I like this idea - no view until first payment processed. Would seriously cut down on this issue.
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That’s kind of a crappy patron experience, though – sign up on the 10th, and you get nothing for 20 days. Would you really stick it out?
I preferred the idea to bill a full month at sign-up time, and then a pro-rated amount on the 1st of the following month, so the first two charges together cover a partial first month and full second month. (Granted, that would be for per-month campaigns and I’m not sure how it would translate to per-thing campaigns.)
With how my patreon would work, tho: you’d sign up on the 10th, but wouldn’t be charged until the 1st, which is when the “per thing” is posted. So yeah, you’d sign up and get, maybe, a link to something - but you wouldn’t be CHARGED until the 1st when you get your first thing anyway.
It would really depend on the project, the creator, etc. Not everyone would want it, you are right. However when made clear, people already only post content at the end of the month on some patreon projects so people don’t get content before then anyways. So it’s really no different then a waiting period. No solution will fit all projects, that’s why i think options would be the best. (And i know it can be done because a competitor to patreon was able to do it with really awesome options.)
Personally, I’d want pro-rate when they join, to pay for the remaining days left in the month and then full on first of the next month. I offer custom content and need full payment for it, let alone that i also plan my content on a per month basis and last minute additions to my queue is not fun, but they should still pay to see the content available currently. However, since usually people pledge after all my interactive polls and voting periods at the beginning of the month and have likely missed some patron only content streams or what have you, i don’t feel right charging them full upfront because they aren’t getting the whole experience for that month. However, i want to ensure that they are indeed a REAL person and not a bot, so charging them -something- to view content is needed. (If this isn’t available, i’d happily deal with “No one can see private content until they’ve paid” even if that means a wait. Either way i should have control over who sees my content and make sure i get paid, without double charging my patrons which is also unfair and making monthly tier maximums for how many people can be on that tier, moot, like it is with the current pay upfront system.)