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

[laughsatthunder.livejournal.com]

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.

Comments

[bladespark.livejournal.com]

"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.)

[laughsatthunder.livejournal.com]

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... :/

MOD COMMENT

[kayla-la.livejournal.com]

That's going to depend. Generally, if there's enough proof to prove a transaction did indeed happen, and you have proof of your more substantial claims, it'll go through. But we won't just accept a pure text post going 'This person did a thing', you know? We do need something.

So it's case by case basis. We won't know until we see the post itself. Posts have to be manually approved so feel free to write one up (though it might be better to wait to see if he does pay you, but that's up to you), and if there are problems, you'll receive a rejection notice to the email you have your LJ account attached to.

(Also, as an aside, in regards to your first comment, please don't edit your posts to remove information!)

Re: MOD COMMENT

[laughsatthunder.livejournal.com]

Didn't plan on removing, just changing the words from "nice" to "not-so-nice". I hate iPads.

So to make sure it goes through, put up PayPal shots and messaging shots? Especially the ones of him saying he can't pay.

Re: MOD COMMENT

[celestinaketzia.livejournal.com]

Correct. Also please don't forget proper censors. All instances of his real life name and Paypal email must be censored.

Re: MOD COMMENT

[laughsatthunder.livejournal.com]

Full name or just his middle and last name? Because he goes by his first name online occasionally.