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Things just keep getting worse, yeah?
8 years ago
General
So.... ..
... I have to start from...scratch in regards to everything I have raised so far for moving. The paypal account I was using under my mom's name was picked up on the high risk radar due to the recent high traffic of transactions, plus it being a new business account as well since.. that needed to happen in order to keep receiving funds needed for the emergency.
So it's been locked now, due to the fact that I'm using the same artist name that's also on my account that's been experiencing chargebacks from clients who don't want to be patient with me and my situation. So.
My accounts have been permanently limited until the negative balance can be paid off. Even tossing in everything I have saved up so far will not pay it off, but will get me pretty far, and the balance could be paid off with another set or two of adopts. However, that will leave me with $0 for moving, plus my car note is coming up and if that isn't paid it'll be up for repossession since I'm behind on payments.
I don't know what to do anymore. I keep doing my best to crawl out of the hole I'm in, only to keep getting shoved back down by /something/.
I was feeling pretty hopeful today because an old college acquaintance offered a sublease on his apartment since he wants to move in with his friends, and a sublease is a little easier to obtain. We completed the paperwork on that today, and I paid the admin fees on that with high hopes. I worry about the credit check part but... if I'm approved, all that needs to be paid is April's rent and pet fees. That's only $1200 that I pretty much have obtained already with my adopts and generous donations. I would have been taken care of if I get that approval tomorrow. But now, with my account being locked due to the issues regarding chargebacks from clients who refuse to be understanding, I'm just completely out of luck. I can't receive anything, anywhere, until that negative balance is paid. I can send what I have acquired already, but that would leave me with little time to start over and get the funds I need.
I also had a store I wanted to set up as well to sell leftover charms and my eevee buttons, but that will be delayed due to this happening with my account. I'm thinking about getting my best friend to manage my store for me with their paypal account in the mean time though, but shipping anything will be delayed until I can access the funds. I'll have to accept funds for anything now through other friends until this negative balance can be resolved. I've been reassured full restoration of my accounts if that balance can be paid off after speaking to a paypal supervisor
...all I can really do now is just work on as many adopts as possible, hoping I get approved for that sublease in the meantime. I'll be putting up more zonkeys and using old bases. Hopefully despite this setback, I can make it through and not end up in the worst case scenario.
I want to take a moment though to thank people who still decide to stick around and support me, like... I wouldn't have gotten this far if it weren't for those who buy my adopts, share, RT, donate, whatever it is that you do to show you still want to support me despite the flack I receive about commissions. You're all the ones that keep me going and being hopeful. I appreciate you and I feel like I need to make that known and say it more often because I don't acknowledge it enough. I'm trying to fix things, and it's your support that gives me the reassurance that things will turn around once I'm able to stand on my two feet for once.
... I have to start from...scratch in regards to everything I have raised so far for moving. The paypal account I was using under my mom's name was picked up on the high risk radar due to the recent high traffic of transactions, plus it being a new business account as well since.. that needed to happen in order to keep receiving funds needed for the emergency.
So it's been locked now, due to the fact that I'm using the same artist name that's also on my account that's been experiencing chargebacks from clients who don't want to be patient with me and my situation. So.
My accounts have been permanently limited until the negative balance can be paid off. Even tossing in everything I have saved up so far will not pay it off, but will get me pretty far, and the balance could be paid off with another set or two of adopts. However, that will leave me with $0 for moving, plus my car note is coming up and if that isn't paid it'll be up for repossession since I'm behind on payments.
I don't know what to do anymore. I keep doing my best to crawl out of the hole I'm in, only to keep getting shoved back down by /something/.
I was feeling pretty hopeful today because an old college acquaintance offered a sublease on his apartment since he wants to move in with his friends, and a sublease is a little easier to obtain. We completed the paperwork on that today, and I paid the admin fees on that with high hopes. I worry about the credit check part but... if I'm approved, all that needs to be paid is April's rent and pet fees. That's only $1200 that I pretty much have obtained already with my adopts and generous donations. I would have been taken care of if I get that approval tomorrow. But now, with my account being locked due to the issues regarding chargebacks from clients who refuse to be understanding, I'm just completely out of luck. I can't receive anything, anywhere, until that negative balance is paid. I can send what I have acquired already, but that would leave me with little time to start over and get the funds I need.
I also had a store I wanted to set up as well to sell leftover charms and my eevee buttons, but that will be delayed due to this happening with my account. I'm thinking about getting my best friend to manage my store for me with their paypal account in the mean time though, but shipping anything will be delayed until I can access the funds. I'll have to accept funds for anything now through other friends until this negative balance can be resolved. I've been reassured full restoration of my accounts if that balance can be paid off after speaking to a paypal supervisor
...all I can really do now is just work on as many adopts as possible, hoping I get approved for that sublease in the meantime. I'll be putting up more zonkeys and using old bases. Hopefully despite this setback, I can make it through and not end up in the worst case scenario.
I want to take a moment though to thank people who still decide to stick around and support me, like... I wouldn't have gotten this far if it weren't for those who buy my adopts, share, RT, donate, whatever it is that you do to show you still want to support me despite the flack I receive about commissions. You're all the ones that keep me going and being hopeful. I appreciate you and I feel like I need to make that known and say it more often because I don't acknowledge it enough. I'm trying to fix things, and it's your support that gives me the reassurance that things will turn around once I'm able to stand on my two feet for once.
I wish you the best man it sucks u gotta go through this
Do you have like temp living situation or like a family member you can borrow some money from?
I'm not sure if this will help much right now because of your issues with PayPal, but have you considered selling adoptable bases? I know quite a few artists make a fair amount off of bases, and the amount of expression you put into your artwork could definitely result in some fun bases.
Hang in there, Vani! We're here for you!
When you haven't completed the work your customers paid for, that money is not yours yet. You are absolutely not entitled to it. If you keep blaming your commissioners, you are going to keep digging yourself into a deep and deeper hole, and making things worse and worse for yourself. You need to accept that this is no one else fault but your own, you can't blame people for wanting their money back when getting their product(s) is no where in sight.
You are an insanely talented artist, and you have so much potential. I feel awful that you're in this situation, and everyone desperately wants to see you succeed. I really hope you can come out of this situation a stronger person, and learn from the mistakes.
Now...most of these commissions that have chargebacks were for emergency situations, such as getting my car back when it was repossessed, where I /needed/ to pay upfront immediately or my car would have been gone for good. So I understand what you mean that money isn't mine until the art is done, like I really do. There's no denying that statement in terms of business. It's why I hardly take commissions at all and just resort to adopts when I can since the work is done. But in a situation like I just described, it's a little tough...don't you think? It's a case where that money is just..gone and it's a matter of the service just needing to be completed. Along with situations where someone might need food, or need a mandatory bill to be paid. So, idk dude. I'm sitting here wanting to do the right thing, but understanding has to go both ways, which is what I'm having a rough time with explaining. It's why my communication with clients has gotten so bad. I feel like sometimes I need help with it, since I'm struggling reaching out. That's how bad it's gotten as of late with all the stress.
I totally understand you here, being a freelancer myself I've ran into this problem before, where things in emergency circumstances call for spending the money right away. It happens, and it's not something uncommon, however, technically you have spent someone else's money on whatever it is. Honestly- if anything people just want to be reassured that they aren't being scammed or having someone run away with their money. It's kinda hard to trust someone when they won't respond to any of your messages, and some people have been waiting 5-6 years. So they're gonna want their money back. It's not their fault for forcing it back when they haven't heard from you in months.
Honestly, the most important thing in any relationship is communication, and that 100% applies to business as well. It works wonders to communicate. It allows them to trust you, and not think their money is being stolen. I can understand the anxiety as messages start to pile up, and I can understand the situation you are in. Have you thought to maybe have someone manage your messages for you? It might take away the stress and have a middle man to keep communication?
Thank you for understanding that I don't mean to come off malicious or anything like that. I'm not looking to beat anyone up for this or come off as uncaring, just merely addressing the issue at hand. I can see where it may have come off as pretty callous due to poor wording. I know if I was in the customer's shoes, I would be bomboarding chargebacks too haha. No doubt about it. So they are valid in their choices.
I've been really wanting to look into someone to help me get messages answered, because at this point I feel like I can't do this on my own. The amount is staggering, and doesn't help my anxiety at all, especially since recently I'm just met with a people snapping on me or something, and refusing to reason with me based on what I tell them. I feel if I had someone else to help with the messages, it would take a load off my shoulders... I'm just not too sure who to ask. I'd ask my best friend help, but he suffers the same type of anxious issues that I have. I guess I could post about it...?
Of course, I don't mean to come off malicious either. I do genuinely want to see you succeed and get out of this hole that you've dug. I'm happy to know you can understand why people are reacting they way they are, and It's likely not with the intention to make things worse for you, or anything personal, just strictly the business aspect of it.
I would definitely think that this could be very helpful to you. Honestly, I assume most people don't mind waiting for your work, I think it's just the communication aspect, and if that could be solved I think it would make everything a lot smoother. Limit your anxiety, which I'm assuming would also allow you to work better too. I'm sure you could find someone who would be willing to give you a hand. I mean even just looking at all the comments above, you have a lot of support and people who want to help you.
Yeah, honestly I'm pretty geared to tackle my issue despite this limitations, so hopefully once this is settled, I can finally get back on track with that queue of mine and resolving it. Whether it be through refunds, adopts or getting the work done when I can outside of my fulltime job I'm starting soon.
I will actually think this over, and reach out to a couple of friends who might feel comfortable with helping me reply to messages and set up a better means of communication since that is the biggest issue at hand currently.
And you're absolutely right, I'm super suppperrrr thankful for all the support I'm still receiving despite everything that's been going on lately. I definitely can't let these people down.
Sorry about all the stuff going on right now. It really sucks and hopefully everything works out for you for the better.
I am really happy to hear that you are going to be looking into that option, I am sure it will help. I wish you the absolute best of luck, and I hope to see you come out on the flip side of all this.
I've sent you a note which might possibly be useful in that regard.
But yes, otherwise, I concur.
I want to re-iterate that I agree as well, like I can't stress enough that I understand all sides here, and believe me I am open to suggestions for improvement in a concise and constructive way. It's been getting harder and harder to communicate with clients, and I feel bad for the ones I've kept waiting, but it seems whenever I make an attempt to explain my mountainous amount of issues that keep happening... I'm just hit with a volatile response. It's been doing a number on my anxiety, and when it gets bad I just shut down until I come around from it.
It's why I've been resorting to just posting mass updates, pinning them up for everyone to see so at least some sorta update is available to see. Lately responding individually has been so tough because I don't know if I'll be met with understanding, or someone snapping. Normally I can handle a snap or two, and come to a compromise. But literally....I swear, every attempt I make has resulted in someone angry with me when I try to explain what's going on. It's left me feeling afraid to reach out, mostly because I fear no matter how much I explain any current situation at hand, no one will listen. And that's...basically all I want when I try to explain whatever problem I'm dealing with that's holding me up.
A bit of advice from one artist to another: Giving massive explanations to individual clients is not the best idea. It's not really professional (because at the end of the day, your problems are yours, not your clients') to start with, but it can also have the effect of seeming like you're trying to garner sympathy/guilt trip as a way to excuse your sparse work/updates. The one exception to this, I'd say, could be if you're already friends with the person and they definitely want to know the details of your situation...but that's still an "if". Otherwise, trying to keep things simple is generally the best course of action. (And I know anxiety can make this difficult--it makes you want to give a more thorough explanation, and you basically have to fight against your own mind to not give into it...)
Also, the less communication there is, the worse it is. A lot of people are more likely to be understanding if you're keeping in regular contact with them, even if you have no updates to provide. And I get it; I deal with anxiety and other mental illnesses as well. It's difficult, it can be scary, you feel guilty about the lack of updates to give, and everything is stressful. But you can't let that stop you from communicating appropriately and doing the work you've been paid to do (or refunding for it if it ends up you can't). It's especially hard because oftentimes it's like one thing after another goes wrong...but you ultimately have to figure out something that works for you if you're going to continue taking paid work.
Hmm...last bit of advice I can think of is...if talking to clients in particular stresses you out too much, maybe consider finding a friend who can act as a manager for you? It's something I've seen a few people try, anyway.
In any case, good luck.
I have talked to tons of people, and have tons of my own friend who have all been waiting on art, from 6 months ago, to a year ago, to 5 years ago, all the way up to 7 years ago. So no, it's not really a matter of waiting a couple months or something like that at this point. It's a little more extreme than that. I'm also not blaming her for what happened to the account, I'm saying it's not her customers faults' for wanting their money back.
I don't have any advices but I hope you will find a nice place, and work hard to reduce and even make it zero the line of your commissioners.
Personally-- If I'd say to bite the bullet and pay off Paypal. I think the sooner you get rid of that negative balance the sooner a lot of your other problems will be dealt with.
If you end up having to be forced out of where you live-- it might be best to leave your pets with your parents and live out of your car until your first paycheck and then get that sublease??
Also pay off your car or phone if possible once your Paypal is clear. Since those are a lot closer to necessity.
Of course this is the worst case scenario, but ultimately your pets (and arguably your computer and art supplies) are the most important things to you. I'd say leave anything you fear losing with your parents or a friend until you can get pay from your new job then work from there.
I wouldn't really....recommend getting a storage unit cause that might just come back to bite you later? Considering all of your issues, you might be forced to downgrade and lose some of your furniture and things if you can't find someone with a free closet to stuff a few boxes into.
That being said, I do genuinely hope you manage to find a way to get out of the red and work something out, dude. :/
All I can do at this point is wish you the best luck possible given the situation and have you know I support you and stand by your side through it all!
Keep fighting Vani! ;3; I know you'll be able to pull through eventually.
If you do get turned away for this sublease (or other subleases) then you may need to seriously consider Florida Section 8 housing for the moment to help you get back on your feet. That will give you the time you desperately need to get your funds together to pay off your debt. In the meantime I would be looking into as many Subleases as you possibly can because at this point that is going to be one of your best options to keep a roof over your head.
Also, this is a very, VERY last-ditch suggestion but if you're literally being suffocated by this pending debt and a poor credit score which is hurting you getting approved for housing and other things, then you could file for bankruptcy.
Now just hear me out. I know it sounds extreme, but you WOULD be able to recover. It's not as horrendous to recover from it as many people think. My ex-girlfriend had filed for bankruptcy because of pending credit card debts she had from a previous marriage. Yes, your credit will suffer, and it will show up that you filed for bankruptcy, but once it's done, it's done.....and you can begin to re-piece together your life. You can start building up your credit again, you can start anew with an online Payment processing service. You can not only refund your old commissioners with money from your new job (which would be a HUGE burden off of your shoulders), but sell as many designs and adoptables as you want. You'd get a clean slate (not completely, but partially). It's just a thought if you don't think there's any way you can re-pay this debt in a reasonable amount of time.
Good luck with everything once again. I'll continue to think kind thoughts and hope everything pans out. Just remember: you can't fall down any further when you're laying on the ground. Things -have- to go up eventually. Keep pushing forward.