City of Heroes: Live Forum Archive

Posting in irritation perhaps...

Ael Rhiana

By Ael Rhiana,
Posted on: 2008-02-04 04:30 in Multi-Media Fan Creations

 

Posted

You know...you gotta love it when you pay for something, you know the person received the money, then it's been 2 weeks later and you've yet to hear back from them...

I'm a patient dude...but when I spend $42 on a nice fan art calender and not hear from the seller, I can't help but get a bit irritated...

what I'm talkin about

 

Posted

Agreed, but that's a little different of an area than I'm used to.

Is that the print/products through DA? I've never used it before and am not sure on how they are processed.

 

Posted

nah, not through DA's system, separate kinda deal like commissions.

 

Posted

3 weeks since she received payment, 2 weeks since I last heard from her.

See, when we set up the whole deal, I got replies from her rather quickly, after she told me she got the payment, I haven't heard from her since, despite me trying to contact her, tryin to see what's going on. I like to be kept updated on things if something happens, especially when you only live a few states away.

 

Posted

I could understand if she was doing a complete custom job for you but it seems like you were just paying for art work that was already completed

she does advertise it as "for sale" on DA so maybe contacting someone from DA might help.

 

Posted

Heeeyy... a calendar!

*get a good idea for a project*

 

Posted

Could be worse. I spent $40 to commission some art from this guy.

When? April of 2007. Not only have I not gotten my artwork, but in October he posted that he was not going to do the commissions after all and that he'd transfer money back to the people who paid. As of now, I still haven't gotten my money back and I even sent him a pm asking him about this.

I'm making enough money right now that I don't care enough to hound him, but it does PO me sometimes, especially since outwardly he seemed a cool enough guy.

 

Posted

well, I'm about 4 days off, but it's been pretty much a month since she confirmed payment...I went ahead and filed mail fraud against the person, because she is blatantly ignoring me and judging by some replies on her DA page, she has been online.

would like to thank Gamma Girl for saying something as well

 

Posted

Thats probably the best way to handle it. I once threatened an artist who I knew had been online and I had been emailing with reporting him to Paypal and the very next day he contacted me and my situation was taken care of.

 

Posted

I'm doing one too Doug, with all new art... the hardest part will be not showing it to the community before it's for sale.

Dj: sorry you're having such a hard time... I too am offering DA printing sales, but haven't heard any complaints from those who've ordered through them. Maybe that's the hold up in this case... the physical packing and mailing off of your calendar. I know that trudging to the post office was not going to be good for me, which is why I paid the extra for a DA printing account.

I hope it works out in the end... though a month is not long too wait if the artist is heavily booked.

But personally speaking I would go nuts making my client wait that long. Part of the reason I am offering a "fast" offer vs a more detailed "slower" offer, cuz waiting is just as hard on the artist. I hate guilt... I'd rather work with screaming back pains (and I have) than be backed up for months on commissions, but that's just me.

Good luck to ya!

LJ

 

Posted

I can see what you're saying LJ, I could be completely understanding if she were to reply back to any of the messages I sent her. She has time to go to other people's DA page and leave comments for them, but apparently doesn't have the time to reply to a customer who's already paid for their goods.

 

Posted

Yup, this seems to be a repeating theme for some - either taking money and not doing anytng... or simply taking years to get it done.

YEARS!

MONTHS!!

Come on, this just doesn't make sense to me. Why even take any money until you've started on the piece?

 

Posted

<QR>

Dang yo, you can make that much money off of art?

 

Posted

[ QUOTE ]
Why even take any money until you've started on the piece?

[/ QUOTE ]

Personally I prefer upfront because it doesn't slow the work flow... however if there is a glitch, I will tell the client how long the wait is.

 

Posted

yeah, i have one guy I was commissioning that has dissappeared completely and hasn't responded, but he didn't want money up front so I'm not missing out on anything. Still wish he'd do it though so I could have it.

Liberty
My 50s:
Hero: Armor Assassin (scrapper), Cross Dresser (scrapper), Surly Seaman (blaster), Defensive End (Tank), Rad Rhino (Cont)
Villain: Beast Infection (Corr), Sweet Zombie Jesus (MM), Milk Weasel (Stalker), Orgullo (MM), Agent Eris (Crab)

 

Posted

For any WIP projects, Art or Otherwise, if there is little/no direct oversight between you and the producer, its best to go by a 1/3rd, 2/3rds rule.

1/3rd up front (its the "Carrot") and the 2/3rds once the project is completed (The "stick"). That way, they get money (So they can't say "Well I'm not working for something I'm not paid for!") and you don't fork out 100% off the purchase price, in case they renege on the deal and try and shirk the responsibility.

 

Posted

[ QUOTE ]
For any WIP projects, Art or Otherwise, if there is little/no direct oversight between you and the producer, its best to go by a 1/3rd, 2/3rds rule.

1/3rd up front (its the "Carrot") and the 2/3rds once the project is completed (The "stick"). That way, they get money (So they can't say "Well I'm not working for something I'm not paid for!") and you don't fork out 100% off the purchase price, in case they renege on the deal and try and shirk the responsibility.

[/ QUOTE ]

While this rule protects the collector very well, it does nothing to protect the artist from a "wild card" client, who would demand several changes, extend the period of work, and flat out refuse to pay the remaining sum if they should so choose.

1/2 down and 1/2 after is fair.

But I personally believe that before the buyer leaps into the pool, they first do their homework. Check with previous clients, check that they got what they asked for, check the artist's demeanor, and if that is something they can "put up" with...

I regret that one bad apple will always keep the lines of communication harshly paranoid. And while I myself have had some less than perfect clients, it could all have been avoided with some preparation on both parts. That is to say I know what I am and am not capable of, and what I hope my clients understand and if I'm lucky they won't be too angry with me.

Okay, note to self, don't watch PBS and post at the same time.

LJ

 

Posted

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
For any WIP projects, Art or Otherwise, if there is little/no direct oversight between you and the producer, its best to go by a 1/3rd, 2/3rds rule.

1/3rd up front (its the "Carrot") and the 2/3rds once the project is completed (The "stick"). That way, they get money (So they can't say "Well I'm not working for something I'm not paid for!") and you don't fork out 100% off the purchase price, in case they renege on the deal and try and shirk the responsibility.

[/ QUOTE ]

While this rule protects the collector very well, it does nothing to protect the artist from a "wild card" client, who would demand several changes, extend the period of work, and flat out refuse to pay the remaining sum if they should so choose.

1/2 down and 1/2 after is fair.

But I personally believe that before the buyer leaps into the pool, they first do their homework. Check with previous clients, check that they got what they asked for, check the artist's demeanor, and if that is something they can "put up" with...

I regret that one bad apple will always keep the lines of communication harshly paranoid. And while I myself have had some less than perfect clients, it could all have been avoided with some preparation on both parts. That is to say I know what I am and am not capable of, and what I hope my clients understand and if I'm lucky they won't be too angry with me.

Okay, note to self, don't watch PBS and post at the same time.

LJ

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, mine's at... nine months now. Almost four months to the day since the last word I'd heard. And previous projects (not with me) seemed to be promising....

In contrast, I just got a quick note from Daggerpoint saying he'd be pushing that commission to the end of the month - my response being all of "OK, that's fine, thanks for letting me know."

It's going to be interesting to see if I can hold my tongue if/when my *severely* late commission contacts me. I got irked enough that I've commissioned someone else (totally different style, too...) to do those characters (plus one other, making it a trio) even though I wanted the initial piece... well, long ago, but I was still hoping for "Before they hit 50." Which they did last night.

 

Posted

Conga-rats Bill.


"City of Heroes. April 27, 2004 - August 31, 2012. Obliterated not with a weapon of mass destruction, not by an all-powerful supervillain... but by a cold-hearted and cowardly corporate suck-up."

 

Posted

[ QUOTE ]
Well, mine's at... nine months now. Almost four months to the day since the last word I'd heard. And previous projects (not with me) seemed to be promising....

In contrast, I just got a quick note from Daggerpoint saying he'd be pushing that commission to the end of the month - my response being all of "OK, that's fine, thanks for letting me know."

It's going to be interesting to see if I can hold my tongue if/when my *severely* late commission contacts me. I got irked enough that I've commissioned someone else (totally different style, too...) to do those characters (plus one other, making it a trio) even though I wanted the initial piece... well, long ago, but I was still hoping for "Before they hit 50." Which they did last night.

[/ QUOTE ]

There's no doubt that some artists, being so popular are overbooked... Gil Bates, Graver, Daggerpoint... just to name a few. I think in these cases it's an unfortunate side effect of their work that a long long wait is unavoidable.

Where someone may have been lucky with an artist in the early aspects of their career, less demand and more free time, the reverse is true of most sought after artists incredibly high demand and no free time.

I hope when you get your piece, it's worth the aggravation, and that it's so good you forgive the artist for being terrible at time management. Even with agents or assistants working for them, you can only draw so many hours in the day, and somebody somewhere will be forced to wait.

I know 9 months is ludicrous, but I should think after the 4-5 month marker, it would be best to move on to someone new, with plenty of time to devote to you, and hope for the best that someday you'll get your work soon from the other party.

I have been guilty of keeping people waiting 2-5 months myself, unintentionally, and this is all in the past, where it was worked out to update them as regularly as possible. As I mentioned before, the guilt builds up, and some things are unforeseen. I've adjusted my capabilities to prevent this from happening, with perhaps a 10% chance of overtime, but then again nothing can be predicted fully.

But I cannot speak for your predicament since I don't know the artist very well. In Bates & Graver's case you get physical pieces of art, so waiting for those is worth any period imho. Daggerpoint's work is also worth the wait, since he's been here since the community started.

But again I'm not telling you anything you don't know, goodluck with everything...

LJ

 

Posted

[ QUOTE ]
well, I'm about 4 days off, but it's been pretty much a month since she confirmed payment...I went ahead and filed mail fraud against the person, because she is blatantly ignoring me and judging by some replies on her DA page, she has been online.

would like to thank Gamma Girl for saying something as well

[/ QUOTE ]

=)
sometimes when an previously unknown 3rd party pokes someone with a stick, it gets a reaction =)

unfortunately that's not the case here... I hope you get some action on this. It's one thing if you waiting for someone to make you art but it's entirely different if the art is already done and they just aren't sending it to you.

 

Posted

=)