Any thought to going with a direct deposit type system for payment? PayPal is great but the fees do add up for some of the bigger earners. I'd consider paying you guys for direct deposit At over $100 bucks per month in PayPal fees, by the end of the year it's a pretty hefty price tag just to get paid. It's a price I'm willing to pay but I'd jump at a less expensive option.
I don't know what's involved to set up and manage direct deposit but it's so common these days I can't imagine it's too hard.
I wonder why a fee is being taken out anyway? Is it the type of account CC has with paypal? I know when I get paid from another content writing site, I do not have any fees taken out of my payments. That really cuts into what you're actually making for your writing. I wonder if there is a way CC can pay without the writer losing more money since it obviously can be done.
The way I understand it, Paypal can take anywhere from 2 to 5 percent of the amount CC sends Paypal on your behalf. It all depends on the amount deposited to the PP account in a given month (they have certain limits on their personal accounts) and which type of method CC is using to transfer the money to PP.
I tried to gather more information, so that I could sign up for the Paypal account that would take the smallest amount in fees, such as whether CC submitted the payment via credit card or business account. Unfortunately, no one here or there would answer my question. I'm still not sure which type of account I should pick.
I know of other writing sites that use Paypal as well, so it must be a very popular method.
Suffice it to say, if CC ever considered direct account deposit, I would be all for it.
I use a Premier account. Fees are $0.30 + 3% for any amount. With a personal account, I believe there are no fees for recieving money until you go above a certain amount, and then the fees jump steeply, to something like 5%. With a business account, the fees are the same as a premier account until you go above a certain amount, and then they drop slightly, maybe as low as 2% (but you have to earn something like $10,000 first?).
I'm not very sure about any of that. But I do know that the Premier account is a good choice. The fees are steady and predictable, and I don't regret paying them at all. (After all--the more money I'm paying in fees in any given month, the more money I've made that month.)
That would be my advice: go with a premier account.
The fees ARE taking a BIG chunk out of our pay & it would be GREAT if they were not charged. I hope CC can change their account type or "whatever" to stop them! I have a premier account & pay 3% (2.9) + .30 & I get the "cash back bonus", but this is only good on purchases with my PP card & is not as much as the fee. Bottom Line -- I hope CC can change this!
Catnipp333
We also get hit with fees for every article order, direct deposit is a great idea but it won't happen right away. This will take some time to research and implement.
Would you make direct deposit an alternative to payPal rather than replace it altogether?
I only ask for myself and possibly on behalf of authors who, like me have a low volume of work, therefore only receive small amounts of pay. I personally prefer Paypal as a method of payment for smaller amounts and would not want to see this option disappear.
I'd like to echo telzzz...please make it an extra option, rather than the only option. I feel much more comfortable using Paypal, and (to me personally) the fees are worth it.
I should mention that direct deposit is probably more desirable if you are a US author.
If you live outside the US like me and many other authors, then direct deposit would incur not only a bank charge for the transfer but also a futher fee to convert US dollars to your local currency (euros in my case).
So any fees that PayPal charge are (currently) cheaper than the bank charges I'd be whacked with for direct deposit!
Incidentally, sarah81 mentioned having to upgrade to premier - I have two paypal accounts, a personal one that CC pays into and also a business account that I use for my affiliate websites. I have a much higher payment limit on the business account, but still don't pay any extra fees or are forced to upgrade or anything like that.
This way I keep my writing account separate and I'm not likely to hit my limit anytime soon... unless I really get my finger out and start writing like some of the top authors here do.
I have only the one PayPal account because CC is the only one who pays me anything *grins* I occasionally send money via PayPal, but not very often. I had to upgrade because the personal account has a spending limit and I eventually reached it (been writing here for a while now).
So...not going to go to the trouble of opening a new PayPal account and all that when I'm not really using it for much of anything other than CC. I figure that PayPal's going to nail me for fees anyway, so I might as well just be patient while the option of direct deposit is worked out (we hope).
As for non-U.S. residents and direct deposit: Yeah I can see how not having PayPal anymore would hurt you guys and gals. I'm not against keeping PayPal. I'd just like another option, that's all
At over $100 bucks per month in PayPal fees, by the end of the year it's a pretty hefty price tag just to get paid. It's a price I'm willing to pay but I'd jump at a less expensive option. 