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Hi Patrons,

I just want to express to you how sorry I am about Patreon's decision to change the fee structure. As a creator using this platform, I fully expect to be the one to carry the processing and usage fees and I fully expect that, when a supporter pledges $1 or $2 or whatever amount, that is the amount they will be charged.They didn't give us creators but a day's warning before they unleashed this.  Right before Christmas for the added nip of brutality, I suppose.  The announcement was dressed up in "It helps creators. Don't you want to help creators?"' clothing, but I don't know a single creator here who wants this, who finds it helpful, or who thinks it's fair to patrons.  Creators clamored in a half-panic all day Wednesday on social media for a reconsideration but all we got was radio silence. 

Then came the public announcement and the inevitable exodus...For some of you, it's just a difference of a handful of cents and perhaps not a big deal. For others -if you're supporting a lot of artists at lower tiers- it's more of a hit.  The issue, of course, is that numerous low level pledges make up the backbone of many a support network here!  Many patrons have already taken their departure, and that's understandable. If you're on your way out, please know I'm very thankful for your past support and your readership.  To those who intend to stay, thank you from the bottom of my heart!  You make it possible for me to keep doing this comic, and I'll do my best to make it as worthwhile as possible.Meanwhile I'll be looking for alternative means of doing this that don't punish supporters with tacked on fees.  Drip (Kickstarter's upcoming long term funding platform) looks like it has some potential.If you have thoughts about how I can make it easier for you to be a patron, please say so. For instance, I'm thinking I'll knock the $2 pledge tier down to $1.50 so that when the fees are added, it remains roughly a $2 charge for access to the patron-exclusive things I post here.--------------------------------------------

Here's where Patreon attempts to explain the changes, if you haven't read it already. (It's clear they had issues that need to be addressed, though I still think they made the wrong decision about how to do it):https://blog.patreon.com/updating-patreons-fee-structure 

Comments

Evan Clarke

Don't worry! I'm sure I can speak for at least some other patrons when I say that it's not your problem to apologise for! It's terrible that they treat the patrons like this but I've seen so many creators speak out in outrage (and as many as seven say they are going to close their patreons within the week) that I could never be upset over this. I can continue to pledge my support and will do so. This is your livelihood and I'll be sure to follow you to Drip (or elsewhere) when the time comes.

John

And as someone pointed out, if the reason is to pay for transactions with the credit card companies, they don't charge per pledge, they bundle the pledges together into one and charge it as one payment. It's greed, pure and simple. But I'm not worried right now. There will be blowback on this, and if results in reduced income on their part, they may change their minds. We'll see.

godemperorzero

I'm Furious at Pateon for these changes for a variety of reasons. But I'm not going to leave the platform because of it until creators find another stable platform. You left your day job to do this full time because of Patreon. I'm not going to pull the rug out from under you like that.

Tracy Butler

Yes...the per pledge "processing fee" is what initially didn't pass the smell test with me. The article I linked to at the bottom of my post was appended earlier today to try to explain why they structured it that way. It's not the shameless cash grab I thought at first...but it still makes an ugly mess of everything. :/ I really don't know if they're going to respond to the outcry with action or not at this point.

Rachel Sandler

I don't mind how the changes affect me -- I'm fine with changing my $5 pledges to $5.50 if it means the artists I support will get more of my pledge. I'm furious that it is clearly adversely affecting all the creators on here, though, since so many people are pulling their pledges. It seems to have done the opposite of what Patreon claims they want.

Tracy Butler

I appreciate that more than I can say. Thank you.

Pho-Kadat

According to graphtreon, Patreon has lost ~20K pledges in approximately 24 hours. Sigh and Ugh are appropriate tags for this new policy.

Kat Michels

As both a patron and creator I was not happy with that announcement either. Ugh!

Tracy Butler

Thank you, Evan. Of course I want to be able to continue making this comic, but I also don't want to feel like I'm putting supporters in a position where they're being taken advantage of. I'm really touched to hear from people who are sticking it out in spite of their frustration, though...just as long as it doesn't pose any sort of financial hardship. And I owe it to you to find a better means of doing this if I can.

ryivhnn

It'll be fine I think/hope :S (always cautiously optimistic). I've actually been doing better on steem (the "official/flagship" site is <a href="https://steemit.com/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://steemit.com/</a> but I use either <a href="https://busy.org" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://busy.org</a> or <a href="https://mspsteem.com)," rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://mspsteem.com),</a> it does require not being scared of cryptocurrency though, am happy to talk through it and see if it might be something you're interested in expanding into :)

Tracy Butler

It's actually the opposite from my perspective. If you make a $5 pledge, I don't want you to actually be charged $5.50 for it. Previously, the processing fees were subtracted from the creator's cut...and I don't actually know any creators who weren't content with that. We picked the platform, we're the ones making use of it to do business, and that's just the expected cost of it. Transferring part of that cost to patrons is not what we wanted. In any case, thank you for being understanding about it.

Tracy Butler

Thanks, Mark. I'm sorry most of all that supporters like you, who do what they can to help as many artists as they can, are hurt so disproportionately by this.

Yvonne Clapham

I'm here for the long run, if you move somewhere else, please tell me.

Tracy Butler

I hope you're right! Thanks, ryivhnn. I'll check those links out!

Ddraig House

I’ve been a little caught up in everything that’s been happening at home that I actually completely missed this announcement from Patreon. In some ways, I don’t think I’d have even noticed anyway had it not been for your post as I’m not having much luck with Patreon in general, but I can honestly say I will unreservedly follow your comic wherever you take it, and my support will follow you to Drip as well :) after all the kindness and support you have given me over the years, it’s the least I can do <3 aside from this though I hope you’re doing really well my dear :) much love, Ella <3

Tracy Butler

Thanks, Ella. Always good to hear from you, and it means the world that you're still following the comic. I hope the world of game design is proving fruitful and fulfilling for you.

Harena Atria

Just joining in the chorus to offer my continued support, Tracy! Wherever you decide to end up, I will stay with you! Love you & your cats (2D & 3D)! ^_^ (Relatedly, I keep gleeing over the December picture of Rocky & Freckles on my Lackadaisy calender! :D)

Yvonne Clapham

Rephrasing: that sounded creepy, I meant that if you were to move to somewhere other than Patreon for support, I would continue to provide the same 'patronage'. Better? Questionable.

Sabertooth Lizzie

Despite Patreon's decision, and their gross wording, it's hard for me to just up and leave. I've been a fan of your work for many years now. You're pretty much the only person I support on here right now (my husband is supporting quite a few others! Haha.) I hope that those who had to bounce out will send a clear enough message to Patreon. I believe you and many others work too hard to be punished for this and it's not your fault. If it wasn't such a tug on me, I'd join the protest as well -- but I just can't. T__T lol If you find a good alternative, I will certainly follow. I wish you the best, Tracy! <3

JezMM

I've paused most of my pledges for a month so I can evaluate what I can afford following the changes and give the people I pledge to time to offer alternate means or otherwise rejig how they do things if they wish. I'd definitely follow those I pledge to elsewhere if they offer an alternative, yourself included. Thanks for the transparency on your thoughts regarding the change.

Tracy Butler

Thank you. That means a whole lot to me. Hehe...and I'm glad you like the December image!

Tracy Butler

Thank you for your patience and understanding, Jez.

Tracy Butler

Lizzie - thank you! (I wish the same for you!)

timmothy brown

Ms. Butler, I have no intention of withdrawing any of the support to the twenty-some worthy artists--perhaps not as talented r beloved as you, but still worthy nonetheless. In the long run, it's not that much extra and besides I really should have been adding a little more for 2018. Please consider this that little bit extra. Thank you so very much for sharing your art, humor and wonderful story with us. Early Christmas and New Year's wishes to you.

JezMM

You're absolutely welcome, I hope the changes ultimately don't cause too much undue stress or harm upon your livelihood/ability to continue your fantastic work. All the best!

Henry Pitts

I just increased to $5 because I love your work and feel your pain. Let me know of funding changes.

Stephen Rushbrook

I can understand why people are upset about this but personally I’ve never liked the large and variable divet that get sliced out of the money the artist gets pledged. I’m here to support creators and want to see them get the largest amount possible, and if that means shouldering the relatively small service charge then I’m happy for that to happen. By making the fee a flat 5% plus’s ther service charge the over all %of the total money that goes to the creator is much higher. OK I only support one creator (yes Tracy it’s you) so it’s not the same as supporting 25 or more, but even if I was supporting that larger number I’d still be ok with the charge.

Garrett Simpson

There's no two ways about it that it's a lamentable change,but I realize how important it is in keeping artists able to focus on what they love doing so I'll likely stick around. Yes,I'm not a fan of monthly pledges to begin with,but the artists I enjoy are worth it usually if I do have the wiggle room. Again,it's regrettable especially when this is otherwise a decent platform to empower the creators one enjoys who haven't sold their souls to some corporation or something.

Sessine

I am not going away, Tracy. This is in no way your fault. I made the pledge because I wanted you to have a stable income. A small additional fee doesn't change that decision in any way.

Lanaya Bodrug

I can see where they're coming from, and I appreciate the intent. I personally don't mind paying a few cents extra, but it'd be cool if they made it optional. Creators who don't mind the cut in their pay can carry the fees, and those who do mind can deal having some patrons that leave. Then everyone gets what they want.

RTT12

I will wait and see if this acutally goes into effect, but if it does, I will cancel all my Patreon donations (6 times 1$, 2 times 2$) , since a 35% hike, most of which goes into Patreons pocket, is just ridiculous. If you make an account on a different platform, I'd be happy to support you there.

Smarticus

you could set up a paypal.me gift link and rehost all the $1 content on your site. give a link in the thank you message after donating. would just be honor system but people are honest.

Virginia Brown

I'll support you here as long as you stay, do look into drip once it stops being invite-only. I've already backed someone else I love on there and it seems well thought out on the supporter's end as well.

Stephen Hutchison

Continuing to sub until we see whether Patreon REALLY wants to self-destruct.

Tukaro

The main issue at hand is that a lot of people try to spread the love around. One person donating $100 to 1 creator only sees their bill increase $3.25 (so eh), while a person donating $1 each to 100 creators sees their bill increase by *$37.90*. This is punishing those who try to support multiple people, and do so on a budget, which will in turn punish the creators as those supporters have to scale back how many people they support.

Tukaro

I hate Patreon for making this change, but I'm here for the creators. If Patreon doesn't reverse this idea I will have to cut the list of creators I support by roughly half until those creators head to alternative platforms, but I'll stick around in the meantime. You're one of the ones I would continue to support (if in a minuscule amount), and if you did do the $1.50 tier I would likely increase my pledge level to that.

Charlotte Fjelkegård

Do you use paypal? I'm considering switching some of my Patreon support to be handled by paypal instead. But paypal doesn't allow more than three simultaneous recipients for scheduled recurring payments.

Maklarr4000

While I find Patreon's latest affront detestable, and it will decidedly impact the number of creators I take on supporting going forward, I will continue supporting you and your work here as I have all along. If you do choose to move to a different platform or payment system, keep us posted so I can follow you wherever you might go to next. Thanks for keeping us all in the loop!

Benjamin Hester

Please don't be sorry. You're being taken for a ride, too.

Debra Delorme

I don't blame the creators for this and will continue to support. Fortunately, I only have 2-3 creators that I support (would love to support more, but alas...). Hang in there - a lot of us still have your back.

Ddraig House

It is, I'm loving every second of it! It's finally meant for us that we can create Biniwood in the format we originally intended; the only thing holding me back at the time was a lack of knowledge of how I could build the games. It's a very exciting time for us <3

Richard Weir

It's an attempt to even out the charges creators suffer. That it pushes the charges on to us is an unfortunate side-effect, but that makes it fairer on some creators who were getting shafted by currency conversions and bank charges. Regardless, I'm staying!

Spiffy Voxel

I'm going to have to rethink a lot of my pledges, as I support quite a few folks here and the extra fees are going to add up. :(

Peter Knörrich

I told Patreon that if I want to pledge more, I'm perfectly capable of doing so at my own discretion, and cancelled a pledge where I could send money by web shop or donation instead. Yeah I know that these probably take an even higher percentage :(. It's a pity you US folks are not SEPA capable. Otherwise I would set up a monthly transfer directly to another banking account at almost no cost. Now I could still do individual payments even now, but that requires paper forms and $10ish fees. If you can find a way to make this simpler, please do by all means.

A Patreon of the Ahts

Well, I'm sticking it out. The real blame goes to the shameful credit card companies who make a fortune on interest but have to charge for one one hundredth of a second of time on their computers too... :-(

Tracy Butler

I do. There's a 'donate' button right on the lackadaisy.com front page in the form of Rocky with a violin. It's a shame, though, because there's no easy, straightforward way to share extra content with people that way.

Tracy Butler

I will be looking. Thanks for your feedback, Peter.

Tracy Butler

I am sorry because it feels a bit like people who are trying to help me are now being taken advantage of for it. Anyway, thanks for understanding, Benjamin

Tracy Butler

I'll be taking a very close look at it. Thanks, Virginia!

Tracy Butler

Yeah...but we knew to expect the credit card fees coming into this, and we creators knew Patreon was going take its cut from our cumulative earnings. What we didn't expect was they they'd be taking from patrons too. Anyway, thank you very much for your steadfastness!

Sean Nelson

I paused all my small donations for the moment (except my first month ones like yours) if they do put the charge on us they need to find a way to not punish the small givers so much

Bob Scheid

I'll follow you where you decide to go, here or elsewhere.

RTT12

Same. Can you look into if there is a disadvantage to you having accounts on several monthly support platforms? flattr.com seems nice, for example. (I am not affiliated with them and as of now don't even have an account there)

Josie V. | syntheticat

Don't beat yourself up about if, Tracy! Everything will work out in the end. I'm a small-scale funder but I'm not going anywhere, despite the added fee. Lackadaisy is too good to abandon!

Will Park

If its any comfort, I won't be canceling pledges any time.

RTT12

Patreon is not, though.

Your Humble Host

I'm not going anywhere Tracey. I just got here. Besides, the fees are no big deal for me as you are the only one I have a pledge too. You're my first one

Eateroftheworld (edited)

Comment edits

2026-09-17 16:00 Its a dick move by Patreon but I'm not dropping my support for you.
2017-12-10 22:34

P.H.F.Donda

Hi Tracy. I just became a patron of yours, and I'm happy to collaborate! Now, wouldn't be better to use Gumroad? They have a patronage system.

Tracy Butler

I'm investigating whether or not I could effectively make similar use of Gumroad. Thanks for the suggestion, Kenseer!

Tracy Butler

I appreciate knowing that, Will. Thank you very much.

Peter Knörrich

Yay we're back! Thanks for having patience with us when we scream.

Christopher Morton

I am glad I didn't make any changes to any of those I support. I hope they can get everything back on track.