I'd be noted when the art was done. (I’ve blocked out their PayPal address in the corresponding screenshot). By mid-February 2018, I hadn’t received any updates on my commission. I wrote a note asking about the status of the art and received a reply soon after saying that it would be done (no specified time). However by June 2018, I still had not received my commission, and had not received any word at all from the artist. They had been posting personal art, as well as commissions that I believe came from commissioners after me (judging by the date of their inquiry comments on REYKAT’s commission journal). I noted REYKAT inquiring about this, and their reply linked me to a screenshot of their TOS stating that waiting times would ‘depend’. They also reassured me that the file would be sent to me when finished and it had not been forgotten. Honestly, after that I kind of forgot about the commission for several months, but it was never delivered, and nor did I receive any communication from REYKAT. During this time, they continued to post personal art and others’ commissions. In June 2019, I decided to try to follow up on the commission again. This time my message went unread and unanswered. A month later, I sent a second note, which has also gone unread and unanswered for the past week. As of now, I have received neither art nor refund, and the PayPal dispute window is well past.

It's been nearly two years from commission date and having only ever had limited contact that has always been initiated by me has left me to believe this is the only viable choice left for me as I'm well out of the charge back window through PayPal. I messaged the user on my birthday planning to get a piece done in honor of the occasion as they had been advertising previously about doing in-stream commissions. I had commissioned them once before that had somewhat of a waiting period which was understandable at the time. However, with this being in-stream I had imagined that the turnaround would be far briefer than the last one. When we agreed to the terms of the commission it was over Discord because I had established that connection with them during the prior commissioning. I paid them $80 and would go months at a time without hearing anything from them. I would occasionally mention at the subject and try to get some sort of update but would often be ignored. When I would recall that I still had the commission outstanding with them, I would even go so far as to try and talk to them and change up the idea to something that I hoped would pique their interest enough to knock it out. Overall it had no effect and I would continue to be ignored as things carried on. I was never officially added onto the queue and so when I had brought up in notes through FA that I hadn't received any progress or word on my commission it was met with skepticism until I dug the chat logs up to show them. After promising they would add me to their queue and finish the commission, this was never followed through. They continue to take in stream commissions, ychs, post art on twitter and FA but refuse to pay me back or give any kind of set date for payment. It's hard to believe if they are out of town and are too busy to get me my refund that they would have enough time to take in stream commissions for hours at a time. As of right now I have been given the seventeenth as the next update time. I will update accordingly until things are resolved in some way.

Who: Dubmutt Where: Twitter @dub_mutt What: Graphic art print Amount: $19.49 Details: On May 11, 2019, I purchased one of Dubmutt’s prints on a site called Storeenvy. The order came to $19.49. The description said that she ships these same day if purchased before 2pm, which I had done. June 5th comes along and I still don’t have the print or any shipping email. I messaged her on her email asking about the print status, explaining that I don’t have a tracking number, shipping confirmation, or the print itself after almost a month of purchase. I had also messaged her on Twitter on June 7th after no reply from the email, explaining the same thing in case she didn’t check her email/was more active on Twitter. To be on the safe side, I also opened a PayPal dispute for item not received on the same day. Later on the 7th soon after I open the dispute, Dubmutt conveniently gets back to me through Twitter. Her excuse was that she “never got the notification that I bought the print.” Which I find weird because obviously she got my money for the print, it’s not like the money appeared out of nowhere. She promised to ship the item right away which I then received on June 10. She had provided a tracking number and I got the shipping confirmation email. I had closed the PayPal case (which I now know was a bad idea). I open the print from the rolling tube it was packed in and immediately notice large, visible creases all over the print. Dissatisfied, I messaged Dubmutt on Twitter again, telling her the situation and providing images of the creases. She blamed it on tampering from the post office, despite the package being securely sealed. She had promised me a refund as well as a free replacement print. I provided my email for the refund in case she needed it again. She had said that she was out of town and wouldn’t be able to send the refund or the replacement until the “beginning of July.” I was fine with that and waited. July 3 comes along, I message her on Twitter politely asking about the refund and replacement. No reply. I wait, and email her on July 11, politely asking the same thing. No reply. The 18th comes along and I still have not heard from her or got the refund or replacement. Because I had stupidly closed the case on PayPal too early, I am out of luck. I am new to disputes with PayPal and I was unaware that you couldn’t open a second case if something else went wrong with the transaction. I contacted PayPal and they could do nothing for me. Today on the 19th, Dubmutt has finally gotten back to me via Twitter, after saying she would at the beginning of this month. She now says that she wishes I would have sent her images of the packaging that the print was shipped in to “prove” to her that it was not tampered with. I insisted that the packaging was in perfect condition and that only the print was damaged, for whatever reason. Also, I told her that there was no reason for me to think of randomly taking images of a perfectly intact package. She had no reply to that. She is now denying my refund that she promised over a month ago and is telling me to file a claim with USPS instead for tampering. First of all, I’m not going through the hassle of a usps claim for $20. Second, even if I wanted to, I don’t have any of the packaging, paperwork, or the print itself anymore which I also told her. So how on earth would I even make a claim with usps with nothing to show them? So not only did Dubmutt make me wait way longer than she promised, she is now denying the refund that she assured I would get, instead coming up with a ridiculous excuse to not to and has no concept with what I’m saying to her. Lesson learned to never close a PP case until you get the item and it’s in good condition with no other problem. I know now I am ultimately to blame because I wasn’t unaware you could open a second claim.

After many good experiences commissioning artists on many different occasions, this was the first one I've ever had a problem with. I'm hoping this is the only time I'll have to write a Beware. On October 21st, 2018, I placed a winning bid on a YCH by Avtor_D for $35 (body horror NSFW) https://sta.sh/01u61dkoe5v6 and promptly paid. On October 26th, 2018, I decided to also place a bid on a second YCH by Avtor_D for $30 https://sta.sh/01xrf025zghp, again paying promptly. At the time, it looked like they were regularly submitting finished work to their gallery, so I didn't think It would take that long to hear back. There was no public Trello to consult for work they currently owed, either, but I didn't consider that much of a problem in the long run at the time. I gave the benefit of the doubt and decided to wait awhile. A few weeks go by with no word back and it seems alright at first. But then I see that they keep taking on more and more work after mine here: https://sta.sh/0sw3xji5zf l started to get a little wearier, as I didn't see anything being completed and there was still no public Trello to consult, as seen here https://sta.sh/01pnpvbif23b I let it fall to the wayside for awhile because of other commissions I had coming in. Fast forward a bit later where I realize the window for asking for refunds through Paypal would be closing. Again, I still have some time, so I'm not too pushy when I decide to inquire about my comms https://sta.sh/01cgh69b61na They reply to me, accusing me of harassing them on their shout page (I didn't, but since they purged their shouts before that, I do not have proof) and reassure me everything's going ok https://sta.sh/0sunyo64df2 I'm a little annoyed, but decide to let it slide until another month goes by. At this point, I'm a bit tired of dealing with this and decide to give them a mostly polite ultimatum to at least show me wips by March 15th, 2019 https://sta.sh/018v2q4cish1 They show me the sketches, and all seems fine, so I let them proceed with some lingering wariness. But otherwise I'm just happy to see wips where I was seeing nothing before. (Body horror NSFW for the first link) https://sta.sh/01ekjuiurp7z https://sta.sh/0mlpunz2l23 From there, things unfortunately fell to the wayside. I kind of checked out of the situation and would only be reminded on occasion if I saw activity from them on FA or Twitter. For awhile, there wasn't much, and things happened in my life that were demanding my attention, so I didn't have much energy to exert on resolving the issue. I probably should have, which is 100% on me. Recently, though, I see they have finally released a link to their public Trello and released some news on the situation, including explaining their taking on of more YCH's recently without finishing previous ones. My comms are still in the sketch stage, and I've kind of lost hope at this point even if I were to contact them further. Since the refund window has closed and I do have sketches, and it is very stressful to talk to this person for me, I am more concerned with them keeping up this kind of business with other commissioners than my own stuff.

Shetani Cheetah (Shetani Cheetah) wrote in artists_beware, @ 2018-12-07 00:19 Hitchedboy/Jaoqy/Oatiemeal/Seafowl WHO: hitchedboy / jaoqy / oatiemeal / seafowl WHERE: https://www.instagram.com/oatiemeal, https://www.deviantart.com/seafowl, https://www.deviantart.com/jaoqy, http://flightrising.com/main.php?p=lair&tab=userpage&id=146038 WHAT: 2 character digital painting with background WHEN: July 15, 2018 - current EXPLAIN: Note that there will be some jumping around between different websites/screenshots due to the artist attempting to evade contact. They also changed their usernames various times throughout the course of this interaction, so screenshots may not match up exactly with what I've written. ( Read more... ) July 15 - I commissioned the user hitchedboy on the petsite Flight Rising for a 2-character digital painting, which was paid for using site currency in the form of items. [1] Payment was sent using Flight Rising's 2-way trade system. Weeks passed without word, and their FR profile indicated that they hadn't logged in to FR at all since a few days after I last heard from them. With this avenue of communication closed, I started seeking an alternate way to contact them, and found their Instagram account (which was also under the username hitchedboy at the time. The link on their profile led to a DeviantArt name of jaoqy.) August 27th - I messaged hitchedboy on Instagram to inquire about a turnaround time for my commission. They said they had lost their FR login info but were still willing to do the art for me. They informed me that their preferred method of contact was Discord. [2] August 28th - Our correspondence moved to Discord. I provided them with the commission info again since they stated they lost access to their FR account. I was told that I could check in with them "as much as I wanted" and that my art would be finished in "most likely only a week." [3] September 5th - A week later, I asked to see a sketch. hitchedboy said they weren't at their computer and would send it to me in 2-3 hours. I gave them an extra 4 hours before poking them again. They told me to message them again to remind them in 5 hours; I did so and received no response at all. (Time discrepancy in their message is due to hitchedboy being in the GMT+10 timezone and myself in GMT-5.) Though I was irritated at being brushed off, I decided to give them some time. [4] September 22nd - Life got in the way and I wasn't able to touch base with hitchedboy before this date. I told them the reason for my delay; they responded with a situation curiously similar to mine, and informed me they had completed the base colors on the art. I had not seen so much as a sketch from hitchedboy at this point, despite being promised one several times over. I felt uneasy and asked them to show me the art at its current stage for approval before progressing - again, my message was ignored. [5] September 29th - I logged into Discord, saw that hitchedboy was online, and shot them a message. They immediately switched their status to "offline." (I don't have a screenshot of this, sadly.) In response to this action, I asked them to just let me know if they no longer wanted to do the commission, as I needed it by a certain date and this would give me enough time to find a replacement artist. They assured me that they still fully intended to finish the art, citing extreme forgetfulness as an excuse for blowing me off in the past. They once again set a bizarrely unrealistic time frame - this time just 10 minutes - in which I should expect to see the art. At this point, I was severely doubting that any work had been completed at all, and sent a bit of a lengthy message expressing my frustration about being given the runaround time and again. An hour later, hitchedboy sent me a progress photo. This honestly surprised me, given that I'd been convinced that they hadn't even started, and the completion level seemed to me to be more than could be done in an hour. I informed them of corrections that needed to be made, making sure to be thorough since I didn't know if I would even get a chance to see another WIP before the picture was finished. [6] October 3rd-5th - I ensured that hitchedboy was aware of, and agreed to, the deadline for the piece. [7] October 21st - For the first time, hitchedboy sent me a progress update without being prompted. They said they hoped to have it done by the next day (of course, this didn't happen.) [8] October 24th - hitchedboy apologized for the delay, citing issues with the background. [8] October 30th-31st - The day before the due date, hitchedboy contacted me to say that the art was done, but they were unable to upload it. They claimed to be out of the house again and they would have someone else try to upload the picture while they were gone. Not only had I not gotten to see and approve the final product, I wasn't even told what website I should expect to find it on. In addition, I was extremely confused as to why they didn't just try a different site if they were having trouble with one in particular. I heard neither hide nor hair from them on the actual due date. [9] November 2nd-10th - I would otherwise have just written this off if not for the fact that they had actually completed a good deal of progress on the commission as per the one WIP I received, so continued to message hitchedboy in an attempt to just wrap up the whole ordeal. They claimed to have been in the hospital. No progress was made towards resolving the situation. [10] November 15th - I made another contact attempt on Discord, directly @'ing hitchedboy when I saw them appear as active. [11] While gathering up info to make this beware, I noticed that their Instagram username had been changed to oatiemeal. The account showed activity as of 10 hours earlier (no screenshot of this), and the link in their profile now led to a newly made DeviantArt page under the name seafowl. [12] The recent submissions in this gallery were pieces that had been completed and uploaded on November 3rd and subsequently, when they claimed to not have internet access. Giving the benefit of the doubt, I sent them a polite Instagram message. They responded only to request that I contact them on Discord, which I had been doing for the past 2 weeks. I admittedly lost my cool at this point, which I should not have done. Despite the fact that I knew they no longer used the website where the commission originated, I gave them a deadline to produce either the supposedly completed art or a refund. [13] To this date I have seen neither. (I also messaged them on Discord again as per their request, in case that would produce results somehow - it did not.) [14] I'm very upset because I was really looking forward to getting art from this artist. Quite frankly, I'm not too broken up about losing the payment for the commission, as I would much rather have the art. I can only count myself lucky that I paid in non-monetary currency, and hopefully they aren't doing this to customers on DeviantArt or Instagram as well. PROOF: All screenshots in this folder and linked at the appropriate points within the explanation.

[ This article contains uncensored NSFW imagery (nudity). ] ... I initially got into contact with Strype on the 3rd of November, 2018. One day later, on Nov 4th, we came to an agreement on a single character thigh-up commission for $220,- USD. I subsequently provided them with my PayPal address and paid their invoice in full that same day (Nov 4th, 2018). They confirmed my payment as completed, and informed me that I'd have linework to look at later that week. On the 16th of November, 2018 (~12 days following the 4th), I received the linework along with a brief apology for the wait. I approved of the linework some hours later, on the same day. After this point, a long period of silence and no updates would occur. This is where I want to bring one's attention to the fact that the artist does not have a ToS. Below is a collection of screengrabs from their primary sites (FA and Twitter), both having no ToS to speak of whatsoever. Furaffinity Account Page Furaffinity "Commissions Available" Post 1/2 + 2/2 Twitter Page (Additional screengrabs from other sites such as Furry Network (https://furrynetwork.com/strype/) and Weasyl have also been collected, but will not be included here as they are not in use by the artist at the time of writing this article.) In short; the artist has no rules, no commitments, and no incentive to adhere to any sense of professionalism with commissions that start off at over 200 USD. I should obviously have considered this a red flag prior, but I did not. That was a mistake. Reiterating; November the 16th, 2018 was when I received and approved of the linework for my commission. I waited until December the 17th, roughly one month later, before I sent them a note asking for an update. No progress had been made - but they had added me to their 'priority list'. I thanked them for the update and continued waiting. Following Christmas and New Years, on the 12th of January, 2019, I sent them a new note asking for an update if possible. (The mentioning of 'three weeks' below here on my part is referring to me inquiring about some lighting conditions in the commission, as they had not yet started, three weeks ago.) Understanding their reasonings, I wished them the best and continued waiting, hoping for an update. On the 1st of February, 2019, I ended up sending them a new note, asking for an update. Still no progress - but understanding their situation (they have been open about these issues on their public Twitter, no censoring necessary), I remained patient, hoping for an update soon. It was during this phase of waiting I came to realize that getting put on a 'priority list' since the middle of December last year actually doesn't mean anything at all. Strype had been taking on multiple commissions between late December in 2018 and up till early February in 2019 - all while my commission was supposedly a priority. December 30th, 2018 - Multiple Slots January 21st, 2019 - One Slot January 26th, 2019 - Multiple Slots > (This one is especially interesting and will be referred to shortly) February 10th, 2019 - Multiple Slots The most alarming about these openings is the fact that these commissions were not prioritized behind my commission. One of them was actually taken in late January, (Jan. 26th opening), but ended up being completed less than a month later, before my commisson had even been started. I know this due to getting in contact with the commissioner in question. [See mod note above] Following these discouraging news, I wrote up a note asking for a reply in direct response to what I had learned, confronting them with my concerns on the 19th of February, 2019: This is how my message looked: This is the reply I received: Reading this reply, the troublesome lack of any ToS the artist would've had to abide by, became clear to see. I thanked them for the update and expected results to show up soon. Three days later, on February the 22nd, 2019, the artist finally delivered my finished commission, thanking me for my patience. Credit where credit is due, I was satisfied with the finished results, but they had arrived 3-4 months after I had paid my commission in full. My commission had arrived roughly one week before my PayPal refund (March the 3rd) opportunity would've been rendered forfeit; not a reassuring fact. Wanting to give them a second chance however, I inquired with them if they would be interested in taking on a second commission, granted that another uncertain 3-4 month waiting period was not to repeat itself, put in a polite of a manner as possible. Their response was simple, and sounded as follows... There was nothing extraordinary about my experience with them, and 3-4 month waiting period. If I wanted another commission, I should expect another 3-4 months of the exact same treatment, over again. ... I urge you to stay away from this artist at all costs, at the very least until they possess a ToS to prevent what happened to me, from happening to you.

I commissioned Poyu September 15th, 2016 for a NSFW YCH of my OC, Elizabeth. I paid $250 (AB price) instead of the highest bid of $80. http://www.furaffinity.net/view/21088105/ Poyu provided a Lightshot screen capture link as proof of receiving the money. In addition, she provided this link in a note towards me confirming the payment had gone through. On September 29th, 2016, Poyu had messaged me how she would be working on this YCH, among other commissions, that week and provided a Trello link for me to check for updates. https://trello.com/b/knQJ6GEr/belle-poyu-art Allegedly the lineart was complete, but there was no proof of that; no WIP provided in both the Trello or message to me. That was the last I ever had contact with Poyu. I attempted to contact her several times through Twitter DMs and stream whispers since that day. All of my attempts to contact her were ignored. As it turned out, she had quietly abandoned the furry community, a commission that had not been finished, and closed commissions indefinitely. Given how she completely disappeared I gave up at the time and did not know of Artists Beware. However, she made a sudden return to FurAffinity and very clearly forgotten about the commission. I addressed it to her: I gave her a full week for the refund, and she still has not replied whatsoever. It has been a full 7 days since then with nothing but radio silence. Had Poyu at the very least acknowledge the situation she is in and explained any issues she may have in her life that would otherwise prevent her from refunding me, I just might have been more lenient, but this is same exact behavior she had several years ago. While this artist has seemingly closed commissions indefinitely, that does not leave out the possibility of her reopening for whatever reasons she may have. In any case, this person is not to be trusted.

In November 2018, I contacted Cakepawss on Etsy about commissioning a large custom plush. They quickly responded and service was great, however after I paid and received the initial sketch, they never contacted me further. Roughly every two months I politely requested an update, and only received replies when I voiced feeling I might be scammed. They have not sent me any proof they even have the materials to make the plush I ordered, much less any intention of completing it. By July of 2019 I filed a complaint with Etsy and informed the artist, who quickly responded they would send proof soon. They did not send proof, and since then Etsy has refunded my purchase. Several months prior (sometime around March I believe?) their Etsy shop was shut down. They still continued to claim they were working on my order, however. Attached are some screencaps of their responses on Etsy, and the post they made on Twitter immediately after I contacted them. They did claim they had a lot going on in their life, which is why I was willing to work with them as long as I was. However they refused to even acknowledge any questions regarding when they would actually send proof, much less the complete work.

I commissioned this individual July 28, 2018. I had recieved one WIP image, and then nothing after that. No updates were given to me unless I asked, and I didn't message them often. It got to a point that they weren't responding, so I had to go and see if they had any other social media just to contact them. January 4th hit and I realized I was never going to recieve my artwork. So I asked for a refund, and they said it could take days to weeks. I said okay and left it be for literally months. I then messaged them recently. They read the message, and ignored it. So I called them out on it and they responded very rudely. They are extremely unprofessional, I do not recommend them. Please, do not commission this individual for artwork or even fursuits. You are not guaranteed to get what you payed them for, and I highly doubt they'll ever actually give me a refund.