Beware: Tortle/ Gatorbite

[tinypup.livejournal.com]

WHO: Tortle/ Jay/ Gatorbite

WHERE: http://tortle.tumblr.com/
https://www.furaffinity.net/user/gatorbite/
https://www.weasyl.com/~tortle

WHAT: Multiple commissions, including an art doll and a customized adoptable

WHEN: Art doll was purchased in May of 2013.

PROOF: Proof of payment for the art doll and adopt:
https://41.media.tumblr.com/5d2465c81301f52d9dee05dc058c5587/tumblr_nvjm8fRnfo1u6i3n1o7_r1_1280.png
https://41.media.tumblr.com/e903d972329aa3a623cf7929c0b31176/tumblr_nvjm8fRnfo1u6i3n1o9_r1_1280.png
There were other commissions that were not completed, but I don't remember exactly what they were or how much they cost.

EXPLAIN:

In May 2013, I commissioned Tortle for an art doll. Over the next 2 years I commissioned him for many more things, as well as buying adoptables he put up for sale. While I recieved most of these, the doll and a handful of other commissioned pieces were not completed.

In late 2014, Tortle became inactive on Tumblr and FA for several months, all the way up to May of this year. During this time, he would not respond to messages sent by myself or my partner. I have learned since that he did not respond to multiple other commissioners, either.

In May of this year, I checked his Tumblr after waiting for a couple months– only to discover that he had been active again for weeks– dispite the fact that he STILL hadn’t replied to the multiple messages my partner and I had sent him.

I sent Tortle a message asking for him to get in contact with me reguarding my commissions, which did not get any reply. However, my partner sent Tortle these two asks on Tumblr:
https://40.media.tumblr.com/22b485b4e20c76afd639f130133d8013/tumblr_nvjm8fRnfo1u6i3n1o3_1280.png
https://41.media.tumblr.com/617c1f179e4b603be035eabdee3b1a5e/tumblr_nvjm8fRnfo1u6i3n1o2_1280.png

Tortle's response:
https://40.media.tumblr.com/902f1208dc49364191ab6c9618a13937/tumblr_nvjm8fRnfo1u6i3n1o1_1280.png

This was the last and only message we’ve recieved from him since. He never got back to us to work anything out.

We sent him multiple other messages, as well as messaging his partner in an effort to get into any kind of contact with him, all of which recieved no response.

About a month ago, I was browsing the front page of FA when I saw an adoptable posted to a new account: gatorbite, which makes no reference to and does not link to his Tortle accounts. I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt and hoped that he was making money to pay people back, and that he would get to people eventually.

After a month or so of him posting adopts and commissions almost constantly, however, it became clear that this was not the case.

Frustrated with Tortle’s unresponsiveness, I decided to note him asking what he planned to do about what he owed me and when – only to find out that he had blocked me on his gatorbite account, despite the fact that I had not watched him, favourited his art or interacted at all with him on that account previously.
https://36.media.tumblr.com/e7a1f7e01b4d1df90dd7c11dd2d47db0/tumblr_nvjm8fRnfo1u6i3n1o5_r1_1280.png
https://40.media.tumblr.com/0ca6959ffcba7392358b4bd9f567e883/tumblr_nvjm8fRnfo1u6i3n1o4_r1_1280.png

This gives me the impression that Tortle created his Gatorbite account to avoid the people he previously owed art and money.

At this point, there doesn't seem to be anything I can do except post a beware. Tortle is not trustworthy and I strongly advise against commissioning him.

Edit: Fixed a date that I thought I had already fixed, sorry

Comments

[tylociraptor.livejournal.com]

I noticed many of his posts being reblogged on tumblr, selling this adopt or offering that commission... I couldn't help but wonder if that meant he'd actually caught up on his backlog and finished what work he owed.

But it is clear now that he is actively avoiding his responsibilities to his prior clients, and that is really, REALLY terrible!

The message on tumblr is ... really painful. It's sad that he had problems, but that isn't your fault, nor your problem. The fact that he considers a message from a customer trying to find out where he is "upsetting", and claims to have been putting it off because his "feelings were hurt"... that's very unprofessional, completely unacceptable.

Blocking you before even having contact is unreasonable, completely. He owes you money or work, he knows this, and at this point it could be considered outright theft.

Edit: Oh goodness, I overlooked the "I thought we were friends" quip at the end there. Guilt tripping you... for... his own absence and ignoring you? I... have no words.

[tinypup.livejournal.com]

To be fair, I still feel really bad about the stuff that he's had to deal with and go through. I understand what it's like to go through mental health stuff like that but like.... honestly? Finding out that he just blocked me after waiting /four months/ for another reply just tells me that he straight-up lied about all the "friendship" stuff. You don't go out of your way to ignore someone for nine months and then block them so they can't message you /just so you don't have to do their art/ if they're your friend.

[kayla-la.livejournal.com]

"I thought we were friends too"

He has a lot of nerve, trying to guilt you for wanting what you paid for. That line alone says a lot about his work ethic.

[anuvia.livejournal.com]

Just wanted to say thanks for posting this! I was very seriously considering commissioning them for one of the "teeth" icons but having read this, I'll be sure to steer clear!

[kamilamutt.livejournal.com]

Seconding Anuvia, I was looking forward getting a Teeth Icon as well, but no way I'm supporting that work ethic. Ignoring and blocking you is unaceptable.

[likeshine.livejournal.com]

People like this make me so mad. They ruin things for the rest of us who actually do the work and keep in touch with our patrons. OP, I hope you get your art, but the passive aggressive/guilt trip response you got on Tumblr makes me feel like blocking and running is all this artist is going to do. What a shame.

[bonesmirk.livejournal.com]

I love me some snarly and teeth, and I've been seeing their work popping up on FA and enjoying it. Thanks for posting this beware; like anuvia and kamilamutt I was planning on commissioning them, but after seeing the lack of communication and out-of-the-blue blocking? I can't support that.

[tinypup.livejournal.com]

His original "Tortle" FA had many shouts of the same nature, but, as you can see, he's deactivated it.

[gaturguts.livejournal.com]

Yikes, beware well warranted. Their Weasyl page is also filled with comments asking about missing art. And that pre-block is super sketchy. Yikes.
Damn shame, their stuff is really good.

I hope you get your art doll soon :(

[tinypup.livejournal.com]

At this point, and from what I've heard from other people, I strongly doubt that I'll get anything at all.

And yep!! His art is really good, and his style is super neat. If all this stuff hadn't happened (and if I wasn't blocked for whatever reason, ha ha) I'd probably still be getting more of it. :/

[cidal-fun.livejournal.com]

I think the "I thought we were friends" comment from your end was kind of guilt-trippy. Not saying that you're the bad guys in this, he's totally in the wrong, but saying "I thought we were friends" (even if you did think so or were friends) for a business transaction sounds inappropriate, like you're a pre-schooler who wants their friend to share a cookie.

I hope you have luck getting what your owed.

[tinypup.livejournal.com]

Well, the thing is , at the time it wasn't just business. We WERE friends, as far as I knew, so it was really hurtful to send half a dozen messages over MONTHS accross different platforms just to have none of them responded to, even for WEEKS after he had gotten back online. (remember, he replied to my partner-- he never actually replied to me.)

[kaiiju.livejournal.com]

I have at least two friends who Tortle owes stuff to, one of them also being an art doll, from around the same time frame.
Thanks for writing this up. I'm glad to see it's deterring business because until he clears everything up with his past commissioners, he doesn't really deserve more customers.

[underfaces.livejournal.com]

Im thinking of making an artist beware tumblr post to circulate around, Would you be okay with me linking this journal?

I'm just so mad cause I've been given the guilt trip stuff, they're incredibly unprofessional. I remember it hit a point where the only way I could get a reply was contacting their roomie.

[kayla-la.livejournal.com]

We have absolutely no way of stopping you from simply linking to posts. However, if it's simply an attack blog, we'd rather not be associated with it if possible.

Basically, please do not use us for any sort of harassment.

[underfaces.livejournal.com]

IT is not intended to be an attack blog at all, only a warning to others to be very careful when commissioning tortle because of their unreliability. But if youre worried about it being perceived as just an attack I'll leave this journal off.

They owe me over a hundred dollars and its been an incredibly stressful time for me and I dont want anyone to go through what I went through.

They're very active on tumblr and I see them taking on commissions all the time which makes me incredibly nervous seeing how much money they owe and how many people they've already ripped off in the past and still owe money to.

[gaturguts.livejournal.com]

Why not make your own A_B post on them instead of a tumblr post? Tumblr posts are very hard to moderate unlike A_B, so they tend to turn into attack posts, even if your intention was good :(

[clockmagic.livejournal.com]

Or make a post asking if anyone else has any any experience with the artist and bring up you came across this entry and wanted to know. Maybe encourage others to post -here- so there's a place people can look back and read into it more.

[hazama.livejournal.com]

I'm waiting on a refund myself, he claims he's refunding people starting with the oldest, so I should be refunded soon.
Or so he says. That was 16 days ago at the time of posting, so we'll see.

Beyond terrible that he blocked you on that new account. I do wonder if he's blocked other people that left shouts on his tortle FA account asking for their money back?

Utterly shameful.

[tinypup.livejournal.com]

Funny thing is, I never left a shout on his Tortle FA page. I didn't even note him there. So if he blocked someone who only messaged him privately about it, I honestly wouldnt be surprised if he blocked people posting public comments, too -- even if they were perfectly justified in doing so.

[figgetywinks.livejournal.com]

Where did he say this actually?
He owes me a refund too and I never saw that pop up...So I'd be curious to see it! I'm sorry so many people have been scammed by him, I've been waiting about 2 years and he's been ignoring me for most of last year/all of this year. I'm working on my own A_B post now for him.

[hazama.livejournal.com]

It was in a note. I noted his new account asking to be refunded. He's probably only refunding people that are asking him

[figgetywinks.livejournal.com]

Ah I see, I actually noted the new account and while it was clearly read, it was totally ignored, I'm at least glad he's replying to some people >o< Gives me a bit of hope.

[hazama.livejournal.com]

Well for me he took two days before replying.... personally I'd keep trying? Don't let him get away with stealing from you, in my opinion

[tylociraptor.livejournal.com]

.... Wow. Considering he's blocking clients before they can even speak to him, that's even WORSE...

[blot.livejournal.com]

Damn, I had wanted one of those teeth icons too. Ugh. Here's hoping someone opens something similar.

[jackryan999.livejournal.com]

Thx for the heads up, was planning to commissions this artist but hearing this story, won`t be doing it.

That people treat their costumers so badly.

[sapphistscot.livejournal.com]

Yikes, this is awful behaviour. Preemptively blocking people they owe refunds/work to on their new account is terrible, it really does look like they've made the new account to avoid all their previous commissioners so they don't have to refund them.

[bearprince.livejournal.com]

It's completely understandable that mental illness and personal distress can interfere with work, and someone shouldn't be punished for circumstances beyond their control -- but using that as an excuse to keep commissioners waiting with no explanation & to act as if they don't still have to behave professionally is SUCH a pet peeve of mine. Beware very much noted, thank you.

[thekingtheory.livejournal.com]

Oof, I've been following him for about 2 years and I never knew about any of this. Thank you for coming forward! Definitely taking him off my mental "to commission eventually" list.

[fastbreak333.livejournal.com]

Woof. This guy is definitely avoiding his workload because he couldn't handle the pressure. If he thinks he can try to gain a clean slate now, he's sadly mistaken.

Beware very well warranted.

[teekchan.livejournal.com]

I was going to buy from them, but their attitude had me unwatch them so fast. Seeing this makes me so glad I never bought from them.

Heartbroken

[mewsicklemels.livejournal.com]

I've been waiting for a while to be in a good financial spot to purchase artwork or a design from him, but this...

Depression is not an excuse to take money from people and then act unprofessionally about it and not give them their work / refunds or even just flat out refuse to talk to them.
This type of behavior really hurts others; and it makes people with depression look flaky / untrustworthy. I guess that's what hurts me the most seeing this post.

I've spoken to him a few times before and always had a good interaction, but after seeing this and struggling for days looking at his artwork and realizing the bad feeling it's been giving me isn't going away I had to unwatch him and I won't be commissioning him in the future.

[myfibutt.livejournal.com]

Paid for two commissions on March 21st of 2014, kept being told 'it'll be done in the next week' for several months, tortle fell off the face of the earth for several months and attempts to contact them even through their partner went unheeded. Eventually they came back online, and they respond to all of my messages, if with a delay, but despite always responding consistently saying that they're working on refunding people starting from oldest/most owed, it's been being said long enough that I have to wonder exactly how many people have been waiting for multiple years for art or dolls, if I and others haven't been gotten to yet.

I have always done my very best to be kind and cordial with them and I haven't been blocked anywhere. When they had come back from their break, they told me that they would never be taking commissions again.

[xandrium.livejournal.com]

I'm in the same boat unfortunately :/ I bought a doll and two lineart images and nothing is done. I don't know what to do about it. Every attempt to contact him has failed and I'm pissed about it. I bought the art doll as a birthday present to me. My 21st, and I'll be 23 this year :/

I understood all the moving drama they went through and shit but goddamn.

[maxwell edison (from livejournal.com)]

I'm really sad to have to add on to this journal, but I feel it's my duty to.
I purchased a custom fall-themed design from Gatorbite...late October/November 2015, I usually very busy, so I don't mind that it's taking a while, but then I start to think. Hey, it's almost May. 8 months is wayyyyy too long for a design like this.

I messaged him and got a response within 24 hours, apparently I'm getting a refund. It would have been nice to get a message about him cancelling the fall themed designs earlier, that would have been the professional thing to do. it seemed like he was content to sit on my money with nothing in return--until I asked. Especially since there was no indication of distress or delay in his journals, and he was putting out art and accepting commissions--I even bought slots to make my own of his closed species.

I kind of hoped another transaction with me would 'jog his memory' or something, to give me an update into how my other purchase was going. No such luck.

I haven't been refunded yet, but hopefully I will be. He said he would have to wait until the profits came in from a batch of designs. So I am very apprehensive, especially after reading through here and seeing I'm lucky to have not been blocked!

I'm not going to be purchasing art from him again, or recommending him with good conscience. Which is a crying shame, because his art is super cool.

[xandrium.livejournal.com]

I went to check his tumblr and he has it locked down now.

[kayla-la.livejournal.com]

I'm going to screen this as it seems to be mostly personal.

art owed

[laika (from livejournal.com)]

Gatorbite has actually owed me art or else a refund for about two or three years now. I've been patient and accommodating this entire time, but now I wish I had been more pushy. He doesn't honor his deals, I would stay away from this artist if you actually want what you paid for sometime in this century.