Local crackpot alert, here to necromancy this thread because it never got any definitive responses from staff and I have new information to present.
So, I was supported with 1000 ink today. All well and good. I made 83 cents.
(this is the only ink support I've gotten in April so far so that's how I know I can depend on this being an accurate figure).
But uh, are we not going to talk about the obvious inflation that's been created on Tapas' part to make ink seem more valuable than it is?
Over on LINE Webtoons, $1 = 10 coins. That's how it's advertised in the shop. They give that $1 value without having to make you jump through hoops to do the math to figure it out. Clearly and concisely advertised. And the bonus coins you get for buying in bulk do not affect the base price. 200 coins will always equal $20 regardless of whether or not you get that bonus 18 coins that comes with that bundle. This makes sense to any old Joe who knows Roman numerics and basic math because 10 coins x 20 dollars = 200 coins.
10 coins will buy you 2 episodes priced at 5 coins each. Simple. Your $1 dollar just bought two episodes.
BTW, every series sells their episodes for 5 coins. They can do this because, from my understanding of LINE's model, they expect every episode to be a certain length (something like being at least 30 panels long). They have prerequisites to what makes an episode that can be sold.
So you know that no matter what you spend those 10 coins on, if you go for the bare minimum of $1, you'll be able to buy 2 episodes of whatever comic you want.
Simple, direct, concise language.
Meanwhile, on Tapas, 1200 ink (what Michael is claiming the $1 value is) will buy you around 3.4 episodes of, let's say MNEMOSYNE, so let's say 3 episodes on Tapas priced at 350 ink each, with still a little ink left over to spare to either save aside or tip to a creator (150 ink, yaaay. So like, 10 cents without the fees deducted lmao).
But wait... that's MNEMOSYNE. What about The Lady and Her Butler OH MY GOD
Okay, what about Thick As Thieves-
OKAY SO I guess that $1 = 1200 ink conversion fee can get you either 3 episodes or it can get you 2, who tf knows? Not the consumer because they're being told absolutely nothing about what their money is worth and what it turns into on the other side ((((:"""" Can we not just, idk, expect that every episode should be made consistent to fit certain guidelines so that they can all be priced consistently as well so consumers will know what they're getting when they turn their money into ink? And think about how this is potentially screwing over Premium creators
So comparing Premium to LINE creators, we can say that maybe some Premium creators make more than LINE... but not all of them. Meanwhile, LINE creators know their episodes will always sell for 50 cents. You know how I know it's 50 cents? Because they tell us that with the simple conversions and upfront communication. LINE Webtoons episodes, at 5 coins per episode, are priced at 50 cents an episode (because 10 coins = $1). Even though that's not a lucrative cost either (on its own), you see how much easier that was to figure out? All because LINE doesn't hide its conversion rates behind inflation and questionable conversions.
Aaand speaking of questionable conversions...
According to Michael, $1 is worth 1200 ink, which would make sense if I was gifted 1000 ink and pulled out 83 cents on the other side.
But wait, 1600 ink costs $2 in the ink shop-
So what in the world is it worth?
So are we saying, mathematically speaking, $1 is actually worth 800 ink? ($2 = 1600 / 2 = 800 ink per $1). Do you see the issue this causes? People are giving pennies when they think they're giving dollars. And that's all still before those fees come out, the month of April is a perfect time to really get down to brass tacks with the conversion math on it all because for once, we're not having to take those fees into account. So a reader buys, for example, $2 worth of ink and donates 800 of it thinking they're giving their favorite creator a dollar ... nope, you've just given them, like, 60 cents. And that's with the fees removed; after fees it's undoubtedly closer to 40-50.
My main concern is that Tapas ink is more inflated than the Mexican peso and it seems to be built that way on purpose to give readers and contributors the sense that they're contributing more than they are. Contributing 1000 ink sure sounds like a lot, especially to those who are primarily watching ads/filling out surveys and get anywhere from 4-10 ink for each one (1000 ink will feel like a lot to anyone who endures that level of MMO-style grinding), but it's really not that much (83 cents, in fact) and the inflation seems to be intentionally creating this idea of wealth that simply isn't there. Add to the fact that because you can't just pay $1 (the base price is always set to $2), and the conversion rate is obviously dependent on the amount you buy (without there being a static "base rate"), no general consumer really puts in the time and effort required to really dismantle it and see what their money is actually worth on the other side. The one thing Tapas could have copied from LINE that would have made sense - a far simpler conversion rate of $ = ink that's honest and direct and clear on the surface without any tacked on nonsense that makes the math and conversion rates go wonky.
Maybe I've just missed some things, though. My math/logic could be wrong, I wouldn't put it past me, but that 1000 ink I got translating to 83 cents has been on my mind since I woke up to the notification this morning and I felt it a perfect opportunity to get discussion on this going again. Especially considering there are valid questions/concerns from the OP that still haven't been answered after over a month of silence. Even if my math/logistics regarding the specifications of ink = $$$ is wrong, it doesn't change the fact that these concerns that OP had, and I have, as well as many others, exist for a reason, and much of it boils down to Tapas' advertising and communication about what ink is actually worth to consumers on the front end and how it translates to creators on the back end.
Top that off with my biggest concern that staff still hasn't cleared up a lot of questions regarding this despite assuring they would. So... yeah. Let's not see this thread die, please. People need to be informed of what choices they're making and what they're really contributing when they give someone ink. I don't want to see these valid concerns and questions go unanswered, hence the mild necromancy.
To make one final thing clear, I'm not mad that 1000 ink only translates to 83 cents on the backend, nor am I mad that Tapas built a broken cryptocurrency system that's overinflated and has some sketchy conversion systems that aren't entirely honest on the front end.
I'm just mad that you, Tapas, keep lying to us about it.