redkraytdragon
Active Hunter
I know I'm going to catch a lot of flak for this post, but I can't keep quiet about this anymore. This is my opinion and I think I'm MORE than entitled to it seeing as how I'd be considered one of the regular vendors here even though I haven't been around as long as Seeker, FP, BM, etc (and I'm not one of the 'founding fathers' of this board), but I feel what I'm about to say is warranted because of my position and I've been at it for a while now.
First of all, post count and how long you've been here should have NOTHING to do with any of this and has NO bearing at all (on both sides of the coin, including the 'founding fathers')...why that was even brought up is beyond me. Just because someone is new here on the boards does not mean that they are new to the hobby and have never dealt with costuming vendors before and don't know how this all works. On the other side, if you've been here since the beginning, that doesn't entitle you to an 'untouchable status' or throwing your weight around because of it. As stated above, a business transaction is exactly that - a transaction between two people who agree on a set product for a set price within a reasonable time frame (or that which is agreed upon by both parties and is always set by the vendor...in other words, vendors should know their turnaround times...I do and I always tell my client what it is before they pay me). If you, as a vendor, cannot provide a product within the time frame originally agreed upon or if you need more time, it is YOUR responsibility to tell your client...it is not his/hers....YOURS (that means answer pm's when they're asking about the overdue status of their product...or better yet, don't offer a product for sale unless you have it in hand if turnaround times are an issue for you). That being said, because this is all internet based, communication is key and the responsibility of the VENDOR (anyone see a pattern here?). If you fall behind on orders, a mold breaks, equipment fails, family emergency, etc, it is your responsibility as a vendor to tell your client...period. 99.99% of the time, the client will understand..if not you return his/her money if it comes to that and everyone's happy and no harm no foul...and no threads being started like this.
I cannot speak for other vendors cause I don't know what their personal lives are like, but I work a full time regular 40 hour a week job on top of my armor gig...which is about another 10-20 hours a week depending on what I have going on...so basically about 50-60 hours a week since I started doing this, which is about 3 years now... and that includes filling orders, mold maintenance and sculpting new product, etc, etc (there's really much more to it than that, but you get the gist). And you know what? I'm tired, I'm so beyond burned out that I'm just on autopilot. But you know what? I ALWAYS make time to check my pm's, emails and messages. I check them every single day, sometimes twice a day. I'm a member of about 8 forums plus I have two FB accounts and I still manage to stay on top of it (and I don't have a smart phone either so that means only when I'm at home). I haven't touched my own costumes in months (and it's frustrating) but I also knew that going into this and it was my choice just like it was every other vendors' choices on here that have decided to play in this arena.
That being said, if I can do it I believe anyone should be able to. Honestly, I don't think Nerf is out of line at all by starting this thread. If everything he says is true, then I believe he went about it the right way and was being pretty patient about it (if you ask me). I haven't seen the pm's of course, but my last pm to Seeker (before starting this thread) would be to let him know that I have no other choice but to start this thread if I don't hear back from him. I personally find it strange that Seeker (according to Nerf) didn't answer pm's then all of a sudden he's here in this thread posting in his defense for damage control. Honestly, how hard is it to take a few minutes out of your 24 day to answer someone's pm (who sent you some of their hard earned money that you've been sitting on for a while I might add) to let them know what's going on in your world and why you can't produce said agreed upon product in said agreed upon time frame? That just boggles my mind. I'm really trying to understand that because I'm on this side of the fence of the vendors, but I see the frustration of the customers as well because I'm one too. I don't care who you are and how long you've been here, but that's not the way to treat your clients and I pride myself on customer service, communication and delivering a good product for a fair price within the time frame that I specified. Ask anyone...ANYONE...on these and the other boards I'm a member of and see if they've had a bad transaction with me. I take care of my clients, every single one of them, like they were my only one to the best of my abilities and make sure they are happy with the product even after the conclusion of the transaction. I swore that to myself when I started doing this that that's the way I was going to conduct my business...or not do it at all...but I digress.
On another note, I saw pics of Arturo at Dragon Con floating around the internet on FB. If I was a client and I had been waiting on stuff for that long and saw those, I'd be pretty frakking peeved. Time enough to go to a 4 day con, but no time to answer my pm? Bad form dude, that's all I gotta say.
Please prove me wrong Seeker... I swear I'm not trying to crucify you, just calling it how I see it.
First of all, post count and how long you've been here should have NOTHING to do with any of this and has NO bearing at all (on both sides of the coin, including the 'founding fathers')...why that was even brought up is beyond me. Just because someone is new here on the boards does not mean that they are new to the hobby and have never dealt with costuming vendors before and don't know how this all works. On the other side, if you've been here since the beginning, that doesn't entitle you to an 'untouchable status' or throwing your weight around because of it. As stated above, a business transaction is exactly that - a transaction between two people who agree on a set product for a set price within a reasonable time frame (or that which is agreed upon by both parties and is always set by the vendor...in other words, vendors should know their turnaround times...I do and I always tell my client what it is before they pay me). If you, as a vendor, cannot provide a product within the time frame originally agreed upon or if you need more time, it is YOUR responsibility to tell your client...it is not his/hers....YOURS (that means answer pm's when they're asking about the overdue status of their product...or better yet, don't offer a product for sale unless you have it in hand if turnaround times are an issue for you). That being said, because this is all internet based, communication is key and the responsibility of the VENDOR (anyone see a pattern here?). If you fall behind on orders, a mold breaks, equipment fails, family emergency, etc, it is your responsibility as a vendor to tell your client...period. 99.99% of the time, the client will understand..if not you return his/her money if it comes to that and everyone's happy and no harm no foul...and no threads being started like this.
I cannot speak for other vendors cause I don't know what their personal lives are like, but I work a full time regular 40 hour a week job on top of my armor gig...which is about another 10-20 hours a week depending on what I have going on...so basically about 50-60 hours a week since I started doing this, which is about 3 years now... and that includes filling orders, mold maintenance and sculpting new product, etc, etc (there's really much more to it than that, but you get the gist). And you know what? I'm tired, I'm so beyond burned out that I'm just on autopilot. But you know what? I ALWAYS make time to check my pm's, emails and messages. I check them every single day, sometimes twice a day. I'm a member of about 8 forums plus I have two FB accounts and I still manage to stay on top of it (and I don't have a smart phone either so that means only when I'm at home). I haven't touched my own costumes in months (and it's frustrating) but I also knew that going into this and it was my choice just like it was every other vendors' choices on here that have decided to play in this arena.
That being said, if I can do it I believe anyone should be able to. Honestly, I don't think Nerf is out of line at all by starting this thread. If everything he says is true, then I believe he went about it the right way and was being pretty patient about it (if you ask me). I haven't seen the pm's of course, but my last pm to Seeker (before starting this thread) would be to let him know that I have no other choice but to start this thread if I don't hear back from him. I personally find it strange that Seeker (according to Nerf) didn't answer pm's then all of a sudden he's here in this thread posting in his defense for damage control. Honestly, how hard is it to take a few minutes out of your 24 day to answer someone's pm (who sent you some of their hard earned money that you've been sitting on for a while I might add) to let them know what's going on in your world and why you can't produce said agreed upon product in said agreed upon time frame? That just boggles my mind. I'm really trying to understand that because I'm on this side of the fence of the vendors, but I see the frustration of the customers as well because I'm one too. I don't care who you are and how long you've been here, but that's not the way to treat your clients and I pride myself on customer service, communication and delivering a good product for a fair price within the time frame that I specified. Ask anyone...ANYONE...on these and the other boards I'm a member of and see if they've had a bad transaction with me. I take care of my clients, every single one of them, like they were my only one to the best of my abilities and make sure they are happy with the product even after the conclusion of the transaction. I swore that to myself when I started doing this that that's the way I was going to conduct my business...or not do it at all...but I digress.
On another note, I saw pics of Arturo at Dragon Con floating around the internet on FB. If I was a client and I had been waiting on stuff for that long and saw those, I'd be pretty frakking peeved. Time enough to go to a 4 day con, but no time to answer my pm? Bad form dude, that's all I gotta say.
Please prove me wrong Seeker... I swear I'm not trying to crucify you, just calling it how I see it.