(no subject)

[thebadgergrymm.livejournal.com]

Can't say I've ever had bad dealings if any other artists before, however there is one exception to that. And having seen the last couple posts strike along similiar lines I thought I'd go ahead and toss in my story as well.
Back in April 2005 Ashryn was offering OC commissions. So I thought, what the heck and went for it. Sent the $80 her way for a one character piece and she told me it'd be done in a couple weeks. Worked for me.
A few months pass by and no word on it. Before I go to email her and inquire about the status I notice that she made journal entry on Devart that if anyone had yet to hear from her concerning their commissions, send her a note. So I did.
After a couple weeks she follows up and double checks what I wanted in the first place. Then nothing.
Since then I've sent several emails her way only to receive no explanation of any kind. Having seen her post on her Cathode-ray community and this passage in particular:
"The more complaints I get -- especially if they're within a month of the initial commission, unless I've specified a deadline -- the more inclined I am to simply halt commissions permanently, even if they can bring in good money in a pinch. It's your right to complain, but as of now, it's my right to tell you that I don't have to work for you any longer, and simply rid myself of the obligation."
I've more or less given up ever expecting to see the commission or an email come my way.
There are artists that are better, quicker, and more dependable to support in my opinion.

Comments

[kjorteo]

"The more complaints I get -- especially if they're within a month of the initial commission, unless I've specified a deadline -- the more inclined I am to simply halt commissions permanently, even if they can bring in good money in a pinch. It's your right to complain, but as of now, it's my right to tell you that I don't have to work for you any longer, and simply rid myself of the obligation."

Sounds like someone's so bad at this whole "commission" thing that it'd probably be a good thing if she went off the market. I mean, if she had stopped however long ago, then there'd be however many less horror stories here, right? :/

[theassassinnox.livejournal.com]

"...rid myself of the obligation."

Yes. If you are to flake, and do something like this, the way you get rid of the obligation is to give folks their money back.

'Tis a shame that there are so many talented people out there with little/no ethics and/or business sence.

Best of luck,

~S

[bladespark.livejournal.com]

Indeed! You're under the obligation until you've DONE something about it. Either draw the thing or refund! If you've got their money, you own them something.

I can't believe there's somebody out there who doesn't grasp this!

[duraji-synth.livejournal.com]

If you gave her $80, then she has NO right to halt working for you and "rid" herself of the "obligation". Ugh, I'm starting to think she does this crap on purpose, stealing everyone's money and stuff. >_>

[llyander.livejournal.com]

I wonder if she'd like it if she paid the utility company for her water and light... And they they turned around and said, "We're under no obligation to supply you" and cut her off?

I mean seriously. The horror stories about this woman are one of the reasons I'm so picky about who I commission and how much I pay.

[darkyo.livejournal.com]

t's my right to tell you that I don't have to work for you any longer, and simply rid myself of the obligation.
wow. what a bitch. as someone who takes commissions myself, that is a completely unethical thing to do. once the commissionee pays you, you are under obligation to finish what you were commissioned to do. technically, if they wanted, they could sue you if you just "rid yourself of the obligation".

:\ some people have no ethics.

[obliviousally.livejournal.com]

Seriously. D:

And even if you, under whatever circumstances (be it personal or whatever), can't finish the commission, you work out some kind of refund/compromise with the commissioner. And you do it professionally.

Jeezus. D:

[dreamerdragoon.livejournal.com]

The attitude that she's doing you a favour rather than producing work she's being paid to do is disgusting. I'd like to see how long she'd last in a real job telling her manager "It's your right to complain that I'm not doing any work, but I don't have to do anything you say."

She'd be gone in seconds. Artists who treat commissions like some "special", self-centered job where they get paid to do whatever they like don't belong in the business, and it disgusts me how they manage to become so popular with such disregard for fans, customers, ethics and the law alike. Since she's taking money then refusing to do or altering commissions at her own whim, she's totally on the illegal side of things.

[lilenth.livejournal.com]

Though that bears out the question of what you do if you're not paid in money but in something else instead, I was given a print for a piece that I'm doing for someone, but I've been going through a can barely draw at all stage for about a year and still owe them the work. I plan to when I kick off this slump which is fortunately finally showing some signs of finally shifting to give them extras to make up for the wait since they've been very patient but if I had to refund that would be far more difficult.

[crssafox.livejournal.com]

Makes me wonder if the number of people burned by her, and the amounts they paid to her, might not be grounds for an actual lawsuit or something. I mean, she's neglected so many people and if she's refusing to give them money back for goods/services not provided, there would definitely be grounds for small claims court. Especially since the amounts seem to be more than an average commission. It's one thing if you gave someone $20 and didn't ever see the product - while that sucks, that's just $20 lost. $80 to $150 is a good chunk of change... For $150 I could pay my utilities in one month. That would be too much to lose.

[digitalis.livejournal.com]

It's her right to "rid herself of the obligation", provided she refunds you the money.
But she needs to give you back your money then. 0_0

[aaaamory.livejournal.com]

So if one or two people get on her nerves about commissions, everyone pays the price?

Business is business. People's issues are with her business. You just don't take it personally when people are unhappy with the business. That's a sure sign of someone who doesn't know how to run one.

[aaaamory.livejournal.com]

I see it sometimes on the People's Court, "Okay, they paid you, and then you decide you don't want to do business with them. What makes you think you can keep the money?"

[aaaamory.livejournal.com]

"IF YOU JUST GAVE IT BACK, NONE OF THIS WOULD HAVE HAPPENED AND YOU WOULDN'T BE WASTING MY TIME!!!"

[bladespark.livejournal.com]

Trades do tend to be more complicated. It's why I'm often wary of doing them.

[eisenkreis.livejournal.com]

Hello. I'm the artist.

I've checked my gmail account three times over, regularly comb it for commissioners emailing, and at times, have been kind of negligent in concerns to replying, which I've admitted before in more amicable postings. I've checked to see if you're on AIM now that I've got time to do so. I've offered refunds to those that send emails in. if you're not sending to ashryn (at) gmail (dot) com, I'm not getting it. I'll gladly apologize for not being more prompt in returning emails or confirming a missed deadline, but that's about as far as it'll go. The recent posting is solely for clarification purposes to those who did *not* recieve a 'this is the set deadline' comment.

I would appreciate talking to you about this in another forum so an arrangement can be made. I'm being 100% honest in saying I have recieved no communiques from you -- unless they're on devart and I forgot to reply upon reciept.

See, this, kids, is why I don't take commissions anymore. I'm not good at them, and I'd like to think I've stated as much. e.e

[eisenkreis.livejournal.com]

WHICH IS KINDA WHAT I OFFERED IN THE SAME POSTING, GO FIGURE. I never once said in that post that I wouldn't refund the money if I didn't want to continue doing the commission.

Christ almighty. Am I speaking swahili?

[digitalis.livejournal.com]

And that changes the whole deal. I wasn't getting that was offered from the original poster's post. :)

[eisenkreis.livejournal.com]

It was practically smeared all over the original posting I made in my community. If I object to anything in these postings, it's that words have, essentially, been minced in order to increase the severity of the 'wrongdoing.'

As stated, I will gladly concede to a myriad of accusations. When they're baseless -- or outright contrary to the original point of a posting -- then I'll say something.

[slow-mo-panda.livejournal.com]

Funny that she shows up NOW to defend herself. I can't believe she has nothing to say in MY post. Should I demand more than $50 of my $150 back? Because I TOLD her I wanted NO LESS than $50 back, so she said "You can expect $50 in NO LESS than a month". As if giving her pretty much a free loan for 4 years wasn't enough? Jeezus!