Warning Charms scam

[Altimasmoke]

I wanted to warn everyone to not purchase any custom videos from Gia. She took my money for a custom video and did not send my video. First requested video back in April and she kept giving me excuses. Finally she quit responding to my emails all together. I contacted SouthernCharms and they tried to help me get my money back but had no luck. I got burned so be careful and stay clear if Gia.

[hd69]

I also paid for some custom photos from a charm a few years back (not the same one). She wanted the money immediately and I was told they would be done within a day or two, four poor quality photos were sent to me about three months later. The actions of a few Charms unfortunately tarnish the whole site and I just would not bother with any custom stuff, you have no back up what so ever.

[Italian Lace SC4]

Gentlemen, I'm so sorry you've had negative experiences ordering custom content. Each model here is an independent contractor so experiences will vary from model to model. Some girls don't offer custom content at all, many are eager and willing but new to this and trying to figure it all out, and others have many years of experience in filling custom orders. I fall into that last group and can perhaps offer a little insight from the model's perspective... NOT drawing parallels or making excuses for your experiences, as I don't know the circumstances, just throwing some things out there to be considered when placing custom orders in general.


When considering purchasing a custom order (some of these may seem obvious, but I assure you they aren't obvious to everyone!):

Experience - For many new Charms this is their first appearance online and they will be eager to take your orders! However, if they've been on the site for less than a year, they are probably still figuring things out. I'm NOT saying you shouldn't order custom content from new Charms, you should (everyone has to start somewhere!), but take into consideration that she's new at this so it might take her a little bit more time. It is not uncommon for an inexperienced model to think your request is going to be easier to shoot than it actually is and then promise you an unrealistic ETA on your order. Be understanding of this when dealing with inexperienced Charms.

Quality - Before placing an order, I recommend purchasing a membership to the Charm's site and looking at her most recent photo sets (when ordering photos) and/or purchasing a couple of her most recent videos (when ordering custom videos). Its a small investment compared to the cost of a custom order. Gage the quality of the work she puts up on SC. Unless she otherwise specifies, that is the same quality you should reasonably expect to receive on your custom order.

Number of people involved - More people = more coordination required, which increases exponentially the more people are included. A four-girl wet and messy party sounds awesome, but getting all those people together and coordinated can add a lot of time to your order (especially considering most of us don't live close to each other so travel will be involved -- for many that involves requesting time off work, finding babysitters, boarding pets -- A LOT OF COORDINATION!).

Also, does your request require a photographer? A video that can be shot with a tripod in one take is a lot less complicated than one that I have to set up a photographer for, especially if I then have to coordinate with the photographer what HE has to do and when regarding specific angles, shots, etc.

Complexity of request - This is where the divide usually happens. You probably have a beautiful picture in your head of how your custom content should turn out, but rarely does the customer understand how complicated it can be to create their dream scene. It is NEVER as simple as "just grab the camera and snap a few quick photos." A lot more goes in behind the scenes than you might imagine. For example, most of us use a light kit so the end product isn't grainy... if you have us moving around a lot, consider that the entire light kit either needs to be moved for each shot, or that you're going to lose quality if the model moves out of the light -- if you have her squatting on the floor with the camera up close and personal under her butt, sure the view looks great in person, but on camera there's no light under there and it's not going to look as great as you imagine.

Does your request have the model switching rooms? That requires an entire stop and reset of all the equipment and prep work to make the space shoot-ready. Does your request require her to change outfits? Shooting 10 photos in one outfit in one place is vastly different from shooting 10 photos in 10 outfits in different places all over the house. The latter is going to take a lot more time. Understand that none of these requests are BAD, WRONG or UNUSUAL, after all, it is YOUR custom order. You can ask to see it like you want to see it, just try to understand how these things may complicate the order and make it take more time to complete.

Time involved - Aside from the time to physically set up the equipment, coordinate the people involved, the actual shooting of the content including outfit changes, room changes, and scene changes... There are also a few other things that will add time to your order. Often a Charm will need to schedule a hotel suite or a time to shoot at a friend's house, or coordinate it to happen at a Bash or other vacation location. None of these things are likely to be arranged overnight, and you wouldn't want them to be because proper planning is how you get a quality end product.

Did your request require something that the model would have to order like a specific outfit or toy that you saw online? Be sure to add in more time for shipping!

There's also post-shoot time involved. The content needs to be uploaded from the camera to the computer (usually several gigs of raw content), then usually goes through some type of editing (lighting/color correction, watermarking, formatting, clipping, joining scenes, etc.). Then it needs to be uploaded to a file transfer service to be sent to you (as it's usually too large for regular email clients). The whole thing is a process...

Now add in the fact that we all have lives outside of SC including full-time jobs, families, social obligations, OTHER CUSTOMERS. We realize how excited you are to get your custom order, and we are all excited to make you something beautiful, but life happens and sometimes there are more pressing things than your custom order that need to be attended to. I don't think girls make a habit of blowing off customers -- it's not good business, and not how we keep you coming back for more -- I think they just get busy. While most custom orders can be filled in a week or two, I think that 4-8 weeks is a reasonable amount of time to wait for your order to be filled, especially if it is a large/complex request.

So, when you've picked your Charm, you've checked out the quality of her work and you're ready to place your order, here's what is expected of YOU for best results:

• Email her with your request and be AS DETAILED AS YOU WANT YOUR REQUEST TO BE in ONE concise email. If it's as simple as "I want to see a blowjob that ends in a facial" that's fine, but if you want to see a blowjob, shot POV, with her wearing pigtails, and her saying a specific thing, and her wearing a schoolgirl outfit" then you need to say all of that UP FRONT. Once a price has been agreed upon between you and the model DO NOT add in anything else, no matter how simple you think it is. Something as simple as an outfit request could potentially change the price and/or ETA of your video. Include in your email how long you'd like the video to be, or how many photos you're looking for. The length/quantity will usually affect the price you're quoted for your order.
• Expect to pay for your order up front. This is a standard for custom orders. After a Charm has received payment, THEN she will set up the shoot, order clothing or props needed, reserve a location, and shoot your content. Never expect a model to do a custom order for your before receiving payment.
• Wait patiently. If a reasonable amount of time has passed (say, a couple weeks) and you haven't heard anything, send a friendly email asking about the Charm's plans and if there's an updated ETA. NEVER be rude. Comments like, "After all this wait it BETTER be good" are unnecessary. They put extra pressure on the model that may make her more anxious about making your content, and make her less excited about making an awesome product for you. We all want to put out good work, especially when you're paying us top dollar for it because we want you to come back for more! So BE NICE! If you put a bad taste in her mouth she's going to be less motivated to make you a stellar custom because she's not going to want to work with you again anyway. One bad experience with a customer can scare a girl off from offering customs forever.
• Leave positive feedback!If you've purchased a custom order from a Charm and the transaction went well, a simple post on the forum saying "I purchased a custom video from Charm X and it was a pleasant transaction. I'm happy with the product" can go a long way! No detail is needed about your order, just a little note to let others know that a Charm has been vetted and found to be a reliable source for quality custom content. It will be greatly appreciated by Charms and customers alike!!
• NEVER share your custom order. Remember that the model and/or photographer still owns the rights to that content unless you've worked out a written contract otherwise. Models WILL hold you liable if their content is redistributed without permission.

[Altimasmoke]

You left out the part where the charm emails you and tells you to go screw yourself and she is not giving you your video even though you paid. I have been ordering custom videos from Charms since 2000 so I know a little about the process.

[Italian Lace SC4]

You left out the part where the charm emails you and tells you to go screw yourself and she is not giving you your video even though you paid. I have been ordering custom videos from Charms since 2000 so I know a little about the process.

Altimasmoke, I sense that you've taken my response with some hostility. It was not my intention to insult your knowledge on the process of ordering custom content OR to insinuate that you personally did anything wrong to deserve the treatment you received. I was only intending to share general knowledge about custom orders from the model's perspective. As I said, I do not know the circumstances involving your order with Gia, and I'm certainly not making excuses for her. I also didn't know she did such a thing, as you said the correspondence ended when "she quit responding to my emails all together." I make no assumptions, and I am truly sorry that you had such an awful experience. I hope that unlike hd69, your bad experience will not scare you off of ordering customs from other Charms in the future.

[SultrySerenaSC2]

Guys, I'm so sorry you've been screwed over by unscrupulous charms concerning custom orders.
It sucks that someone can be so blatantly dishonest and, well rude.
Seriously there are no excuses.

But not all of us are bad apples so to speak.

After years of flat out declining to do "custom" stuff, recently I decided to do it, but with a different spin.

The guy emails me his request and if I like it, I'll do it. However the video or photos will be posted on my site and the guy can get it from there. Easier for me, and cheaper for the guy.
Since I'm not providing specifics to the guy, like exact clothing, scenery and I'm not one to really follow a script, I don't feel it's fair to the guy to charge the typical "custom" fee. Besides, by agreeing to do "custom" with out strict guidelines, it enables me to enjoy the experience since I'm not really having to "act". I usually only accept custom style requests that I personally would enjoy.
So far it works for me.
And it's been working for my fans

[RopePhotog]

Just tossing in my two cents in here from a photographer's point of view. I completely agree with everything Lace had to say as doing custom sets is a pain, depending on the request. Keep in mind it has been a long time since I was actively shooting and all of my shoots were of the bondage variety, hence more time tying, shooting the images, untying, repeat. We used to get some pretty off the wall requests back then but did the best we could to accommodate each one. Like Serena is doing, we decided to post these sets on the site, just saved the hassles. Of course, we couldn't complete every request as some of them were so wild my model just refused to do it. When that did occur, I made sure to write the requestor and explain why the set could not be shot. Time is the biggest factor, in my opinion, as I would have to believe most Charms do this as a side job to what they do in everyday life. Sometimes that life dictates to what they can do with SC and custom requests. I know this first hand from the three sites I had long ago. Again, the way you were screwed isn't right and I completely understand the situations leaving a bad taste in your mouths, for not only the model but SC in general. I have been visiting SC for many years and there are some great Charms out here, they have been doing for a long time. Lace & Serena are only two of them but you can tell they put all they have into their craft. Serena did a bondage set for me some time ago that was just amazing (still love you for that one Serena) and I have yet to join Lace's site but plan on doing that very soon. My point is, just remember that these ladies have different lives away from SC and, most of them, give it their all for these custom shoots.