ATTENTION ZINE CREATORS, ARTISTS, AND ANYONE WHOSE BUSINESS UTILIZES PRE-ORDERS AND PAYPAL
As of June 15th, 2018, PayPal has changed their user policy with little to no fanfare at all in ways that could literally destroy your business. I’m going to say this as plainly as possible:
DO NOT USE PAYPAL AT ALL IF POSSIBLE.
I know this is a lot to ask, especially since PayPal is the most globally accepted digital tender, but unless you want to lose access to your funds for six months and PayPal possibly forever, you need to read this.
PayPal Business accounts are now being flagged, locked, and completely shut down if:
1. If you haven’t shipping anything within 21 days of your first transaction
2. You’ve received more than 200 orders
and/or
3. You’ve made an excess of $20,000 (USD)
If this happens to you, you will not be able to access your money for up to six months. PayPal is NOT willing to work with you, all they will say is there’s nothing they can do, they’re cutting business ties, and offer you the MAILING address of their legal department. That’s right, you can’t even get a direct line to these people, they’re just going to tank your business by dicking around with your money for six months. Your only options are to:
1. Wait six months and frustrate customers, and by-proxy tarnish your reputation.
2. Refund everyone, possibly lose their business, and tarnish your reputation.
3. Pursue the matter legally, which will likely take longer than six months anyway, not to mention cost money out of pocket.
IF YOU ARE CURRENTLY USING A PAYPAL ACCOUNT FOR PRE-ORDERS, GET OUT NOW. Deposit your funds and part ways with PayPal as a tender, this is not a battle they’re willing to let you win.
Thankfully most of my stuff is filtered through other sites first but fucking here we go again.
It used to be you could get around this by marking your stuff as digital goods that dont need shipment notification but I dunno if that’ll work anymore. All I know is paypal has been making it increasingly difficult for a lot of artists and creators lately and it’s a logistical nightmare for a lot of us.
I need to finish my storefront.
Why are they doing this? It seems to make their service clumsy and unusable. Is Paypal drunk and dumped so badly they turned mean??
It’s likely another way to try and stop sex workers or adult content creators from using their services.
It started out with “you can’t use a stage name unless you have a business account”. Which means you get a chunk of your money taken as a processing fee, but get to use a “business” name instead of your real name AND LOCATION, cause that’s a thing they were forcing you to post too unless you upgraded.
People used to tell me all the time when they put a tip in my tip jar that it was telling them my real name and the city I lived in, so eventually I bit the bullet and upgraded to avoid that. (Which is why ko-fi was/is so great, because it’s essentially a paypal wrapper that lets you use the service while not revealing your identity and location.)
But they’ve been making it increasingly harder and harder to run an online business for anyone who doesn’t ship physical items that can be tracked. Like part of it is likely to ensure that customers are getting what they paid for, but when it comes so quickly on the heels of numerous policy updates regarding sex work and adult content, it is undoubtedly linked to making it more difficult for those people to use their services.
Patreon might be doing my head in with their site constantly breaking, and they fuck up on communication issues a lot, but this is largely why they changed who they do their payment processing with, to avoid paypals “no naughty business” policies. They still use paypal and Stripe, but they moved their handler to other countries with less draconian laws, and broadened to other payment processors because of this kind of thing.
When I get my own site up, I will not be using paypal, which sucks cause everyone uses paypal. But I also cannot abide their business practices and ethics. Or the apparent lack thereof.
I contacted Paypal TODAY so if you guys could spread this around so people that use paypal would know that’d be great!
So when you do digital goods you go to “TRACKING INFORMATION” and then select “ORDER PROCESSED” and you’ll be fine and won’t get into trouble!
reblogging for the last part to save a life cuz I was getting the “shipping info” stuff added to my digital commissions and i just ignored it cuz it wasn’t relatvent but i went through and updated it to “order processed”
aries: let them be in charge, remind them that you won’t leave, give them space to release their boundless energy, never forbid them to speak their mind, promise them the world in return for their time, learn to move quick, don’t be afraid to be bold and loud
taurus: touch them constantly, worship their lips and eyes and skin, give them perfume, carry them over a puddle, hold their umbrella for them as well as the door to the car or their home, massage them and tuck them into bed, listen to what no one else wants to hear them say
gemini: speak, listen, run after them if they leave, don’t be afraid to shout or sing along, nudge them, tickle them, beat them playing video games over and over and over, playfight, race in the streets, laugh at their jokes, praise their ideas, never say no, always say yes, never stop moving and dancing and spinning, give them a million kisses a second
cancer: hold them tightly against your chest, press your lips to their ear, slow dance late into the night, kiss them deeply, make their bed, don’t hold back, ever, speak from your whims and impulses, let them see the workings of your heart, let them read your mind, carry out your promises, ride the fights out with diligence, compromise, keep them close
leo: call them beautiful and handsome and adorable, compliment their flaws, lift them to the sky, forget yourself in their presence, bite their lower lip, paint them, write them immortal into your poetry, listen to the rhythm of their heart, show them off, tell everyone that they are yours
virgo: take care of yourself and your body first, don’t ignore their signs and clues and hints and teases, respect their hard work, drown yourself in their stories and sweaters, make their home yours, be flexible and find leeway, forgive, forget, remember every date and every hour, cooperate, talk about your future, hold each other accountable, keep expectations high, don’t fall into the slump of routine
libra: be polite and speak kindly, find their sweet spots, hold their hand, take them out at night all the way until the morning, dedicate songs to them, learn their hobbies, idealize and romanticize, be a spectator to their life, a witness to all their important moments, be their biggest fan and their closest confidant
scorpio: lock away their secrets, look them in the eyes, stare and hold and breathe, breathe into each other, mold yourself into them, spread yourself out, let them have all of you, drop away your walls, taste them and let them taste you, be honest, only honest, be your most instinctual self only for them, protect them with your strength and your love even if they forbid you to, fight for their attention, keep up
sagittarius: cherish your time together, make each moment exciting, be spontaneous, adventure together, support them consistently through their journey and obstacles, surprise them, build a tremendous array of inside jokes, play board games and take them to new places, never stop challenging them
capricorn: be their source of comfort and acceptance, show them your dedication, validate their emotions, take them seriously, watch movies together, find your routine, bake things for them, gift them self-care products and roses and chocolates, speak without restriction, love gently and carefully
aquarius: recognize their uniqueness, call them different, tell them they’re nothing like you’ve ever seen or will see again, treat your love as if it’s a once in a lifetime moment, minute, second, a beat, be their hope, give them attention, be patient, tread carefully around their heart, move slowly, then quickly, then all at once, be their best friend, their newfound family, but don’t tie them down
pisces: change their world, flip it upside down, open their eyes to new ideas and worlds and feelings, make them laugh like no one ever has, tell them stories, be their muse, support their endeavors, remind them to keep going, wait for them patiently while they come back to reality, make everything feel wild and pure and unreal
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