Addressing Patreon's Fee Change (Patreon)

Alright guys, for those of you who didn't know it yet - Patreon will be changing the way they charge processing fees starting December 18th.

From then on, patrons will be charged a processing fee (2.9% + 0.35 cents) on top of their regular pledge. Previously that fee was covered by us, the creators, but Patreon saw fit to place that burden onto patrons instead.

The benefit for me as a creator will be that the payout of my pledges should now be consistent at 95%, where previously it fluctuated between 80-88%. In reality it fluctuated more strongly than that, for which I still don't know the reason.

It looks as though Patreon will also earn a significant amount more from this way of charging, and while it is not inherently wrong for a business to want to earn more money (after all, that's what most of us creators are trying to do all the time too), it is definitely scummy of them to try and pass it off as a "change to benefit creators", as it really mostly benefits themselves.

The downside is obviously that you guys will be paying more for your pledges. For your convenience, here's a list of what my pledge tiers will now cost you, and the percentage increase that is compared to what was previously charged.

$2 = $2.41 = 20%
$5 = $5.49 = 9.8%
$7 = $7.55 = 7.9%
$70 = $72.38 = 3.4%

It is clear that this change will impact people who pledge low amounts the most comparatively. If some of you now need to be more selective about who you're pledging to and how much, know that I completely understand if you need to adjust or withdraw your pledge to me. In fact, if that is the case I would encourage that you stick with those artists who need it most, and since Patreon is not the majority of my income I do not count myself as one of them. I'm comfortable enough to take that hit - others may not be. It sucks to have to choose so if you do I hope this will make it a bit easier.

I should not have to reiterate that I'm grateful for every bit of support that you guys have shown me, big or small, for a long time or only recently, but I will anyway. Thank you all, and I hope that despite this news you will have a good and festive last month of the year!