Question for developers, r.e. Buy Me A Coffee

[OhWee]

Hey devs!

I'm just curious if anyone has had any amount of success with donations using

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I've seen comments from a few developers that would indicate no, but I'm wondering if anyone has had more success with it...

If so, I'm also curious about the registration requirements, i.e. on the financial bookkeeping end. Patreon and Subscribestar look a bit more intense in that regard, so I'm looking at 'lighter options'.

I suppose there's Deviantart as well, but mainly I'm looking for something to support my art in general, not any specific project, and that doesn't require me to put up my first born as collateral, etc (yes I'm exaggerating a bit)... I'd probably be sharing just the worksafe renders on any such platform - those that know my art from here at F95Zone, etc. would of course already know about my NSFW stuff, and to look for it here...

But back to the question at hand. Has Buy Me A Coffee actually been useful to anyone doing this sort of art?

 

[Saki_Sliz]

Hmmm... never used it, the only exposure I have to it is that sometimes I see it on some people's pages. I always thought it was like a tip jar, a donation box, but reading the page you linked, it sounds more like a competitor for patreon.

require me to put up my first born as collateral

Ah, a man of culture~ (╭ರᴥ•́)

 

[DrPinkCake]

I have used it. It was the most unprofessional experience in this business to date.
They did the following:
1. Returned funds that were on my account to donors, without reason for it.
2. Froze my funds for 3 months.
3. Didn't reply until the sixth e-mail.
4. When I FINALLY received the funds, they didn't come from their site, just from some random PayPal and it was less than I should have gotten.

Needless to say, I immediately terminated my account.

It is a shady site with poor business ethics. I'd advice any developer to stay as far away as possible from them.

And in regards to book-keeping, which you absolutely should do from day 1. Don't be like me and wait 6 months before you start, it took me a long time to catch up. Patreon makes this very easy as they charge the VATmoss from each donor. You don't have to pay that come tax season and they also give you a report on yearly earnings.

 

[polywog]

There have been a lot of startup "support the artist" and "tip jar" sites over the years. The greedy cunts at patreon have bought up a dozen or so, and poof. Don't put all your eggs in one basket. Make your own website, and link it where you can, so your fans can find you. paypal, bitcoin, visa accepted. Most fans want to say thanks with a one time payment, not sign a long term contract, and be targeted by the morals police at patreon.

 

[Saki_Sliz]

Most fans want to say thanks with a one time payment,

For sure.
From what I understand, paypal can be used in a number of ways, from professionally with an invoice system, to an online wallet, to a tip jar, but i haven't looked into it. I wonder if there is an all-encompassing video about the uses of paypal.

 

[Retro]

@DrSmith of Research into Corruption has publicly said Buy Me a Coffee "lost" all of his donations so he switched to Ko-Fi.

 

[Sam]

I know some devs have had issues with them after Paypal froze their account due to all the adult creators flocking to their service.

They've since updated their ToS to say porn is no longer allowed, although it looks like paypal has banned them for good.

I have used it. It was the most unprofessional experience in this business to date.
They did the following:
1. Returned funds that were on my account to donors, without reason for it.
2. Froze my funds for 3 months.
3. Didn't reply until the sixth e-mail.
4. When I FINALLY received the funds, they didn't come from their site, just from some random PayPal and it was less than I should have gotten.

That can all be explained by Paypal and their crusade against porn. Although BMC should have had better communication.

 

[Saki_Sliz]

explained by Paypal and their crusade against porn

Oh, so that's an issue, how disappointing. I don't get it, what is the deal with people looking down on NSFW content. the NSFW community has been the most supportive and constructive community I have ever seen, on par with communities such as hobbyist electronic community and suicide support groups.

 

[DrSmith]

@DrSmith of Research into Corruption has publicly said Buy Me a Coffee "lost" all of his donations so he switched to Ko-Fi.

I was urged by BMAC to switch to Stripe as payment method instead of PayPal. This went horribly wrong and BMAC was only capable of repeating the things that didn't work. In the end I got an accusation of some fraud with CC's, while I was the one getting the payments (or at least should have gotten them) and then I was completely done with that bunch of losers and switched to Ko-Fi.
I haven't got many donations but all were payed out fine with PayPal. Of course I'm keeping my pages a bit low profile

Also a no for me is that I had to create a Stripe account with so much private information (SSN and that kind of stuff), it really felt uncomfortable.

 

[OhWee]

OK, I'm already seeing a lot of negative stuff about Buy Me a Coffee in this thread, so that's not good.

Let's switch gears. I'd like to hear more about this Ko-Fi service... for those using it (that haven't commented already), what has been your expereience?

 

[DrSmith]

OK, I'm already seeing a lot of negative stuff about Buy Me a Coffee in this thread, so that's not good.

Let's switch gears. I'd like to hear more about this Ko-Fi service... for those using it (that haven't commented already), what has been your expereience?

So far my experience is good.
At standard levels the possibilities are restricted but the don't take a cut of off your donations.
At a fee of $6 a month you can switch to Gold and then you can install reoccuring payments, almost like Patreon. And still all the donations you get are yours.

 

[DrPinkCake]

Regarding Ko-Fi, if you sign up and read their policy they don't allow adult content.
Correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[OhWee]

Regarding Ko-Fi, if you sign up and read their policy they don't allow adult content.
Correct me if I'm wrong.

Just noting that I was planning on having the public 'pay' portal being Safe for Work only, with basically no reference to my adult rendering stuff. The more adult oriented content, well that's what this forum is for... but of course the few people here that are so inclined could then send electronic money my way instead of just throwing dollar bills at their screen in frustration...

It'd be nice to recoup a tiny bit of my Daz oriented hardware and product purchases in some way. Not for Enthralled (that needs to stay 'free' since it's a parody-ish sorta thingie), but I do a fair amount of other Daz art throughout the month as well, and I might also be inclined to do a few commissions here and there, for those that are suitably happy with my Daz skill level. There are artists out there that are WAAAAAAY better at this than me, but I do appreciate the occasional compliments nonetheless.

 

[recreation]

Good question. I stumbled up on BMAC a few times too and was wondering. Good to know its crap^^

I just read the faq's on ko-fi and they want you to use the nsfw tag when you have images with:
"suggestive clothing or poses"
"Illustrations or comics with mildly violent or sexually suggestive themes"

there's more of course, but I guess these are the important points.
As said before, every adult content is strictly prohibited and these nsfw tag rules are hilarious.

Ko-Fi is not for me as it seems^^

 

[polywog]

I know some devs have had issues with them after Paypal froze their account due to all the adult creators flocking to their service.

They've since updated their ToS to say porn is no longer allowed, although it looks like paypal has banned them for good.


That can all be explained by Paypal and their crusade against porn. Although BMC should have had better communication.

Paypal's policy on "buy me a cheeseburger" is altogether different.
You can send money to any email address, even if the recipient doesn't have a paypal acct.
Some country restrictions etc. apply, check the ToS for details.
I actually opened a paypal account once, and it already had $700+ in it.

This works for people who are not "selling" their game, dick pics, noods, bate vids, etc.
Paypal doesn't even charge a fee, if money is sent to "family" *

*you can always call off the engagement. Paypal doesn't ask for proof that you went through with the wedding.
Sending money isn't a sale. No goods or services rendered.

 

[DrSmith]

Regarding Ko-Fi, if you sign up and read their policy they don't allow adult content.
Correct me if I'm wrong.

Yes, they are not too keen on adult content.
That's why I'm only posting some safe stuff, just enough to let people know what game it is, and post the nsfw stuff here and on Discord.
Because I'm not getting a lot of donations I hope to stay under the radar. Also because I'm not selling anything, I just use Ko-Fi for donations, I'm trying to go unnoticed.
And that if I'm caught, the only penalty is the suspending or deleting of my Ko-Fi page (and my PayPal account stays unharmed).

But if you really want to set up something like a Patreon page on Ko-Fi, with regular payments and nsfw content about your game, I think this will be a short lived attempt.

 

[HiEv]

Regarding Ko-Fi, if you sign up and read their policy they don't allow adult content.
Correct me if I'm wrong.

You are correct. From

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:
Strictly Prohibited Adult Content

Ko-fi cannot be used as the venue for sexually explicit or adult-themed content. This includes, but is not limited to:

• Pornography, nudity, depictions of rape, incest, bestiality and any other adult or obscene content including implied, suggested or censored in any form such as:
  • literature
  • imagery (including illustrative)
  • videos
  • links to or from external sites or content containing such material
• Sexual services such as prostitution, escorts, pay-per view, or adult live chat features

Censoring Otherwise Adult Content

Censoring otherwise adult content is also strictly prohibited. This includes:

• Censoring otherwise adult content with emoji's, illustrations, blurring, or other methods;
• Covering nudity with body parts or objects;
• Offering uncensored versions of content to subscribers or at third party sites or links.

(end quote)

So I'd be wary of using Ko-Fi for any adult content.

 

[manarak]

sorry for this little necro, but what's the current recommendation for anonymously receiving donations from supporters for adult content ?