How Long Should I Wait?

[clones_rebellion]

Back in May I posted a sale thread. I had someone offer to make me a pair of custom ponies in trade for a high dollar pony I had for sale. Communication was going well at the beginning. Then I didn't hear from her for a month or two. I wasn't too worried. In September she sent me an update with pictures. Great! Later that month I found a post she made in WYP that a very close family member had passed away. I posted on her thread that I was willing to wait a bit longer on our trade. But I haven't heard from her since and she hasn't even been on the Arena since December 1st!

I'm not out anything since I still have the pony we agreed to trade for and she was providing the baits for the customs. But I think I have waited longer than is reasonable even before her WYP post and it's been three months since then. I don't commission customs very often, so I'm not really sure. How long should I be expected to wait? If I decide to cancel our trade, how do I notify her? 

[NoDivision]

Waiting time really depends on the artist. Some of us are, er... painfully slow Did you guys agree on a timeline up front or did they give you an estimate of how long it would take?

[Ringlets]

NoD said what i was thinking ^^   Every artist is different . Some work much faster than others (and some work faster or slower depending on what life throws at them *is thinking of myself and my own artwork*   .  The main problem with your situation is that even if you'd agreed a time with your customizer, things went wrong for them IRL and now they have stopped with the communication and not been active here either....
I guess what you need to do is to have a think about if you still want to go ahead with this trade (if its still possible). And of course you'll need to talk to the person. Do you have their email addy? know them on facebook? if not perhaps you can do a "Looking for ....(insert persons name) thread here so that close friends who may still be in contact with the person can help you reach her. Then you can try  sending the person an "Urgent response needed " PM /email .
Since things didnt go to plan with the trade , you can let the  person know that you feel that its best to cancel the trade considering the circumstances - if the person had not already made your customs- and if thats what you want to do. It might help ease some of the pressure off her as well if she is still dealing with difficulties IRL and she hasnt been able to work on your customs . If you (and the person) still want to carry on with the trade then you'll both need to discuss a new timeline.    You probably dont need me to tell you this but dont send the pony until this is all worked out and your customs are ready- dont send it in advance- especially if communication has stopped or is spotty

[StarFaerie]

She has tweeted on her Twitter this week. Maybe try contacting her there, it's linked in her profile.

[lovesbabysquirmy]

Let us know how it goes!

[Ringlets]

  did you manage to contact her?   hope so! if not ...

She has tweeted on her Twitter this week. Maybe try contacting her there, it's linked in her profile.

this is a good idea ^^  If you dont do twitter yourself , maybe you could ask a friend or another member here who does tweet to go on there and point her in your direction!