Question on accepting tips

[heavenscalyx.livejournal.com]

I just stared in horror at the whole PayPal vs. Regretsy thing, and couldn't even quite wade through everything because I was so appalled. And now I am paranoid about the PayPal Donate button I post on every episode of my serial. Granted, I'm unlikely to get reviewed because I'm not getting huge quantities of money coming through, but it's kind of the principle of the thing.

What thoughts do other folks have on this?

Comments

[jenny_evergreen]

I'm in exactly the same place you are.

[haikujaguar.livejournal.com]

I think you're quite correct.

I think it's also worth it to sit back and see what happens because of the brouhaha. Believe me, Paypal is going to have its hands full managing the PR disaster; the last thing they have time for right now is to go back and audit millions of users to see if they can smack them with the same stick that got them into trouble this time.

It may be that when the dust clears, they will clarify their rules on using the donate-labeled button. Until then, I wouldn't worry too much about it.

[jenny_evergreen]

My concern is that, when the dust settles, we WON'T be able to use it, and then, gah!, what will we DO?

[haikujaguar.livejournal.com]

Then we use another service. There are some big names trying to get into Paypal's market share, among them Google, Mastercard and Visa. And some smaller companies trying to do it from scratch. If Paypal goes down, there are alternatives eager for our business. :)

[jenny_evergreen]

See my Debbie Downer comments below. I fear that anyone who doesn't already have a very strong following will be out of luck.

Okay...

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

A closer look suggests that the dispute may be over claiming to be a charity rather than use of a specific feature.

It would be really nice if PayPal would offer a "payer sets amount" button labeled something other than "donate" and/or made it possible to change text on the standard buttons. Something like a "contribute" button would be great for many crowdfunding projects, for example.

For those of you worried that PayPal may cut you off -- and yes, that includes me, I'm screwed if they decide to be unreasonable -- there is a list of money handling services on my Crowdfunding Economics page:
http://penultimateproductions.weebly.com/economics.html

Re: Okay...

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that would just confuse shoppers/patrons, because a gift certificate is typically something you give to someone else.

"Contribute" or "Tip Jar" would be more useful.

They have a feature where you can customize a button, but that requires having an image -- challenging for those of us who aren't artists. Plus I'm always afraid that if I try to do anything remotely fancy, even if someone else is pushing the keys, it'll cause the system to crash on me just because that happens so often with me and technology.

Hmm ... maybe it would be helpful for the Crowdfunding community to have a collection of freely available images for "tip jar" and "pass the hat" etc. that anyone could use. If artists or photographers want to share such, that would be cool. Then interested creators would have more resources for customizing their PayPal efforts.

Re: Okay...

[jenny_evergreen]

I expected that to happen; I mean, there's no way they could handle the bad press of doing anything else. But I expect that the donation button option will be locked down after this, and, IF they give us a tip-friendly option, it's going to cost extra. *sigh*

I know there are a few other non-Paypal options out there, but people don't use them yet, and aren't going to until they have a compelling reason, which I don't think "donate a few dollars to an artist/writer/etc" is going to qualify as.

*is totally Debbie Downer today, sorry*

Re: Okay...

[haikujaguar.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't be very concerned about the donate button suddenly being locked down after this.

*passes hot tea* Try not to get too upset about What Might Be until the dust settles! Remember, if Paypal fails, there are some big names just waiting for the vacuum to fill.

Yes, please!

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

I would LOVE to see something like that from you. Maybe a jar and a hat with some money in them, since those seem to be common concepts? Your art is tremendously popular. Please let me know if you do this, and I will happily promote the adoptable tip jar images on this community.

Re: Okay...

[jenny_evergreen]

That would be awesome!

Re: Okay...

[zeeth_kyrah]

PayPal's representative gave answers bordering on sociopathic when answering these questions. I am so very disinclined to give them any more of my business.

By the way, I've seen Stripe mentioned recently. Diaspora (among others) decided to leave PayPal for Stripe after their own accounts were frozen, and the fees appear to be not-that-different for a basic "donation" type transaction (they're advertising 2.9%+30c flat rate per transaction with no other fees involved).

Re: Okay...

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

Thanks for mentioning Stripe. I've added it to my list of money handlers on the Crowdfunding Economics page.

[bodlon.livejournal.com]

I honestly think this is a developing situation, but am likewise concerned. I've used these buttons as a tip jar before, and asked for assistance paying for a surgery, and worry it could be problematic to do either of these things in the future.

If PayPal could clarify their policy well and apply it consistently, that would help a great deal.