The second time I approached the artist about why they'd not finished their part of the trade, which we agreed to do and I completed my half of on the same day, July 24 2010. Said trade item was delivered to the artist by hand at the following FWA, during which they mentioned that they've just not had time to do their half. Between all of that time, said artist had taken numerous commissions - more than I could even begin to count.
Said artist continues to take tons of commissions. Again, more than I could even begin to count. The last time I inquired about when they might finish my part of the trade, the artist mentioned that they might like to just pay me for the value of the ACEO, but I suggested that I would be pleased to settle for just a sketch, even though our trade agreement was for a full color ACEO. The artist agreed to this. This was on May 16, 2013. Since this time, the artist has continued to produce tons of art - sketches, finished work, you name it, they've done it.
At this point, I am preparing to ask the artist to just pay me for the value of the ACEO becuase I'm tired of waiting and messing with this. Which leads to my question: do I ask for the price that I charge for ACEOs now? Or what I charged then? Generally when dealing with commissioners, if four years had elapsed between getting a price quote, they'd be required to stick to the new, more current pricing. Is it fair to do this with a trade gone bad, as well?