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[kiratsukai]

Pissed off at commissioners in general.

When I pay you a 250 down payment in JANUARY and tell you my $500 costume is due in May. I am not paying you 5 months in advance to start the costume in May. I am paying you to start the costume AS SOON AS YOU CAN and take however long you need to finish it to my standards in the time allotted. If you can finish it in 3 weeks, awesome, give it to me in February. BUT STOP TAKING MY MONEY FOUR EFFING MONTHS IN ADVANCE AND THEN RUSHING MY PROJECT OUT THE DOOR THE LAST POSSIBLE MOMENT!!!!

If you aren't going to start my project until the 8 people who come to you AFTER me with nearer deadlines are through the door to maximize your profit, don't take my money so far in advance!!!! Because -I can't get it back after a month-.

Essentially this has become the default for commissioners here and it SUCKS. It sets everyone up to be ripped off, stressed out and disappointed no matter how early they started, how much they paid and how well they did their research.

I've now worked with five people... and only two have gotten me costumes on time. One of those was a rush job and partially incomplete.

I asked for all of these projects four to five MONTHS in advance, paid well over factory-rate, and got promised in-progress pictures only once. Give me a break!!!

-Begin projects when they are paid for, or don't take the money until you are ready to begin (or in the very least, purchase materials)-

I think I have been courteous and reasonable... but when someone is paying you to perform a service for them, that SERVICE matters nearly as much as recieving the product... especially if that service is meant to give you the peace of mind in knowing that that product will be delivered to you on-time in useable condition. Good service is not being shuffled to the back of the queue so people who have managed their time poorly can get their stuff on time while yours goes forgotten.

I do not mind joining a queue that has formed before me and waiting my turn. But that queue should not be jumpable for customers paying after I have unless I am asked ~first~ if it's cool.

[Yuki Eiri]

I can't understand a commissioner that does that kind of stuff. I mean, I dont get many commissions myself so I usually have plenty of time to complete the projects, and normally start them right away, why? because rush jobs show. If a person is paying me good money to make them something I'm going to make darn sure they get their money's worth. I think honestly people are just putting too much on their plate.

I'm really sorry you've had such AWFUL luck with commissioners.

[Moondemon]

You are preaching to the choir!!! At least you got your commissions at all. I am in the position right now where I paid and I can't even file a complaint with paypal cause it was back in February.

[acostory]

People do this? That disgusts me. I know as a commissioner, I work as hard as I possibly can to please the person who commissioned me. That's what's most important to me, not the money.

[Axelai]

Sounds a lot like Loserific... > n >

Who didn't start making my costume until two nights before it was due. Since she planned on giving it to me at the convention.

Then when things didn't go right, she just didn't do it. And apologized.

And now its been months. I wonder where my costume is. She supposedly shipped it.

[kiratsukai]

It's more a general complaint. I've been queue jumped a lot in my year of adventures with comissioning and it seems that no matter who I approach and how early I approach them, my costume is not begun until the last possible moment (and a good deal of complaining and chasing on my part).

loserific...? Yes. I'm anxious.

But also JD, cosplaymandy, and TeL... ie. ~all but 2 of the comissioners I've ever worked with~

4 out of 6 not answering emails regularly, delivering progress photos they'd promised or starting on a project until the last minute after being given an average of 3-4 months to work on it would seem to indicate this is a problem with more than just one commissioner.

I do not mind waiting in a line... but I would appreciate knowing where in that line I stand and that other customers aren't going to slip in ahead of me while I bite my nails over a deadline that the commissioner seems to have forgotten all about.

[Axelai]

Yeah. I know how that feels. I commissioned I-Sew awhile back, and she refused to start on the commission til I paid her the second payment. Even though we agreed I would pay that after she's done. But she started sending me hate mail when I reminded her of that, etc.

Needless to say, she's been exposed as a scammer since then.

Of the commissioners I've worked with, all have turned out to be scammers, or horrifically late. So I know I'm not commissioning anyone ever again.

[sjxkhr]

Oh no. Now I'm thinking I should NEVER come to cosplay.com and ask anyone for commissions! It looks like almost all of them can't be trusted. :/

Seriously, I have had way better experience with Chinese commissioners. (For example, I commission them in February with a deadline in May, but the costume comes in March. ^^)

[Axelai]

Originally Posted by sjxkhr

Oh no. Now I'm thinking I should NEVER come to cosplay.com and ask anyone for commissions! It looks like almost all of them can't be trusted. :/

Seriously, I have had way better experience with Chinese commissioners. (For example, I commission them in February with a deadline in May, but the costume comes in March. ^^)

^This.

I've yet to find a single commissioner on this site who has good quality costumes for a reasonable price and gets them done on time. It seems to be that you either get a good quality costume for a crazy high price (which is great if you can afford it, but I can't), or a good quality costume for a reasonable price but it ends up really really late or doesn't come at all.

Yet when I commission chinese sites, and make sure I tell them exactly what I want, I seem to be able to get a really nice dress for about $100, months in advance 8|

I understand the prices are high with non-chinese commissioners because of the quality. I understand that. So if I pay that much, I expect something good. Something better than if I'd just paid someone in a chinese factory. And I expect it to be on time.

[sjxkhr]

Originally Posted by Axelai

^This.

I've yet to find a single commissioner on this site who has good quality costumes for a reasonable price and gets them done on time. It seems to be that you either get a good quality costume for a crazy high price (which is great if you can afford it, but I can't), or a good quality costume for a reasonable price but it ends up really really late or doesn't come at all.

Yet when I commission chinese sites, and make sure I tell them exactly what I want, I seem to be able to get a really nice dress for about $100, months in advance 8|

I understand the prices are high with non-chinese commissioners because of the quality. I understand that. So if I pay that much, I expect something good. Something better than if I'd just paid someone in a chinese factory. And I expect it to be on time.

Hmm...then I wonder which commissioners are actually trustworthy.

It looks like loserific is not going to have my costume on time. This is making me so worried. I don't think I can open a dispute with Paypal since I paid back in February. I don't know what I should do.

[angelbabycakes]

I am finding this as well. It's interesting that there are a lot of the same commissioners, but a lot of different commissioners too. I honestly chalk it up to people wanting to start a business, but have NO business experience. Cosplay is about fun, but when you start providing a service to people, it becomes exactly that...a service. At this point, you're dealing with business type things. You provide a service, we pay for that service. If you cannot provide it, don't offer it. I've stopped commissioning months in advance because as the customers...we're screwed if we don't get our items. It's been a year on one of my prop commissioners...and I'm still waiting on props and a partial refund. A full YEAR. Really? There's no professionalism on this site when it comes to commissions it seems. It's fairly sad.

[sjxkhr]

Originally Posted by angelbabycakes

I am finding this as well. It's interesting that there are a lot of the same commissioners, but a lot of different commissioners too. I honestly chalk it up to people wanting to start a business, but have NO business experience. Cosplay is about fun, but when you start providing a service to people, it becomes exactly that...a service. At this point, you're dealing with business type things. You provide a service, we pay for that service. If you cannot provide it, don't offer it. I've stopped commissioning months in advance because as the customers...we're screwed if we don't get our items. It's been a year on one of my prop commissioners...and I'm still waiting on props and a partial refund. A full YEAR. Really? There's no professionalism on this site when it comes to commissions it seems. It's fairly sad.

That's exactly how I feel. Business is about making promises to your customers, right? So if they agreed to make your cosplays, they SHOULD do it. Otherwise, like you said, they shouldn't offer it.

Wow. It's already been a year? Just what kind of business is that? -_-

Well, whatever. I sent an e-mail to loserific 2 days ago. If she doesn't respond within a week, I'm just going to go ahead and ask for a refund (and do what it takes to GET it). I can't take this anymore.

[Michi]

Originally Posted by sjxkhr

Yikes! So I should really stay away from commissioners on this site. It IS better off to go to a Chinese commissioner. lol.

Whoa, let's not jump to conclusions or make grand assumptions! There are hundreds of commissioners on Cosplay.com. We have a rating thread for a reason. You can easily find the ones that have consistently done a good job and those who haven't in this thread:

http://www.cosplay.com/showthread.php?t=105758

[Yuki Eiri]

Originally Posted by Michi

Whoa, let's not jump to conclusions or make grand assumptions! There are hundreds of commissioners on Cosplay.com. We have a rating thread for a reason. You can easily find the ones that have consistently done a good job and those who haven't in this thread:

http://www.cosplay.com/showthread.php?t=105758

I'm going to have to agree with this. Do your research before getting a commission from someone! The commissioner review thread [and heck, this forum in general] is here for that reason, so that people are aware of who you should and should not take commissions from.

[kiratsukai]

Actually, all of the commissioners I've had this issue with had perfect feedback with the exception of TeL (who had 30+ positive reviews to show me in tagalog). Loserific still has a perfect review score and three of us right here have late items and no contact from her.

When it comes to bad deals, most people give the comissioner the benefit of the doubt and wait until some sort of resolution has been reached before leaving bad feedback (or they lose their leverage over that costumer). This means bad reviews take a LOT longer to show up than good ones.

Good research or not, you won't necesarily get the same treatment that earlier customers have gotten in the initial push to collect good feedback for a growing business.

I wouldn't go so far as to say "don't commission!" But I WOULD say, don't commission without a credit card payment that can be charged back before your deadline.

As for Chinese factories -- you get what you pay for. Period...
I'll use some. I won't use others.
But it is always much more satisfying, personally, to wear something knowing that wasn't made by unskilled workers locked in factory buildings making a dollar a day.

I would rather pay a comissioner $200 more and wait 3 months for the same costume with the knowledge that it won't fall apart after one wear, come out transparent or have hideous sequined trim or cheap lace that wasn't included on the preview photos. -But only if I get it on time.-