@magjc they have indeed been active and posted personal art and even some adopts. Not SUPER active but they did upload 3-4 pieces I think. They do not have a public queue and unfortunately, they have since deleted the journal where they accepted the commissions so I cannot backtrack who also commissioned them. I might e-mail them on their paypal account tbh. (On another note, they have been active on discord, I saw them posting something at least once on a server I am also part of)
I do feel like this as well since I've been at the same position as them once. However, I always responded to the inquiries of my commissioners and tried to give them updates as much as I could. I might try and message them on all channels with a time frame in which I at least expect a sketch, although the design I originally wanted to be done is basically useless since it was a MYO for a closed species and I have since used the slot for another design. So either way, my money is gone and the design won't even be used since I neither have the means nor the energy to actually put it to use.
Hello guys! I'll try to keep this vague and not name anyone because I don't want my claims to be unjustified in the end and to drag their reputation through dirt.
At the end of may I comm-ed someone for a reference sheet/custom character I've been wanting for a while now. They did offer me to pay after they sent me the sketch but I usually am more comfortable with paying right away, so I did.
After payment, I poked them a week later since they said they'll deliver a sketch to me the next day after they received the money. They told me they had a stressful week and they'll send me a WIP a day after. Since then I have not heard from them again.
I've tried contacting them twice, once a month later on June 24th and July 7th. They have neither responded nor even read the note I sent them on Deviantart.
Another issue I have with this is the fact that they've been active on dA a few times, even after my other two failed attempts at contacting them.
I feel like this whole thing is my fault since I've paid them in advance, they probably told me I can pay after sketch approval because they know how they deal with commissions. What would you guys recommend? I'm honestly a bit overwhelmed. Should I wait some more? Try contacting them with an ultimatum? I mean, it hasn't been that long and I really do not mind waiting, it's just the fact they haven't responded to any of my recent messages that's putting me off.
Hello as someone who had bad response like this from an artist.
This is very unprofessional from them, also i would be careful on the wait time, be wary than no more than 6 month passes since the payment, why? Because after is harder to get your money back from paypal.
They did start a sketch so a fully refund shouldnt be at place, instead send a message starting.
"I might ask for a refund if you dont reply to me"
Why start with such a harsh thing? Because even if they dont open the note they can see the start of it in da notes, so they get startled and hopefully read the whole note and you will get an answer.
After those words, explain a little more the situation and this way you can give them more time, but also set an enddate, remember how i said to keep the 6months thing? Now is the time to set the end date before this, so you can be protected.
But if they decide to ignore you, you will have to fight them with paypal, remember dont let the 6 months run by, let it be 5 or so in case you can wait that much, so they get a direct message from paypal to settle this.
@Gingler thank you so much for that advice! I will message them again in a few days, just need a bit to cool my head off since I want to stay professional
honestly i feel like they might have good intentions, but uh.. insufficient judgment and time management skills to really be handling comms. the ghosting while being otherwise active is super unprofessional and in this kind of situation, its certainly fair to send them another message? title it something that will get their attention and mention a date- "if i dont hear back from you by [date], then i will proceed with filing a chargeback", or something to that effect (but be polite orz).
x.x" definitely dont let it pass 6mo tho- or let them drag it out past 6mo with excuses- ive lost about $205 from this exact situation in the past 2 years that ive just given up on ever getting back, lol.
good luck!
Small update here, I saw the artist is still avoiding me/other commissioners on deviantart while they are pretty active on Twitter. I don't know if it would make sense to reach out to them on multiple channels but I might do so.
Thanks so much for your advice so far, will keep you guys posted. In case, anyone wants to know the artist's name, DM me, I don't want to make it public to drag their rep throgh dirt.
I was recently in a situation like this as well, I would give it a few days from your last message and then try to message them on twitter(that’s what I did) If they still do not respond to you after a few days it might be a good time to file a chargeback. Giving them a few days allows them to have the time that if they can’t immediately answer or are busy then they can get back to you on one of the following days(though this seems to not be the case). If they are ghosting you on two platforms then something is up.