Escape Artists
Administrivia => Escape Artists, Inc. => Topic started by: eytanz on January 18, 2008, 06:34:57 PM
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After five years in graduate school and a few months dealing with my relocation costs, it looks like, come the end of the month and my next paycheck, I will finally have some spare cash. And I really want to spend some of it on donations to various podcasts and webcomics that have made my life much more enjoyable over the past years when I couldn't afford much in terms of paid content.
Anyway, that includes both Escape Pod and Pseudo Pod, but I'm not clear on whether they work from the same donation pool or from seperate ones. Should I donate to both, or is it better to donate a larger sum to one, and it will be used to fund both?
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After five years in graduate school and a few months dealing with my relocation costs, it looks like, come the end of the month and my next paycheck, I will finally have some spare cash. And I really want to spend some of it on donations to various podcasts and webcomics that have made my life much more enjoyable over the past years when I couldn't afford much in terms of paid content.
Anyway, that includes both Escape Pod and Pseudo Pod, but I'm not clear on whether they work from the same donation pool or from seperate ones. Should I donate to both, or is it better to donate a larger sum to one, and it will be used to fund both?
I've wondered this too. Do donations go essentially to "Escape Artists" and pay out to authors of whatever podcast they sell to or are the podcast donations self-contained to the specific podcast one donates to?
(I'm posting here to see if keeping the thread active brings it to someone's attention who can answer the question. Steve? Any one else on the business end?)
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Make it 3 potential donors asking the same question... for the same basic reason!
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No matter wha the answer to the question is, I would say make the donations to the podcasts seperately. The amount of money coming in shows support for the individual 'casts. If they see that EP gets $1 per download, but PP gets $.50 per download; Steve and co. might think that is because PP isn't appealing to people and needs to be changed.
Then again, I'm just a firm believer in voting with my money.
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No matter wha the answer to the question is, I would say make the donations to the podcasts seperately. The amount of money coming in shows support for the individual 'casts. If they see that EP gets $1 per download, but PP gets $.50 per download; Steve and co. might think that is because PP isn't appealing to people and needs to be changed.
Then again, I'm just a firm believer in voting with my money.
The problem is that paying through paypal means that each donation gets a lump sum chopped off. Paying twice means that Paypal takes twice as much of the donation. I'd rather keep as much of my money out of paypal's hands as I can while still making the donation(s).
That said, I'd be happy to hear from Steve about this as well - if he does consider amount of donations as a form of feedback, that may well infuence how I decide to spread my donation. In general, I prefer to be as informed as possible as to what the fate of my money is when I spend it.
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No matter wha the answer to the question is, I would say make the donations to the podcasts seperately. The amount of money coming in shows support for the individual 'casts. If they see that EP gets $1 per download, but PP gets $.50 per download; Steve and co. might think that is because PP isn't appealing to people and needs to be changed.
Then again, I'm just a firm believer in voting with my money.
The problem is that paying through paypal means that each donation gets a lump sum chopped off. Paying twice means that Paypal takes twice as much of the donation. I'd rather keep as much of my money out of paypal's hands as I can while still making the donation(s).
That said, I'd be happy to hear from Steve about this as well - if he does consider amount of donations as a form of feedback, that may well infuence how I decide to spread my donation. In general, I prefer to be as informed as possible as to what the fate of my money is when I spend it.
What is PayPal's take from $5 donation? Anyone know for a fact? I've always wondered.
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Sorry for the ridiculously late answer on this. I've been out of my mind.
The short answer right now is that when you donate to either podcast, you are in fact donating to Escape Artists, Inc. There's just one account, and the same money goes to pay for Escape Pod stories, Pseudopod stories, and the upcoming PodCastle stories. We do realize that this gets confusing, and it's also made assessing the break-even point of a podcast very difficult. (E.g., Pseudopod spends more money than it gets in donations from its Web link, but that's probably because the same people are donating via the EP link and intending it for both.)
So we're going to change this. I'm working right now on a small Web app that will allow you to choose which podcasts you want to earmark your funds for, so that you can support the specific markets you actively listen to. It'll keep the money separate and help each of the three editors understand how well we're doing. There will be other perks as well -- I've had the opinion for a long time that donors should get something for donating, and we've got a very cool idea for that which I'll be talking about soon. Current donors will get the same perks too, so don't feel obliged to wait for the announcement. >8-> And if it's your intend to donate to both EP and Pseudo, your donation will have that effect.
Does that help? If you want to know anything more, please ask. I see no reason not to be as transparent about this as possible, and I regret not communicating more sooner.
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What is PayPal's take from $5 donation? Anyone know for a fact? I've always wondered.
It's usually 45 cents. Their fee structure at our level of sales volume is $0.30 + 2.9%, so the larger a donation, the more of it we get.
Occasionally they take 50 cents from a $5 monthly subscriber donation, and I've never done the digging to figure out why; I don't know if it's because that donor is from another country, or has a different account type, or what. It's never more than 50 cents, though.
I should also say that I think their fee structure is fundamentally fair and I don't think there's a cheaper easy way to implement micropayments. They deserve some cut for facilitating the transaction, and there's no free way to do something like this. We also take credit cards through PodDisc, so I have a merchant account, and that wouldn't be any cheaper. (Though it's my plan offer a credit card donation option sometime soon, too, for those occasional people who still don't trust PayPal.)
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Great - now that I know how it works, I went ahead and donated.
I listen to both podcasts right now and fully intend to listen to all three when that will be a possibility, so go ahead and distribute my donation however you want.
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I'm working right now on a small Web app that will allow you to choose which podcasts you want to earmark your funds for, so that you can support the specific markets you actively listen to. It'll keep the money separate and help each of the three editors understand how well we're doing.
Is there a way to earmark funds retroactively, for those who had donated before that Web app gets up and running?
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I'm working right now on a small Web app that will allow you to choose which podcasts you want to earmark your funds for, so that you can support the specific markets you actively listen to. It'll keep the money separate and help each of the three editors understand how well we're doing.
Is there a way to earmark funds retroactively, for those who had donated before that Web app gets up and running?
Not exactly. If you want to e-mail me and say "I want the money I sent to go to Pseudopod only" or something, I'll do what I can, but the main problem is that we're not yet keeping separate ledgers for the podcasts. That's the other reason for the application -- to get that separation on the back end, and something simple where we can track basic income, expenses, and balances for each podcast. Until we have that, earmarking is sort of a philosophical point at best. At this moment we're simply spending money where it's needed.
(You'll note that in the audio version of the metacast I pushed back my promise date for that system to May 1. I've realized that with everything else going on in March, there's no fricking way I'll be able to get even a quick-and-dirty app ready before April, even in Rails.)
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Hello, I have a question about the $5 per month program. I want to donate using this method, but want to have some control over it in case my sheen of financial solvency tarnishes. Can I turn it off after I start it? And additionally, can I decide what day of the month it deducts from my card?
Thanks all!
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Hello, I have a question about the $5 per month program. I want to donate using this method, but want to have some control over it in case my sheen of financial solvency tarnishes. Can I turn it off after I start it?
Of course! We're all about free will, baby. You can log into your PayPal account and cancel it any time. We're using their recurring payments system.
And additionally, can I decide what day of the month it deducts from my card?
Sure; just wait for the day you want to start it. When you first sign up for it, that's your first donation, and it'll do it every on the same day of the month after that.
Thanks for your support!
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i think what i'm gonna do for pseudopod donations is donate 5 every time i get the email that i just auto donated to EP.
that is, until there is an option for monthly donations on the site...
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Hey, is it still acceptable to mail you guys a check, if some of us prefer not to give paypal a chunk of out donation, however small it might be?
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Hey, is it still acceptable to mail you guys a check, if some of us prefer not to give paypal a chunk of out donation, however small it might be?
Sure! Just be sure to include your e-mail address with the check, either in the memo field or an attached note, so we know how to thank you properly and sign you up for any future donor incentives.
(We got a $100 check last week from a donor; he'd used his bank's bill payment service, and now I don't know anything except his name and can't reach him to thank him. If you're reading this...thanks!)
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What is PayPal's take from $5 donation? Anyone know for a fact? I've always wondered.
It's usually 45 cents. Their fee structure at our level of sales volume is $0.30 + 2.9%, so the larger a donation, the more of it we get.
So, if I were to donate... let's see... $5.46, you ought to get a round $5.00 out of it?
I plan on becoming a monthly donator, probably after you build this spiffy-sounding new app, and I think this will appeal to my OCD better ;)
Actually, I'd rather donate directly via credit card than via PayPal; not because of trust issues, but just because I only use PayPal to buy something on eBay once in a blue moon, and it's just easier for me not to have to add in an extra step of transferring money from the CC to PayPal, so let me know if you get that figured out.
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Actually, I'd rather donate directly via credit card than via PayPal; not because of trust issues, but just because I only use PayPal to buy something on eBay once in a blue moon, and it's just easier for me not to have to add in an extra step of transferring money from the CC to PayPal, so let me know if you get that figured out.
I will, and it's a good thing to consider. We actually did have a credit card gateway for use with PodDisc, but that agreement ended just a week or so ago, and it was costing more than it was worth anyway. Right now it's looking like our cheapest option for a credit card service might be...well, PayPal. But with the gateway interface that lets you put in a card directly instead of requiring you to have an account and login.
Thanks for the feedback. It's hard to tell sometimes what works best for whom.
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I posted this thread (http://forum.escapeartists.info/index.php?topic=1445.0) last night... about getting my library to buy the EP collection discs; it just occurred to me that it sorta ties in with this thread.
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I love donating to Americans these days. It costs me [in Holland] so much less than a few years ago!
And you Americans really need the money in these difficult days. Glad to help out!
So, European peops: Donate! Help these poor Americans! Give them what you can, they really need it and... well... it's really cheap ;]
Even without the crazy exchange rate: I love donating to Escape Artists Inc, because you do wonderful work. Keep it up!
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I love donating to Americans these days. It costs me [in Holland] so much less than a few years ago!
And you Americans really need the money in these difficult days. Glad to help out!
Oh man, you are so wrong. Us Americans are up to our necks in our George W economic stimulus money. We are swimming in it! Maybe George W should set up a paypal link for the Iraq war- we could use some help paying for that (or if you want to send the Holland army that would be OK, too).
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Oh man, you are so wrong.
Hihi, did you just call me man? Oh man, you are so wrong ;)
(or if you want to send the Holland army that would be OK, too).
Whoa, we have an army? It must be tiny! What good would my money do there? Anyway, I'm all for fun and life and happyhappy, so I don't want to support fights and death and unhappy.
So, have a great swim in the stimulus money [there's a nice plot for a story] and please don't drown, 'kay?
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Could we set up $10 and $15 monthly donation options on PayPal?
Even if we can't say which pods we support, some higher monthly subscription rates would be great.
Shwankie and I would really like to give you more money.
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I do $5/mo via paypal.. it's not a lot but until I sell more on ebay to generate more paypal cash, it's all that I can afford.
I've submitted a story as well .. and if it's accepted then I'll tell Escape Artists to keep the cash for another writer as I don't need the money that badly.
Perhaps another cash option would be to have 'extended stories' - like Audible books or chapters of a story reserved for those who donate or buy the stories....
just a thought.
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I do $5/mo via paypal.. it's not a lot but until I sell more on ebay to generate more paypal cash, it's all that I can afford.
I've submitted a story as well .. and if it's accepted then I'll tell Escape Artists to keep the cash for another writer as I don't need the money that badly.
Perhaps another cash option would be to have 'extended stories' - like Audible books or chapters of a story reserved for those who donate or buy the stories....
just a thought.
I haven't double checked, but I believe Steve said in Metachat#3 that he didn't want to have any pay content. He wanted to keep everything free to everyone.
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I do $5/mo via paypal.. it's not a lot but until I sell more on ebay to generate more paypal cash, it's all that I can afford.
I've submitted a story as well .. and if it's accepted then I'll tell Escape Artists to keep the cash for another writer as I don't need the money that badly.
Perhaps another cash option would be to have 'extended stories' - like Audible books or chapters of a story reserved for those who donate or buy the stories....
just a thought.
And not to quash all of your dreams, but some time ago Steve did some talking about how he prides himself on paying his authors so when they chose not to accept the cash he donates it to a charity of their choice.
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Did that earmarking feature for monthly donations ever get up and running? Not that Escape Pod and Podcastle aren't fantastic, but Pseudopod is totally my go-to fiction podcast these days and I want to tell the world! (Or at least the guy who's writing the checks.)
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I'd also like to ask that question.
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Did that earmarking feature for monthly donations ever get up and running? Not that Escape Pod and Podcastle aren't fantastic, but Pseudopod is totally my go-to fiction podcast these days and I want to tell the world! (Or at least the guy who's writing the checks.)
even if it is not up and running yet, im sure the money is distributed according to need (to pay authors)
and if it is not, you could go into the About Pseudopod threads and launch praise at Alasdair and Ben and the team at their pure godly amazingness!
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We have created a shiny new monthly-donation link for Pseudopod (and collected some web banners and stuff you can link to) at http://pseudopod.org/support
The observation about Paypal getting to double-dip unnecessarily when you sign up for two of these is a very good one, and I'll definitely bear it in mind since I'll probably be more actively involved in administrative decisions like that here very soon.
Thanks guys!
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Where do we mail good, old-fashioned paper checks to now?
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Where do we mail good, old-fashioned paper checks to now?
http://escapepod.org/contact-us/
Our snailmail address, should you wish to send us an old-fashioned letter or donate by check, is:
Escape Artists, Inc.
PO Box 1538
Stone Mountain, GA 30086
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Thanks, Nash, I just wanted to make sure they still are using the same address. Since everyone is so spread out, and responsibilities have changed, I was unsure.
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Thanks, Nash, I just wanted to make sure they still are using the same address. Since everyone is so spread out, and responsibilities have changed, I was unsure.
I have no info either way on that. It's the address on the site, so I guess it's the right one.
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The address has been changed to:
Escape Artists, Inc.
PO Box 965609
Marietta, GA 30066
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Cool, thank you, Ben.
We are moving to Phoenix in a couple of months, so our giving budget is on hold. We're still going to give the same amounts, there's just going to be a delay.