Sanity check please - was I 'devaluing her art' or is this seller a headcase?

[catPA]

I bought some items from an online artist based in Canada. The first purchase was for just under £200 and I paid about £45 in customs tax for that. Fine.

After my first purchase (but while it was still in transit), I looked at her Instagram and the seller had done various posts about how her business is struggling to survive, 'artist poverty is real', '30% off with code 'help me pay my electric bill' etc. I thought all this seemed a bit 'unusual,' (also possibly a bit 'tone deaf' as she lives in a huge, beautiful house by the sea and does her art full time so she can be a SAHM - not a choice many women could make)! But I thought fair enough, she's being honest; I genuinely love her art and good for her living her dream. I wanted to support her business if I could.

So I bought another item for £280 which had previously been listed at about £450 (I think). She was doing a sale across all her work.

I couldn't have afforded it at £450 and also the higher customs tax would have been a bit much for me, on balance.

Anyway, both packages didn't arrive for ages and it turned out they were being held at the post office, pending customs charges. The first package, as I said, required a £45 customs tax payment. However, the second package, required a customs tax payment of £95! I asked how that could be possible, when I had paid £280 for the item. Then I saw that the unexpectedly high customs tax was because the seller had stated the value of goods as £450 (or the equivalent in Canadian dollars).

I messaged the seller and told her that surely it's standard practice to state the actual transaction price on a package for customs purposes.

Thst was it. She was straight into "What do you expect me to do?" etc. Then went into the woe-is-me 'artist poverty is real' and how could I be devaluing her art in this way. She got very personalised very quickly. She said she will never devalue her work again because I had done that for her! She said I was essentially asking her to defraud customs. She basically said she wished she had never sold me anything because I don't value her art!

Ffs I had spent over £600 on it (with the tax). I was talking about labelling for customs tax - I believe it should be the transaction amount stated, not some previous price. How is that in my control?

In summary, she became very unprofessional with me and then blocked me.

I had left her a really positive comment on Instagram as well - before all this!

Apologies for the length.

WIBU?

Also, should I leave her a review stating my experience?

YANBU at all.
She sold it to you for X amount and that should be the amount she put on the customs label. Otherwise she could put any crazy value on it.

Please, please put a link to her art. I'd love to see it!

So she’s let you pay extra for her ego boost essentially, because she wanted to list what she thought her art was worth vs what she sold it for.

I’d be very unhappy with that and yes I would mention it on a review to warn other people they may end up paying more than expected in charges if this is her practice if they buy a piece at a discount.

She is a dick
and obvious you are not devaluing her art by asking her to state the correct price she actually agreed to

She sounds a little unhinged.

Show the receipt, bank statement copy and messages to customs to request a refund. Might as well add a little laughter to their day, and they may refund.

I would get the messages printed up and framed to hang below or to the right of the second picture, titled "De Value by the artist". You'll enjoy sharing the humour with guests soon enough. Also post a photo of it to her Instagram.

This isn't a matter of opinion. The UK gov publishes (well, clearly, and not in particularly difficult legalese terms) the guidance for how to determine the value for customs, and she is wrong - if she can use Method 1 (which she can in this case), then that is what she should be using.
Working out the customs value of your imported goods - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Valuing imported goods using Method 1 (transaction value)

She is an absolute nutter. That is soooo not the way to do business. Definitely write an honest review so others can be prewarned.

I feel like she has misunderstood either what you were saying, or the implications of her writing that price for customs. It must be a misunderstanding on her part, surely, for such a reaction.

Absolutely you need to leave an accurate review! Make it brief and factual, she’ll probably write a shitty response to it which will only serve to out her total batshitness to any other potential victims customers.

The beautiful home SAHM faux-poverty bleating has really fucked me off. What a nob honestly. If she can’t figure out how to correctly ship worldwide she needs to give up.

omg high maintenance - block and ignore

All the best artists are a bit unhinged. I’d take it as a good sign. Hopefully it will appreciate in value and you’ll have a story to tell. 🤪

I’m an artist and can see why she’s a ‘struggling artist’, she’s an idiot. Especially stupid to piss off a returning client.

I can see why you’d be put off hanging it on your walls, but many artists are not particularly nice people and people still buy their work, even when knowing that from the off.

Try to divorce the work from the maker. It’s yours now and has a new life with you.

She’s a cf and completely out of order

I'd not even bother to review and just not buy her art again. Why would she piss off a repeat buyer?! Bloody idiot!

Thanks for all this. I was actually quite discombobulated by her reaction, especially as I'd left her really supportive comments on her Instagram just before I'd ordered.

I will leave a very factual review, yes.

I could leave a link to her site, but not sure that would be ethical and probably breaking MN rules?

@EricHebbornInItaly - yes, in my mind, I am divorcing the art from its maker. Great way to put it.

I would post on insta something like “if you’re struggling to make ends meet, I suggest losing the attitude towards repeat customers and brushing up on your customs tax rules. I definitely won’t be buying from you again”.

Don't link, she's a bit bonkers and likely to threaten to sue! Just enjoy the art and the tale you have to tell...

I am curious who this artist is, is she from BC?

You should report her to her tax authorities. If her work is undervalued, her tax bill might be to.

Thst just about says it @Frangipanyoul8r

Not BC, but a very Eastern part of Canada.

PEI? Initals LK?

We bought a few paintings and art pieces in Nova Scotia, but all were male artists.

I'm an artist and have sold work overseas. I've always put the price down as what the customer has paid, that's what it was worth and what it sold at, feels like ego to put it at its pre sale price. She's being completely unprofessional and I would be mortified if a loyal returning customer was having issues. It would be a no brainer and I'd likely offer to cover the excess import fee in this situation.

You haven't devalued her art.

Bad reviews can really damage a small business so I'm always hesitant to suggest that but if they are honest and the business owner isn't trying to rectify the issue, it seems like a fair thing to do!