Regarding late commissions...? (halp)

[infinikitten]

Mods, please move this if it doesn't belong here; I figured I would ask fellow artists/commissioners in the museum as opposed to putting it in Brewster's or the Basement.

Recently, I commissioned someone who said to give them a week's turn-around time. It's a relatively simple piece - I draw and write so I know it's time consuming and I'm not trying to be a brat; I figured it would probably run over that unless they had tons of free time or something, which is fine, cool, I don't mind. But I commissioned her on February 1st. I told them not to rush, just to keep me updated on the 9th, after which all contact abruptly stopped.

On the 20th I went to their DA page and left a comment there, seeing that they were active within the past day on that account, and asked if perhaps my email had gotten lost or if they were busy or something. They responded saying they didn't get my e-mail but needed a couple more days because school had gotten hectic.

It's now March 8th and I've still not heard from them since that exchange. Today I sent another message on DA asking them to contact me either via DA or email to discuss the status of my commission. So my question ultimately is this: What do I do if they don't respond? I know I'm assuming the worst probably, but I've had commissioned people disappear on me in the past (people with followings, too... just ignored all my emails) so I'm nervous. I can see that they've been active in the past several hours, so presumably they've seen it; am I out of line to be pestering them? Do I need to back off? Or... what.

Any advice would be welcome!

 

[Finnian]

Did you already pay her?

- - - Post Merge - - -

And honestly, if the artist is anything like me, they need pestering.
They might be too lazy/sad to do anything and need to be reminded that they have commissions, and that they need to stop laying in bed all day and neglecting responsibility.

 

[infinikitten]

I did pay them ahead of time. They were fairly active on DA at the time so I figured there was no real reason not to, given the fact that they had a bunch of people following their work. As far as I know I'm the only other commission on their plate right now as well, so I'm torn between being nervous that I'm about to be scammed, or giving the benefit of the doubt and thinking that yeah, there's probably just some personal stuff causing complications or whatever. I'd totally understand if they were being transparent with me, but disappearing for a week or two at a time and not responding to emails is the part that's got me freaked out a little.

 

[Naiad]

I did pay them ahead of time. They were fairly active on DA at the time so I figured there was no real reason not to, given the fact that they had a bunch of people following their work. As far as I know I'm the only other commission on their plate right now as well, so I'm torn between being nervous that I'm about to be scammed, or giving the benefit of the doubt and thinking that yeah, there's probably just some personal stuff causing complications or whatever. I'd totally understand if they were being transparent with me, but disappearing for a week or two at a time and not responding to emails is the part that's got me freaked out a little.

What did you pay them with? c: If you used Paypal, you could file a Chargeback.

 

[infinikitten]

What did you pay them with? c: If you used Paypal, you could file a Chargeback.

Ah, I did use Paypal! I completely forgot about the chargeback feature. I'm going to give them another week to get back to me and if I see them continually ignoring me despite being online I think I may just send a message saying I'll be filing a payment dispute, unless that's too harsh.

Again, as someone who draws and writes and all that jazz, I get that things come up and that commissions take time, so I feel kinda bad about doing that though. But I think I might have to, sadly. :/ Thanks guys.

 

[JellofishXD]

I've been waiting for a paid art commission since August last year you should probably check on her on her DA or something!

 

[Naiad]

Ah, I did use Paypal! I completely forgot about the chargeback feature. I'm going to give them another week to get back to me and if I see them continually ignoring me despite being online I think I may just send a message saying I'll be filing a payment dispute, unless that's too harsh.

Again, as someone who draws and writes and all that jazz, I get that things come up and that commissions take time, so I feel kinda bad about doing that though. But I think I might have to, sadly. :/ Thanks guys.

Remember:
There's absolutely nothing wrong with taking time with commissions ^^

However:
Always keep the buyer updated.

If they've been active + ignoring you + taking a long time, they deserve any CB they get.

- - - Post Merge - - -

I've been waiting for a paid art commission since August last year you should probably check on her on her DA or something!

I
Has the artist been keeping contact with you..?
7 Months is an awfully long time for Commission Completion

 

[Allycat]

Mods, please move this if it doesn't belong here; I figured I would ask fellow artists/commissioners in the museum as opposed to putting it in Brewster's or the Basement.

Recently, I commissioned someone who said to give them a week's turn-around time. It's a relatively simple piece - I draw and write so I know it's time consuming and I'm not trying to be a brat; I figured it would probably run over that unless they had tons of free time or something, which is fine, cool, I don't mind. But I commissioned her on February 1st. I told them not to rush, just to keep me updated on the 9th, after which all contact abruptly stopped.

On the 20th I went to their DA page and left a comment there, seeing that they were active within the past day on that account, and asked if perhaps my email had gotten lost or if they were busy or something. They responded saying they didn't get my e-mail but needed a couple more days because school had gotten hectic.

It's now March 8th and I've still not heard from them since that exchange. Today I sent another message on DA asking them to contact me either via DA or email to discuss the status of my commission. So my question ultimately is this: What do I do if they don't respond? I know I'm assuming the worst probably, but I've had commissioned people disappear on me in the past (people with followings, too... just ignored all my emails) so I'm nervous. I can see that they've been active in the past several hours, so presumably they've seen it; am I out of line to be pestering them? Do I need to back off? Or... what.

Any advice would be welcome!

I once commissioned somebody in july and I didn't get my commission until February.
The first 2-3 months I would email maybe once every few weeks, politely, but when december hit my emails were noticeably more annoyed (I had already paid them the $10 back in july)

if it gets to be any more ridiculous, I would just voice your annoyance.

Also, if you do decide to get a refund, ask for it first before going through paypal. That may just give them the push to work on your commission.

 

[oreo]

This is why I'm scared of buying real life commissions from artists. I don't care if it will take them like a month to finish their commisions but I need to hear an update from them at least every once in awhile. If he/she is going through emergency situations or rough times in life, I would understand the slow feedbacks. Thank god the people I commissioned so far was quicker than what I have expected.


My cousin plays GaiaOnline and she commissioned someone from there for $35 (A couple request). She waited 3 months to hear back from the artist. It was strange because he was on daily browsing through the forums and selling his rare items, plus chatting with his friends... His excuse to her was that he got into a recent breakup and needed some time away from drawing. My cousin was understanding and patient. She waited for another two months. Eventually he messaged her back refusing to draw anything. It took 3 weeks for him to refund her the money back. So now she only commission artists who finish drawing first with their watermark attached to the image rather then paying firsthand.​

 

[Tao]

I did pay them ahead of time.

I made this mistake once and once only when my guitar needed repairing. It took about 3 months for the guy to do a job that should have taken a week maximum (even if he was backlogged) and since I paid upfront/cash in hand, I was pretty much forced to wait or take my broken guitar he'd half worked on and leave ?100 worse off.


You should always wait until they've finished the job, especially with real money transactions.

 

[piichinu]

Sorry I disagree with "always paying after they finish"

Anyway on topic:
It seems like a month and a lil more is not that much time. Unless you paid her extra for finishing in a week, I don't think she's /required/ to; she just /should/

Not to be rude but is the artist like ..good. Does she have lots of watchers and commissioners, because like that could be why it's taking so long.

Or was it like someone who was doing commissions for $.50 or something?

I guess what I'm asking about is the reputation

I just realized I said "she." Sorry change that to they/them

 

[infinikitten]

If it were like... a big full-body full-color piece or something I'd be totally hands-off and not bug them, it's just the fact that they've repeatedly been like "I'll be done in a week!" "I'll be done by Wednesday!" etc and then disappeared that's freaking me out a bit, y'know? But it's like, a little b&w bust sketch + a 500-word drabble and I'm the only commission they've taken in the past month so there's also that. I know the speed at which I personally work isn't universal, but for something so small, idk, it wouldn't take me long once I actually sat down and did it up. The lack of communication is primarily what has me feeling panicky about it. ><

 

[Amissapanda]

You definitely have good reason to be concerned. As a commission artist myself, I know communication is key. I realize that's not the case for some people---they prefer to be paid and just get back to you when they're done. And that's their choice. But honestly, that's where I've seen some commissions just become forgotten and problems arising.

Mention the payment dispute if you're really worried. If they have been deliberately ignoring you, that would give them a kind of wake-up call. And if they continue to ignore you, get the money back. Whether someone is having a hard time/depressed/otherwise busy or not, they should still at least notify you. There's no excuse not to.

I hope you get this worked out. Communication is infinitely important when dealing with RLC. And you're obviously doing your part to look into it. I hope they respond to you soon.

 

[UtopiaJ]

I work full time as an illustrator and I can tell you now that is extremely unprofessional behavior. You have every right to ask for a refund unless you can get your commission within a week.

If the artist simply cannot find the time to finish a commission then the proper thing to do would be to inform the client that it is simply not possible and offer the deposit back as a refund. There have been times I have bitten off more than I could chew and I had to do this for my own sanity after pulling an all-nighter. That situation is understandable but honestly, this artist owes you either a super fast turn-around to compensate OR a refund.

I also strongly disagree with only receiving payment afterwards because I have done artwork for people who never paid me. So it works both ways. I solved that by always asking for a deposit upfront (usually about 1/4 - 1/3 of the total price depending on the project) and the rest upon delivery.

I'm really just reiterating what all the other artists here have been saying, but I wanted to throw in my 2 cents and assure you that asking for a refund in this situation is OK. So don't be afraid to do it, you are in the right and the artist most likely knows that.

 

[infinikitten]

Thanks, everybody ♥ Your input has been really, really helpful.

The artist I commissioned got back to me today and finally said they have to cancel. Things just got too busy for them IRL - and I totally understand, but I kind of wish they had just told me earlier or said "Hey, sorry, I can't take a commission right now" instead of leaving slots open when their personal life obviously doesn't allow for this kind of work ><

I left them well wishes and was refunded without having to ask, so the situation seems to have resolved itself.