Yesterday, I shared advice for buyers on how to avoid scams when purchasing paintings online. For buyers, the path is relatively straightforward. Today, I want to address the other side of the equation—one that rarely receives serious attention: how artists can protect themselves from being scammed, exploited, or emotionally drained in the digital marketplace.
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As artists who dedicate our lives to creating beauty, we deserve to earn from our work without losing our peace of mind or our last dollar. The internet has changed dramatically, especially since COVID. What was once a space of relative respect and calm problem-solving has become harsher, with more aggressive customers, manipulative tactics, and systems that often favor buyers over sellers. Here’s how we can safeguard ourselves.
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Start with Communication: Let AI Handle the Heat
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Even after 36 years of selling paintings, I still occasionally slip up emotionally. Recently, a past customer attacked me aggressively, and I reacted as a human instead of a professional—I refunded and sent a return label when I shouldn’t have.
The lesson is clear: when customers push your buttons, emotions rise. Anger and defensiveness leak into emails, creating screenshots that can be weaponized on social media, Reddit, or review sites. No one cares who started it; they only see an “angry seller.”
My solution? Use AI. I love ChatGPT. For difficult responses, I first type out my raw, emotional reply (“Are you insane? You bought this two years ago!”). Then I feed it to AI, which transforms it into calm, professional language: “Dear friend, thank you for your message. We’ll carefully review your request…”
AI has no ego, no fatigue, and no emotional triggers. It saves real nerves and protects your reputation. Every artist should make this a standard practice.
Here is an example of a WhatsApp message from an angry customer that ordered a giclee print of a new painting by Afremov Studio. The customer probably did not read the description of what he/she was buying and assumed it was an oil painting. the customer based on emotional response baselessly accuses you of fraud. When you read this for the first time, the initial response might also be based on emotions. Keeping a cool head is very important
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My initial response was " How dare you accusing me of fraud, you did order a print" . However, thanks to chat GPT, my response is more cool and professional.
Here is an example.
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Craft Bulletproof Product Descriptions
Clear, detailed descriptions are non-negotiable. Today’s buyers offer no “common sense” grace. If it ships rolled, say “Painting ships rolled” multiple times. If unframed, state it clearly. If framed, highlight it.
I once lost thousands because our site offered “rolled,” “stretched,” or “framed” as options. To me, rolled was the logical default. Customers disagreed and won chargebacks. We fixed it with bold notices: “By default, the painting ships rolled.”
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Go further: specify who signs the work, where the signature is, the creation year, materials, and the certificate. Upload photos of the certificate, packaging, the back of the painting, textures—everything. Surprises breed disputes. Use AI tools (ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude) to refine and expand descriptions until nothing is left to assumption.
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The First Interaction Reveals Everything
SEO blogs can teach you about policies, but real-world experience teaches this: watch the first message. Toxic customers often reveal themselves immediately. “Hey bro, give me 70-80% off” is a red flag. It shows zero respect for your art, time, or value. Discounting might close the sale, but it often leads to endless complaints, pressure, threats, and chargebacks.
Rule: If the customer is disrespectful from the start, don’t sell. You are not obligated to serve everyone. Sometimes refusing a sale preserves your peace and long-term success.
Here is an example of a customer that we blocked on X platform (AKA twitter). This customer was demanding big discounts and making threats to write bad reviews if we do not provide the discount. Here is his contact form message after being blocked everywhere
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Data-Backed Truth: Toxic Sales Usually Cost You
After analyzing over 100,000 orders, the pattern was undeniable: the cheapest, most aggressively negotiated, disrespectful sales almost always turned problematic—returns, extra demands, stress, and losses. Roughly 90% became headaches.
You are a creator, not just a seller. Your painting is unique. Respect your work enough to walk away from people who drain your energy. The best decision is often not selling. Here you can see examples of the low checkout amount of the chargebacks and disputes we get. Many of them try to cheat the system making the dispute as "not delivered" when "not as described" does not apply. in many cases, the bank will tell you to work it out with the seller for a "not as described" dispute. they will not get involved until you have tried all means possible with the seller first
Here are some examples of disputes from Chase bank. this bank is known for taking always the customer's side. We have never won even one dispute with Chase Bank. Any evidence you provide is simply ignored. Customers know about it and abuse the system. Look at the relatively low amounts the people are disputing
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Spot Scammers Early: Urgency and Address Changes
Real scammers thrive on speed. Orders with immediate demands—“Ship in 2-3 days, it’s urgent”—despite your clearly stated timelines often involve stolen cards. Fraudsters need the goods before the card is blocked.
How I handle it: Call immediately and say, “For security, this call is being recorded.” Scammers often hang up instantly—a clear red flag.
Another common scam: after purchase, a “new” email requests a shipping address change to a friend’s house. Later, the original buyer claims non-delivery. My rule: Address changes must come from the original purchase email. Legitimate customers understand; scammers vanish.
Here is an example of a message from someone who used a stolen credit card. They demand fast shipping because their scam depends on who fast you ship. We always wait 2-3 business days before shipping. This time helps to determine of the card was stolen to the payment processor.
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Post-COVID stress has made people quicker to rage online. Many aren’t truly angry at you—they’re venting life’s frustrations. Defensive emails escalate. Instead, call.
In 36 years, I’ve seen it repeatedly: the angriest emailers become calm, reasonable, even apologetic on the phone. Human voice cuts through digital rage. One calm conversation often prevents what 100 emails would destroy.
Build Trust Through Transparency
Stay in proactive contact: thank buyers, share timelines, tracking, certificate photos, and packaging updates. Transparency reduces disputes and strengthens your position in chargebacks.
For expensive orders, film the packaging process. Video proof of condition and care becomes powerful protection against false damage claims.
here is an example of a prof of shipping picture. We made a picture with a person for an expensive extra large painting. This way the customer can see the real size and shape of the package compared to an average hight human.
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Early on, I tried pleasing everyone with easy refunds. It backfired—people exploited it for free art. Now, I offer return labels when needed, and many “unhappy” customers suddenly disappear rather than ship anything back.
Be kind and helpful, but hold boundaries. You created something unique. Don’t let others devalue it or turn your generosity into a business model for exploitation.
Here is an example of such refund. We stated that the "return is too expensive" But sometimes its better to take the hit with the return cost and not allow the customer to get away with having a refund and a product for free.
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The internet rewards preparation and professionalism. By using AI for communication, over-explaining every detail, spotting toxic behavior early, refusing bad sales, verifying urgent orders, calling instead of emailing, staying transparent, and maintaining boundaries, artists can thrive without being destroyed.
You pour your soul into every painting. Protect that investment—not just financially, but emotionally. Respect your work, and demand respect in return. The right customers will appreciate it, and the wrong ones will move on.
Your art deserves better. You deserve better.
— Dmitry Afremov
Here is an our other video blog on the subject
Links to our social media profiles
https://www.facebook.com/leonidafremovofficialpage/
https://x.com/afremovartcom
https://www.instagram.com/afremov?utm_s ... c0MzIxNw==
https://www.youtube.com/@afremovgallery
https://www.tiktok.com/@afremovartstudi ... _device=pc
. After reading all of these, it really feels like no matter how many rules you make, people will always find a brand new way to surprise you. Definitely never a boring day in business.