Patreon Merch Fulfillment

[phoenixrenaissance]

I feel like I've recieved half a dozen emails about Patreon's new sales tax requirements but not a single peep about this.

Merch | Patreon

So, from what I gather, Patreon is starting to offer merch fulfillment on things like stickers, posters and some clothing items.
The big draw I'd say is that they offer global shipping but I do wonder what the quality of the items will be. (Looks like you can request a physical proof at least.)

I find making and shipping merch to be stressful so it seems kinda cool. I don't know. Has anyone else heard anything about this? I feel so out of the loop.

[Chopythes]

Yeah, I heard of it, but only via someone else's patreon shout out! (humon of course, haha)
I tried to look into it but I wasn't able to find it somehow?? Not sure if it's just eligible to those who earn "enough" to make it affordable?
I have so many questions about it, but none were found in the FAQ (and I'm a bit too lazy to ask xD)

[rajillustration]

huh--that's really cool, especially since the cost of shipping often makes providing physical merch items for low tiers more costly than the donation amount (like I dunno how people ship at 1 dollar tiers). If Patreon's eating some of that cost so we can offer tiers that actually turn a profit, then that's great.

[phoenixrenaissance]

Oh, Humon. I followed them on DA for awhile and completely forgot they existed.
I'm not sure how the eligibility works. I just got a little notice about it on my page and I make about $30 a month with them, but I also have founder status? I dunno. Maybe they're rolling it out slowly. I hope they put out an official email with more details (or that other folks try it out first and give us the deets XD)

[phoenixrenaissance]

Yeah, I def agree. Shipping costs, especially international, are such a barrier for creators and readers I think. Even something as small as a charm ends up costing more in shipping than the product itself.
I hope if it's successful for them they can expand the product options. Hoping for them to produce things like enamel pins and books might be farfetched but it would be so cool.

[lesson101]

Oh I also received a notification about Patreon Merch and I think it's cool that Patreon can provide a service like this. However I do worry about what the quality of the merch as well. Currently they offer stickers, mugs, and T-shirts. The merch is only applicable to $10 up tiers where patrons can get a merch if they stay in the tier for 3 months and the merch will automatically be prepared and shipped by Patreon themselves. It also says that aside from your initial plan, example your patreon plan is 5% cut they will add another 3% cut to your overall creator's balance.

I haven't tried it cause I'm worried about the additional 3% cause I don't really know if it's really just 3%. I only earn a little more than just $200 and I don't think that would cover even 1 merch for one patron. So I'm giving this a rest and if one day I'm earning more than 500 or maybe a 1000 then I'll consider merch. Additionally, I also don't have a design that patrons would want to even get so for now, I'm just happy that Patreon has this kind of service. At least I know when I have plans in the future.

[kuromonoart]

The notice has only just appeared on my Patreon so it is quite recent, although after looking at their fulfillment rate, I would recommend using your own fulfillment service if anyone thinking of making merchs. I compared it to my usual places where I order prints, T-shirt, and stickers and the cost is 4-5 dollars cheaper than their offered price and I have full control over the quality and shipping cost (and with relatively cheap international shipping for small items too) etc. without paying any more 3% on top of it.

[lynestjules]

I didn't know about the Merch aspect of Patreon until I signed in to make a new post. I thought it was weird, because you're right, we got tons of emails about the new tax requirements.

[phoenixrenaissance]

Ah good to know. I've never looked into fulfillment services so I have no baseline to compare Patreon's offerings to.