Kadath
patreon
Patreon's New Processing Fee System
🕑 Added 2017-12-07 06:27:16 +0000 UTC Hey Everyone,You may or may not have heard, but Patreon has announced they are changing their processing fee system on the 18th of December. I got an email from them today talking about this, and they included the chart above to illustrate the change.
In the current system, your pledges are a flat fee that is stated upfront. From your payment, patreon takes a 5% cut and credit card/paypal processors take between 7 - 15% of the payment. This is how it is with most service-based things (ebay, for example).
In the new system, they are cutting the fees down and pushing some of them to pledgers. They want to have you pay 2.9% + $0.35 on top of that. Their intent seems to be to give creators and patreon more income by making the pledgers pay the processing fee burden. For instance, a $1 pledge is now $1.38. $5 is now $5.50, etc.
I know many of you pledge to multiple patreons. You may set aside a certain amount each month for that, and now with the fees added, you may feel the need to lower or drop support for some patreons.
I reached out to patreon about this, and politely asked them to reconsider, as I feel this will result in more people dropping support, and that I - and many other creators - are more than happy to pay the processing fees and not put that on our pledgers' shoulders. They emailed me back with the response they sent everyone else who talked to them, which effectively says they think it'll be fine. We'll see.
Many creators, myself included, are raising concerns about this, and are saying that we are more than happy to pay the fees and not burden you with them. I frankly feel they are forcing a solution to something that wasn't really a problem. But then again, I just use their service, so I don't know what the behind-the-scene reasons are for the change.
So, a few points:
1) Despite them saying this is to help creators, I don't know if I will really gain more income from their system. Maybe a slight amount, but it's not worth it, I think. To me, the system is fine as-is and I don't think it needs to be changed.
2) If you are concerned about this change and that it may make it likely you will drop support for patreons, I suggest you POLITELY email patreon, which you can do here. I do emphasis politeness.
3) I don't know yet how exactly how or if I will be changing my patreon to adjust to this. I have considered lowering Tier costs a bit to compensate for the increased fees, but those fees will only be based on how much the Tier is, so it may end up severely hitting me financially for not much change overall. I admit I'm not too good with numbers, so this is just a thought at the moment.
4) I also am considering if there's something I could add to the patreon to compensate for the slight price increase. However, I already upload almost daily, with multiple projects, and I'm honestly worried I'm already overworked. I'll think about it, though.
5) Lastly, patreon has been life-changing for me. It wasn't until this service that I was able to really make a reliable, stable living off my art, especially to the point where I could live the life I wanted to, where I wanted to. I have tremendous gratitude for patreon for making a platform like this, but by far, YOU are the reason I can do this, and I am eternally grateful for you supporting me. I really would not be here without you.
I care about you all, and I am doing what I can to get patreon to reconsider this fee system change. But if it still happens, I want you to not feel like it's a burden, and I want you to continue being satisfied with the content you are supporting. <3
If you have any other questions, patreon put together an FAQ:
https://patreon.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/115005631963
Otherwise, you can discuss this with me in the comments below.
UPDATE:
Patreon has gone into more detail for their reasoning behind the new payment system. Make of it what you will:
https://blog.patreon.com/updating-patreons-fee-structure/
Comments
Kadath
This is a good insight!
Xaq
Yeah, that's the balance between fixed costs and variable costs. Fixed costs hit smaller transactions harder than larger ones; it's the whole reason buying in bulk for cheaper actually works. (Sorry, former business major here. ^_^;;)
Kadath
Yeah, exactly. I would much rather patreon just up their own fees for creators than push credit card processing fees onto users. It's so bizarre. No other company does this, as far as I'm aware.
Kadath
Yeah, it's a solution a problem that didn't exist. These kind of forced changes never go well.
Kadath
Thanks Zhon, I appreciate it ;3
Xpray
Yeah... I just learned about this a few minutes ago and I'm still trying to assimilate it. I complete agree with what you said there, the system was completely fine before (for both creators and patrons) and it didn't need to be changed, so I really hope they reconsider things.
Luci
On one hand it does make the cut that Patreon takes more visible, on the other hand having a fixed fee means that they're punishing people who support many people with a little each. So in your example, the "Patreon tax" on a $1 pledge is a whopping 38%, while on a $5 pledge it's 10%. On a $10 pledge it's 6.4% and on a $50 pledge it would be 3.6%. And I'm guessing those of us who are unlucky enough to have to pay VAT on their pledges will have that applied after the fees, meaning for me a $1 pledge would cost me $1.75. It adds up when you support a lot of people. :/
Johnny Grimm
Either way I'm staying pledge to you and about four others if things get too crazy
Zhon Lord
I'm sticking around even if the change happens. You're an amazing artist and a great guy on top of that, you won't be getting rid of me that easily Kad!
Kadath
Good! I'm glad you contacted them. If they hear enough backlash, I hope they will change their minds. I wanted to let you guys know before they sent out the emails because I want to be open and honest with you all. I think that level of trust is important, and I think patreon misunderstood how protective creators are of their pledgers X3
Cobalt Phoenix 81
No, Kad, thank you for your hard work. Keep it up.
Kadath
Thank you ;3
Kadath
Yeah, it seems small, but it adds up. It oddly seems to impact lower pledge costs more than higher ones. Almost like it's designed to get rid of $1 pledges, for instance :S
Kadath
Oh yeah, that's the other thing - non US citizens pay more on top of that. It's especially hard on you guys, and I'm really sorry for that :(
Kadath
It honestly reeks of them trying to make more profits. Their new system won't help creators as much as they claim it does. And even if it did, it shouldn't come at the expense of pledgers.
Kadath
Thank you!
Kadath
I appreciate it :3
Kadath
:3
Kadath
Send them an email and let them know. I hope if enough people do that, they'll get cold feet.
ObscaenitasCorvus
oh boy, i hope they reconsider. I don't feel like cutting my pledges to pay for thees extra fees. But if they do I need to T.T
Foab30
It may be a little more, but I'll be staying, Kad :)
Zedrov Tatarov Petrovich (Zed Tiger)
I have to agree with the others here that say, despite the increase in costs (be they what they may), I'm not going anywhere. :-)
Gramuel089
Thanks for the heads up. You will be one of my Patreons I don’t cut even if I have to lose some. Love your work!
Johnny Grimm
I don't really see a reason for them to add the fees to say it's helping you even with the system they have now before they change it creators are still making a lot of money their content depending on pledge amounts
Silvador
My monthly Patreon stipend is $200aud. It's bad enough that it is this high due to the au/us exchange rate. F knows what this change is going to do to my regular budget. D: I guess I'll just have to wait and see what next month's charges end up being before I adjust my pledges.
Xaq
Did the math on it. It's gonna cost me an extra $5.52 a month altogether. Not enough for me to go anywhere, but the fact that it's almost a 10% increase on me is definitely annoying. :/
name here
I did send a email about it. it may seem cheap of me but this isn't right. it would be like putting money in a tip jar at some cafe the the manager walks up with a bill for that tip. thanks for informing us on this issue i hope for other creators this doesn't happen because i think this would drive patrons away or at the least make them reconsider paying another creator for the work they are doing.
Cobalt Phoenix 81
Thank you for your honesty, Kad. I'm not going anywhere.
