Buckle up…oof.

I’m an artist so everything I do is custom made. I started in 2021 and within a few months there was a girl who began ordering a lot from me. She’s always paid beforehand with the exception of 2 times of paying after but that was 4 years worth of trust. I guess you could say we developed a good faith business agreement (now I know better).

Recently she wanted something ASAP – I told her the cost- $950. I made and sent the items in order to meet that tight deadline and the day of I asked her to pay she said she was “sending it now”.

I work with huge corporations mainly so I do this all the time with them (we have legal contracts) but never with individuals besides her as of lately.

I follow up a few days later after not receiving it. Her first excuse was that her friends were graduating ??? The following week she said her accounts were tied up. Follow up a week later- accounts still tied up. Another week- she’s paying for a funeral… More than a month goes by and I send a very polite, reminder and tell her it’s due and give her 6 ways to pay. Her response:

“Let’s be very clear. l’ve spent nearly $5,000 supporting your little business. You recently posted a video showcasing orders for your year, and if we’re being honest, I’m pretty sure I was in that lineup at least twice every single month. At this moment, I’m dealing with serious family issues. You know I’ve always been consistent, upfront, and even paid balances that weren’t mine to begin with. I will not be forced, guilted, or rushed into paying by any specific date. I’ll make the payment as soon as l’m in a position to. If that’s a problem for you, feel free to let me know where to return the items and we can move forward accordingly. You also chose, as the business owner, to release product prior to receiving full payment. That was your decision. Right now, my familv and mv peace come first.”

By the way she’s posting online claiming that she’s making $300k a month. What person with $300k a month has ALL accounts tied up? She inherited a non profit government transitional housing business for people getting out of prison and she teaches courses on how to make money…

2 weeks have gone by since that text. no payment. I haven’t responded to the text . She’s still posting all of the art I did for her on her socials lol. Only a few months ago I notice she started posting a lot of unhinged stuff online slandering people and talking about her wealth. I’m afraid she’s going to blast my business.

I’m thinking I should cut my losses and move on, learn from it. I know it’s my fault for sending it without payment but this was unexpected.

What would you do??? Thoughts? Similar experiences?