artists_beware | Advice: Rushed commission with little-to-no payment?

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Advice: Rushed commission with little-to-no payment?

Hello, I've felt conflicted about this situation for months now and really need help.

Around December 2013 I opened up for commissions and my client asked for a fursuit partial done in time for AnthroCon. Although I don't take deadlines, I told him I would still be able to get it done in time for then.
The partial (head, feet, tail and paws) is completed a month before the con, but only because he asked every few days for WIPS and info on the suit. This was his second commission from me and unlike the first, he rushed me along. That did not effect the quality.

My problem is that I told him I would not start until I received most/all payment and he told me he NEEDED the suit done in time for the con. He had a job and then lost it right before the AnthroCon; he still went and took the suit with him.

It's now December 2014 and he's only paid $167, the last payment being in May. He just got a job recently and I asked him in October about payment, when he saw my message and never replied.

What can I do at this point? I feel cheated and incredibly awkward being in this new situation. I don't know how to ask him to finish paying for the suit, or even if I should post about him to here. He's a local and very nice, I'm afraid of being given a bad rep if I mess up with communication.

Thanks.

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If I'm understanding this correctly, he is currently in possession of the suit? If he took it to Anthrocon, he's had it since July, correct? That's really not ok. It was very nice of you to allow him to wear the suit for the event he wanted it for, but unless he pays for it, he shouldn't get to keep it.

If he's not able to pay for it, or come up with a payment plan that is acceptable to you both, I'd recommend telling him that you're going to need the suit back until he meets the owed balance. You can tell him that you'll hold it for him for a certain amount of time, or that you won't resell it at all. (Given the amount of time that it's been in his possession, allowing for wear/tear/odors ect., it might not be re-sellable anyway.)

It really sucks that you have to worry about taking a reputation hit for his bad behavior. If anything ever does come out that reflect negatively on you, I think a firm, concise and professional response is the best way to go. Don't over-explain, don't bring in personal feelings, and just be calm about the whole thing. "XYZ hadn't paid for the suit I made for him. I let him wear it to the event he wanted it for, but I still need to be paid for it."

Edit: I really feel like he's taken major advantage of you. I don't think you should do a beware just yet, since you are local and want to resolve this as smoothly as possible. However, if he keeps ignoring your notes and dodging payment, you really should consider making one.

Edited 2014-12-10 23:03 (UTC)

That's correct, he's currently in possession.

I posted this earlier and have IMed him asking if he's going to pay or not. I feel that, if he says no a third time, I'm going to just write him up on here.

I don't even know why I did it in the first place, it's against my TOS. I think him bossing me about the deadline got to me.

Who cares if he is nice?
If you're owed payment, you're owed payment. He has the end product and you're lacking compensation for your time, materials, and efforts to comply with his rushed deadlines.

If he has the suit, he needs to pay for it.
If he doesn't want to pay for, he needs to return it.

Don't let yourself be walked over. You are owed for your time and your work. He's not so "nice" if he is not paying you for services and product.

I'd make a beware on him regardless of how this comes out as due to his flaky communication and how he's not forthcoming with payment he obviously owes.

Let him have a final deadline for payment (keep records!). Give him the options, and if he refuses, since he's local, you're open to more options -- including small claims if push comes to shove.

I agree with Signy. I get the feeling he's taking advantage of you. Don't tolerate it.

Edited 2014-12-10 23:07 (UTC)

If I put that he was "nice" in there, I take it back. His boyfriend made fun of me infront of him at a con recently while I was having an anxiety attack, was not the best experience.

I'm definitely not letting myself get walked on anymore. 6 months is way too much.

As much as I'd love to write against him, I'm not even sure if I can find the old logs of our conversations from when he first commissioned me and when he gave me payments last. I know it was before AC because he didn't do jack until I asked, and then he would say "Well it's hard right now."

You made a big mistake.

Never ever eververver give someone the final product unless it's been paid for in full. I can't even begin to guess how many times I've seen this exact situation arise.

I'd be willing to bet you will never see the money owed, unless you take some serious action. And even then there's a chance you'll get nothing.

Post about him here. And pretty much everywhere else you can think of. Since he's local, name and shame him to any others in the area. How much money are we talking here? If it's worth the hassle, you may be able to take him to small claims court to force him to pay, as well. Either way, take action.

Wait - are you saying that you've asked for payment and he's outright said no to it? Twice?

That's beyond taking advantage of. That's outright stealing from you.

Because he lost his job.

Then, y'know, went on some trips and went to a con.

It's in my TOS, I still can't get over how I decided it was okay to just give it to him but when you're pressured and anxious, you can't say no. He has a better rep with the locals (from my view) than myself so I risked being put down.

I'd love to put him up on here but again, I'm not sure if I can collect old logs or how far back PayPal can go to find the payments he made.

I definitely understand the anxiety angle and feeling pressured. It's a real shame he managed to do that to you. If he doesn't agree to a payment plan, maybe look into small claims court? It sounds like he's under the impression that he doesn't have to pay up now that the suit is in his possession, and you may have to take it back by force.

Good luck, and I hope something good manages to come out of it all. A crappy situation all around. :c

Would it be possible to find his e-mail on PayPal (since the first payment) and get an invoice or escalated issue up for him not paying?

"He's a local and very nice"

No he's not. He's taking advantage of you, that is not nice at all. Nice people pay promptly, or if they can't pay, they don't accept goods they haven't paid for. If he really did lose he job and can't afford it, the right thing to do is to let you find another buyer to recoup your losses, not to con you out of your hard work.

I suggest firmly stating that you're very sorry, but you do need to be paid, and he needs to set up a payment schedule and stick to it with no excuses, or there will be consequences. (I also suggest asking the community mods about posting here even without full logs. So long as you have any evidence of some kind, you shouldn't need complete records of everything.)

I was rushing and using an iPad, I wonder if I can go back and take it out. Definitely not what I meant to put, especially if you put it together with "he rushed me along".

I sent him a message on Facebook 2 hours ago, still waiting for him to see it.

Is it really possible to post without full logs? I just feel so bad doing it but at the same time, NO ONE needs to go through this. He does commissions in a prompt manner but can't pay for a fursuit... :/

if he lost his job then the con and trips really should be on the bottom of a to-do list :/ Or apologize and let you keep the partial for re-sale at the least.

How was the original payment plan? I only ask because if he was paying in steps then you could hold him accountable at (x'step will be done when y'ammount of payment is done).

Here's the message he just sent me:

I just started my job. I'm working on paying the rest off once important outstanding bills are taken care of first. You should have it by the end of the year or the beginning

If he does not respond on FB, or to an AB and is willing to work with you on making a payment plan and sticking with it - then I really would suggest taking it to small claims. Even the threat of that (and going there if he refuses), is often enough to make people realize how serious what they are doing is. it is theft - he have something in his possession that does not belong to him.

Personally I would have named and shamed them to the heavens - but I know that is not for everyone. You are still owed something though, and if you are professional, calm and firm with your demands then I don't think any logical person will think badly of you for it.

well that does at least sound promising :)
I still find the behavior really rude though, and would not want to work with them in the future - but it is ofcourse your decision if you want to make a full beware or not :)

Also apologies if I come off as a bit strong, it just infuriates me so much when people run over other people's good intentions, and have been burned so many times on the same mistake (luckily only for digital art).

I posted what he said in a response above, I just don't know how to reply. I want my money, but not in 2 weeks. Right now. He's had several months!

I'd love to name and shame as much as I can, but I'd feel a bit bad. In the end, he's had several months...

You can find logs as old as you have had your paypal.

For future reference - don't ever feel guilty if someone tries to play the "I HAVE to have it in time for this convention and I won't have the money until after!" card. It is clearly in your TOS, and even if it wasn't, it's outrageous to expect someone to ship something before it's been completely paid for. No online retailer ships anything until they have been paid, and you should be no exception.

You would not be a bad seller for putting your foot down and saying, "I'm sorry, but I cannot ship the suit out until it has been paid in full." It will not damage your reputation, because if he were to publicly complain that you refused to ship before his deadline (when he didn't pay in full), no one with half a brain would take his side. If he gets mad at you for refusing to ship before cash is in hand, then he's the unreasonable one, not you.

That said, there's not much that can be done now :( If he has the suit, there's not much you can do to get your money back, aside from hoping he does the right thing and pays. If it becomes obvious he's not going to pay the balance, I'd recommend making another Beware entry warning others about him by name, because that would be outright stealing.

I'm hoping he keeps his promise. Ugh.

Yeah, there's NO way I'm working with him again in the future. Should I still write up against him?

Awesome.

Also, you're local; Should I PM you about this individual?

Definitely! I had someone commission me with no deadline, then made me rush and wrote (to me a bad) fursuit critique against me because they pressured me into everything about the suit, then didn't tell me the mistakes. No more deadlines, ever.

Yes please so I know who to avoid at all costs.

I'd recommend it. Even if he eventually pays, there's been a ton of inexcusable red flags as a whole from start to end.

"...but I'd feel a bit bad."

Stop that. Do not feel bad for sticking up for yourself and deserving what you worked for.

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