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Sketchbook Commissions UPDATE!
15 years ago
General
I'm posting this journal because I'm a tad tired of not getting replies to notes sent, at most, once a week.
This year at Anthrocon, I gave DCRabbit my sketchbook on Saturday during the convention. I recall asking when I should check back to see if it's done. He said Sunday.
Not long after that, I end up speaking with Duo, and he mentions it took him a year to get his sketchbook back. I find out DC mentioned not feeling well and left for his room. He's not seen for the rest of the convention.
I had commissioned DC for two pictures, each one featuring two characters. The sketchbook contained a picture by gnaw that I had gotten as a partial gift for a friend, containing our characters together.
I have had poor contact with DC since AC, only getting the occasional reply to my messages. Near the end of September, I told him I wanted the book back and didn't even care if the pictures were done at all. That if the pictures weren't done to just issue me a refund and send me my book back. This was after repeated times of being told "I'll have it done" in the few instances I actually got a response back from him. I had even mentioned that I wanted the book back to take with me to a local furmeet.
He replied that he'd have it mailed out that weekend and it was finished. Surprise surprise, I still havn't received it.
I really don't care about the artwork from him anymore, if it's done or not. All I want is my book. If it still actually hasn't been done yet, just issue me a refund, I'll gladly supply my paypal.
To make everything worse, this isn't the FIRST time he's taken over a year to return someone's sketchbook to them. I've learned of numerous other people who've given him sketchbooks and didn't get them back until a year later. Some people had even showed up at Anthrocon this year wanting their books back after he had them for over a year, yet didn't get their books back.
I'm tired of this. I'm tired of the lack of responses, and I'm tired of waiting. I feel I've been patient enough, and I just want my book back.
I really don't care about the artwork at all. Getting my book back is my only concern. If I had known I'd have to wait like this, or that it might take a year, I NEVER would have commissioned him at all. I would have kept my book to myself.
What makes it worse is there's artwork in that book I haven't seen since Anthrocon, artwork that I wanted to show my friend that I got for us but can't because I can't get my book back. It feels like my book's being held hostage.
To be perfectly honest, the odds of me commissioning DCRabbit again are highly unlikely.
UPDATE! UPDATE! UPDATE! UPDATE!
To clarify, I'm NEVER going to commission DCRabbit again. I've given him an ultimatum to mail my book out this weekend. I had sent him a note two weeks ago to respond and mail my book out, that he had two weeks. He never even opened it. I even sent a shout a few days ago about the note.
I know http://www.furaffinity.net/user/shagydoo is another guy on fa who's dealt with and possibly still dealing with this long period of avoidance from DC.
That said, I'm furious. With each passing day, I'm considering more and more to be posting on Artists Beware. I've even contemplated giving up completely on the book and sending him a bill for the book, the two commissions, and every other commission I've LOST that is in that book and just giving up on the book completely.
I've officially canceled the commission. I want a refund and the book, or if he has actually done the art, just the book.
This year at Anthrocon, I gave DCRabbit my sketchbook on Saturday during the convention. I recall asking when I should check back to see if it's done. He said Sunday.
Not long after that, I end up speaking with Duo, and he mentions it took him a year to get his sketchbook back. I find out DC mentioned not feeling well and left for his room. He's not seen for the rest of the convention.
I had commissioned DC for two pictures, each one featuring two characters. The sketchbook contained a picture by gnaw that I had gotten as a partial gift for a friend, containing our characters together.
I have had poor contact with DC since AC, only getting the occasional reply to my messages. Near the end of September, I told him I wanted the book back and didn't even care if the pictures were done at all. That if the pictures weren't done to just issue me a refund and send me my book back. This was after repeated times of being told "I'll have it done" in the few instances I actually got a response back from him. I had even mentioned that I wanted the book back to take with me to a local furmeet.
He replied that he'd have it mailed out that weekend and it was finished. Surprise surprise, I still havn't received it.
I really don't care about the artwork from him anymore, if it's done or not. All I want is my book. If it still actually hasn't been done yet, just issue me a refund, I'll gladly supply my paypal.
To make everything worse, this isn't the FIRST time he's taken over a year to return someone's sketchbook to them. I've learned of numerous other people who've given him sketchbooks and didn't get them back until a year later. Some people had even showed up at Anthrocon this year wanting their books back after he had them for over a year, yet didn't get their books back.
I'm tired of this. I'm tired of the lack of responses, and I'm tired of waiting. I feel I've been patient enough, and I just want my book back.
I really don't care about the artwork at all. Getting my book back is my only concern. If I had known I'd have to wait like this, or that it might take a year, I NEVER would have commissioned him at all. I would have kept my book to myself.
What makes it worse is there's artwork in that book I haven't seen since Anthrocon, artwork that I wanted to show my friend that I got for us but can't because I can't get my book back. It feels like my book's being held hostage.
To be perfectly honest, the odds of me commissioning DCRabbit again are highly unlikely.
UPDATE! UPDATE! UPDATE! UPDATE!
To clarify, I'm NEVER going to commission DCRabbit again. I've given him an ultimatum to mail my book out this weekend. I had sent him a note two weeks ago to respond and mail my book out, that he had two weeks. He never even opened it. I even sent a shout a few days ago about the note.
I know http://www.furaffinity.net/user/shagydoo is another guy on fa who's dealt with and possibly still dealing with this long period of avoidance from DC.
That said, I'm furious. With each passing day, I'm considering more and more to be posting on Artists Beware. I've even contemplated giving up completely on the book and sending him a bill for the book, the two commissions, and every other commission I've LOST that is in that book and just giving up on the book completely.
I've officially canceled the commission. I want a refund and the book, or if he has actually done the art, just the book.
He didn't evade my inquiries on what's going on. A few times I went a couple weeks without talking to DC and the messages I would send him, over half go unanswered. What's worse is over a month ago he told me he was shipping the book out. I've asked him since then "how long does it take to ship something from Canada?" only to get no reply at all!
From a personal standpoint, I;d get back in touch, apologize even if you didn't think you were immediately unfriendly or demanding and see if you can work something out. I'd recommend swapping a commish from a sketchbook one to a piece of bristol board, and have your sketchbook back for MFF. That way everyone's happy.
After the book didn't arrive, I sent him two polite inquires going "How long does it take a book to ship from Canada? What's going on?" in notes and his journal. He never replied. I even sent him one "Did you get the messages I've sent you?" and no reply.
Hell, I was polite to him before I sent him the message stating I'm going to a furmeet and I'd like to have the book back by the end of September for the furmeet. I stated that if he hadn't gotten to my book yet (it was a journal he had about not going to MFM and having overdue commissions to work on) he can refund me and send the book back. His reply was an eep and that he understood. I didn't find out he was mailing the book till I said Hello to him on yahoo and his reply to that Hello was "sending the book out this weekend."
The DECENT thing to have done would to have admitted "Hey, it's gonna be quite a while till I can get to your book. I've got a big backlog of things." Or say, "I've got rl stuff that's involved, I havn't gotten to your book." I would have been FINE with that. Hell, let me know what's going on every once in a while. Like once every two weeks maybe! Let me have the option to say "Look, if you're that backlogged, I'll just take a refund and you can send me my book back. It's fine."
I don't need to get impatient and worried that something's happened due to huge periods of silence! If you think I've been rude, the fact that I have no idea what's going on and DC not answering the rare times I do contact him brought me to that rudeness.
Hell, Jenner, the creator of Doc Rat, had to send me my prize for winning his caption contest. After about a month went by I realized I hadn't gotten anything in the mail, so I contacted him. To be honest, I had completely forgotten about it till the day I contacted him. I merely asked if it had gotten lost in the mail or if something had happened. He said he had gotten busy with rl stuff and hadn't gotten around to mailing it out. I was fine with that and told him so. I know that rl stuff comes up, and a friendly reminder from the artist that they have not forgotten you but things got in the way is nice and reassuring.
I got very little of that from DC. I sent him 7 notes since AC, the number of replies I've gotten has been 1. Those aren't counting the one I got from him today after posting this. The one I got from him is 4 months old. I have no problem with posting everything here. I got a few more replies on his journal. There's been a three times I've messaged him on yahoo and only got a response once, and it was him telling me he'd mail the book out by the weekend, which was over a month and a half ago.
I've done NOTHING but be polite to him and it's gotten me NOWHERE. The only times I seem to get any reply from him is where I seem to put a little bit if pressure on him. If I could go to paypal and request a refund, I would!
And what excuse do you have for him holding the books of other commissioners for a year? Look around a little, this isn't the FIRST time he's done this. There were people mentioning on his journal for AC they didn't see him and wanted their books back. There were notes on the bulletin board from commissioners who said he's had their books for a year. Duo told me himself it took him a year to get his book back. I've replied to a journal from another commissioner who's waited months to get his book back and has gotten very little replies from DC, much like I have. It took the guy posting a journal LIKE MINE to even find out what's going on.
Please, quit trying to make excuses for DC, it's obvious to anyone he's a repeat offender at doing this. I'm at the end of my rope here and feeling that if it does end up taking up to a year to get my book back, I'm posting about this at Artist's Beware.
I gave him my book at AC 2009 on the first day, at which point he vanished from view. Apparently wasn't feeling well. I can sympathize with that, con crud strikes anyone. I leave notes on the Artist's Alley bulletin board, check back, nothing. The con ends and I start sending notes. The first few get responses of 'I'll be working on it this weekend and will mail it out right after'. I do accept that art takes time.
Then I stop getting responses. I try to keep my tone calm in my messages without sounding too irate. Nothing. Finally, after a year, I ask if he'll bring it to AC 2010 so I can pick it up. He assures me he will.
I go to AC 2010. On the first morning I stop in at the Alley and politely ask for my book. He says he left it in his room, and will bring it down the next morning. At which point he disappears again, for the rest of the con. For the second year, I am forced to return home without book in hand. I send off another message, and get a response that he wants to get a good deal on a scanner, which will take a month. I grit my teeth and wait the month. Nothing. I send off more notes. Nothing.
I actually ran into him on Tapestries Muck a few weeks ago, and he noted that he wasn't terribly happy with how it turned out and he hadn't scanned it yet (no offer of a refund or a re-do or anything). I told him that I didn't care, I just wanted it mailed out. He said he would take care of it that week. Not surprisingly, there seems to have been no movement.
I am now QUITE tired of being patient and polite, and have had it up to here with these games of his.
(Sorry if this is journal necromancy, I just stumbled across your post and was interested to see that I wasn't the only one being given the run-around)