Looking for Advice!

[mishomutt.livejournal.com]

This is my first time ever using Livejournal, so I apologise if I do anything wrong! I couldn't even work out how to write a post, ahahah.
I've been following this community for a couple of years now, and I am currently having a difficult experience with a certain person, and I'd really like some advice.

UPDATE: my friend told me that the artist said to her they still haven't been shipped, even though she said she would do it on the 15th. Apparently she will do it tomorrow, being the 18th. Once again, she didn't contact me about it, and didn't fulfil her deadline. Again.
UPDATE EDIT: turns out it was just a journal entry, she didn't contact my friend specifically.


Basically, I ordered a sculpture on the 2nd of September as a Christmas present to my boyfriend's mum. The communication was great at first, and I saw my first WIP literally 3 days after. On the 13th, I was asked for more photos so the painting would be accurate. I sent them over on the same day, and was super excited about hearing back.
I sent her a note on November 4, asking how she was getting on. She said she injured her hand but the sculpture was completely finished. She said she could get some pictures to me ASAP. This was totally fine, considering that it was still a month and a bit away from Christmas.

Now my friend had also ordered from her, so the artist decided to talk to my friend about combining shipping so we could save money. She never messaged me about this, and I only found out when my friend asked about it. We decided that everything would be shipped to my friend, and then my friend would ship my sculpture to me. I thought it was odd that the artist didn't contact me directly, but I didn't think it was weird at the time. I sent the artist another note on December 5th, as I hadn't got any other messages from her since the 4th of November. She pretty much repeated what she said from her last message. "It's done, and I'll get some pictures for you!". I finally got the pictures later that day.

Bearing in mind it is now December 5th and she only just sent me pictures of something that is supposed to be with me for Christmas. She lives in the US, and I'm in the UK. Yeah. Shipping alone takes about a week or two.

I gave her the OK and she said she would get the shipping amount. She quoted me about $20 before, and she came back with a new quote of $21 for both mine and my friend's sculptures. Totally fine~ I sent her the money through paypal, a total of $51 ($40 for the sculpture, half of the shipping as my friend was paying for the other).

Today, I received an IM from my friend asking if I got a note from the artist. I hadn't, and she proceded to tell me that the artist had a trouble with the shipping, and it was going to cost $40, not $20.
It is the 12th of December. There is no way my sculpture are going to arrive in time, especially during the Christmas period. I am really upset and just fed up. The worst part is, my boyfriend's mum won't have a present this year, even though it was commissioned in the beginning of September. What do I do?

Comments

[radiocatastrophe (from livejournal.com)]

Tell the artist that your friend isn't the only one receiving something so relying on your friend to talk to you isn't something the artist should be leaning on and they should have come to you first before confronting you friend about joint shipping, and also inquire as to why the shipping cost has doubled for the shipping of sculptures.

I'd also ask for some sort of compensation for the lateness, if they agreed on getting it to you before x-mas they should've taken into account how long it'd take to be delivered, even with injuring their hand they should've kept you in the loop and tried to get your package shipped out to you ASAP if it was already finished (sounds like it was before the injury). It isn't a must and most artist would offer this knowing they made a mistake or to please the customer, I just personally would ask for something extra in return for missing the deadline.

[fenris-lorsrai.livejournal.com]

Fucking up the postage for international transactions is very common. too bad. she quoted, you paid, suck it up. and she definitely shouldn't have combined it with a shipment to someone else without consulting you!

also having shipped sculpture many times, unless this is VERY SMALL and they're being shipped double boxed in a much larger box, she really shouldn't ship the two together for safety reasons. improperly packed sculptures together in a box are likely to damage each other.

and if she can't figure out the shipping correctly, I'm dubious about the packaging.

For that matter, that may be the issue with the cost right there. The WEIGHT may be fine, but its the DIMENSIONS of the box for two that's causing the cost spike. or putting two together carried it over the threahold for a specific mail type which she can no longer use.

She should DEFINITELY ship each item separately. as soon as possible.


as to boyfriend's Mum not getting a present, tell her flat out its coming from England and seems to be tied up in international mail. Most people are understanding about this.
Make a plate of cookies to go with the apology of "I'm sorry its late, but I can't make the mail go faster." cookies smooth over any hurt.

[wolf-goat.livejournal.com]

The sculpture was going from the US to the UK, not the other way around, if I'm reading correctly.

[fenris-lorsrai.livejournal.com]

ah, okay, I read that backwards. If it is indeed US to UK, I can bet you a donut that its either the dimensional weight OR the new combined package total is over 4 pounds. You can ship First class International up to four pounds and its quite a bit cheaper than Priority, but with very similar delivery times.

a little fiddling with calculator indicates a First Class box at 2 pound, 7 ounce goes at $21.02. (first class goes in 4 ounce increments up to 4 pound) If its over 12" on any side, it forces the package to go priority Mail which is $44.70/42.47 (in store/online print your own) for that weight, which almost exactly matches the price jump.

If combining the packages carried weight over 4 pounds, it forces them to use Priority which is $47.95 for a flat rate, or $52.40/$49.78 for a variable size between 4 to 5 pounds.

Based on the price jump of $20, I'd say they failed to account for the dimensions of the box. Breaking it into two smaller boxes again may return it to the closer to the original ship price. (if its split evenly to 1 pound, 3.5, if comes out to $13.17 each via First Class)

OP, tell them to split up the packages of you and your friend. They'll almost certainly ship for less than the combined package! Its extremely counterintuitive, but two small packages do sometimes ship for less than one large one!

(I ship two or three packages international via USPS every week, thus why I'm on to their tricks)

[mishomutt.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much for this information! I wish I had it a few days earlier.. AB took longer than I thought to approve my message, so I ended up making a decision on my own. I basically said I either want my money back or she ship the sculpture out ASAP. She chose to ship them, and on Friday she told me she would ship them "tomorrow and let me know when she does". No message from her since then. ;c

The next question is, do I post a beware on her? I think she's been very difficult throughout this commission, but I'd like to hear others opinions. Or should I wait until I receive my sculpture (if she even ships it...)

[fenris-lorsrai.livejournal.com]

I'd wait to make another post until after Christmas as you can then include the info as to whether she hit the deadline or not AND whether the sculpture arrived intact.

[amarafox.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I've done this before and I've eaten the postage costs.

[thaily.livejournal.com]

Same, it sucks but whatcha gonna do :/

[tifaria.livejournal.com]

also having shipped sculpture many times, unless this is VERY SMALL and they're being shipped double boxed in a much larger box, she really shouldn't ship the two together for safety reasons. improperly packed sculptures together in a box are likely to damage each other.

This. I ship/receive a lot of art at my job, and while shipping multiple pieces in the same box sounds really efficient on paper, in practice it usually just ends in tears and an insurance claim.

Your boyfriend's mum should be understanding. Mail is a nightmare this time of year, and unfortunately there's nothing you can do.

The artist should be the one eating the extra shipping cost. It's not right of them to ask you to make up the difference when they already quoted and had you pay a different amount.

[ljmydayaway.livejournal.com]

For your boyfriend's mom, you can print out the pictures and give them to her as her "present", and say, "This is what your present will look like, when it gets here." That way she still has something to unwrap. :)

I've had to do that a couple times before, honestly. xD

[mishomutt.livejournal.com]

The only problem is, is that I'm in a long distance relationship. My boyfriend and his family live in Norway, so next time I see them after Christmas, it will be around Easter. I mean I can still say "I'm really sorry it hasn't arrived yet!", but because of this whole dilemma, even if I get the sculpture a few days after Christmas, she won't get it until three or four months after. ): I don't expect to have to do that when I paid for something in time for Christmas.

I guess I have no other choice.

[lovegonnadrown.livejournal.com]

ljmydayaway's idea sounds good, I'm sure your boyfriend's mother will understand if you explain to her that the sculpture will take a bit more time. The thought is the most important thing, after all! And she'll have something to look forward to even after the holidays are over. :)

The artist should be keeping contact with both of you, not just your friend. You should send her a note telling her as much, as it will save everyone a lot of trouble in the long run. Also, if she messed up on the postage costs, that's her problem, not yours. You already paid what she said was needed, the professional thing for her to do is eat the extra cost and chalk it up as a lesson to remember the next time she needs to ship something internationally.

[mishomutt.livejournal.com]

I'm sure she will understand, but no doubt be disappointed.

I hear of artists writing bewares about two people commissioning them for the same piece and being difficult, but this time it seems to be the other way around! And yes, you're right. I myself have quoted international shipping on the spot to make a quick sale, and if I'm wrong, I pay the rest. I'm starting to get the hang of it now, though. :B

[lironess.livejournal.com]

Go out and get her a small gift and a card. Put a certificate or note in the card explaining that you had a gift made just for her that is still being shipped from the US. You can include a picture or not your choice...