I already don’t like Patreon

Hey guys, I’ve just set up a Patreon two months ago and I’m already feeling very sheepish about using the service. They’re planning to put up their fees soon, which works out very poorly for people pledging many small amounts. Previously the fee was taken from all of your pledges put together (the whole point of a service like this), but now it’ll cost 0.35c  for each individual pledge. Meaning if you support many Patreons for $1, you’ll essentially be charged over 35% in fees, which is absurdly high. Patreon’s been very brazen about this change, hiding it behind the fact that creators will get more money overall (assuming that many patrons don’t just outright leave). Patreon’s facade of being in it to support the little guy is becoming very hard to believe, especially with these dishonest PR statements that don’t address the actual reasons for these changes.

There’s a lot of anger over this, but if this change goes through, I’ll have to delete my $1 tier and tell people not to waste their money. At that point Steam and Kongregate take a smaller cut, and they actually earn it by giving me lots of traffic, while Patreon does fuck all besides process payments. People who were on the $1 tier will still get all of the perks, but in future those perks will be on the $4 tier instead.

It’s not that I don’t want your $1, it’s just that we’re both better off if you save it and buy my games on Steam or Kongregate instead. Charging you guys $1.35 to send me $1 is pointless.

Also I still think Patreon’s new logo is ugly as hell.

Thoughts?

42 thoughts on “I already don’t like Patreon

  1. Joseph Howard

    I honestly don’t know how to send Matt Roszak money using any electronic guide. Can I get an answer once more, so I can become a Super Supporter of Matt Roszak? :wut: ❓

    Reply
      1. Joseph Howard

        I know. My mind was racing a few weeks ago, but I still want to be a Super Supporter! I am relieved to hear that Patreon is okay after all. I wish I could send Matt Roszak money as effectively as I sent these comments to him and others.

        Reply
  2. Lscander

    Well,for the change,it means that Patreon charges more money on the supporters who pledge less than 7 dollars.In my view most peoole’s donation is less than10 dollars.It is really a bad news for us supporters.It may be a trend for Internet company to charge more money because of the big market.We may need to think out some good ideas instead of just complain.Anyway,complaining is what we can do just for now,and the new logo do looks very ugly.

    Reply
  3. Remus Lupine

    :bleh: Yeah, a LOT of people are pissed at Patreon for this change. Many people I’ve been following have actually encouraged their viewers to stop using Patreon to support them and suggest other methods, or even to stop donating altogether if a better option is unavailable. Honestly, if people wanted to be ripped off, they might as well be doing direct bank transfers.

    On the higher end of the spectrum ($20+ USD), it doesn’t mean much, but on the lower end ($1-5 USD, which, btw, accounts for like 80% of donations through them) It’s a complete ripoff.

    On a more personal note, I would love to help with financial support, but…… Well If I were to support everything I liked, even for $1 each, I’d be homeless. So you’ll have to settle for a cheerleader in the peanut gallery :tongue:

    Reply
  4. Oxybulyx

    I can’t use patreon, but I feel like this is dumber than giving the Fire Sprite neutral reaction to ice. 😐
    If not, I know that the 1$ bonus was getting access to buggy stuff and such, but will the buggy stuff be released later for those who bought the game? :wut:
    Would be super awesome :stars: , since I can’t patron and love unfinished, broken things. :love:

    Reply
    1. Oxybulyx

      Wait, humans. Ignore the “If not” at the second line and replace it with “anyway”. Makes much more sense. My bad. :bleh:

      Reply
  5. Christopher William

    Maybe a 5% fee I could see, but 35%? That’s gosh damn outrageous. I agree with you being peeved off from this, it’s difficult enough putting yourself out there like that and then they make everyone associated with them look bad.

    Reply
  6. 石樱灯笼

    I think Patreon is just for people who don’t have any other platform for showing their works.
    You have a standalone blog, a Steam, and many other ways to show your works, and of course you can earn money from Steam( Dose Steam charge 30%?). That is why you wouldn’t like Patreon.
    Most people don’t have there blog or website. They even don’t run a FB or Twitter or DeviantART or Pixiv or whatever. They have no way but to use Patreon although there are many ways.

    Reply
  7. Devin de Vries

    I’m seriously wondering if they’ve even thought about the fact that competitors might rise up/abuse the situation, since users on both ends have historically always preferred fixed payment services. And what said is true, having an entry barrier is known to lower the amount of participants. Companies sure like taking big risks if there’s a chance of making money.

    Reply
  8. Manderby

    Remember when you asked us about the opinion of whether you should create a patreon or not? I wrote a lengthy comment but then erased it because I think you are clever and adult enough to decide for yourself and make the best out of it. But damn, why didn’t I posted it. Because now I could have given you a big jucy “I told you so”. :yay: Oh well. Next time then. Maybe if you decide to invest into bitcoins. :wut:

    Reply
      1. Joseph Howard

        Isn’t bitcoin an unreliable currency? I would rather send U.S. dollars through Steam or Patreon indirectly from my bank accounts than use electronic bitcoins.

        Reply
  9. Joseph Howard

    I have many thoughts about Patreon, I am afraid. I personally meet with my general bank’s professional advisor yesterday. Although I wasn’t clear about it, even to him, one reason I was there was in order to figure out how to become a Patron with the personal quest to donate $8 a month to you (Matt Roszak) and your (his) game series (Epic Battle Fantasy + multiple others), but I don’t know how to automatically write ebills for an electronic subscription and have the right person physically receive them on time. If I do it at all, I want to go big on my donations. It will sponser my characters that have wanted publishing for likely six years (I am now almost 20), and the games and music of this site and Phyrnna’s site are enough for me to make several brand new accounts in order to support you and her both. I don’t know what to do, and I can only hope that this is the post that receives a direct response that helps me succeed. :stars: :yay:

    Reply
    1. Matt Roszak Post author

      I’m not sure what you’re asking. But generally you want to use a credit card or paypal to purchase things online.

      Reply
      1. Joseph Howard

        Hello, Matt Roszak, sir. I apologize for my delay in responding. I did not expect you to answer my questions, and I was so shocked and amazed that I had to find the best way to write you back. First of all, I am a huge fan of your work, as well as the music that your friend Phyrnna has composed! I want to support your work in every way possible. I have done careful thinking about stuff lately. I made new social accounts with the goal of personally supporting you, including Patreon and Discord. You are the 1st and main person that I have bought games from on Steam, and I hope to become a Super Supporter with the perk of being on your Wall of Thanks. This would allow me not only to provide you with extra income every month, but to also link any site I have back to your page. Sorry, but how do you receive whatever I send through Patreon as a bill? If I patron for $8 a month, do I receive a monthly physical check for $X and +30% or +40% due to the site? Or do I do it online with the two of us transferreing money securely yet online? I don’t want a monthly letter to an electronic subscription, but I don’t know how else to keep it secure. I apologize for the delay, but this has been on my mind for months, and I wanted to phrase this in the best way possible. :yay: :stars:

        Reply
        1. Joseph Howard

          Sorry, but I really wanted to make it clear how much I support you. I have been creative with my own characters ever since I was 10, although I cannot draw or design games, and my musical skills will never match those of Phyrnna. The main creative thing I can do is tell stories. I have developing true stories and personalities for my most recent characters since I was in 9th Grade, nearly 5 years ago. I have much I wish to accomplish, but I want to help and create in the best ways possible. Out of everyone that has inspired me while giving my characters true shape, you have helped me the most. I tried to put my characters within your NPC Maker game as crossover characters, but it didn’t fit. No crossover platform fits my characters, and I want to create my own platform in the right way. My characters are original, yet heavily inspired by various people.
          As someone who was likely inspired by Final Fantasy games, as I was inspired by Dungeons and Dragons, you have taught me a lot through your drive and games. I never thought that a college age individual could stay so creative, but you clearly have. Despite my busy life, I want to maintain my own creative nature throughout my college and adult years. Thank you so much for helping me, and I am sorry for making this an essay. This comment is long enough to be multiple comments, but I will respond with clarity below.
          :stars: :shades: :yay: :bacon:

          Reply
          1. Joseph Howard

            I now write down everything on Word documents that I may type on a major site (though never on FaceBook), and I apologize for posting this all at once.

        2. Matt Roszak Post author

          You don’t get any letters if you pay by credit card or paypal, which is what Patreon takes. What do you use to pay on Steam?

          Reply
          1. Joseph Howard

            I bought a $20 Steam in order to securely pay for things on Steam. I still used the card # to put money into my account, but I don’t think a monthly dnation will work that way. I have a Debit card, but I don’t think I have it stored on Steam. I made a Patreon account just to be a Super Supporter of you, but I know almost nothing about the site. My friend had a Steam Account before I made one during Thanksgiving Break, and he told me that security when paying for stuff online is really important. While I trust you, I don’t have much experience with sites like Steam or Patreon, so I don’t know how to send you money. My parents don’t know that I want to donate part of my income (working for less than $300 a month) to an Indie Game Developer, but I really want to help you. I don’t know about publishing anything on my own, but being on the Wall of Thanks by being a permanent Super Supporter seems like the best way to support you and my own creative concepts. I have never been good at short texts. I can use a credit card for Patreon, but it now sounds ineffective compared to Steam. There are some accounts I don’t know how to use, as I mostly avoided social media until my first semester of college last year. If I can be anywhere near as successful with a few good stories as you are with multiple game series and websites, then I want to try. Donating money to you is the best way to properly thank you while also getting my voice out there. I have checked any social media as often as your site (KupoGames). Sorry for not getting to the point, but thank you for answering.

          2. Joseph Howard

            What I meant in my previous comment was that I was so unsure of how to respond, that I took over 200 words longer to make I point than I needed. I apologize. I don’t understand online transactions enough to be a financial supporter of anyone without asking how. I care so much about what you have made that I want to help you anyway. I have made some plans, but I don’t like Patreon. I don’t like social media, but you are on of the people for whom I felt having a social account would be worth it. My $8 monthly donation would help us both, but your post implies that it is more trouble than it is worth. I could still afford to pay over $10 a month for you to receive $8, but only because I am a college student with a part-time job. I am taking this month and following 6 months to figure out what to do next. However, there are so many aspects to consider that I feel overwhelmed. I write and talk too much for that reason alone. All I really need from you is instructions on how to send you money every month with maximum security and minimum stress. Sorry to monologue, but this is really important to me. :scared: :wut: :sick: :shades:

  10. Salpepor

    thw worst in this scenario is not Patreon charging more money for your shit when you just want to support someone, no something even more cancerous:

    Net Neutrality

    yeah that damn thing! again! now if giving 2$ to a creator wasn’t difficult enough, well fuck you! because now you are gonna pay 5$ per month to give a single damn dollar to someone! And because now they can put paywall on creator, now if your company isnt big enough you will earn fuck all of the money you deserve! Also because of this damn paywall (again) and due to the fact the internet will be soon 2-3 time more expensive, people will only use their goddamn money to the usefull stuff, good luck having any salary at all!

    okay i’m maybe overreacting a little bit (duh I dont live in the united-states) but really wtf with net neutrality? 😡 :skull:

    Reply
    1. Matt Roszak Post author

      You’ve got it the wrong way round. Net Neutrality is good, it’s what we have now. Getting rid of Net Neutrality is bad.

      Reply
      1. Salpepor

        1- I was talking about taking down net neutrality. Maybe was I too unprecise? Obviously getting rid of the net neutrality rules is a bad idea. i’m not going to talk about that agin because I already did that anyway. But yeah i was talking about the fact if it happen to put in place someday, supporting people would be a nightmare

        2 for the profile pic it’s long story, but basically i tried to have a prifile pic on SaltyBet but it seem i got to create an account on the site they linked to put a image to finally using that image, refreshing the page 3-4 times, and voilà! But it seem it also work here and blablabla i don’t want to talk about something i put 45 minute to figure out, it just too freaking long to explain 😐

        Reply
  11. Danexing

    You seem really ticked off about this, I agree though, I cant really use patreon because I dont have credit/debit, I prefer just buying the games. As much as I love to support you I just hope that buying All of your games (which I did) and EBF5 + all dlcs is enough to show my appreciation. Oh and the patreon logo is just “what is this” am I right

    Reply
    1. Matt Roszak Post author

      I’m just mad that in an age where everything can be done by computers, companies are still charging so much for a simple transaction! Grrr….
      And whenever a good service gets popular, they fuck things up for the benefit of their shareholders, which I’m sure is what Patreon is doing now. The only solution is to punish them hard.

      Reply
      1. Oxybulyx

        Well, most humans are only interested in money, it’s easy to figure out why they put that 35% tax or something.

        Reply
        1. firekirby135

          It’s only 35% if spending $1. iirc, the amount doesn’t charge as heavily with larger amounts. (it’s a $0.35 flat fee in addition to 3% of the overall ammt, so $10 = $10.38 and $20 = $20.41) The REAL issue is this is applied to EVERY SINGLE donation, so as has been pointed out, $1 donations are WAY pricier than they used to be to maintain on multiple patrons. Honestly, I think this whole uproar can be quickly quelled if they go back to their initial, once a month lump sum model, and just add the tax price to the total outgoing donations of a supporter. That way, regardless of if you have 100 $1 donations or 1 $100 donation, you’re still getting the better, more cost-effective fee. And in that scenario, pretty much everyone wins. Supporters wouldn’t be punished for spreading donations evenly, in fact the system would actually encourage it. It would also maintain the original idea Patreon was attempting to move for with this switch, with Patreon content creators actually making the listed amount. And in the end, more people would be willing to start supporting people on Patreon again, ensuring more people use the service and securing the revenue Patreon needs to stay afloat. ($0.35 x total amount of supporters is NOTHING to sneeze at, especially when considering the 1m users they boast are donating monthly. That’s $4,200k yearly at LEAST, NOT including the added 3% fees they’d collect from EVERYTHING donated)

          Reply
  12. master

    while I don’t use patreon, but good lord the logo is ugly. What was the point of changing it ? :bleh:

    Reply
      1. Oxybulyx

        I checked it and whatever the heck that designer was doing while making it, leave that human a million kilometers away from me.

        Reply

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