Rubbertex Raccoon

[maximus-ursus.livejournal.com]

WHO: RubbertexRaccoon

WHERE: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/rubbertexraccoon

WHAT: 3-page comic ($120). An inflatable suit and a matching inflatable toy ($2400 for both to be paid in three installments: $800 down to pay for materials, $800 on completion of prototype, $800 on delivery - $1,600 paid to date.)

WHEN: Comic commissioned March 2013, the inflatable suit and toy commissioned in April, 2013.

PROOF:

Journal showing comic pages paid:
http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/4396795/

Original Agreement for the inflatable suit and toy:
https://dl.dropbox.com/s/07imdps245l9xw2/Original%20Agreement%20PM.jpg?dl=0

Project delivery date showing target date of Midwest Furfest 2013:
https://dl.dropbox.com/s/dpe9cpb507dp24a/Project%20Delivery%20Date%20PM.jpg?dl=0

First payment made on April 15, after timeline agreed upon for MFF. Second payment made in 2013 after initial concept sketch was finished:
https://dl.dropbox.com/s/wjbr3sh4acsepl1/Payment%20proof%20email.jpg?dl=0

EXPLAIN:

I commissioned Rubbertex Raccoon for art, an inflatable Maximus Ursus muscle bear suit and a matching life-size inflatable muscle bear toy, all in 2013. All of the products were to be completed in 2013, but the only thing I have received thus far is the pencil drawing concept sketch of the suit. Rubbertex said in a PM he received the materials to build my suit and toy, but I have seen no evidence to support the claim. He said he would mail a swatch of the latex for my approval of the thickness and color, but that never happened.
https://dl.dropbox.com/s/cxg2bza1fbjrsnf/Swatches%2012-2013.jpg?dl=0

He mentioned in later updates he is finished with the foam body so I could approve the size and shape of the muscles, but no photos were ever sent. He has also mentioned numerous times that his emails are often undelivered as spam because of the “rubber” part of his name, but I’ve never had any problems receiving emails from anyone. He has told this to numerous commissioners, including my mate, TonkaWolf, to whom he also owes an inflatable suit.
https://dl.dropbox.com/s/ha54nx05dehqvag/Email%20issues%2006-2014.png?dl=0


Here is the update from May 19, 2013 talking about receiving the materials:
https://dl.dropbox.com/s/yr1rnswlgwi9shj/05-2013%20Update.jpg?dl=0

And an update in February 2014 saying he is waiting for tools to arrive to finish the foam dummy for approval, as well as not yet having done the comic:
https://dl.dropbox.com/s/3na64moglubvrlz/02-2014%20Update.jpg?dl=0

An update in May 2014 saying he is still struggling with completing projects and is having financial issues (none of which should have affected my commissions, since the materials were supposedly already purchased a year ago).
https://dl.dropbox.com/s/ddqugvunlbr1m87/05-2014%20Update.jpg?dl=0

After several PMs and emails later, I told Rubbertex that although I would be disappointed with not getting the suit and toy, I would accept a refund of the $1,600 paid if the projects were not completed by December 31, 2014. I can’t find any documentation where we talked about the drop dead date, so it might have been via texts or something. I have had it posted on my FA profile since October 2014:
https://dl.dropbox.com/s/cgea1f13qu72wqs/FA%20Profile.jpg?dl=0

It is now March 8, 2015 and the projects still are not completed. Neither have the comic pages been completed, although Rubbertex has been doing LiveStreams fairly regularly since January, taking on all new work and completing that during the streams or shortly thereafter.

Rubbertex is now avoiding the problem by not reading PMs on FA, such as this one I sent 10 days ago (02-27) asking for an update on the refunds for Tonka and me:
https://dl.dropbox.com/s/mu2ybdt3pa6upnq/Unanswered%20PM%2003-08-2015.jpg?dl=0

Even though he is still doing sketching live streams (this one is from 03-07):
https://dl.dropbox.com/s/feg8woe1ww0pe10/Sketch%20Stream%2003-07-2015.jpg?dl=0

He is also looking at FA as he responded to one of Oz Kangaroo’s journals on 03-01.
https://dl.dropbox.com/s/xnppxkrjoe7yjed/Rubbertex%20journal%20post%2003-01-2015.jpg?dl=0

I know Rubbertex is under a lot of stress and pressure and I honestly just want a refund of all of the money I’ve paid to this point: $1720. I would love to still get the items, but as far as I know, there are still at least 6 suits and toys in the queue before mine, so I don’t think it’s realistic that my projects will ever be done.

*****UPDATE: 07-15-2015*****

I received a PM from Rubbertex on FA, apologizing for not having the work done and saying he will give me a refund "within a reasonable time frame". I replied to him that I would still rather have the suit and toy, since he says "I'm taking a huge financial hit on the materials and labor", but I have not yet seen any evidence that the materials have even been purchased. I have tried to help him over the past few years to get his life and diet in order to reduce his anxiety, but it is up to him to change. our exchange is here:

https://dl.dropbox.com/s/i2t648eszcs6ath/Rubbertex%20Refund%20PM%20on%20FA%2007-11-2015.jpg?dl=0

The suit/toy building queue I mention is here:

https://dl.dropbox.com/s/r6v2umlhnmd2slb/Rubbertex%20queue.png?dl=0

Comments

MOD COMMENT

[kayla-la.livejournal.com]

Hi! We've approved this but could you please go through and alter your dropbox links to change the www. at the beginning to dl.? This will allow people to access the original sizes so they can read them.

Re: MOD COMMENT

[maximus-ursus.livejournal.com]

Ah - sorry about that. I didn't realize the images would be so small. First time using Dropbox and set up the account just so I could file this complaint and hopefully get a resolution of some kind.

[brownspotz.livejournal.com]

well this certainly sucks.

[maximus-ursus.livejournal.com]

Do you have work owed to you as well?

[zippiner.livejournal.com]

When I commissioned Rubbertex (back in 2009-2010?) I ended up with similar list of problems. A long queue, saying work was completed and needed reviews but never receiving pictures, or just out right being ignored for months at a time when asking to be updated,

In the end I ended up threatening legal action if I did not receive updates, and suddenly my commissions was done within a week. (Which, without getting into it, was inferior but I was glad for it to just be finished.)
I've let the entire situation go at this point, it happened, but It's worth posting my personal experience here.


I wish you best of luck with getting a hold of him, threatening action really seems to be the only motivation he responds to with overdue work. I hope this journal gets you a refund.

[rangethebeagle.livejournal.com]

I'm in a similar position and have been putting off an A_B post of my own for a while because I'm far too patient/nice for my own good. Maximus has actually contacted me prior to this when asking about things like the lack of updates, the "missing" emails, missed deadlines, and cop out excuses.

My story with him is mostly the same, a lot of "It's almost done" followed up with a poor excuse about why it isn't actually done, repeatedly for almost two and a half years now. The main reason I haven't made one myself was because after telling him after FC that I wanted a refund, and due to the payments having been made so far after Paypal's Buyer Protection window (which I was also told to send the payments as "friends and family" and was naive enough to believe him and do so) that the only way for me to do so would be to go through the Internet Crime Complaint Center if he didn't cooperate, which even then he only offered to refund me 2/3s of what I had paid because 1/3 was already spent on materials. The only reason I had backed off was because after threatening to get the IC3 involved he finally gave me an update that had actual photos of progress on the suit, but that was back at the end of January and I haven't heard anything from him since, despite him saying that all that was needed to complete it was getting the correct color (an excuse he has used already in the past) and to sew it in with the rest of the fur that he made sound like was already cut out and ready to go. That's all a matter for when/if I end up doing my own A_B post for him though.

[norsepaw.livejournal.com]

I think you should put up a beware. Barely any update in almost 3 years is not good.

[rangethebeagle.livejournal.com]

I have gotten updates, usually when they were following things like saying I've been getting told to make a post here or that I should demand a refund, but they're the same type as Maximus has gotten, excuses and false promises.

[zippiner.livejournal.com]

I would put up a beware if I still had my notes on the subject / emails. (As they are from 4-5 years ago, FA lost them. I might have a few of the Emails but not enough for firm proof.)

I would recommend you put one up just to warn people who are looking to commission him in the future about just how long his products take to complete.
If not also let others know that this is a problem for everyone, and not just them.

[maximus-ursus.livejournal.com]

As much as I didn't want to post him to A-B, I had to create this warning for just that reason. Many of us rubber/inflatable furs talk to each other and are good friends, so pretty much everyone knows Rubbertex is extremely slow at getting out commissions. But, those who are new to the fandom or new to him as an artist probably would get the impression from his live streams that he takes on new commissions and finishes them quickly, not knowing the mountainous backlog he seriously needs to address.

[maximus-ursus.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the validation, Range. I know a lot of us in the rubber/inflatable fur community have all heard the same excuses from Rubbertex, so unfortunately it's time to come together and confront him on getting his work done. He still hasn't read my PM on FA from 19 days asking for an update, but he was live streaming sketching two nights ago and numerous times over the weekend.

[norsepaw.livejournal.com]

He seems to be active on FA as he have posted a new journal.

[maximus-ursus.livejournal.com]

He has been active on-line, including more sketching live streams practically daily. I haven't logged on to one of his streams to watch what he is working on, since I have a full-time job on top of owning my own business and helping my mate start his own business, but hopefully one of these nights I will catch him streaming to see his new work.

[norsepaw.livejournal.com]

Not sure if you seen this but he have posted a new journal; http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/6577578/

Hope you will get your refund back soon.

[maximus-ursus.livejournal.com]

Yeah, he makes a lot of journals like that. I understand he has health and anxiety issues, but if I ran my business like he is doing, I would end up in court. He has contractual obligations to finish the tens of thousands of dollars of work he has taken on and has already been paid. He does great work, but he doesn't stay focused. I've never met him in person, but I have a lot of friends who have and say he is a really nice guy. I love his art and would love to see him be wildly successful, but they way he runs his business he is constantly sabotaging himself. I very much still want the art and two inflatable projects from him, but I'm not willing to wait any longer for them.