Good article. A few points and half-formed thoughts.
Something like Artists Beware is probably the best option for these sorts of things at current and if people do not fulfil their part of the bargain, that should be reported to the convention who would presumably then not have that seller back until the situation is resolved. What I think is not addressed here is while it has benefits, there's also the risk of false reports due to things like unrealistic expectations or drama between people. I'm not sure if that site currently has a way of addressing that and it would probably be difficult as many of these sales are not public knowledge, so it's hard to verify an accusation.
As suggested, perhaps the seller and buyer can file some sort of form with the convention for transactions over a certain amount, which would mean there is a record, but I've seen how busy dealers dens get and I doubt that there are the resources to really manage that, especially for smaller conventions.
Escrows are an attractive option and could maybe also help keep furry transactions more anonymous but in some ways it just shifts the risk to a reliable escrow. I dunno how much it increases the costs either, which will be an important factor for both artists and commissioners.
What would also be good to know is how much of an issue this actually is. Many people know someone who has had problems and probably even know particularly unreliable artists or commissioners but is this widespread or not? And how does the furry fandom compare to sales at comic conventions or on deviantArt? If the risk is very small, then we might be making a mountain out of a molehill.
An alternative approach (particularly if the risk is low) might be some sort of commissioner insurance. If artists and commissioners sign up to some system where a small fee is paid and if there is a problem with a commission, the collected funds can be used for reimbursement.
As a final note, concerning one of your final sentences. I really hope you did not mean to imply that people selling adult items are bad for the fandom's reputation like fraudsters or unreliable buyers and sellers. There is absolutely nothing wrong with selling adult toys and that should be supported just as much as any clean art.
"If all mankind minus one, were of one opinion, and only one person were of the contrary opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person, than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind."
~John Stuart Mill~
Good article. A few points and half-formed thoughts.
Something like Artists Beware is probably the best option for these sorts of things at current and if people do not fulfil their part of the bargain, that should be reported to the convention who would presumably then not have that seller back until the situation is resolved. What I think is not addressed here is while it has benefits, there's also the risk of false reports due to things like unrealistic expectations or drama between people. I'm not sure if that site currently has a way of addressing that and it would probably be difficult as many of these sales are not public knowledge, so it's hard to verify an accusation.
As suggested, perhaps the seller and buyer can file some sort of form with the convention for transactions over a certain amount, which would mean there is a record, but I've seen how busy dealers dens get and I doubt that there are the resources to really manage that, especially for smaller conventions.
Escrows are an attractive option and could maybe also help keep furry transactions more anonymous but in some ways it just shifts the risk to a reliable escrow. I dunno how much it increases the costs either, which will be an important factor for both artists and commissioners.
What would also be good to know is how much of an issue this actually is. Many people know someone who has had problems and probably even know particularly unreliable artists or commissioners but is this widespread or not? And how does the furry fandom compare to sales at comic conventions or on deviantArt? If the risk is very small, then we might be making a mountain out of a molehill.
An alternative approach (particularly if the risk is low) might be some sort of commissioner insurance. If artists and commissioners sign up to some system where a small fee is paid and if there is a problem with a commission, the collected funds can be used for reimbursement.
As a final note, concerning one of your final sentences. I really hope you did not mean to imply that people selling adult items are bad for the fandom's reputation like fraudsters or unreliable buyers and sellers. There is absolutely nothing wrong with selling adult toys and that should be supported just as much as any clean art.
"If all mankind minus one, were of one opinion, and only one person were of the contrary opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person, than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind."
~John Stuart Mill~