Advice, please?

[jerrymojo2.livejournal.com]

Ok it's my first time posting a report here so I'm sorry if I don't do this right. Please bear with me.

WHO: little-tana-fang on furaffinity

WHERE: Furaffinity.net

WHAT: $20 Digital badge to be delivered at a local furmeet on the 22nd of October, 2011.

WHEN: She contacted me about a badge about a month ago on my journal offering Halloween badges.

PROOF:

first contact:
http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc295/jerrymojo2/other%20album%20and%20such/screencap4.jpg

saying she would pay via paypal:
http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc295/jerrymojo2/other%20album%20and%20such/screencap1.jpg

asking to pay in person:
http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc295/jerrymojo2/other%20album%20and%20such/screencap2.jpg

agreement on price, which is $20:
http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc295/jerrymojo2/other%20album%20and%20such/screencap3.jpg

EXPLAIN: She said she would pay via paypal as usual. She then noted me again and said "walmart screwed her over" and asked if she could pay in person at a fur meet on the 22nd that we were both attending. I agreed and finished her badge, posted it to fa, laminated it, and brought it to the furmeet. She never came to the meet and has not been responding to my notes.

At this point, I have no idea what to do. Her profile says she is a minor, so I don't know if she even had the legal authority to order this badge. http://www.furaffinity.net/user/little-tana-fang/

I need advice. Any help is appreciated.

Comments

[insane-kangaroo.livejournal.com]

Under US law, minors can back out of any contract since they can't be held accountable.

Have you tried emailing her? It's listed on her FA page.

[otherscape.livejournal.com]

Yea, it really sounds like you got screwed over. If she's a minor I'm not entirely sure if you can do anything about it either. In the future, don't do any of the work before getting paid. It will save you a lot of trouble.

[puritikoneko.livejournal.com]

This.

Either that, or if you're not comfortable taking full payment up-front you can have your customers pay half up-front, you complete a sketch, then when they've given the okay, they send the other half of the payment and you complete the image. Although, if that's what you're doing, I recommend a lo-res, heavily watermarked version of the sketch. :3

[jerrymojo2.livejournal.com]

that is what i usually do, but i've always been very trusting of commissioners and that seems to work decently... gah i feel like an idiot

[marus-puppy.livejournal.com]

Don't feel bad, everyone makes mistakes. This community is here to help out where we can. :)

[puritikoneko.livejournal.com]

Don't.

You're definitely not an idiot by showing good faith in people. But sometimes, it's better to protect your own behind than to give someone the benefit of the doubt, yanno?

[stormslegacy.livejournal.com]

Is she posting online at all? it's possible there's a reason she missed the meet, it's only been 2 days since. I'd wait a little bit. That said, next time payment or at least down-payment before finishing the badge will prevent this from happening to you in the future.

[sbneko.livejournal.com]

Next time, you should also heavily watermark it, if you really want to post it(would have been best not to at all). since it's digital, someone could just take it and print/laminate it themselves.

[carms-lady.livejournal.com]

What Sbneko said is precisely what should be done for any commission which hasn't been paid for in full yet. Yep, I learned the hard way, and discovered on my own that they just printed out the smaller version I emailed them and hung it up on their wall. Lowering the resolution is good, and also attaching a small crop at 100% so they know the details are there helps, too.

I still will never understand how conniving some people can be. $20 is $20, art is not easy.

[genkigami.livejournal.com]

She's a minor, nothing you can do to force payment. Minors can't legally enter contracts, which means commissions; both taking commissions and buying commissions.