I don't tend to get into these discussions, but since I have quite a bit of experience on both ends of this subject, I will. As a video producer, we offer custom videos. We get paid upfront for doing them. Why? Because we could film it, and then the customer never pays. We would be out on model fees, costuming, ect. Now, the customer has certain expectations from us. We took their money, and generally promise a finished product within a certain time. If something arises, we need to keep the customer informed. If too long a period passes by, then the customer is entitled to their money back. Pretty straight forward. However, a lot of artists and models, while talented, have no business sense or ethics or both. We have personally dealt with several models (some from these very forums) and artists who were going to straight up walk away with money we paid in advance (something we rarely do). In these cases, we have turned the matter over to our lawyer, and she has always gotten our money back. Now, hiring a lawyer for the small amounts folks are talking about is just not viable. The legal fees make it cost prohibitive. If the artist can't pay you back, then it's unlikely they can afford to pay their legal fees, let alone your legal fees. You'll just get an expensive judgment that you'll never see, and spend more money in the bargain. Why do artists and models do it? Mostly stupidity. Some have personal issues come up, but they fail to see the commision they were hired to do as a business arrangement with certain obligations to their customers. Others need the money (many need it badly). You would be surprised how many well known adult stars are one gig away from an eviction notice. In either case, they take on as many jobs as they "think" they can handle. Those jobs pile up, they fall behind, customers come knocking, the money is all spent, so they lay low. Some genuinley want to make good, but they are scared. They bit off more than they could chew. Some will try to work things out, while others need persuasion. Some even have no qualms about bolting. They need extra persuasion. They figure they won't fall behind "next time." That, in a nutshell, is a lot of the models and artists you will find on the net (and off...there are a few big name comic artists I know that take YEARS to complete commisions for fans...paid commissions!). The best thing to do is not pay in advance. This isn't always practical, since legit artists don't want to get screwed either. If you have to pay, ask for references of other customers who the artist has recently done work for. If they say that all their customers are confidential, RUN! The majority of net customs are posted by the customer on sites like deviant. Don't let the artist or model put you in an uncomfortable position. Get legit contact info and a real name (no, their nic is not enough). I hope some of this helps those out there who may have been thinking of hiring a model or artists, as well as those of you who may have gotten burned.
