#my long awaited zine package has came

[spacetofv]

finally got my hands on the @sonicshadowzine package!! i adore it so much!! thank you ❤️❤️

[ndrv3fanzine]

Status of the Zine

Hello,

Before I start please note this is NOT a call out post. It is simply an update and a way for me to be transparent with you as to what has happened/is happening to the zine. Please do not attack or harass anyone involved in the zine and please be civilized. I would be more than happy to answer all your questions or provide details (if this post proves insufficient) if you reach out to me privately.  

Tldr at the bottom

The reasons for writing this post:

Lan is currently missing and has stopped talking to me. The last time we have corresponded was Dec 21st 2018.

All the 30 featured artists did not (to my knowledge) receive their compensation which was the kodaka bundle.

Around 10 customers are currently waiting for a refund or their package to arrive. I’ve provided a “digital zine” in the meantime to everyone affected.

If you’re also awaiting your package and has not reached out yet please reach out to me. 

We sold about $6200 USD worth of zines. Assuming half of the money went into production, fees and shipping, Lan holds the remaining $3000 which was supposed to go to the charity Rain Forest Action Network.

Best case scenario Lan is being absolutely unprofessional in ignoring this project for a whole month while there are customers and artists awaiting their copy (tracking wasn’t even sent). Worst case scenario Lan has taken the money and disappeared.

Let’s start at the very beginning. This project started a year ago when Lan wanted to make a DR zine. They wanted someone who is able to schedule, plan and essentially handle all the administrative duties that came with the zine. Having successfully organized and modded the V3 countdown page, I was asked by Lan to co-mod.

At first I was hesitant as I had a lot of school work, wanted to focus on my personal art goals and I overall did not have a lot of free time. Not only that, I had no experience in selling, or shipping packages at that time. I did not want to get involved with the money side until I had more experience.

Lan reassured me that I would only be working on the admin side of and that the bulk of the work and the money handling would be done by them. I agreed with the understanding  that I would only help out with the planning and organization.

The project commences and almost immediately delays happened. I can’t go into details as to why because it pertains a lot of private information about Lan’s personal life that is not in my place to share. Lan is needed to make all the major decisions and to put simply Lan’s personal life kept getting in the way of the project. I told Lan that if they are struggling to do the project and dealing with real life problems it is best if they stopped the project in its infancy. But Lan reassured me that they will have more time to spend on this project.

I listened and put my faith into Lan. Along with Mod 6010 we went through all the applications and notified the artists. The delays kept happening. Time and time again Lan would disappear for a lengthy period ranging from days to weeks. Every single time I had to cover for Lan, answering questions I didn’t know the answer to while private messaging Lan and waiting for their reply. I put faith that they will come back and properly do their job. I’ve had to reassure everyone time and time again that the project is still on going. I had to give the professionalism that Lan was not able to.

Through the delays we finish the book and we are starting pre-orders. This is where my role was told to stop. You might be wondering why I didn’t ask for Paypal access. The reason was 1) I had no experience handling a large sum at that time. I did not want to accidentally mess up with someone else’s money, 2) I was set to go on vacation in China Where tumblr along with Paypal was blocked. It simply didn’t make sense for me to have access to the Paypal (that I couldn’t access on vacation) when Lan is doing all the ordering and shipping 3) It was Lan’s personal account and I did not feel right to have access to it. 4) As far as I was concerned my job with the zine was done until it was time for the cost break down report.

Lan didn’t start shipping things out until October (due to delays) and assuming they shipped out everything then everyone should have received their package by now. It’s now February 2019(4 months from October) and no artist to my knowledge along with 10 customers received their package.

Lan said there were some packages that were returned and told me that they will reach out to the customers who had invalid addresses. This was done through their private email and I don’t know if they actually reached out. Lan also handled all the shipping info with their personal email so I have no access to shipping info. The last time I spoke to Lan they said they will send out the artist tracking that night... it is now more than a month later from that night and I along with the rest of the artists have not received anything. 

So what now? I honestly don’t know. Our best bet is to wait until Lan comes back to refund or resend the packages. I don’t want to apologize for Lan because I have covered for them way more than I should. But I will apologize for my part. Maybe I should have been more paranoid and asked Lan to provide their Paypal information especially when this much money was involved.

Even now I’m giving Lan the benefit of doubt, that this project wasn’t a scam. However, when they disappear for months I can’t help but jump to the worst possible conclusion.

I am disappointed in Lan and more than anything I am worried for the customers and artists who have yet to receive what they deserve. I hope Lan comes back with an explanation, because frankly we’ve waited for far too long.

Tldr: Head mod Lan is gone for more than a month. There are customers STILL waiting for their TRACKING and packages. Artists didn’t get their compensation or tracking yet. $3000 in donation is still with Lan, status unknown... Mod Vee is understandably really stressed about this situation. 

As always please reach out if you need me. I am extremely bitter upset about this situation. 

Vee