How to Protect your digital sales v.1.2

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ElectricSerge's avatar
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V.1.2 - #9 rule Added on - 8/1/2014

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Due to recent drama caused by ToxicMutagen/Pixlett, I'm making this handy-dandy guide for newbie salesmen who wish to protect their interests.

Hi! Are you an aspiring digital artist? Do you want to sell your creations? Never a better time than now! However, there are people out there who will lie and decieve you for your hard-earned cash and it could ruin you if you are not smart about protecting your own assests! Here's some tips for you fellow digital art sellers out there:


1) CREATE A TERMS OF SERVICE.

*Your ToS should probably include something about the things you will and won't draw, the right to refuse service at anytime, information of how to properly place and cancel an order, and any repercussions that will happen by not abiding by this agreement.


2) HAVE THE BUYER E-SIGN A WRITTEN CONTRACT STATING THEY AGREE WITH YOUR TERMS OF SERVICE* AND AGREE TO PAY THE AGREED UPON PRICE. DO NOT TAKE A PAYMENT UNTIL THEY SIGN THIS.

This serves as a safety net in case they file a charge back and try to illegally recover their funds. By E-signing (even if they do not give you their legal name, at least get a paypal profile e-mail and a username (as well, be sure to note which website they were from) for them to "sign" with to use that as evidence against the thief should you encounter this) they are agreeing to pay the price mentioned in the contract, in the time and manor specified, and should receive their item in the amount of days stated in the contract.


3) WATERMARK ANY WEB-POSTED DIGITAL GOOD. GIVE CLIENTS A NON-WATERMARKED AND WEB VERSION OF THEIR IMAGES.

This way if someone saves it and tries to steal it they will also have to get rid of your watermark too! This helps prevent art theft.


4) BE SURE TO STATE SOMEWHERE ON YOUR PROFILE OR WEBSITE PAGE ANY PLACES YOU SELL YOUR ART.

Again, this helps prevent theft! If you have a list of websites where you sell your items, if someone finds your art where you don't want it, they know where to find you and not a fake you!


5) DO NOT EVER EVER EVER SEND THE FILE(S) TO BE SOLD UNTIL THE PAYMENT IS RECEIVED IN FULL.

Unless it's part of your agreement for them to receive a work in progress or equivalent at certain pay stages, it is in your best interest to keep the files on your hard drive or other safe place so that if the buyer has ill intentions, you will only have a few pieces of art to track rather than a bunch.


6) KEEP A PROOF OF SHIPMENT RECORD OF SENDING THE ITEM WHEN IT IS SENT (AN E-MAIL, NOTE, ETC)

An E-mail is STILL A SHIPMENT method. Be sure to keep a copy of when you send the file(s) purchased so if the buyer decides to try and lie and say they never received it, you now have proof that they did. If they give you a wrong e-mail, that is considered negligence and is the buyer's problem, not the seller's.


7) ALWAYS USE THE INVOICE FUNCTION ON PAYPAL.

Since digital goods are NOT protected by Paypal, it is in your best interest to use the INVOICE function for easy tab keeping. This way, if they file a charge back as an "unauthorized payment", it is pretty hard to prove it's unauthorized since you have to intentionally click "pay invoice" to pay it. This means the buyer gave consent for the purchase, and therefore it is now considered fraud on their part since they authorized the payment.


8) ALWAYS CHECK ARTISTSBEWARE BEFORE A TRANSACTION!

For safety reasons, it's never a bad idea to check ArtistsBeware before selling or buying so you know you won't get ripped off.



9) BE AWARE -- USERS CAN ISSUE A CHARGEBACK UP TO A YEAR LATER.

Be sure to keep on file (or on e-file, like google drive if you need a backup) these important notes:

a) Date of transaction
b) Date(s) user paid for item(s) [If paid in partial, keep all dates on file]
c) Buyer's Paypal E-mail(s), Name, USERNAME (so you can find them again!), and Invoice number if you used an invoice.
d) A copy of the e-mail or note sent to notify the buyer of receiving their item. This serves as shipment and is very vital in fighting your case.
e) KEEP THESE FOR AT LEAST A YEAR FROM DATE OF PAYMENT. Best to keep it a little longer, generally about 4 to 5 years for safe keeping.

If you have anything to add to this list, let me know!
© 2014 - 2024 ElectricSerge
Comments24
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Vexisss's avatar
Hi there! I just found this.
What are some ways you would recommend presenting/working a contract of dA? I only sell here right now and I'm not sure. Do you think a way would be to give people a ToS and have them 'sign' a contract through comments, then screenshot, or even through notes? I'm unsure of how to go about this and some feedback would be useful :)
Anyway, very nicely written journal, it's very informative and useful :3