Beware: Azelyn

[thunder1.livejournal.com]

Before I begin, I would like to note that I did in fact receive a satisfactory final image from the artist, but that is not the reason I am writing this post. It is my opinion that the subject artist is highly unprofessional and should not be approached for a commission unless the commissioner has considerable and lasting patience and determination. An artist should not take on commissions unless he or she is fully capable and prepared to commit the time to produce a satisfactory product.

WHO: Azelyn @ FA

WHERE: https://www.furaffinity.net/user/azelyn

WHAT: "Full Commission Auction" ladder auction. I won the auction at the tier for a two-character full color digital art commission with a detailed background. The auction and its result can be found at the above link. If the page at the link provided is deleted, I have a copy of the page saved to my computer that I will upload a screenshot of upon request.

WHEN: Auction started on March 29th, 2012. Auction won on March 31st, 2012. Paid in full on March 31st, 2012. Final image received June 10th, 2013.

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Need some opinions

[dizdzi.livejournal.com]

So...I need opinions. Unfortunately, these are not with people I have dealt with personally. A friend of mine is...well, honestly, very meek and is having some trouble standing up for himself. He has commissioned two artists for fursuits, and has gotten beyond ripped off on both of them. He doesn't want to say anything more, due to being worried about retaliation. However, I continue to see other people getting ripped off by these artists, whom have very little posted up about them. A lot of their commissioners are very unhappy with their work, but not posting up public reviews due to "just not wanting to deal with the mess" or other various excuses among those lines.

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So, I don't want to sound like I'm being a jerk about these. It's more of a matter of I keep seeing people getting mixed up with these particular artists, and having the exact same problems. Personally, as a commissioner, it helps me a TON if I am currently having problems with an artist if I can see that the artist has a history of this. It allows me to figure out what my next move is, instead of letting the artist walk all over me. Having negative reviews will, hopefully, also encourage the artists to improve and change their business tactics around for the better

So, opinions? Would I be in the right (or have any right at all) to use the pictures I have of my friend's suit to post up a review about it?

Advice Wanted - Credit Card Fees and Paypal Discussion

[icas.livejournal.com]

I've been wondering about this issue for quite a while now, so I'd like some feedback.

From my understanding Paypal charges additional per-transaction fees when using a credit card, as opposed to paying with pre-paid Paypal credit. I figured that these fees would correspond to those paid by a business when the customer pays using a credit card at the store.

When the whole issue of Google Wallet was brought up, I discussed the service both online and offline. From my understanding, using a credit card to send money with Google Wallet results in fees for the sender/customer, not the recipient. When making business transactions on Paypal, the recipient is required to pay those fees.

This feature of Google Wallet doesn't appeal to me. In my country, it's technically illegal for businesses to charge customers the credit card fees, and I'm pretty sure that it was or still is legal in the States. However, members of the furry community have justified the customer paying credit card fees because they don't technically own the money that they're paying with.

I don't disagree with that statement, since that's basically how a credit card works. However, I don't understand how it actually justifies the customer paying those fees and not the business owner. I've discussed this issue with small business owners from my area, and none of them felt that the customer should pay the fees.

This bugs me because I've always been using my credit card for Paypal transactions, for I'm not comfortable linking my Paypal account with my bank account. I also haven't seen any statements regarding the actual method of Paypal payment in the ToS of any artists I've bought from.

Basically, I'd like some advice and discussion regarding the following:
1. How exactly does the whole "the customer isn't paying with his own money" justify Google Wallet charging the customer, but Paypal charging the business?
2. For what reasons would the opinions of artists on online art communities differ from those of other art professionals and small business owners? (Preferably reasons other than Paypal fees being slightly higher with credit cards, as not all business owners use Paypal.)