I need some advice

[aerotheacrobat.livejournal.com]

I need a bit of advice. I'm not going to name the buyer, but I'm in a bit of a situation with him. I took on some quick commissions from a few people, and this person bought one. They were at a discount from what I normally charge, so I would not show previews. I've done this many times before without an issue.

I got a commission from this person and did it to his specifications. I used a reference he gave me and got a few details from him on the character and drew the pose he said he wanted. I finished and posted it to him. A few hours later, I get a very long note about everything that was wrong with the picture. I didn't know what to do, I've never had a customer dislike my pic I did for them. I offered a partial refund.

The next day, he got back to me, saying he didn't want a refund, he wanted the picture reworked. Making the character younger and changing the ears. The ears would be easy, but changing the age meant redoing the whole thing. He then told me the reference he gave me had the ears wrong. I really wish he told me that in the beginning…

After talking to some friends, I decided to issue him a full refund. I got his paypal address, because I had several send to me without names and forgot who he was, and soon as I did, I sent him his refund and said I was sorry he was unhappy and I thought a refund was best for us both. I asked he not repost the image, but he can keep it on his computer for personal use and thought that was that.

He then noted me, saying he wanted to give the money back and I can tweak it, no time limit on doing so. I put my foot down and told him I did not want to work with him anymore. I just personally felt I couldn't make him happy and just wanted to part ways.

Well, here's my problem. He sent me the money again… Even after I said I do not wish to work with him. Now he says he'll take the pic as is. I would be fine with that, just that I worry that he's going to try and force a charge back if I don't later agree to change it. I can't figure out how to tell if he sent it under personal or not, and the paypal he sends from says "Unverified" So I find that troubling. Should I send it back to him again and put in the paypal note "Do not send me this again" or just take the pay since I did his image to begin with and hope he doesn't charge back?


Edit: I've decides to keep the payment for now, and keep his portion in the account till the 45 day mark as suggested. If he does a charge back after accepting the art, I'll post him by name here. I screen capped all the notes just in case. Thanks everyone for the advice!

Comments

[kayla-la.livejournal.com]

I would save a copy of him saying he was fine with it and keep the payment, and if he tried to dispute it later, I'd have evidence of him saying that. And I'd also post him to AB for trying to scam me like that after. I don't think you can block people on paypal and you DID do the work, so you deserve payment. It's his responsibility to give you accurate references.

[jakejynx.livejournal.com]

He gave you the money back, and said he would keep the image as-is. You want to refund him. So what difference does it make if he does wind up doing a charge back? You either refund him and you're out the money, or he does a charge back and you're out the money.

I'd assume that with the fact that he's insisting that you be paid that he's just going to let you be paid. I doubt he'll do a charge back.

[aerotheacrobat.livejournal.com]

I'm more worried about the mark it can put on my paypal or problems that could arise if he did a charge back like freezing, double charges, or putting my account on hold or limited for a while, not the money.

[taasla.livejournal.com]

Well, when a chargeback goes through the OP will lose the funds minus the charge back fee, which apparently is $20.

[aerotheacrobat.livejournal.com]

Yes, this is exactly one of my big worries.

[squirrelly-kaku.livejournal.com]

Since you're already wanting to refund him to begin with, but now he wants to keep the image as is and pay you for it, I don't think there's any difference if he would charge back in the future or not.

You said these commissions you did were cheap, right? If you're worried about him doing a charge back and you not having money to cover it, then just keep his payment in your paypal for the 45 day dispute, and don't touch it for that time, so if something does happen you're covered.

Also as Kayla_la said, keep the evidence handy just in case.

[aerotheacrobat.livejournal.com]

It's more the issues that can arise from a charge back that I'm worried about, not the money itself.

[squirrelly-kaku.livejournal.com]

I think as long as you keep evidence of that he bought the art from you and said it was ok, any disputes that arise can be worked out, so I wouldn't worry too much about it.

Still, I hope things don't go down that way for you. :)

[otherscape.livejournal.com]

I don't think he's trying to scam you since he sent the money back, but I'd still post his name since he seems rather fickle, which is a fair warning to artists.

As for you situation, I'd say give the money back again and tell him firmly just to keep it. You don't want this hanging over your head, especially if you're worried about the charge back.

[wolf78.livejournal.com]

Lil' Shock? That you?

[aerotheacrobat.livejournal.com]

Yes, even I need advice sometimes XD

[wolf78.livejournal.com]

Nothing wrong with that! I wanted to add you to my friends' list but your journal won't let me :(

[tornaderman.livejournal.com]

Why didn't he send an accurate reference or at least note that the details were a bit off? Weird.
anyway, this is a strange situation and I hope it works out in the end. I won't give advice since the comments here is what i'd have suggested most likely too.

[badkittyamy.livejournal.com]

People do this ALL the time, send one reference or a bunch of different images you're supposed to get pieces of this and that from. And then heaven forbid if you didn't get right the one thing from the 5 drawings they sent you.

[tornaderman.livejournal.com]

blehh, I hate stuff like that. Keep it to one ref, or at least point out details that may be off instead of making people guess. Or just deal with the fact that people draw in different styles so it might be a little different~

[sharpecostumes.livejournal.com]

This is all sounding oddly familiar, kind of like a customer I dealt with. You, as the artist, hold the right to refuse any commission. Someone cannot force you to work for them. Have you tried calling Paypal themselves? I usually go through the automated stuff till it kicks me over to a service rep. See if they can black his account from yours perhaps if you do not wish to continue this back and forth business?

[aerotheacrobat.livejournal.com]

That's the thing, I already did the work and he was unhappy. I'm not going to be working with him again because of all this confusing mess.

[sharpecostumes.livejournal.com]

*nods* it wouldn't happen to be the same guy as from here would it?

tp://artists-beware.livejournal.com/467303.html#comments

I hope all that gets sorted and over with soon.

[ljmydayaway.livejournal.com]

Sounds like you did the right thing. He quite possibly was just looking to get more art out of you. :/ I'm assuming you state up-front that there's no previews of the art.

Honestly, I hate when people do the whole, "Uhmm, the ears are wrong? Oh I forgot to mention that the ears are different than the refs," thing. Depending on how polite they are, I either tell them I did it based on the ref and that's that, or I'll change it closer to what they wanted, but it's a pain either way.

[thetiedtigress.livejournal.com]

First and foremost : it is THEIR responsibility to give you the correct info and note any changes in reference pictures BEFORE work begins. Point against them. That should have been end of story, since it was their mistake, and you finished the work with the info they gave you.

But since the situation continued : they paid you a set price for a set amount of work. Major rework means more time, which at any job means more must be paid to compensate. As it is now, take the money as payment for what you did do and keep records of what they said.

For future reference : It is their job to get you proper ref info, if they don't - then they failed their responsibility to clearly ask for what they want. You can't be their mum and remind them to double check and are they sure, etc.

If you work off the ingo given, you are not breaking "contract"/"rules"/etc - you are doing what you were told. Sure, it's nice policy to do small reworks but if reworks start costing you a half hour or more of your time, then really you are changing the initial piece to a point where it is taking more time than it would normally. Consider that, in "real job" terms working overtime. You get paid for that, right? Then get paid for this. Art isn't easy despite what people think.