*Gag*

[skanrashke.livejournal.com]

Here's a warning, kids.
About 5 months ago I was commissioned(I make fursuits, rather than art, so things can get a little stickier, I think) by someone who a friend of mine suggested to trade with. He makes leather goods and bondage gear, and I inquired about getting some armour done for a character-fursuit of mine. He said he'd happily trade for a few things. Well, he decided to trade for paws, feet and a tail, and he paid me a discounted rate(After all, he is a friend of a friend.. gods, never never will that happen again..) for a head. A very NICE head, might I add. Well, initially, he gave me CRAP for 'reference material'. He gave me a sketch: ( http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/16792816/ ) to go on, and I asked(as I always do, because transferring a 2-D design to something 3-D and practical.. eyesight, head size, blahblah.. is rather imposing without SOME liberties..); anyways. This is what I turned out ( http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y60/SkanRashke/MikeDiagonal.jpg ). I thought it was good! *shrugs* Also, i finished this head in about 3 weeks, because as he was a friends' friend, I thought I'd bump him up in the chain-of-things-to-do.

Well, he sends it back to me saying I need to 'fix' a few things. These things were.. *Coughs and gets out her reading glasses*
"Move the scar to the other side"(Now, a scar is basically a gouge in the fur/foam thats' filled and shaped latex. How one 'moves' a hole is beyond me, but I managed to do it)
"Shave the horns down 1/8" - One eighth of an inch? Is it THAT big of a deal? o.O There was a long list, but these were the two more, er.. eccentric requests. (The horns were resin-covered, so I had to get out the ole' jigsaw to cut those down..)
..now, I sent this head back. And I also sent him a nice pair of forepaws, because I finished before Christmas(November, I think?); now, he'd gotten his head in early november. I return it to him, late november to mid-december. DURING the fixing process, he IMs me, probobly.. 3 times a day. Wondering where his head is. Like I magically shit fully made heads after I eat a bean burrito. This starts, maybe.. a week after I get it. I tell him, please wait, I want to make sure its' done right and everything.. well, he gets impatient and starts bitching "Wahh, wahh, I need it for a party, get it to me by such and such date", and I'm taken aback a bit, but I say "I'll do what I can", and that shuts him up. I get it done by the date specified, but the mail takes longer than it should have, so he whiens and bitches to me about THAT. Ugh.. well, regardless, he bitches for a good long time, and says he hates the forepaws and so on and so forth.


..I get it back AGAIN about two months later(Feb). He says "its too small now!" ..strange, that my not touching anything on the head would make it smaller? (Actually, I'd let it out a few inches, and since I have a dummy-head here to work on, it was roughly 1" wider all around, and 1.5" wider at the neck). He also says, the gloves(Apoun which I used his measurements) don't fit. So he says, forget about the paws(yea, we know what happened to them. *shudders*) because he won't send them back, but fix the head.
So, I tell him "Fine, I'll fix it, even though your warantee's expired, but its' going to take a while. I have to get stuff finished for AC first", he agrees to this, and everything seems fine.

Well, mid-February rolls around, and he starts BUGGING me for the head back! I tell him "Sorry dude, you got placed on the waiting list this time around", I show him where he is on the waiting list, first non-suit in line before FurFright(Late october).. ((I gauge how late/early my stuff gets finished relative to its' temporal proximity to either Furfright, Anthrocon or Further Confusion(June, October, and January, respectively). So, this puts him somewhere from July to October to be finished(Since I don't KNOW when things will be done for the next con over until I know if I finish everything for this upcoming con- makes sense, right? lol).
Anyways, he bitches about that for a while, and eventually I just logoff because I'm tierd of hearing it.
So, I don't logon to yahoo msngr(which is what he used to contact me) for a while because I use AIM as my main thing, and the only reason I logon to yahoo is to speak with customers.
So, the other day, he contacts my FRIEND(who referred him to me) and tells him to TELL ME to fix his head and mail it back. Well, my friend walks in on my having seventy or so pins in my mouth, hot glue gun and scissors in hand, holding a piece of foam to a bodysuit with my toes(For real). He tells me, and I LOSE it.
Anyways, so the guy contacts me again TODAY and whines at me some more, and I tell him, as politely as I can "You'll have it before furfright"
"can I have it by july 16th?"
"I don't know"
"Why not? thats bad business, blahblahblah.."
Sorry. Am I in the wrong here?

OH! I almost forgot. His half of the trade. -,-
The 'armour' I got was nothing more than pieces of cut-out leather with slabs of metal bolted on. Now, I'm an age-old SCAdian, and know good armour when I see it. Selkit- for example -makes fine armour. This, was, flatly, shit. (can i curse here?) well, it was. The armour had not been polished, sanded, tooled, or any of the things I had requested. It was rough, and frankly- putrid. Something an apprentice would turn out. The armour was NOT BENT OR CURLED! Thick pieces of metal, flat as a piece of paper. What the hell am I supposed to do with flat bracers?
So I contact him. I say "Can I send them back to you?"
"Just bent them over your knee" ..my friend wolfy was there, he's a BIG guy, and he was red in the face trying to bend these things.
"They won't bend"
"..right. Then get an anvil"
"An anvil? Are you kidding?"
...so thats my solution.

I turn out: Decent or at least passable fursuit head
I get in return: unfinished, half-assed pieces of crap

I turn out: Free repairs as soon as possible
I get: Bitching and moaning.

Artists, beware. The guys name is mike, and he's on yahoo as fffmike2501(or something similar).

Comments

[drake-anaya.livejournal.com]

This guy is an ass, but I'd also ditch the friend that referred him to you, honestly.

You should sell the head on Furbid or something... something to make it actually worth the time and effort you've put in (and I don't think you should put in any more for this jackass). I'm not a suiter, but that head looks gorgeous!

[mazz.livejournal.com]

I say send his sad excuse for armor back and tlel himt he deal is off, and as Drake said sell it on furbid where someone a little less stupid will buy it.

[mazz.livejournal.com]

*tell him the

[ilea.livejournal.com]

I agree with the other posters.

[art-batty.livejournal.com]

This is almost completely off topic, but do you have a website anywhere with examples of your work, or a price rage? I'm in the market for a suit and I'm doing some comparasin shopping, I just really liked that head.

[skanrashke.livejournal.com]

Heh, thanks :3 But I've cut off commissions until 2007, once these pieces are done, I'm taking a three month vacation in the mountains; but you can cruise my photobucket account for new stuff http://s3.photobucket.com/albums/y60/SkanRashke/
or my actual website(The main page's images are down for some reason atm, so the fursuit page is here: www.gryphonstudios.org/fursuits.htm). I'm fairly expensive, tho.

[art-batty.livejournal.com]

Oh I see, well it was worth a shot asking. You have some nice stuff though.

[ratbat.livejournal.com]

the head wouldnt fit? maybe his ass is to fat!

LOL.

[sorethumb.livejournal.com]

Good one XD

[raygirlrol.livejournal.com]

I'm not the knowlage fountain on fursuits, but seriously I would have dropped his ass the moment he started ANY bitching.

The way I see it you were doing much of the work for NOTHING. So he has no damn right to act like a child and bitch at you to get his stuff done

[neongryphon.livejournal.com]

Harassment was never part of the deal, and if I were you I'd send him a cancellation notice on the commission for that very reason. I’d cut your ties, send him back his tinsel armour and either sell the head on, or keep it as a display piece for your cons. If he wants to pay you for the work done so far, then he can give you what you’re owed and have his head back as is. I wouldn't put a minute’s more effort into fixing this guy what he wants, when he clearly has no idea to begin with. You've given him more than he's entitled to by the sounds of things.

[scappo.livejournal.com]

Exactly. I agree whole-heartedly!

A trade or a commission lasts as long as it takes to create the item, modify it, and send it to the commissioner/trader. Once they're received it, the trade is done. I think that you basically did him a HUGE favor by taking the head back and repairing it in the first place! Then he wants to act stupid and start bitching and complaining because 'it doesn't fit'?? I mean..wow. I woulda told him to fuck off right around when he started IM'ing me three times a day.

Plus, it's not even like you got nice armor in return! You got crappy, shitty armor that ISN'T EVEN BENT?!? That's not armor!! I woulda told him that his armor is crap and he's lucky I even traded with him at all!

In any case, that's my view.

[vulgaris.livejournal.com]

Damn. I really liked that head actually, if you had it, i'd wear it.

[fiercereaper.livejournal.com]

Send his crappy armour back, and keep the head for a portfolio piece or a stock item.

[frisket17.livejournal.com]

I agree on that!

[mix-hyenataur.livejournal.com]

seconded.

At least untill he redoes them.

[lupusetgruis.livejournal.com]

"Like I magically shit fully made heads after I eat a bean burrito."


Hahaha, that made my day. :)

I agree what everyone else says. Send his junk back, keep the head to do what you want with.

[frisket17.livejournal.com]

Darling. STOP.
Plainly STOP.

If he wants so many altercations, start charging him.
I can't believe you put up with that POS commissioner/friend of a friend/whatever. Frankly any -normal- person would be honored to high heaven to get a suit/head like that! I'm so sorry that you're havin' a pain of a time

Wish you luck!

You know..

[sorethumb.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure if "altercation (http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=altercation)s" is the word you meant to use, or "alterations (http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=alterations)", since both work for that whiny guy X3

Re: You know..

[frisket17.livejournal.com]

Ha. Meant Alterations (Yay for speed-typing n' not proof-reading) ... but agreed. Both can work ;)

[mix-hyenataur.livejournal.com]

HA! I'm totally pissed at this guy too.

He's my neighbor in Secondlife, and he has no manners.

I had to delete a $4,000 ($20 real) avatar because he made my character 'change his daiper' without consent... i hate babyfurs.

[invaderluca.livejournal.com]

change him without consent, buh?

Only hate the horrid babyfurs like him, not the good ones :3.

[mix-hyenataur.livejournal.com]

Epic owns the land, generously giving me a home and a expensive AV. I met Mike, since he recently moved to my sector, and chatted for the first time. Later in convo, he asked me if I could right-click on his character (shown similar to above). So I did. then dialog popped up vividly describing the whole 'change'. I was like...

GOD DAMN!
...
..........
I'm fucking out of here...

The next day I deleted myself.

He has no common sense to realize NOT to ask people you first meet to 'change' you.

[invaderluca.livejournal.com]

oh..right...ick ><. That's why I take that stuff off when I wander away from The area I'm usually in, owned by Raven Welsea...

Jeebus, yeah... that's bad AND fucked up. Sucks it had to happen, apologies on behalf of the good babyfurs out there.

[mix-hyenataur.livejournal.com]

yeah, I'm just out a $20 AV now.

It takes forever to save up $4,000 on Sl.

[invaderluca.livejournal.com]

as well I know, especially if you've got a "free" account. 50L$ a WEEK? Worthless...

Wait, what?

[sorethumb.livejournal.com]

What does "Changing his diaper" do to you?

[dinogrrl.livejournal.com]

I agree with the others, this is crap and you don't deserve to be dealing with him. Tell him to shut up or the deal's off and then stick to your guns.

personally, I'd still end it anyway. And let your friend know why.

[coyotewings.livejournal.com]

I agree with alot of the others.
Don't fix it, don't do anything to repair it, and don't give it back. He's given you shit in return for all the wonderful work you've done for him.
What he's doing doesn't make much sense to me, nor do I agree with his attitude twards you and your work. `rolls eyes`

[xodiac.livejournal.com]

A fursuit takes a lot of effort. I know - I make suits myself (not for others, just for myself, at least for now).

This guy is getting a free halfsuit. That's $200 to $600 on the market, sometimes more depending on quality and such (the fact that it even has horns puts it nearer the top of the range). Bracers and cheap armor can be gotten at a ren fair or sf/f convention for $100 to $400, depending on quality and how large the armor is. (Good armor costs even more, of course.) So even if he gave you something good, he's already getting a bargain.

But even at the low end, the bracers aren't "flat pieces of metal." I'd give him one chance: send him the armor back and tell him to fix it. After all, he seemed to think it was okay to send the head back to you with demands, and yours sound a lot more important than his nits - at least the head was wearable! If he refuses to fix the armor, then say you'll keep the head and put it up on FurBid or EBay. If he fixes it like crap, tell him you're done and send him the head back untouched. And send it back COD - he'll have to pay shipping, and since he made you ship it three times I'd think that's fair. If he won't pay COD, again you keep the head and resell it.

In short (too late!) you've given this guy more than his fair share. Make him live up to his end of the bargain. If he won't, make a new bargain - via auction.

[aaaamory.livejournal.com]

Did you see an example of the leather work he does before you began? I agree with everyone else. Sell the head and send him back his armor. He has the paws. Somebody will buy that head and they will love and appreciate it when it's theirs. It's gorgeous.

[skanrashke.livejournal.com]

I did! He had some really gorgeous leather collars, tooled, dyed and studded NICELY. I got hand-pounded rivets that just looked like crappy nails -,-

[thaily.livejournal.com]

That's not a friend, that's a moocher.

Fuck him, fuck him up his retarded ass. Change a few details about the head and re-sell it on Furbid to someone who doesn't ride the short bus.

[loregryph.livejournal.com]

I'm just going to echo what's already been said - if I were you, I'd send back the armor with a "the deal's off" notice, then keep the head either as a display piece or sell it off on FurBid. The guy is not only blatently ripping you off with the half-assed armor, but making you jump through hoops on a head that is already wearable and made well. He's not worth the continued hassle.

[uniformgrey.livejournal.com]

What an entitlement-whore. I'm sorry but you did more than your share on this one and that whiney prat doesn't deserve the head back.

It was a trade and you did more repairs than you needed to, and he thinks he has a right to send it back not only to get nit-picky things altered, but that you should also immediately put him ahead of paying customers? Does he live in the real world?

And to top it all off he shrugs off the fact that he basically mailed you sheet metal with some leather and bolts [I don't say armour here because frankly he might as well have mailed you the supplies instead - what he gave you is no armour] and you dared to complain.

This joker isn't worth your talent or your time. I agree with everyone else that you should keep the head for yourself and either send back the armour or just keep it. You don't own him anything. If your friend is sent back to you again to message more complaints to you, I'd have a few words with them as well, along with soundly blocking him for your yahoo messenger list.

[uniformgrey.livejournal.com]

*and by him I didn't mean your friend but this "fffmike2501" person.

[lacy.livejournal.com]

I would just call the trade off this with dude and send his crap back to him. You turned out a great piece, this guy is one of those impossible to work with types that will NEVER be happy with what you turn out.

[knifesmile.livejournal.com]

I'll buy that head off you as soon as I get some cash, I am so fucking serious. That's *gorgeous*. That's -- oh my fuck, I'm not even a fursuiter and I'm seriously calculating how long it'll take me to save up to ask you for one of me.

I'm now totally and utterly bummed that I'm not a good enough craftsperson to offer a reasonable trade. I could do a couple *really* bitchin', massive dreamcatchers with a set of sigil stones I guess? But even so. Daaamn... *wistful sigh*