George, if you have found ' a french company ' or a ' Polka Gallery in Paris ' and you are happy with them, then the problem has been solved. I am happy for you.
What then was the reason for your original post and all the subsequent discussion? Was it merely to
make the readers aware that some ( or all ) of these pay-to-play outfits are unreliable; or even worse dishonest and/or not worth participating in? In any marketplace there usually are unfortunate instances of scams. Should that negate their value or the service they are supposed to render?
If that was your intention, then it would have been appropriate to state it at the start and would have made me, at least, understand the nature of your OP.
I have had issues with Paypal. But I still use them. They provide a service that I find useful, and generally all of my transactions have gone smoothly.
Similarly, I do a lot of business with Amazon. They do not ship many items to my address. Return and
refund hassles etc. But they state it clearly in their policy. I accept that; and have found alternate solution to this issue. I believe it is the buyer or sellers responsibility to ascertain the conditions of sale/purchase and return policies and terms. Ignorance of such is not a case for assigning blame to the party concerned.
I would have refrained from naming the curator in the incidence stated. Because that presents only one side of the equation, however accurate. And could be misconstrued by others.
I am sure all of us here at OPF want to help you and others as much as possible and within our province of individual expertise.
I wish you all success in your career.
Regards.
Here is one example of an opportunity that does not cost the artist to enter. SFR, a french company is sponsoring a number of competitions to coincide with Paris Photo this year. I am entered in two of the three photo contests and have a profile page and portfolios on the site (NSFW). One contest is for a group show at Polka Gallery in Paris and the other is a smaller show (of four finalists) at the Grand Palais during Paris Photo.
http://sfrjeunestalents.fr/photo
Bobby, thanks for posting your experience. I mentioned it to someone offline earlier and think it is worthwhile mentioning here. Earlier this year I entered three images into a show back in the US and had one selected by the juror, Todd Hido. I had a 12x18 inch Lambda print made and matted and shipped from a printer I've used in the past to the gallery in Philadelphia. I couldnt get the printer to add a return label or ship the print in reusable material. After the show, artists were sent a link to a web page to provide payment for return shipping. Lo and behold, the web page wouldn't take a foreign address. I tried to get in touch with the (small) gallery to no avail. Long story short, I spent a couple of hundred bucks on that print and I'll never see it again.