The "Payment Methods" Conundrum

[TheOmniPuss]

Hey everyone,

So, this might be a bit of a strange topic, but I was thinking about something regarding comissions and the payment methods involved, as both a viewer and a possible future consumer (not really an artist myself).

Basically, everyone knows that PayPal's, or services along the lines of that, are the standard but, as someone that unfortunately has no access to those services, I always felt it was annoying that I couldn't order something like a comission, in spite of the fact that I definitely want to.

There are other services that involve purely cash, like PaySafeCard (for example, Steam has that...fortunately), or even basic online gifting (heck, I've seen people mention Steam gifts) and I always wondered "Why don't artists accept these alternative methods?".

I assume there are costs involved in setting up a service like PaySafe but it's still limiting possible consumers. I'm aware that I'm possibly among a small group of people, since pretty much everyone seems to have access to the standard services, but it still made me wonder.

Everything taken into account, as artists, what are the reasons involved in denying such methods? I'm actually curious (and I'd appreciate any possible workarounds honestly, if there are any).

Anyways, weird or not, I thought it was a topic worth having and a question worth answering, so thanks :)

[Aigis]

At 6/2/13 07:36 PM, TheOmniPuss wrote: Everything taken into account, as artists, what are the reasons involved in denying such methods? I'm actually curious (and I'd appreciate any possible workarounds honestly, if there are any).

Anyways, weird or not, I thought it was a topic worth having and a question worth answering, so thanks :)

I assume the vast majority of the money you can make from commissions would come from people who have access to a credit card or debit card or whatever is necessary for paying people online.

People who don't have access to that sort of thing by and large don't have all that much money to be spending on commissions.

[TheOmniPuss]

At 6/2/13 07:51 PM, Aigis wrote:

At 6/2/13 07:36 PM, TheOmniPuss wrote: Everything taken into account, as artists, what are the reasons involved in denying such methods? I'm actually curious (and I'd appreciate any possible workarounds honestly, if there are any).

Anyways, weird or not, I thought it was a topic worth having and a question worth answering, so thanks :)

I assume the vast majority of the money you can make from commissions would come from people who have access to a credit card or debit card or whatever is necessary for paying people online.

People who don't have access to that sort of thing by and large don't have all that much money to be spending on commissions.

I guess. I dunno though, I'm talking about myself here but I'd happily (and easily) order some commissions. The issue isn't the money, it's the methods available for me to use it. Again, I'm aware I'm a minority, so it wouldn't really benefit the artists all that much, it just kinda sucks, you know? :/

[Luwano]

At 6/2/13 08:12 PM, TheOmniPuss wrote:
I guess. I dunno though, I'm talking about myself here but I'd happily (and easily) order some commissions. The issue isn't the money, it's the methods available for me to use it. Again, I'm aware I'm a minority, so it wouldn't really benefit the artists all that much, it just kinda sucks, you know? :/

Unlike PayPal, PaySafeCard is not just an account you make if you wanna receive money from customers. You have to be a merchant or something and work out a contract with PaySafeCard and become one of their "partners".

Is it possible for you to explain why you can't use PayPal? If it's a problem with your country, I read good things about "moneybookers", but I never used it myself.

[Daverom]

You can't just set up an account with paysafe.

Unlike paypal, where you can just set up the account, link it to your bank account if you'd like to, and you're done
that's it. You are open for business.

Paysafe is a contract, and like any contract there is likely a few things you would need to meet, likely one of those is a consistent income from your "shop" which you cannot guarantee with commissions. Sometimes you can get a lot of them, sometimes you can get none, sometimes life gets in the way, unlike a shop where you can send it to a printer and its done, it's just not viable

Secondly if you can use paysafe cards, why aren't other store-bought credit cards a viable option? those work on paypal fine. I've used them several times before I was able to get my debit card.

[Daverom]

Added to that, paysafe probably takes a bit more of the money cut than paypal does since its intended for less time consuming bulk sales of mass produced items, rather than single personal pieces.

Artists also can't pay their bills with steam games.

[Nempatriarch]

Me, and all my artist friends in my circles, accept paypal because it's safe and easy. And it's not that we don't accept other payment methods, its more like we never needed to, so we dont really know them, let alone know how they work.
I did find a transaction that paypal wasn't an option so money was sent via western union. It costs more, but is reliable, instantaneous and doesn't require any card/special documentation.

Why is paypal not available to you? That sounds strange to me

[TheOmniPuss]

At 6/2/13 08:30 PM, Luwano wrote: Unlike PayPal, PaySafeCard is not just an account you make if you wanna receive money from customers. You have to be a merchant or something and work out a contract with PaySafeCard and become one of their "partners".

At 6/2/13 09:06 PM, M-Vero wrote: You can't just set up an account with paysafe.

Unlike paypal, where you can just set up the account, link it to your bank account if you'd like to, and you're done
that's it. You are open for business.

Paysafe is a contract, and like any contract there is likely a few things you would need to meet, likely one of those is a consistent income from your "shop" which you cannot guarantee with commissions. Sometimes you can get a lot of them, sometimes you can get none, sometimes life gets in the way, unlike a shop where you can send it to a printer and its done, it's just not viable

Yeah, I assumed as much. Trust me, I totally get it but I just wanted to make sure (and out of curiosity honestly).

At 6/3/13 02:06 AM, Nempatriarch wrote: Me, and all my artist friends in my circles, accept paypal because it's safe and easy. And it's not that we don't accept other payment methods, its more like we never needed to, so we dont really know them, let alone know how they work.
I did find a transaction that paypal wasn't an option so money was sent via western union. It costs more, but is reliable, instantaneous and doesn't require any card/special documentation.

Yeah, I definitely understand. I mean, if PayPal works, why bother messing around with an alterantive system that's an extra hassle?

At 6/2/13 08:30 PM, Luwano wrote: Is it possible for you to explain why you can't use PayPal? If it's a problem with your country, I read good things about "moneybookers", but I never used it myself.

At 6/3/13 02:06 AM, Nempatriarch wrote: Why is paypal not available to you? That sounds strange to me

Mainly because store-bought cards are my only means of buying stuff online (hence PaySafe for something like Steam).

At 6/2/13 09:06 PM, M-Vero wrote: Secondly if you can use paysafe cards, why aren't other store-bought credit cards a viable option? those work on paypal fine. I've used them several times before I was able to get my debit card.

I'll definitely look into those then. I wasn't aware of any sort of store-bought card that's compatible with PayPal. At least it's worth a shot, thanks :D

[thisismyboat]

Store-bought cards (I'm assuming you mean things like Visa gift cards) work anywhere that would accept the normal credit card.

[TheOmniPuss]

At 6/3/13 10:31 AM, thisismyboat wrote: Store-bought cards (I'm assuming you mean things like Visa gift cards) work anywhere that would accept the normal credit card.

I was not aware of their existence actually *facepalm*

Either way, this thread as already proven to be rather useful on a personal level, so, hey, thanks everyone :D

[thisismyboat]

Aah, yeah, they're great if you don't have a credit card and want to buy stuff online. A lot of grocery stores sell them. Word of warning though, you'll always pay about $5 more at the till than the card is worth. Activation fee and all that jazz.

[Captain]

Do you not have a bank account? You could always just arrange to have funds directly transferred from your account to the artists. Since you can't use paypal though, I'll assume you don't. Banks accounts are pretty crucial to doing any kind of transactions with other people, online or otherwise. Best solution to your problem is to just get one. Your profile says you're 19, so you're old enough, and it takes like 15 minutes at a bank to set one up.

[bulangbintang]

@ Larkatosa : paysafe or rather Paysafecard is a prepaid card which you can use on various platforms as an online payment method. It is very safe, no personal data, no account information, nada. I use it for quite some time now and i never had any problem so far. You just buy the card, enter the code, done, it is that easy. If you are interested, they have a store locator and a list of some of the platforms which accepts Psc on their homepage.

[bulangbintang]

you`re very welcome, glad i could help.

[bulangbintang]

Tried it out yet?

[stepon]

At 6/2/13 07:36 PM, TheOmniPuss wrote:

There are other services that involve purely cash, like PaySafeCard (for example, Steam has that...fortunately), or even basic online gifting (heck, I've seen people mention Steam gifts) and I always wondered "Why don't artists accept these alternative methods?".

I assume there are costs involved in setting up a service like PaySafe but it's still limiting possible consumers. I'm aware that I'm possibly among a small group of people, since pretty much everyone seems to have access to the standard services, but it still made me wonder.

Everything taken into account, as artists, what are the reasons involved in denying such methods? I'm actually curious (and I'd appreciate any possible workarounds honestly, if there are any).

Anyways, weird or not, I thought it was a topic worth having and a question worth answering, so thanks :)

Although I am new to this particular Forum, I can say with much certainty that I have used these "alternative" methods of payment in various other platforms. For "brand new" payment methods the reason for denial is that they are new and not widely used yet, but as far as other methods are concerned, smaller platforms tend not to use certain methods because of the costs involved - there are always fees - the question is the, which fees are worth paying! ;)
I personally think that among the prepaid cards, the paysafecard is the best for users and also the most widely used PP card to my knowledge. The key benefit, which most users of the card already know, is the ease of use followed by the fact that no registration or activation is necessary. As far as costs to the platforms are concerned, I dont know the details, but i assume its not so bad as there are a lot of platforms out there that accept it - and not just itunes, amazon and steam - smaller ones as well! ;P

[Openwounds]

At 6/4/13 01:25 AM, Captain wrote: Do you not have a bank account?

Guys.. I think I figured it out. He's under legal age. Can't own a credit card, paypal account, and doesn't know about Visa gift cards.

[bulangbintang]

At 7/5/13 10:46 AM, Openwounds wrote:

At 6/4/13 01:25 AM, Captain wrote: Do you not have a bank account?

Guys.. I think I figured it out. He's under legal age. Can't own a credit card, paypal account, and doesn't know about Visa gift cards.

and that is exactly why he can spend his hard earned dishwashing-money on a prepaid-card haha

[stepon]

At 7/5/13 10:46 AM, Openwounds wrote:

At 6/4/13 01:25 AM, Captain wrote: Do you not have a bank account?

Guys.. I think I figured it out. He's under legal age. Can't own a credit card, paypal account, and doesn't know about Visa gift cards.

Wow - you guys! Really insightful! ;)
Why would I want a CC where I pay yearly fees? Why would I want a PP account where I have to spend 3wks setting it up with all the registration, verification, bank account details, etc, and sorry dont have friends that would give me gift cards! ;P

[bulangbintang]

Wow - you guys! Really insightful! ;)
Why would I want a CC where I pay yearly fees? Why would I want a PP account where I have to spend 3wks setting it up with all the registration, verification, bank account details, etc, and sorry dont have friends that would give me gift cards! ;P

Prepaid cards are soooo much easier and safer. It is a pity that a lot of platforms don`t accept them

[Template88]

I use paypal.

But I would totally work for Magic cards. 8V

[Carrion]

If you end up using paypal and are getting paid over a thousand dollars, make them pay you in increments if possible. I recently lost $500 just because of tax on a commission I did. :|

[Captain]

At 7/8/13 06:52 AM, stepon wrote: Why would I want a PP account where I have to spend 3wks setting it up with all the registration, verification, bank account details, etc

Paypal takes literally 5 minutes to set up. You create an account, then just add your banking information that you copy off of a personal check. Boom, you can now transfer and accept money instantly, although with a maximum transfer limit that admittedly takes at most 3 days process, but is no work at all to do.

If your really having a problem with not being able to make/accept payment for stuff, and your only reason for not using paypal (which is the easiest way to do this) is "IT'S TAKES TOO LONG TO SET UP I'M NOT DOING ALL THAT," then the problem is not what options are available, the problem is you.

[Openwounds]

At 7/8/13 06:52 AM, stepon wrote:

Wow - you guys! Really insightful! ;)
Why would I want a CC where I pay yearly fees? Why would I want a PP account where I have to spend 3wks setting it up with all the registration, verification, bank account details, etc, and sorry dont have friends that would give me gift cards! ;P

There are tons of credit cards that do not have a fee associated with it. Also - as long as you pay off your purchases within the allotted time (Often 21 days) you don't pay interest on it.

I hooked my pay pal acct. up to my credit card so I could avoid the 3 day processing time (I have my bank account hooked up too - but like I said. 3 day processing time). Plus, pay pal is secure.
As the other dude mentioned though - working in small increments in essential to pay pal.. though I think it just charges based on a % of the total value.

[Lintire]

Just cut out the middle man and create art in direct exchange for bags of cocaine. Hide them inside a child if you really must. The cocaine, too.

[bulangbintang]

At 7/9/13 12:14 AM, Lintire wrote: Just cut out the middle man and create art in direct exchange for bags of cocaine. Hide them inside a child if you really must. The cocaine, too.

hahaha, now there is an idea!!!!

@captain : my thing is that with that PP you have to expose your bankaccount info, with Psc you dont. The net is not safe and you hear more and more that people fall victim to a scam. My Mom would be the first, but that is because she has no clue hehe.

[Captain]

At 7/9/13 11:25 AM, bulangbintang wrote: @captain : my thing is that with that PP you have to expose your bankaccount info, with Psc you dont. The net is not safe and you hear more and more that people fall victim to a scam. My Mom would be the first, but that is because she has no clue hehe.

Paypal is extra secure, can't think of anyone ever having their information stolen by paypal. That's kind of the point with paypal, the person you are purchasing from never sees your bank account information. Getting your bank account information also isn't too big a deal nowadays. A few years back someone managed to get my info and was charging WoW to it, took 2 days to talk to my bank, fill out a form, and have the charges removed from my account and the money put back in.

[stepon]

At 7/9/13 12:08 PM, Escalus wrote:

At 7/9/13 11:25 AM, bulangbintang wrote:

At 7/9/13 12:14 AM, Lintire wrote: Just cut out the middle man and create art in direct exchange for bags of cocaine. Hide them inside a child if you really must. The cocaine, too.

hahaha, now there is an idea!!!!

@captain : my thing is that with that PP you have to expose your bankaccount info, with Psc you dont. The net is not safe and you hear more and more that people fall victim to a scam. My Mom would be the first, but that is because she has no clue hehe.

Giving your bank account information is purely optional with paypal, it's not a MUST HAVE thing unless you're transferring/withdrawing money to your bank account from your PayPal

hmmm not as far as I can remember...
I remember having to give my bank account info, and CC info to back it up...
If you want to make a purchase using PP you must have this information available.

[Daverom]

I've used paypal for years with no connection to an account or credit card.
Bothing Sending and receiving money.

[bulangbintang]

At 7/9/13 12:08 PM, Escalus wrote:

At 7/9/13 11:25 AM, bulangbintang wrote:

At 7/9/13 12:14 AM, Lintire wrote: Just cut out the middle man and create art in direct exchange for bags of cocaine. Hide them inside a child if you really must. The cocaine, too.

hahaha, now there is an idea!!!!

@captain : my thing is that with that PP you have to expose your bankaccount info, with Psc you dont. The net is not safe and you hear more and more that people fall victim to a scam. My Mom would be the first, but that is because she has no clue hehe.

Giving your bank account information is purely optional with paypal, it's not a MUST HAVE thing unless you're transferring/withdrawing money to your bank account from your PayPal

aha, i always asssumed that Paypal only worked with a bank account? I have never used paypal myself, but a friend of mine uses paypal to pay on bandcamp , and he said he had to give his acount information.
So if it doesn`t work with your account, how do you put some money on there?
Is it possible to transfer money into Paypal using my psc?