Billing Anniversary - A Question & A Suggestion

Patreon Feedback
#1

I participated in the Livestream on 2/12 and thought for a while. Could Patreon be getting too big? Is that why you are having difficulty figuring this out? Have you considered splitting it-the company and creating a parent and a subsidary company to better handle things? Maybe categorizing creators - One that focuses on physical goods+digital and the other only digital.

Question - If billing anniversary did occur would creators be receiving weekly or bi-weekly or monthly payments to compensate? How would payouts work

Maybe not allowing people to sign up during the last 7-10 days of the month to avoid that double-billing people don’t like. instead of put them on a waitlist and give them access for the next month. I know this may hinder patrons from signing up but the ones who really want to support their fav creators will comeback.

For example, I have been waiting for over 3 months for a specific eyeshadow to be available. When i got the email notification that it was back in stock I ordered almost immediately.

The main reason creators charge upfront is to avoid fraudulent patrons. These are patrons that sign up, get the goods, and disappear before they are charged.

I’m glad you guys have heard/listened as to why creators are apprehensive about billing anniversary and are trying to create a solution that benefits all/most.

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#2

The best solution is just to do nothing and leave the the billing system as is. Billing on 1st of the month is really perfect in my opinion.
They have already provided me with a constant pain in the ass with their new patron count display numbers, now I can’t even know how many real active patrons (who are staying subscribed) I have at the moment. I really hate that! So if they add the anniversary billing to that, it will be a real huge mess.
Patrons will just begin to subscribe in the end of the month and cancel on the eve of the next payment and so they can get content released during 2 months while paying only once.
As a result charging up front becomes totally pointless and the whole business ruined…

#3

This has been suggested, but towards the end of the meeting they stated they preferred to have goods and services in the subscriber’s hands immediately instead of asking them to wait. It didn’t sound like they will even test the idea although it would have been a simple solution.

#4

I also think it depends greatly on what the creator offers.

Some patrons are, dare I say it, impulse-buyers. Particularly with digital rewards. They see a current benefit now (like a featured post or highlighted-subject), and want to subscribe specifically for that benefit. I think it would disincentivize sign-up’s, perhaps even decrease retention, in some cases.