Patreon changes! Moving forward for 2018. (Please read!)

Hey everyone!

UPDATE: Patreon has decided to reverse the new fee system, hooray! I'll still be making some tier changes, but the following paragraph is no longer relevant. :)

Recently, Patreon has decided to change the processing fees and charge you, the patron, a flat fee for each pledge. Instead of me eating the fees each month (which is about 10-11% per month for me) I'll now be paying a flat 5% fee. This gives me about $50 more per month as it is right now, but at your expense.. so I'm fairly angry about it. 

You should have received an email about this new change soon, but if you haven't, Patreon will now charge you a flat 2.9% + 36 cent fee. 

I want each and every one of you to know that I appreciate every pledge, regardless of amount. I don't think your generosity should be punished in this way. If you pledge $1, you should only have to pay that $1.. no extra fees. If you need to drop or lower your pledge due to this change, please know there are no hard feelings and I completely understand.

This being said, in January I plan to make a few changes to my tiers in order to accommodate this new fee and potentially grow my Patreon.

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Going Full Time

In 2018, my plan is to fully transition to full time art. My patreon has always been very physical reward heavy, with the majority of you pledging to tiers the letter or box tiers. I plan to expand on this even more in the coming year!

These changes will potentially help with some of the financial burdens and logistics in the future. Since I'll be leaving my full time job, I will be depending on the money I make from Patreon, Etsy, commissions and conventions to live. This is a pretty huge life change for me and I'll have to manage the way I do things a little differently.

I've always run this Patreon on very little profit - the costs of merchandise, shipping, packaging materials and time spent working on everything really adds up. I'll be making some changes to a couple tiers, adding in a brand new tier, and removing tiers in an effort to reorganise things. I fully expect to continue to operate this Patreon for the next few months with very little profit as I get my bearings and set up a new system. My packaging and merchandise costs are going up, but hopefully my Etsy and convention sales will help even it out a bit.

Changes for 2018

$1 tier - This has and will always be my "tip jar" tier. This tier covers basic rewards such as access to polls, discord, and early access to merchandise and commissions. Additionally, I will now be posting the Wallpapers and Lineart files for those of you in this tier.

$3 tier - This tier will be removed / merged with the $1 tier. Wallpapers and Lineart will be freely posted on the Patreon timeline when they're made, so those in this tier are free to lower their pledge. The 15% discount code will be removed as well, but I will offer a static 10% off discount to all Patrons.

$5 tier - No change.

$10 tier - No change. This will always be a print and sticker tier.

$12 tier - New! The Pin Club. Every month, a new enamel pin will be featured and shipped to you. Patrons will be able to vote on new designs and ideas, as well as receive the 20% discount for Etsy/preorders. (International Patrons will need to pledge an addition $3 to help cover shipping.)

I've thought hard about the pricing on this tier, initially I wanted to make it match the print/sticker tier, but shipping costs are going to be a bit higher overall. I've settled on $12, so the pin will end up costing each member $8 plus $3 for shipping, and the extra $1 helps cover fees and shipping supplies.

The pins will not be exclusive to this Patreon, so if you happen to want a pin but aren't in this tier you will still be able to grab one at a later time. :) However, I may occasionally make Pin Club exclusive color variants, that only members can order.

Signups for Pin Club will open on January 1, with the first pin being shipped out later the same month. I'll make an announcement when it's open and will send messages for those that wish to switch. :)

$25 tier - The box tier will see some small changes, but will operate the same for the most part. It will no longer really be a "mystery" box. For those of you that received the November box, they will be much like this! The box will be a combination of the $10 and $12 tiers (print/sticker pack and pin club), but will have upgraded "premium" art prints, and potential surprise extras like homemade treats and merchandise previews.

 I've slowly been increasing the limit on these boxes over the past few months, (its now capped at 15, up from the 10 slots at the beginning.) It is constantly sold out though, so I will be adding more slots to this tier in January! The cap on slots will rise slowly over the course of the year as I feel more comfortable handling the extra orders. 

$50 tier - This tier will be locked down and slowly phased out, those of you still on it will remain and I will still fulfill any requests. :)

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In short, if you'd like to lower your pledge, please do so before December 31st. If you'd like to change to the new tier or raise your pledge, do so in January. :)