artist-crystal-for-ever

[hetzergsd.livejournal.com]

WHO: Crystal-for-ever

WHERE: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/crystal-for-ever/

WHAT: Wing It Commission -Two Character Adult Piece-

WHEN: Commissioned and Paid May 10th 2013. Final contact April 18th 2014, Unresolved.

PROOF: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/klb764ym9hk0299/Artists%20Beware%20Log.png

EXPLAIN: Note Logs explain it all, but, commissioned her, waited over a year for the piece, communication was shoddy at best, wouldn't refund, gives no ETA, defends the wait by saying she's waited 2 years for art before. From what little I can see before she deletes the comments, this isn't new for her.

Current Mood:Frustrated

EDIT: Sep. 29th 2014 Update: Was talking with the artist, still won't refund but is offering to make the wait up to me by doing the piece she was paid to do. Oh, and a sketch. I've included the full conversation below. The TLDR is she asked me to take this post down and offered to finish the piece she never started... after I give her the info again, I told her I'm not interested in trying to get the art out of her anymore, after over a year, I just want my refund. Excuses follow, she really wants to settle the dispute art wise and offered to do a little extra in a sketch as her way of fixing this.

PROOF: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/pw21jzcahg3m19k/Update%20Log.png

EDIT: Sep. 29th 2014 Update: I listened to what she had to say, I told her I want my refund. Full log right there. It's similar to talking to a brick wall. I don't think this will get resolved.

PROOF: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/h8yjxwfqivhl3d3/Second%20Update%20Log.png

EDIT: Sep. 29th 2014 Update: Issue resolved. She has issued my full refund.

Comments

[sacch.livejournal.com]

I've been sitting on this for a while and something about this is bothering me.

In the last note in the exchange here (https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/h8yjxwfqivhl3d3/Second%20Update%20Log.png) (very bottom note, bottom sentence), you threatened to report Crystal to Paypal for adult works for breaking their TOS, and therefore shutting her account down.

I don't think this is okay. At all. I get that she was holding money from you and was refusing a refund, but that's crossing over the line- you're messing with their livelihood and getting into their personal life; and unless they're obviously using Paypal to steal and commit fraud (Pirate-Cashoo, Starfinder, etc) then even threatening to report her to Paypal is beyond unnecessary in my opinion. Just because of that, I'm honestly afraid to do business with you, lest you do that out of spite for whatever reason.

Paypal is the ONLY way some full-time artists can get their income (given the majority of commissioners use it), and it's the most popular payment platform out there. If you freeze their Paypal, there goes that job. There goes their income. I don't even think Crystal-For-Ever, crappy service or not, was deserving of that. Yeah, you wanted your refund, but you could have threatened to just call Paypal and see if you could open a dispute. I bet that would have been enough.

We have no idea how long her actual backlog is, and until we know for sure, how do we know if she's really using her Paypal account to scam and hold money from a mass amount of people? I'm not defending her actions in the slightest, holding your money was wrong and unprofessional and her other beware posted also shed some bad light.

However, you bought the artwork, from a seller with "obscene" products, therefore you were also using paypal for "obscene" content. Wouldn't that get YOU suspended as well?

[hetzergsd.livejournal.com]

Few things there,
1. I think I would get suspended too, not all too clear on the purchasing thing.
2. It was a bluff, sometimes you have to get tough with thieves to get them to make the right choice.
3. I consider Crystal-for-ever a thief and a fraud and I would fully support her suspension as an artist if that was a possible penalty. I completely support actual artists and the trade they have taken up, and I know Paypal is the easiest most reliable way to collect payment for their work, without it, it may stifle their income considerably and cause undue difficulties in life by having their collection method revoked.

But the number of 'artists' simply using and abusing sites like FA and services like Paypal is increasing dramatically and something has to be done about it. There's a name for these people, scammers. And in my opinion, someone who will pump our a dozen pieces of personal art for every commission produced wile continuing to accept payments for new commissions is a scammer.

Yes she produces some work for clients, and no, we don't know exactly how many people who never received anything for their payment, but we do know that it should not be happening. Period. The new poster commissioned her in April of this year and received his work in September, I think that's sufficient proof for many that she simply picks and chooses what she does and does not want to work on. And again, in my own personal opinion, that's thievery. And thieves deserve punishment. Simple as that.

Even if I wasn't bluffing about reporting her to Paypal, the whole situation wouldn't have even arisen if she had simply done her job or adhered to her obligations. And you know, I think if it took my Paypal suspension to prevent her from doing this to others, I'd do it. I can afford to cut losses on art, I've lost several thousand dollars in art over the past 3 years, and I can manage, angrily, but I can.

But how about the person who saves for a single commission, just to have lost their money? That's why I did this. And that's why I think more people should stand up for their consumer rights. I don't mean to sound all self righteous, but accountability has to be brought back to this industry, or else we're going to see a lot more cases like this and other start popping up.