Commission Problem MurphyErasmus

[stevehusky.livejournal.com]

Who: MurphyErasmus (Furaffinity) Don't know any of her other aliases 

http://www.furaffinity.net/user/murphyerasmus/

Where: Windows Live Messenger/ Hotmail, Furaffinity 

What: Fursuit partial commission, including a head, tail, feet and hand paws.  We came to 

an agreement of 200$ for the partial, to be paid in 4 separate installments of 50$. All 4 

installments were paid. All that was left was shipping charges, which we agreed wouldn't be 

paid until after the suit was completed. 

When: 

July 19th 2011 - We came to an agreement as to the price and what was going to be in the 

commission. The partial fursuit with the head, tail, feet and hand paws. We agreed that 

200$ would be the price excluding shipping that would be calculated later. We also agreed 

that the suit would be paid off in 4 separate installments. 

July 20th 2011 - I sent her the first installment of 50$ Which is noted below by the paypal 

receipt. The payment was sent to cmmcshane@hotmail.com Later that day, she messaged me 

saying she wanted to get started right away and ask for the second payment earlier so that 

she could buy the materials. So 2 hours or so after the first installment was paid the 

second one was sent, once again 50$ to the same email address. As shown by the screencap

July 25-30th 2011 - She contacts me again with a status update and states that she had 

begun work and that everything was going smoothly. She then sent me pictures that are 

linked below. 

August 8th 2011 - I sent her the last 2 payments, both each of 50$. I noted in the 

description section of paypal that these were payments for a fursuit. Like the first two 

payments these were sent to cmmcshane@hotmail.com and they are proven by the screencaps of 

the receipt. 

August 9th 2011 - She contacts me on msn to state that she has received the payments and 

that I should be getting the suit sometime around October, and that shed message me on FA 

sometime during October when it was finished. I don't message her again until November 1st 

because I assumed she was working on it and I didn't want to be a bother. 

November 1st 2011 -  I message her to enquirer about the fursuit cause she failed to 

contact me about the completion. 

November 7th 2011 - She responds to my message and states that she might be dying of liver 

failure so she hasn't had time to work on it. She states that a few things needed to be 

fixed on the suit and states they should be done soon. I sent a response saying that that 

was ok, cause of the "circumstances".

November 16th 2011 - She responds to my message and states that she was sick and didn't 

have time to work on the suit. She also stated for the in-convince that I would receive a 

few free badges, and pictures as to were she was in the progress. I ask if I can receive 

the pics by that Sunday, she stated that she could do that and it was never done.  When I 

messaged her back. I got no response. I send more messages after this inquiring what was 

happening to no response. 

February 7th 2012 - She finally responds to my messages from November 2011. She now states 

that she still hasn't done anything on the suit cause she was facing eviction and cant 

afford to feed herself. She gave me two options, she could either finish it or just give me 

a refund. When I stated what I wanted, her to complete it, she responded with an ok. 

March 1st - Present - I've been messaging her every two weeks inquiring about the fursuit. 

She has yet to respond to any of my messages and it was at this point I have come to 

believe that she just took my money and ran with it. I've also commented on her FA page and 

gotten no response. 

August 1st 2012 - Friend of mine also comments on her page about the fursuit commission. 

The comment was deleted the following day. 

Proof: Payment 1  Payment 2  Payment 3  Payment 4  Email Comparison

           Message 1 Message 2  Message 3

Supposed Progress 1 2 3

           

Comments

[karthegrax.livejournal.com]

I can err.. still read your credit card number in payment 4. I don't have the CSC.. but its still not really safe to post it.

[karthegrax.livejournal.com]

This whole thing seems to be a tangle of lies. There was 100% no-doubt, no photoshoot. Based on the evidence I'd say there were no sewn items, no furred heads, and no badges made either. I really don't get this. Why can't commissioners A: Get off their bums and complete the work that is owed. B: Tell the commissioner that there is a delay, use the legitimate reason, and then get the work completed. Making up excuses only gets you in deeper.

Nor do I understand offering to do more work to make up for.. not doing work. lolwat.

The problem with paying 100% up front is that the artist has no motivation to continue working. They already have all the reward. It's a fine line to work a reasonable % to pay upon completion though, so that neither the artist nor commissioner can get cheated if work is not completed or money is not paid.

Maybe when working with artists who don't have a huge rep (beastcub, beetlecat, mixed candy, etc) pay 30% deposit and extra %'s when you see progress. (foamed, furred, airbrushed, hands sewn, etc). That way it protects you, but also motivates the artist to finish work. If I get these handpaws done, I get another $25

I really don't know what you can do in this case. Getting payed back $400 from left over disability payments, is gonna be just as long as waiting for the suit to be completed imo. Gluck :c

Edit: accidentally added < > and system registered it as code

[neolucky.livejournal.com]

I did the same thing for a suit from Media, I paid the %30, then paid a bit every month until I saw some progress! It's a really good way to ensure they keep working on it at a reasonable pace.

[stevehusky.livejournal.com]

Thats assuming she would actually pay me back, and wasn't just trying to push me off for awhile.
For the 30% thing, that's what I was originally planning on. Then she told me she needed the money early and like a tool, I dove in head first with it.
At this point, I just believe it was a total scam job

[ansitru.livejournal.com]

"The problem with paying 100% up front is that the artist has no motivation to continue working. "

That's a bit of a sweeping generalization. I know a lot of artists, including myself, who take payment upfront and still always deliver what they should.

If someone really isn't willing to do the work, I think it doesn't matter much if they were paid or not.

[karthegrax.livejournal.com]

Of course. There are multitudes of artists who take payment up front, and tons who take payment after, and none of them have any problems. My comment didn't mean, NEVER PAY UP FRONT ITS A SCAM OMG. I was merely suggesting, that for expensive items (not $30 drawings), they pay in installments, when they see progress, as a way of protecting themselves against these kinds of things happening again.

I apologise if you feel I was taking a jab at the entire artistic community

[ansitru.livejournal.com]

Oh, no worries.
I can understand it from the commissioner-side of the transaction as well. What it boils down to is commissioning someone who has a good reputation when it comes to delivering the work and even then it's sometimes still a risky thing.

That being said, for payments of well over $100, it may be best to pay in installments, but all depends on the artist's ToS and how comfortable the commissioner is with the payment-method.

[fetalstar.livejournal.com]

I'm seconding this.
I ask for 100% of the commission to be paid for up front (unless it's over $100 and then there's the option to pay half up front, half after a sketch is shown), and I always get my work done.

Money isn't the motivator, my reputation is. I never want to end up being posted here.

[ansitru.livejournal.com]

"Money isn't the motivator, my reputation is. I never want to end up being posted here."

Exactly.

[mistresswolf.livejournal.com]

"Money isn't the motivator, my reputation is. I never want to end up being posted here."

Agreed. Well, the only time I want to be posted here is in the Positive Feedback threads. XD

[mistresswolf.livejournal.com]

Agreed completely. Personally, I would NEVER flake out on a customer. I would feel horrible inside forever if I did.

The only time I ever took much longer to do a commission than it should have... was on a Gaia Online commission for site currency. It took me 4 months. I was commissioned for 11 full body images, and a few days later, real life happened and my son was taken away from me. I was just too depressed to do anything, but I still felt horrible every day. I did finally get off my butt and do all 11, plus an extra 11 chibis as an "I'm so so so so sorry!" gift.

Since then, it has been my mission to be a fast, but not sloppy, commission artist. I always get the illustration to the customer within a few days of payment.

[ansitru.livejournal.com]

With what happened, I think 4 months for 11 images is more than reasonable, especially since you kept contact and explained what happened, even when your head probably was somewhere else. I'm so sorry to hear what happened to you.

[stevehusky.livejournal.com]

Paypal replaced the majority of the digits with 0. Only the last 4 digits are visible. Also that card has expired sense then so *shrugs* I appreciate the concern

[karthegrax.livejournal.com]

Oh good. Lol. I didn't actually TRY to read it, just noticed that you could if you wanted. Probably should have looked and I would have noticed they were 0's. Derp.

[stevehusky.livejournal.com]

well they are actually X's but same diff XD

[bogglerat.livejournal.com]

I don't have time to put together a detailed report right now, but I'm having a similar problem with her.

[stevehusky.livejournal.com]

Really? So what happened with you?

[trevor-the-foxx.livejournal.com]

I have been caught up in her too as I ordered a 7 foot plushie from her and made a half payment of 250$. Over a year later I have been trying to contact her and she blocked my facebook and will not answer emails or even PayPal disputes. Can post proof if asked, should I write up a separate Artists Beware entry?

[kerstin-orion.livejournal.com]

I would say definitely post a separate A_B entry, since you have the proof.

[trevor-the-foxx.livejournal.com]

i will do in a day or two

[stevehusky.livejournal.com]

You got caught up in her also? Geez now Im wondering how many people and how much money she has gotten out of people within the last year.

[trevor-the-foxx.livejournal.com]

she got 250 cad$ out of me