Lynn
Hello. I apologize for the delay in replying; the past week has been quite busy for me. I also wanted to carefully think over the situation and your words.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on the situation and in public, for everyone to see. It is very important to communication.
In the case of Shinkiro, while I can understand one wanting to recoup the costs of what they paid for the adopt, it is extremely dubious to give credit to your claims of him being worth $400, then $500, then $600, and eventually, even seemingly $1000. There's no logical way the art and adopt adds up to that. In the future, I suggest you keep a tab on your adopts' costs, including how much you paid for them and their art. If the art was free, then put a $0. If it had monetary value, then add a note somewhere in the file. That way, you can never be uncertain again of how much you really spent on the adopt. Also, the matter with Shinkiro was something that built up over several months, as people watched you steadily ask for a higher monetary value for him. That's why that particular situation casts so much black light on you. It wasn't a one-time thing, but a many-time thing, Lynn.
For the Kavaro case, fair enough. It's entirely possible it could be an honest mistake, but please understand that in the current environment where people felt wary of you, it just made the wariness grow more. But I understand and acknowledge that honest mistakes can indeed happen.
In the case of the Fluffen, that's a gray area. It seems Steamed-Bun may have added the new policy concerning raffle adopts once she was brought to attention what you were doing with the Fluffen. I cannot say for certain whether the rule existed or not before she grew aware of your Fluffen. But it is generally perceived in the adopts community that adopts gained for free should also be given away for free if no longer desired. The best thing to do is to obviously ask the artist of the design how they feel. That would have been a very good idea, Lynn, and would not have caused you this trouble and chargeback. It does appear however, that Steamed-Bun does not approve of people trading or selling adopts won from raffles. So in the end, this is really a moot case, for you are perceived in the wrong here. If you were unaware before, please be aware now in the future that it's generally looked down upon to profit from something you won for free, and if uncertain, to always ask the artist who created the design. That way, this situation does not occur and everyone, artist and owner, are on the same page and happy.
I appreciate as well that you came here to post your side of the story. It's very important to get both sides of the story and have proper communication. It's wonderful that you want to prove yourself to the community and make amends, that's quite awesome. It's not too hard to do that, honestly. Make sure you are transparent! If you're reselling, state the price clearly, that of the adopts and any artworks it may come with. Keep tabs on how much you spent on everything. Consider handling all transactions in public, on threads, so people can see your comments. With the wariness surrounding you, people may grow suspicious if you insist on taking everything to PM, where transparency and honestly can be more easily hidden. Link people if possible to the deviations of the adopts. If you desire, I am willing to try and help you as a third party concerning your transactions. That's a grand idea you have.
I wish you the best Lynn.