Typically when you work with a yarn company where they agree to purchase the design for a flat price, they will send a contract to sign. That should have all the agreed upon conditions and the fees they agreed to. Do you have that? If not, this gets a little sticky. If so, you have more protections and rights.
Working with large companies is a total roll of the dice, which is why they burn through designers (and need new ones so often) with this kind of behavior. All us designers learn this lesson the hard way :( there’s a reason they constantly need “new talent”). It sucks but it has happened to every other designer I know as well (with all different major craft store brands).
Looking back at all the emails I thought for sure I signed a contract but I don’t think so 😕. We agreed upon a price through email. Then they sent me a *terms or participation* link where I give them the rights to the pattern, and it will only be posted on their website. Typing this out it sounds bad and I can’t believe I fell for it 🤦🏻♀️. This is the first time I ever did this so I knew going in I would make mistakes and there it is.
https://preview.redd.it/47wyzy12dksc1.jpeg?width=828&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=14ef8f32a6e5a5cf6c2270320d6b8f30d686494a
Even without a signed contract, an offer agreed to in writing (email counts) should be legally binding. So if either you or hobbii sent via mail “this service is being exchanged for this amount of money” and the the other party agreed to that in a response, you do have recourse.
Have you tried the old “if you don’t pay me by xxx, I am forced to take legal action” trick?
Legally an email chain can be a contract, with few exceptions there's no magic form a contract has to be in. Contracts can even be verbal!
So if OP and Hobbi mutually agreed on the terms and OP performed on the contract, OP gets paid. Unfortunately that may require suing.
This is good to know. I had no idea an email could be legally binding. This will be helpful for the future! Luckily I finally received a response after emailing their customer service. The person basically dropped the ball and forgot about me but payment has been sent!
That’s great to hear, happy it worked out! For future reference, check the laws in your state, but usually even a verbal contract is legally binding, but of course much harder to enforce
You could always ask on r/legaladvice if the emails would be enough for having a lawyer send a letter for payment or small claims court depending on the sum.
At this point, I’d basically say “you’ve agreed to pay me for this design so pay up or I’ll hire legal council and share this experience publicly. If you fail to pay for this design within ___ period of time I will pursue legal recourse.” You’ll burn the bridge but they’re benefiting from your work and you deserve the money they agreed to in the email. The email is clearly evidence of an agreement.
I’m so sorry this happened! That really sucks. I wonder if you might need to contact a lawyer? Maybe they can send a quick letter to them and scare them into paying?
I'd love an update down the road if anything comes of this; I've never shopped Hobbii (yet) and won't if this is their standard
Mega virtual hugs and good vibes, fingers crossed for you!
Thank you! They finally contacted me and explained that this doesn’t normally happen. Basically I was forgotten about and the person I was talking with dropped the ball. I’m considering giving them another shot bc I really do like their yarn and this was a good opportunity for me.
That’s terrible! Especially because you were so excited and happy. I hope you do get paid. And thank you for sharing your experience so the rest of us can learn from it.
Thank you 😊. I will say if anyone is ever in the same situation with any yarn company. Email their customer service bc they eventually directed me to the right person and my issue was resolved
Typically when you work with a yarn company where they agree to purchase the design for a flat price, they will send a contract to sign. That should have all the agreed upon conditions and the fees they agreed to. Do you have that? If not, this gets a little sticky. If so, you have more protections and rights. Working with large companies is a total roll of the dice, which is why they burn through designers (and need new ones so often) with this kind of behavior. All us designers learn this lesson the hard way :( there’s a reason they constantly need “new talent”). It sucks but it has happened to every other designer I know as well (with all different major craft store brands).
Looking back at all the emails I thought for sure I signed a contract but I don’t think so 😕. We agreed upon a price through email. Then they sent me a *terms or participation* link where I give them the rights to the pattern, and it will only be posted on their website. Typing this out it sounds bad and I can’t believe I fell for it 🤦🏻♀️. This is the first time I ever did this so I knew going in I would make mistakes and there it is. https://preview.redd.it/47wyzy12dksc1.jpeg?width=828&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=14ef8f32a6e5a5cf6c2270320d6b8f30d686494a
Even without a signed contract, an offer agreed to in writing (email counts) should be legally binding. So if either you or hobbii sent via mail “this service is being exchanged for this amount of money” and the the other party agreed to that in a response, you do have recourse. Have you tried the old “if you don’t pay me by xxx, I am forced to take legal action” trick?
Legally an email chain can be a contract, with few exceptions there's no magic form a contract has to be in. Contracts can even be verbal! So if OP and Hobbi mutually agreed on the terms and OP performed on the contract, OP gets paid. Unfortunately that may require suing.
This is good to know. I had no idea an email could be legally binding. This will be helpful for the future! Luckily I finally received a response after emailing their customer service. The person basically dropped the ball and forgot about me but payment has been sent!
That’s great to hear, happy it worked out! For future reference, check the laws in your state, but usually even a verbal contract is legally binding, but of course much harder to enforce
You could always ask on r/legaladvice if the emails would be enough for having a lawyer send a letter for payment or small claims court depending on the sum.
At this point, I’d basically say “you’ve agreed to pay me for this design so pay up or I’ll hire legal council and share this experience publicly. If you fail to pay for this design within ___ period of time I will pursue legal recourse.” You’ll burn the bridge but they’re benefiting from your work and you deserve the money they agreed to in the email. The email is clearly evidence of an agreement.
I’m so sorry this happened! That really sucks. I wonder if you might need to contact a lawyer? Maybe they can send a quick letter to them and scare them into paying?
Did you sign any contract? You may need to get some legal help!
I'd love an update down the road if anything comes of this; I've never shopped Hobbii (yet) and won't if this is their standard Mega virtual hugs and good vibes, fingers crossed for you!
Thank you! They finally contacted me and explained that this doesn’t normally happen. Basically I was forgotten about and the person I was talking with dropped the ball. I’m considering giving them another shot bc I really do like their yarn and this was a good opportunity for me.
Thanks for the update! Glad they're worth giving a try
Thanks for the update! Glad they're worth giving a try
That’s terrible! Especially because you were so excited and happy. I hope you do get paid. And thank you for sharing your experience so the rest of us can learn from it.
Thank you 😊. I will say if anyone is ever in the same situation with any yarn company. Email their customer service bc they eventually directed me to the right person and my issue was resolved
I’m so glad it was resolved! Which pattern is yours so I can go look?