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How To Take Commissions And Never Get In Trouble With Paypal
Notice to other FA admins - submission okayed by 
summercat. Please check user history for verification.
Due to FA's image dimension restriction, I had to massivly shrink and re-format this version to fit into FA's limitations. You can view the full, properly formatted version here: http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a.....aypal-full.jpg
On hidden comments: I read every comment and reply to those that require replies, however since there is a lot of irrelevant chit chat and same post comments, I have gone through and hidden comments that are not discussion or relevant information on the issue. I hope this will make finding information and starting discussions in the comments easier to do.
If this has been helpful to you, I encourage you to share it with your friends so that they too may reap the benefits of safe commissioning.
Moar advice:
I will edit this section as more questions come up
1. "...by using the "invoice" function, you're agreeing to give PayPal that 2.9% + 30 cent cut of your revenue. When people send you payments under the "friends and family" option and fund those without using a credit card, then PayPal receives no cut.
Would it not be more prudent - and more profitable - to instruct commissioners on how to properly word a gift payment as to not fall under scrutiny with PayPal? "
You can never control what your commissioner is going to say. By selecting "send as gift" or other options, you are breaking their ToS and you will be so very banned if they catch you doing this, it seems pointless to me to add one MORE rule you are breaking in the pursuit of saving literally a few dollars. It only takes one slip up for it to happen. I have seen this happen and never advise people to tell people to send as anything but a service.
Never try to stretch your definition of "friend and family" and hope that "teeechnicly it COULD be your friend depending on your definition heheh" will fly. Paypal will not split hairs with you. If they decide that this person does not qualify to be your friend, their judgment is final. If you are constantly doing this with your commissions, it is going to be really bloody obvious that you are lying at even the quickest glance at your transaction history. These transactions are how paypal makes money, if they even think you are trying to rip them off, they will drop you without a second thought. After all, you're just dead weight if you're not paying your dues.
If you are concerned about paypal's cut and really really want that 50 cents to $2 they might take from it, include it in the price of the commission and all of these problems go away
It is against Paypal's ToS to charge an exact % to cover their fees (for some reason) so if you are worried about it, it is best to just add a flat $ increase to your actual commission prices (instead of charging $5 charge $6). The fees are so small on transactions that it's really not worth worrying about.
Paypal also limits the number of "gifts" any one person can send, gifts are also unavailable to accounts from many countries. If your commissioner asks that you send your payment as a gift, I strongly suggest that you refuse. When this person gets caught (and they will) anyone else participating in this fraud (you) will get banned as well. There really is no logical reason to ask or demand that someone do this for the 1.9 - 2.9% + 30cents (max) fee is not going to make or break a commission. The fees on a $100 commission is $3.20 USD. I pay more than that for postage on cheques. This is really not worth getting in trouble over, just pay the fees you agreed to pay for use of the service you are receiving.
More reasons never to send as gift as a buyer: Aside from the fact that you are committing fraud and will be just as at fault as the person telling you to do it when the banhammer comes to town, gifts are not "buyer protected" by paypal. WHat this means is that if your commission artist decides they're going to be a fuck wit and screw you over that paypal will not help you if they run off with your money. You are not a buyer, the money was a "gift" so they don't owe you anything.
2. "Soo....if I start taking donations for my children's book to help with publishing costs, and 100 people send me "Gifts" transactions in a relatively short span of time (say, 2 months), they'll flag my account for fee evasion despite the fact that they are all truly Gifts? [...] They weren't buying "tickets"..i was rather specific about it in the journal, and only mentioned the word "raffle" (in response to a comment.) Anyways, one fellow wrote "donation/raffle" in the memo slot and paypal demanded I shut it down, "or else serious legal matters will be pursued..."
The safest way to receive donations is to set up a donation link with paypal, all payments will be registered as donations and you won't have to worry about hitting your gift limit or looking suspicious or having a user throw the word "raffle" or something you don't even know might red-flag you. If you set up a donation link for people to use, you can have it registered as whatever name you want and disallow comments to be posted in the memo.
You can create donation links in "Merchant Services" tab and selecting the "Donate" option from the "Create Buttons" column. After you fill out your "button info" and create button it will give you a code. Above that code are the tabs "website" and "e-mail". Click on "email" and it will give you the direct link to your donation page for people to use and you can use it anywhere (assuming you want a direct URL and not an actual paypal button).
Do note, however, that raffle and other "lottery" type activity is very strictly against Paypal's TOS
3. "I always just tell my commissioners what to post in the comments or tell them to leave them blank, there's no need to do this."
I have taken hundreds, if not thousands of commissions via paypal over the past 10 or so years and for the most part telling them "Do not post anything" works out fine, but every once and a while, I get a commissioner who disregards my request and posts whatever they want. I do not draw anything that could possibly be misconstrued as against Paypal's ToS and have not taken commissions over FA using the old method so this has never ended badly for me. This is, unfortunately, not true for several people here on FA who have lost their accounts, despite also not breaking any ToS due to how comments where interpreted by paypal. All it takes is one person to say "Commission from FurAffintiy", for the rep checking it out to type "www.furaffinity.com", seeing something they don't like on the page and assuming that's what you're doing.
You can tell your commissioners anything you want, but at the end of the day, it is still up to them what they want to type into that box. When commissioners do this, they're not thinking "haha I'm going to rebel against their wishes", they're thinking "I want this commissioner to remember my request" or "I forgot to emphasize this" or "I will be nice and thank them!" or sometimes they even just forget.
4. "So, I went hunting through settings, and I found an option to block commissioners from sending you money except in response to an invoice. Basically, if they try to do it the wrong way, it doesn't work. They have to send money in response to a payment request like the one you've so kindly showed us how to send.
The option is in kind of a back menu, the path I took to find it was:
My Account > Profile > My Selling Tools > Credit Card Statement Name > Block payment from users who: [x] Initiate payments from the Pay Anyone subtab of the Send Money tab
Here's a direct link to the menu where the option exists: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/cust.....ef&#ccName
The option appears to only be available on a business account." - Ataraxis
summercat. Please check user history for verification.Due to FA's image dimension restriction, I had to massivly shrink and re-format this version to fit into FA's limitations. You can view the full, properly formatted version here: http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a.....aypal-full.jpg
On hidden comments: I read every comment and reply to those that require replies, however since there is a lot of irrelevant chit chat and same post comments, I have gone through and hidden comments that are not discussion or relevant information on the issue. I hope this will make finding information and starting discussions in the comments easier to do.
If this has been helpful to you, I encourage you to share it with your friends so that they too may reap the benefits of safe commissioning.
Moar advice:
I will edit this section as more questions come up
1. "...by using the "invoice" function, you're agreeing to give PayPal that 2.9% + 30 cent cut of your revenue. When people send you payments under the "friends and family" option and fund those without using a credit card, then PayPal receives no cut.
Would it not be more prudent - and more profitable - to instruct commissioners on how to properly word a gift payment as to not fall under scrutiny with PayPal? "
You can never control what your commissioner is going to say. By selecting "send as gift" or other options, you are breaking their ToS and you will be so very banned if they catch you doing this, it seems pointless to me to add one MORE rule you are breaking in the pursuit of saving literally a few dollars. It only takes one slip up for it to happen. I have seen this happen and never advise people to tell people to send as anything but a service.
Never try to stretch your definition of "friend and family" and hope that "teeechnicly it COULD be your friend depending on your definition heheh" will fly. Paypal will not split hairs with you. If they decide that this person does not qualify to be your friend, their judgment is final. If you are constantly doing this with your commissions, it is going to be really bloody obvious that you are lying at even the quickest glance at your transaction history. These transactions are how paypal makes money, if they even think you are trying to rip them off, they will drop you without a second thought. After all, you're just dead weight if you're not paying your dues.
If you are concerned about paypal's cut and really really want that 50 cents to $2 they might take from it, include it in the price of the commission and all of these problems go away
It is against Paypal's ToS to charge an exact % to cover their fees (for some reason) so if you are worried about it, it is best to just add a flat $ increase to your actual commission prices (instead of charging $5 charge $6). The fees are so small on transactions that it's really not worth worrying about.
Paypal also limits the number of "gifts" any one person can send, gifts are also unavailable to accounts from many countries. If your commissioner asks that you send your payment as a gift, I strongly suggest that you refuse. When this person gets caught (and they will) anyone else participating in this fraud (you) will get banned as well. There really is no logical reason to ask or demand that someone do this for the 1.9 - 2.9% + 30cents (max) fee is not going to make or break a commission. The fees on a $100 commission is $3.20 USD. I pay more than that for postage on cheques. This is really not worth getting in trouble over, just pay the fees you agreed to pay for use of the service you are receiving.
More reasons never to send as gift as a buyer: Aside from the fact that you are committing fraud and will be just as at fault as the person telling you to do it when the banhammer comes to town, gifts are not "buyer protected" by paypal. WHat this means is that if your commission artist decides they're going to be a fuck wit and screw you over that paypal will not help you if they run off with your money. You are not a buyer, the money was a "gift" so they don't owe you anything.
2. "Soo....if I start taking donations for my children's book to help with publishing costs, and 100 people send me "Gifts" transactions in a relatively short span of time (say, 2 months), they'll flag my account for fee evasion despite the fact that they are all truly Gifts? [...] They weren't buying "tickets"..i was rather specific about it in the journal, and only mentioned the word "raffle" (in response to a comment.) Anyways, one fellow wrote "donation/raffle" in the memo slot and paypal demanded I shut it down, "or else serious legal matters will be pursued..."
The safest way to receive donations is to set up a donation link with paypal, all payments will be registered as donations and you won't have to worry about hitting your gift limit or looking suspicious or having a user throw the word "raffle" or something you don't even know might red-flag you. If you set up a donation link for people to use, you can have it registered as whatever name you want and disallow comments to be posted in the memo.
You can create donation links in "Merchant Services" tab and selecting the "Donate" option from the "Create Buttons" column. After you fill out your "button info" and create button it will give you a code. Above that code are the tabs "website" and "e-mail". Click on "email" and it will give you the direct link to your donation page for people to use and you can use it anywhere (assuming you want a direct URL and not an actual paypal button).
Do note, however, that raffle and other "lottery" type activity is very strictly against Paypal's TOS
3. "I always just tell my commissioners what to post in the comments or tell them to leave them blank, there's no need to do this."
I have taken hundreds, if not thousands of commissions via paypal over the past 10 or so years and for the most part telling them "Do not post anything" works out fine, but every once and a while, I get a commissioner who disregards my request and posts whatever they want. I do not draw anything that could possibly be misconstrued as against Paypal's ToS and have not taken commissions over FA using the old method so this has never ended badly for me. This is, unfortunately, not true for several people here on FA who have lost their accounts, despite also not breaking any ToS due to how comments where interpreted by paypal. All it takes is one person to say "Commission from FurAffintiy", for the rep checking it out to type "www.furaffinity.com", seeing something they don't like on the page and assuming that's what you're doing.
You can tell your commissioners anything you want, but at the end of the day, it is still up to them what they want to type into that box. When commissioners do this, they're not thinking "haha I'm going to rebel against their wishes", they're thinking "I want this commissioner to remember my request" or "I forgot to emphasize this" or "I will be nice and thank them!" or sometimes they even just forget.
4. "So, I went hunting through settings, and I found an option to block commissioners from sending you money except in response to an invoice. Basically, if they try to do it the wrong way, it doesn't work. They have to send money in response to a payment request like the one you've so kindly showed us how to send.
The option is in kind of a back menu, the path I took to find it was:
My Account > Profile > My Selling Tools > Credit Card Statement Name > Block payment from users who: [x] Initiate payments from the Pay Anyone subtab of the Send Money tab
Here's a direct link to the menu where the option exists: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/cust.....ef&#ccName
The option appears to only be available on a business account." - Ataraxis
Category All / Tutorials
Species Unspecified / Any
Gender Other / Not Specified
Size 1126 x 1280px
File Size 497.1 kB
There's just one problem here...
...by using the "invoice" function, you're agreeing to give PayPal that 2.9% + 30 cent cut of your revenue. When people send you payments under the "friends and family" option and fund those without using a credit card, then PayPal receives no cut.
Would it not be more prudent - and more profitable - to instruct commissioners on how to properly word a gift payment as to not fall under scrutiny with PayPal?
...by using the "invoice" function, you're agreeing to give PayPal that 2.9% + 30 cent cut of your revenue. When people send you payments under the "friends and family" option and fund those without using a credit card, then PayPal receives no cut.
Would it not be more prudent - and more profitable - to instruct commissioners on how to properly word a gift payment as to not fall under scrutiny with PayPal?
Two things stand out to me as far as PayPal and gift payments - sending money to "Friends or family" and the payment being marked as "Payment Owed", as in you've already been rendered some service and you are settling up for said payment.
The definition of a "friend" can be extremely liberal, and someone who is drawing for you could be included in that.
As far as "payment owed", the slightest of sketches could constitute work that payment is owed for, and the condition of "Work will be completed when payment owed is received"...technically that should be usable to skirt the spirit of the law, following the letter of the law, and being able to take commissions and not give PayPal one thin dime without technically breaking their ToS.
The definition of a "friend" can be extremely liberal, and someone who is drawing for you could be included in that.
As far as "payment owed", the slightest of sketches could constitute work that payment is owed for, and the condition of "Work will be completed when payment owed is received"...technically that should be usable to skirt the spirit of the law, following the letter of the law, and being able to take commissions and not give PayPal one thin dime without technically breaking their ToS.
Never try to stretch your definition of "friend and family" and hope that "teeechnicly it COULD be your friend depending on your definition heheh" will fly. Paypal will not split hairs with you. If they decide that this person does not qualify to be your friend, their judgment is final. If you are constantly doing this with your commissions, it is going to be really bloody obvious that you are lying at even the quickest glance at your transaction history.
Paypal will not give 2 shits about "technically breaking their TOS". The will hold you to the spirit of the law. If you want to continue doing this, it is your choice, but please do NOT encourage other users to make these dangerous decisions.
Paypal will not give 2 shits about "technically breaking their TOS". The will hold you to the spirit of the law. If you want to continue doing this, it is your choice, but please do NOT encourage other users to make these dangerous decisions.
Okay I'm gonna say this right now
BAD IDEA
BAD IDEA
BAD IDEA
BAD IDEA
Sorry, I'm not trying to be overly critical of you, but I cannot stress this enough. PLAY BY PAYPAL'S RULES as much as you can. YES, they are EVIL, but you can sidestep their evil more often by acknowledging the rules (and working discreetly, even if you go against them) and giving PayPal their fees.
What happens if you choose "money owed" too often, and hold out on giving PP their cut? YOU GET AUDITED. Audits can end any number of ways. Regardless, you DON'T want to be involved in one.
DON'T ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO USE FEE-FREE PAYPAL PAYMENTS FOR BUSINESS. DON'T DO IT. PLEASE. It hurts us all.
It's best used for when you REALLY need to use it, like when you're paying your roommate rent. Don't abuse it!!
BAD IDEA
BAD IDEA
BAD IDEA
BAD IDEA
Sorry, I'm not trying to be overly critical of you, but I cannot stress this enough. PLAY BY PAYPAL'S RULES as much as you can. YES, they are EVIL, but you can sidestep their evil more often by acknowledging the rules (and working discreetly, even if you go against them) and giving PayPal their fees.
What happens if you choose "money owed" too often, and hold out on giving PP their cut? YOU GET AUDITED. Audits can end any number of ways. Regardless, you DON'T want to be involved in one.
DON'T ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO USE FEE-FREE PAYPAL PAYMENTS FOR BUSINESS. DON'T DO IT. PLEASE. It hurts us all.
It's best used for when you REALLY need to use it, like when you're paying your roommate rent. Don't abuse it!!
You can never control what your commissioner is going to say. By selecting "send as gift" or other options, you are breaking their ToS and you will be so very banned if they catch you doing this, it seems pointless to me to add one MORE rule you are breaking in the pursuit of saving literally a few dollars. It only takes one slip up for it to happen. I have seen this happen and never advise people to tell people to send as anything but a service. If you are concerned about paypal's cut and really really want that 50 cents to $2 they might take from it, include it in the price of the commission.
Numerous transactions labeled as "gifts' sends PayPal into a tizzy and they will look into your account.
To be quite frank. If you choose to do 'business' and receive payment. You should treat it like a business and follow through with proper procedure. Pay your fees and then when filing your taxes, (should you gross an amount that requires you to account for this income) and you will have no problems.
To be quite frank. If you choose to do 'business' and receive payment. You should treat it like a business and follow through with proper procedure. Pay your fees and then when filing your taxes, (should you gross an amount that requires you to account for this income) and you will have no problems.
Wait...you think more people file taxes and admit to taking in commission income rather than not? (Granted I don't take commissions on here, I'm not an artist, but I would honestly bet you that if you took a poll of, say, 500 artists on FA that take commissions, more than half would tell you they don't plan on Uncle Sam getting a cut of what they took in for doing artwork.)
Hey there! I know this is a really old post, but I have been unable to find much reliable information about commissions and paypal. This was really insightful and valuable, but I'd also like to pick your brain for information about commissioning and taxes? I made maybe $600 this year from artwork, but I have no strict record of it and have no idea what-so-ever how to file it in my taxes? (Or if I need to, for so little that I've made?) I'd really rather not get in trouble now that I'm 18 and doing my own stuff, but I don't have anyone to advise me in this...
And what do you believe the best way to send money is via paypal, for artwork? As a good, payment owed, etc...? I've never tried dodging fees, but I've also never known what category artwork falls under.
Thank you so much for your valuable time and knowledge.
And what do you believe the best way to send money is via paypal, for artwork? As a good, payment owed, etc...? I've never tried dodging fees, but I've also never known what category artwork falls under.
Thank you so much for your valuable time and knowledge.
I really can't help you with this because I do not know anything about where you live or your tax laws. Laws, requirements and methods are all different from country to country. I would ask your accountant. I file mine with my studio taxes because I do make a living off of my work online and my freelance/studio work is my sole income.
I always request and send payments for artwork as "services". Goods refers to physical goods are taxed differently depending on yours and the person receiving it's tax laws and can land you in trouble without tracking numbers and delivery notifications if your commissioner is a tool. Painting someone's fence is a service, even if you end up with the physical item of having a painted fence. I doubt you'll get into trouble regardless but that's how I play it.
I always request and send payments for artwork as "services". Goods refers to physical goods are taxed differently depending on yours and the person receiving it's tax laws and can land you in trouble without tracking numbers and delivery notifications if your commissioner is a tool. Painting someone's fence is a service, even if you end up with the physical item of having a painted fence. I doubt you'll get into trouble regardless but that's how I play it.
"I think both are disgusting"
Tax evasion is only a problem when the taxes would be worth millions. Civilians doing tax evasion is a necessary thing for people LIVING IN POVERTY to get the resources they have a right to, by nature of being a living creature. By simply existing, you are entitled to food and shelter and healthcare, and as long as those things continue to cost money, tax evasion by civilians (especially LITERALLY starving artists) is absolutely okay.
Ripping off an evil company is also fair and balanced. Like, the only reason not to fuck over paypal is merely to not get banned. IF you think civilians doing whatever it takles to not die is "disgusting," then I think you have some personal, mental, political, anf logical issues you need to sort out in your own time, rather than telling artists we should have to bend to whatever oppressive rules target us. Taxes are good, but people who can't afford them should not have to risk their lives.
That said, I specifically do not get anywhere NEAR enough income to be taxable, and have recently switched to a business account - because I don't want my PayPal terminated, not because I'm oh so enthusiastic about giving Elon money.
Tax evasion is only a problem when the taxes would be worth millions. Civilians doing tax evasion is a necessary thing for people LIVING IN POVERTY to get the resources they have a right to, by nature of being a living creature. By simply existing, you are entitled to food and shelter and healthcare, and as long as those things continue to cost money, tax evasion by civilians (especially LITERALLY starving artists) is absolutely okay.
Ripping off an evil company is also fair and balanced. Like, the only reason not to fuck over paypal is merely to not get banned. IF you think civilians doing whatever it takles to not die is "disgusting," then I think you have some personal, mental, political, anf logical issues you need to sort out in your own time, rather than telling artists we should have to bend to whatever oppressive rules target us. Taxes are good, but people who can't afford them should not have to risk their lives.
That said, I specifically do not get anywhere NEAR enough income to be taxable, and have recently switched to a business account - because I don't want my PayPal terminated, not because I'm oh so enthusiastic about giving Elon money.
Yo this is a comment from way long ago but it's still irks me. If you're making enough to file taxes, you can probably qualify as a freelancer and get some of the boons of being a working artist; one of which is part of your rent, materials, etc being "business expenses" that you can write off...you can't claim to be running a failing business and get these write-offs. I've only done the barest research, because I've been in school for a while, but to me, there's some clear benefit to doing art over the table; for ppl who are just hobbyists and make only a few bucks doing commissions, it might not be worth it, but people who do fandom-stuff at a professional level or as a side job could probably SAVE money when their materials, postage, web hosting, etc is seen as a legit business that pays taxes and shit.
Sorry responding to this old post, but be very VERY careful if you try to do business write offs using rent and bills. ESPECIALLY in the US. There are very VERY strict rules such as that space CANNOT be used for anything other than work. If you google, there are some good suggestions on how to prove that space is work only if you get audited.
This may be an old post, but IIRC, US law allows work-at-home types to deduct up to half of their rent/mortgage payment and utilities (source: two work at home parents who both had their own fully-fledged businesses) if the home is your primary place of business or something along those lines. I'm fuzzy on the precise details, and would definitely recommend conferring with someone who actually knows the law in your area, but freelance art (ie: selling commissions) is a legitimate profession under the banner of the "self-employed", and the self-employed are as obligated to practice good business habits, and to pay their taxes, as anybody else. It's just that the self-employed can get certain tax benefits by splitting/sharing certain costs between their personal and professional budgets...
A good rule of thumb, though: If you want to make an income from commissions, set aside 1/3 of each commission payment to make sure you can cover taxes.
A good rule of thumb, though: If you want to make an income from commissions, set aside 1/3 of each commission payment to make sure you can cover taxes.
http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Small.....fice-Deduction
The first one:
"1. Regular and Exclusive Use.
You must regularly use part of your home exclusively for conducting business. For example, if you use an extra room to run your business, you can take a home office deduction for that extra room."
If you go to the actual page that clearly states it ( http://www.irs.gov/publications/p58.....link1000226294 )
"To qualify under the exclusive use test, you must use a specific area of your home only for your trade or business. The area used for business can be a room or other separately identifiable space. The space does not need to be marked off by a permanent partition.
You do not meet the requirements of the exclusive use test if you use the area in question both for business and for personal purposes.
Example.
You are an attorney and use a den in your home to write legal briefs and prepare clients' tax returns. Your family also uses the den for recreation. The den is not used exclusively in your trade or business, so you cannot claim a deduction for the business use of the den.
Exceptions to Exclusive Use
You do not have to meet the exclusive use test if either of the following applies.
You use part of your home for the storage of inventory or product samples (discussed next).
You use part of your home as a daycare facility, discussed later under Daycare Facility .
Note.
With the exception of these two uses, any portion of the home used for business purposes must meet the exclusive use test.
Storage of inventory or product samples. If you use part of your home for storage of inventory or product samples, you can deduct expenses for the business use of your home without meeting the exclusive use test. However, you must meet all the following tests.
You sell products at wholesale or retail as your trade or business.
You keep the inventory or product samples in your home for use in your trade or business.
Your home is the only fixed location of your trade or business.
You use the storage space on a regular basis.
The space you use is a separately identifiable space suitable for storage."
If you ever get audited, they will check for things like that. You have to be extremely careful. Anything you use to get tax deductions, keep your receipts because you will get fined HEAVILY if you get audited and can't prove expenses. Do not make assumptions. Since my computer and desk area is used for entertainment and work, I do not use it for tax deductions. I take art supplies as tax deductions and reference material however and keep my receipts. Those that make non digital art--sculptors, painters, fur suit creators, etc--may get a pass. I would do like what you suggested and get an opinion from a tax professional that specializes in self-employed businesses.
The first one:
"1. Regular and Exclusive Use.
You must regularly use part of your home exclusively for conducting business. For example, if you use an extra room to run your business, you can take a home office deduction for that extra room."
If you go to the actual page that clearly states it ( http://www.irs.gov/publications/p58.....link1000226294 )
"To qualify under the exclusive use test, you must use a specific area of your home only for your trade or business. The area used for business can be a room or other separately identifiable space. The space does not need to be marked off by a permanent partition.
You do not meet the requirements of the exclusive use test if you use the area in question both for business and for personal purposes.
Example.
You are an attorney and use a den in your home to write legal briefs and prepare clients' tax returns. Your family also uses the den for recreation. The den is not used exclusively in your trade or business, so you cannot claim a deduction for the business use of the den.
Exceptions to Exclusive Use
You do not have to meet the exclusive use test if either of the following applies.
You use part of your home for the storage of inventory or product samples (discussed next).
You use part of your home as a daycare facility, discussed later under Daycare Facility .
Note.
With the exception of these two uses, any portion of the home used for business purposes must meet the exclusive use test.
Storage of inventory or product samples. If you use part of your home for storage of inventory or product samples, you can deduct expenses for the business use of your home without meeting the exclusive use test. However, you must meet all the following tests.
You sell products at wholesale or retail as your trade or business.
You keep the inventory or product samples in your home for use in your trade or business.
Your home is the only fixed location of your trade or business.
You use the storage space on a regular basis.
The space you use is a separately identifiable space suitable for storage."
If you ever get audited, they will check for things like that. You have to be extremely careful. Anything you use to get tax deductions, keep your receipts because you will get fined HEAVILY if you get audited and can't prove expenses. Do not make assumptions. Since my computer and desk area is used for entertainment and work, I do not use it for tax deductions. I take art supplies as tax deductions and reference material however and keep my receipts. Those that make non digital art--sculptors, painters, fur suit creators, etc--may get a pass. I would do like what you suggested and get an opinion from a tax professional that specializes in self-employed businesses.
Lol, in the Netherlands (where I live) most people hand in up to 20% of their salary to taxes, it's for the better for everyone in the system, just like PayPal taking money to continue their service to you. The tiny bit of fee that PayPal asks shouldn't be too much to afford for anyone who is taking commissions.
One problem with your option here.
If you do this repeatedly and often paypal will pick up on it and lock your account. There's a reason that they put a limit on how many times you can gift someone money. In the end you'll just get screwed over and Paypal could even say you now owe them money for avoiding their minimal fee.
I buy/sell car parts regularly, the fees even on a few hundred dollars are irrelevant, just pay it. You know companies get charged more per transaction for credit cards? Anywhere from 50%+ per charge, something as little as a 1 dollar purchase at walmart could have a 50 cent usage fee charged to walmart(meaning walmart actually loses 50 cents on that). Paypal's 3% is nothing to be complaining about.
If you do this repeatedly and often paypal will pick up on it and lock your account. There's a reason that they put a limit on how many times you can gift someone money. In the end you'll just get screwed over and Paypal could even say you now owe them money for avoiding their minimal fee.
I buy/sell car parts regularly, the fees even on a few hundred dollars are irrelevant, just pay it. You know companies get charged more per transaction for credit cards? Anywhere from 50%+ per charge, something as little as a 1 dollar purchase at walmart could have a 50 cent usage fee charged to walmart(meaning walmart actually loses 50 cents on that). Paypal's 3% is nothing to be complaining about.
Wow, me trying to get people to get one over on PayPal pissed off a lot of people here.
The reason I even posted that is my issue with PayPal getting to collect a fee on the same money over and over.
If you sell something on eBay and someone pays you with a card, then the fees they take are fair - they have costs they deal with to allow that transaction to happen.
However, once that money's already in their system in someone's PayPal balance, they shouldn't be able to take a fee on the same money again. They don't incur any excess fees to bump money from one PayPal account to another in the same country, but getting 2.9% + 30 cents from it again and again as it bumps from one account to another seems wrong to me.
The reason I even posted that is my issue with PayPal getting to collect a fee on the same money over and over.
If you sell something on eBay and someone pays you with a card, then the fees they take are fair - they have costs they deal with to allow that transaction to happen.
However, once that money's already in their system in someone's PayPal balance, they shouldn't be able to take a fee on the same money again. They don't incur any excess fees to bump money from one PayPal account to another in the same country, but getting 2.9% + 30 cents from it again and again as it bumps from one account to another seems wrong to me.
I'm not mad at all, however I know plenty of people that thought like you did and went the route to avoid the fees, and now their accounts are all gone from doing so.
Frankly I don't use ebay anymore because of recurring fees, fees and more fees. It isnt worth it to me to use that service when craigslist is free. So I can't really even conjecture on that part.
Frankly I don't use ebay anymore because of recurring fees, fees and more fees. It isnt worth it to me to use that service when craigslist is free. So I can't really even conjecture on that part.
It has become really clear to me from your replies to other people that you are:
a) very determined to spread your terrible advice and b) are completely uneducated on the matter while doing it.
This is my first request to tell you to stop posting comments and replies on this image. If I have to ask you again, I will be banning you from my page. You need not even reply to this comment.
a) very determined to spread your terrible advice and b) are completely uneducated on the matter while doing it.
This is my first request to tell you to stop posting comments and replies on this image. If I have to ask you again, I will be banning you from my page. You need not even reply to this comment.
Lol, looks like I'm late to the party \o/
I think, however, the best way to handle that is ...
Pass that cost onto the consumer. If you're paying 70 dollars to have your character drawn, paying $73.30 isn't really that problematic.
Essentially, Paypal isn't a "Your best friend looking over your wallet when you get stone, can't hit the toilet, drunk." it's more like "A fancy-pants escrow service, but for the every man." ~ While I hate middle men, it's much more preferable for the small business owner (in which, making regular commission sales = business) to make sure he or she gets paid, rather than just taking it on blind faith that check will come in the mail, and it's going to clear once they go to deposit it.
One could argue cash, or half up front; but that puts too much stress on the consumer; after all ... all they have to go on is what they see on their computer; Not that I'm trying to be patronizing, but as a buyer you can also claim fraud. And with a definite record of payment made, it helps your case if you have to go after an artist not making good on their offer.
So, in short, a few dollars extra doesn't seem all that horrible to me.
I think, however, the best way to handle that is ...
Pass that cost onto the consumer. If you're paying 70 dollars to have your character drawn, paying $73.30 isn't really that problematic.
Essentially, Paypal isn't a "Your best friend looking over your wallet when you get stone, can't hit the toilet, drunk." it's more like "A fancy-pants escrow service, but for the every man." ~ While I hate middle men, it's much more preferable for the small business owner (in which, making regular commission sales = business) to make sure he or she gets paid, rather than just taking it on blind faith that check will come in the mail, and it's going to clear once they go to deposit it.
One could argue cash, or half up front; but that puts too much stress on the consumer; after all ... all they have to go on is what they see on their computer; Not that I'm trying to be patronizing, but as a buyer you can also claim fraud. And with a definite record of payment made, it helps your case if you have to go after an artist not making good on their offer.
So, in short, a few dollars extra doesn't seem all that horrible to me.
I tend to factor in the fee if I send money to another. How? This handy-dandy little website!
http://www.rolbe.com/paypal4.htm
This way, I never gift anyone and I take the brunt of the fees, not the artist.
http://www.rolbe.com/paypal4.htm
This way, I never gift anyone and I take the brunt of the fees, not the artist.
Sounds great, however I have tried this before and people are still surprisingly dumb about it, stating their order number and then adding in their own commentary. I have never been in trouble with paypal because I don't draw "controversial" things or things that are easy to sound bad on paper, however, the whole point of this is that you can not control what your commissioners are going to say and add and the fact of the matter is, not everyone who commissions you is going to be the sharpest crayon in the box. Any method that ultimately allows your commissioner to decide what will and won't be said (despite what you tell them to) by leaving it up to them to type it is prone to trouble and this is how the vast majority of people get in trouble with paypal and loose their accounts around here. It seems to me it would be much easier to just send an invoice yourself rather than jumping through hoops and systems that still, in the end, do not resolve the underlying issue in the slightest.
I know this is old and all, but it is most certainly against the UA to add on a charge to cover PayPal's fees, and it's generally very obvious when you're adding 30 cents and 2.9% to every transaction. They will find out and they will be unhappy about it, so this is not something you should recommend. So, if you want to make up for PayPal's fees, raise your prices, but raise the regardless of the payment method, and try to keep it to an even dollar amount. In the end, it's usually only a dollar or two anyway and hardly worth losing your account over.
It falls under this clause in the UA:
4.6 No Surcharges. You agree that you will not impose a surcharge or any other fee for accepting PayPal as a payment method. You may charge a handling fee in connection with the sale of goods or services as long as the handling fee does not operate as a surcharge and is not higher than the handling fee you charge for non-PayPal transactions.
It falls under this clause in the UA:
4.6 No Surcharges. You agree that you will not impose a surcharge or any other fee for accepting PayPal as a payment method. You may charge a handling fee in connection with the sale of goods or services as long as the handling fee does not operate as a surcharge and is not higher than the handling fee you charge for non-PayPal transactions.
I never knew you could do such a thing with Paypal, thank you, that's a very good tip. Also the calculator is simple awesome *bookmarks*.
A quick question to you, since I'm not exactly sure about it and you might know it. If you send the normal way money to someone (Service), who pays the fees to paypal? The receiver, the sender or both?
A quick question to you, since I'm not exactly sure about it and you might know it. If you send the normal way money to someone (Service), who pays the fees to paypal? The receiver, the sender or both?
here's a noob question. so Paypal offers a fee-free way of passing money around but then they get mad if you do it (too often) so why offer a free option at all? it feels like a trap. "Would you like the free option or the pay option?"
"free please"
*hand is slapped*
"You have chosen...poorly."
I don't mind paying the fee for the service but if you offer a free way to do it and people pick that option, don't start getting pissy at them for doing so. :P
Or at least limit the amount of times you can do that so it's not a permanent thing.
either way, thanks for the tips.
"free please"
*hand is slapped*
"You have chosen...poorly."
I don't mind paying the fee for the service but if you offer a free way to do it and people pick that option, don't start getting pissy at them for doing so. :P
Or at least limit the amount of times you can do that so it's not a permanent thing.
either way, thanks for the tips.
Paypal only offers this option to some countries, but it is a good will gesture and paypal does not have to offer it to people. When you sign up for paypal, you agree to the terms that if you conduct business and use the service to make yourself money that you will pay the fees that go with it. A gift is not a business transaction and for non-profit options of giving money to friends and family who need it. When you select this option for your business so that you do not have to pay what you agreed to, you are breaking your contract with paypal and they are well within their rights to ban you for it. It is not a trap, it is common sense.
If you want to suggest to paypal to not give people this option at all, feel free.
If you want to suggest to paypal to not give people this option at all, feel free.
Well, it can't be too common, or it wouldn't be a problem. But if you make a 'normal' paypal account and use that to do nothing but send to friends and family, does Paypal get anything at all for the service? Since it seems the theme of these journal answers are "The fees are almost non existent" or "It's so low." I figure Paypal would still charge for the service of sending money instantly around the world and no one would kick up a fuss for a few dollars per transaction. It's a nice gesture but with all nice gestures, someone is gonna ruin it somehow. :P
Oh I have to amend since I just read to the bottom of your submission description...
you may want to mention in those last few paragraphs about how PayPal
DO NOT WANT YOU TO EXPLICITLY MENTION THAT YOUR FEES ARE INCLUDED IN THE PAYMENT
Yeah, I know, it's really fucking weird, but this stipulation is listed in their AUP as well. I learned this from LJ's Artists_Beware. It's NOT against the rules to include fees with your payment (they can't prove it) -- but it IS against the rules to mention it! Just plead the 5th in that regard and you'll be all set.
Bottom line, make ALL your PayPal payments as nondescript as possible....
you may want to mention in those last few paragraphs about how PayPal
DO NOT WANT YOU TO EXPLICITLY MENTION THAT YOUR FEES ARE INCLUDED IN THE PAYMENT
Yeah, I know, it's really fucking weird, but this stipulation is listed in their AUP as well. I learned this from LJ's Artists_Beware. It's NOT against the rules to include fees with your payment (they can't prove it) -- but it IS against the rules to mention it! Just plead the 5th in that regard and you'll be all set.
Bottom line, make ALL your PayPal payments as nondescript as possible....
I'm sorry, but sadly I don't have the time at the moment to page through the AUP, but it's a very well-known point of interest among the admin of Artists_Beware (http://artists-beware.livejournal.com/ ). If you're not part of that community already, I highly recommend joining it. Otherwise one of the mods might be able to point you to it.
Soo....if I start taking donations for my children's book to help with publishing costs, and 100 people send me "Gifts" transactions in a relatively short span of time (say, 2 months), they'll flag my account for fee evasion despite the fact that they are all truly Gifts?
This pic is helpful! I once had my account locked. I was taking donations for my dog's surgery and had a raffle option on the side (where I would put their name in a hat for every dollar they donated; I wasn't holding a raffle. The raffle was an entirely different thing that most didn't even know about. I merely determined the amount of names in the hat based on their donation. They weren't buying "tickets"..i was rather specific about it in the journal, and only mentioned the word "raffle" in response to a comment.) Anyways, one fellow wrote "donation/raffle" in the memo slot and paypal demanded I shut it down, "or else serious legal matters will be pursued..."
They're real hard with that banhammer of theirs....their AUP is so broad that I had to have the customer service rep put it in "blonde terms" to understand it. She definitely did not earn a golden star for attitude that day ¤.¤;
Moral of the story: Leave it blank!! Those lines are all optional anyways.....at the most, just type your username in the memo and conduct business on FA, dA, SoFurry, wherever.
Oh, and use common sense ^^;
This pic is helpful! I once had my account locked. I was taking donations for my dog's surgery and had a raffle option on the side (where I would put their name in a hat for every dollar they donated; I wasn't holding a raffle. The raffle was an entirely different thing that most didn't even know about. I merely determined the amount of names in the hat based on their donation. They weren't buying "tickets"..i was rather specific about it in the journal, and only mentioned the word "raffle" in response to a comment.) Anyways, one fellow wrote "donation/raffle" in the memo slot and paypal demanded I shut it down, "or else serious legal matters will be pursued..."
They're real hard with that banhammer of theirs....their AUP is so broad that I had to have the customer service rep put it in "blonde terms" to understand it. She definitely did not earn a golden star for attitude that day ¤.¤;
Moral of the story: Leave it blank!! Those lines are all optional anyways.....at the most, just type your username in the memo and conduct business on FA, dA, SoFurry, wherever.
Oh, and use common sense ^^;
They could if they decide they don't believe you or that it might happen to break some weird rule that a mod happened to make up in their head that minute not explicitly listed on the site 9_9
Honestly though, the safest way to receive donations is to set up a donation link with paypal, all payments will be registered as donations and you won't have to worry about hitting your gift limit. I had my account locked for similar reasons as you with the whole "sort of raffle" thing but managed to get it cleared up. If you set up a donation link for people to use, you can have it registered as whatever you want and disallow comments to be posted in the memo.
You can create donation links in "Merchant Services" tab and selecting the "Donate" option from the "Create Buttons" column. After you fill out your "button info" and create button it will give you a code. Above that code are the tabs "website" and "e-mail". Click on "email" and it will give you the direct link to your donation page for people to use and you can use it anywhere (assuming you want a direct URL and not an actual paypal button).
Honestly though, the safest way to receive donations is to set up a donation link with paypal, all payments will be registered as donations and you won't have to worry about hitting your gift limit. I had my account locked for similar reasons as you with the whole "sort of raffle" thing but managed to get it cleared up. If you set up a donation link for people to use, you can have it registered as whatever you want and disallow comments to be posted in the memo.
You can create donation links in "Merchant Services" tab and selecting the "Donate" option from the "Create Buttons" column. After you fill out your "button info" and create button it will give you a code. Above that code are the tabs "website" and "e-mail". Click on "email" and it will give you the direct link to your donation page for people to use and you can use it anywhere (assuming you want a direct URL and not an actual paypal button).
About the donation link thing, I'm guessing paypal has absolutely no problem with it? I'm considering this greatly but I just want to make sure there are no loopholes where it may bite me in the butt. I admit I'm very cautious about openly displaying my paypal where people, although well intentioned, may leave questionable comments in the donations that may give paypal reason to flag.
Unless you appear to be doing something bad with your donations or have otherwise flagged yourself for attention (or FA gets officially blacklisted) I don't see why it would be an issue. If it concerns you, I would recommend setting up your donation button on a page you host yourself externally from FA and link to that from FA instead.
Sorry if this is already mentioned, but it is also against their TOS, last I checked, to make a sale and tack on an extra charge to cover paypal fees, as well. If you plan on charging more for artwork to cover for those fees, it is best to discreetly do so by pricing your work, keeping the fee in mind, rather than blatantly state in your prices that you charge more because of paypal.
That's what I do with my comics. You can set up as many tip jars as you want for as many different things as you want. Not only is it always marked properly in your account for pay pal to see, but you can give them labels. Whenever I receive tips from my web-comic it is labeled in my message center as "Donation-DemonRoad" and my other comic comes in as "Donation-Avi" so everything is in one space nice and organized. As far as I've seen, there is no limit to how many you can make on your account. You don't have to make a set amount to donate either, people are free to donate any amount they want.
Hope that answers your question :)
Hope that answers your question :)
There will always be douche-bags and asshats. If they really really want to sabotage you, they will, however the vast majority of the issues people have with paypal is not from trolls but from well-meaning commissioners who don't really know any better. This is about solving that issue and helping people learn how they can help themselves establish a clean and responsible record with paypal in case something does go amiss.
I know this is a wee late, but I wanted to add after reading the question about gifts and fee avoidance that if you bend to an artist's wishes and send payment for their services as a gift, should they choose to run off with your money, you are SOL. Why? Because it was a gift, you marked it as such, so Paypal isn't going to help you get your money back. You are protected as a buyer, not as a "gifter."
You shouldn't damage your ability to make money because you don't want to cough up or lose 25 cents. Adjust your prices accordingly, or, to bypass this, instead of "Paypal fee" (since you cannot call it that), you may call it a convenience charge in the manner that sites like Ticketmaster do.
That said, this is a great tutorial, and I think I may just start using invoices. Sounds handier.
You shouldn't damage your ability to make money because you don't want to cough up or lose 25 cents. Adjust your prices accordingly, or, to bypass this, instead of "Paypal fee" (since you cannot call it that), you may call it a convenience charge in the manner that sites like Ticketmaster do.
That said, this is a great tutorial, and I think I may just start using invoices. Sounds handier.
This is very helpfull not only to artists but to those of us like me who will commision work as well. Honestly I know you cant control what people type but helping guide them to put "Art Commision for NAME" also helps them too. Honestly with the laws in the US I've learned alot of loopholes. If you dont specify what the commision is for your good. I'm sure paypal isn't going to look up my name just to see if I'm on FA or not lol. If they want to ask what is the commision of you can tell them to F off that a violation of the Bill of Rights, by law whatever it is be a picture of cookies or an adult rated furries art they dont need to know, they only process the payment for an art commision. I wouldn't nessacarily tell them to F off but you get what i mean. Your way works as well but honestly I'd rather say it was art because thats what it realy is nothing more nothing less unless they are going to hit you with other fee's because it's art then yea cookies are good lol.
People have tried this, however paypal doesn't care. Paypal can make up whatever terms it wants and you have agreed to adhere by them. Their terms are so broad that what they decide falls into them is completely at the desecration of the person handling the case. People have lost their accounts over less than this and paypal rarely listens to claims, even if it is their own mistake.
If your account contains material that is against paypal's tastes or ToS and they decide to look into you, they could decide to shut you down under the assumption that you're selling bestiality and porn. Despite the fact that there is no way for them to prove this, there is also no way for you to disprove it and paypal takes the "guilty until proven innocent" approach to things. Even then, they don't really care to hear your explanation for being innocent. It's generally a good idea to just not do it.
You can put whatever you want in the message body. You can say it's art if you want, you could post a letter to your grandmother in there. There is nothing in their ToS that I have found that dictates the content of the e-mails you write (it is where they let you write the message body of the e-mail they send). It is not a request on their part to know what it is you are sending.
If you can, however, find a hidden clause, note, mention, etc of what you are claiming to be true, please give me the link and article number to which you are referring.
If you can, however, find a hidden clause, note, mention, etc of what you are claiming to be true, please give me the link and article number to which you are referring.
Cookies are awesome. This statement is not a lie, however, the default text is always "you've got money", which says absolutely nothing about what the money is for either, so, by the logic that "anything not stating what you're selling is a lie", paypal's default message is lying too.
If it concerns you, you could ask paypal directly. For my own adoptables, I market them as services. I'm not selling a physical product that needs to be tracked and charged as a good to be delivered (also requires tracking number from shipping in disputes). Paypal is a little behind on the times so I don't think they'll fault you for going either way on this. Regardless, if it concerns you, it is best to ask them.
Like start from Notice to other FA admins and copy all that. Save the picture, repost it in my gallery, with the text. OH and if good usefull tips are in comments too, i would gather em together as well :3
I want spread the word about this, and same time make sure it wont disapear some point from here :3 as when i post it, its going to stick in my gallery, if not main gallery in scraps. Also will be making back up save to my outer hard drive, as this is so good tip/info.
I want spread the word about this, and same time make sure it wont disapear some point from here :3 as when i post it, its going to stick in my gallery, if not main gallery in scraps. Also will be making back up save to my outer hard drive, as this is so good tip/info.
Woooooooow a lotta hidden comments and people trying to rip off PayPal...
I remember seeing this back when it was first posted and thought it was pretty neat ^^ If by chance PayPal ever gives you too much trouble or you don't like their service, I guess you can try out [Amazon Payments]. I've seen a couple people drop PayPal and switch to this, so, it might be a decent alternative.
I remember seeing this back when it was first posted and thought it was pretty neat ^^ If by chance PayPal ever gives you too much trouble or you don't like their service, I guess you can try out [Amazon Payments]. I've seen a couple people drop PayPal and switch to this, so, it might be a decent alternative.
Amazon Payments is extremely restrictive to people who are not US Citizens. Not so much in terms of paying money, but in terms of setting up ways to receive and transfer it. We have used other sites that go through amazon payments (like kickstarter) and have never been able to set up anything without using our American friend's account and info. Anyone can make payments, but only Americans can fully receive them.
"What countries and currencies are supported by Amazon Payments?
Amazon Payments allows U.S. as well as international customers to use major credit cards to make payments on Amazon Payments-powered websites. However, bank account and Amazon Payments account balance transfers are enabled only for US based customers. All transactions are in U.S. dollars."
"What countries and currencies are supported by Amazon Payments?
Amazon Payments allows U.S. as well as international customers to use major credit cards to make payments on Amazon Payments-powered websites. However, bank account and Amazon Payments account balance transfers are enabled only for US based customers. All transactions are in U.S. dollars."
i understand this was posted 7 months ago, but i am suggessting at taking a look at Serve. just like paypal and even better actually :p.
https://secure.serve.com/Secure/Account/Dashboard
http://www.secure.serve.com/
hope one of the links works
anjoy :3
https://secure.serve.com/Secure/Account/Dashboard
http://www.secure.serve.com/
hope one of the links works
anjoy :3
That's nice I guess but unless she (or someone else) that uses the service can vouch for it, I can't really do anything to promote it in good conscious. I know other sites out there as alternatives for paypal that I would never suggest to anyone, having never heard of this site or knowing anyone who uses it, I do not know if it is a good service or not.
Hmm... so this is saying we can't actually state on Paypal we're buying furry art?
I don't see in your example how a tiger fucking a dog is bestiality? If it were a person doing this, then, yes, it would be bestiality.
This is messed up how it seems problematic, and how you are putting something out here to tell us how to skirt around something.
Are you sure Paypal has a problem with furry art? I bought the Mythical Skies e-book over Paypal- that has interspecies porn in it and I had no problem with it at all.
Maybe this is something I don't understand because I've not bought any commissions?
I don't see in your example how a tiger fucking a dog is bestiality? If it were a person doing this, then, yes, it would be bestiality.
This is messed up how it seems problematic, and how you are putting something out here to tell us how to skirt around something.
Are you sure Paypal has a problem with furry art? I bought the Mythical Skies e-book over Paypal- that has interspecies porn in it and I had no problem with it at all.
Maybe this is something I don't understand because I've not bought any commissions?
The problem with Paypal is that whoever happens to be looking at something that's flagged in their system gets to decide what is and is not bestiality because nothing is actually defined in their rules. People are often banned for not actually breaking any rules. I'm not teaching people who to break the rules, I'm teaching them how to play it safe to avoid confusion at all which is a <b>frequent</b> problem with users on FA. If you're buying something online and they just have it listed in their system as "my comic book" or whatever, the system isn't going to flag it. If his book was registered as "furry porn, you can read it here". They can check it out and they would probably get in trouble. One look at the front page of Furaffinity is going to give them the impression they're going to carry as to what you're selling, not actually check you out. They don't do thorough investigations, they glance at you and whatever first impression they get is what sticks. End of discussion, you're banned. Have you ever tried to explain to a non-furry stranger who has already judged you, who has looked at the art posted on this site that you're not into bestiality?
You can put usernames if you feel like it, though it is generally safer to use things like order numbers. Regardless, you are putting the decision to not do something dumb in the hands of your commissioners, not keeping the safty for yourself. Just this week one of my friends got in big trouble from paypal for something stupid their commissioner said, despite being told not to. In fact, this is every paypal/FA issue that I have seen comes from. Stupid but well meaning commissioners.
Just keep in mind that paypal has access to referrer information. What that means (for those who don't know) is that paypal can see the site that was last visited before coming to the paypal site, this is the "referral" site. So, if the last thing your commissioner (or you) viewed was your note/comment/whatever here on FA and immediately went to paypal to enter it in, if there is a problem, it doesn't take a genius to take the username and apply it to the site you came from. This may sound paranoid, but it's a very basic tool that most sites have (even a tool that I have on my websites to track where my traffic is coming from). It helps them track where most of their business is coming from so they can better appeal to those sites as well as track where their trouble is coming from and flag those sites for review.
Just keep in mind that paypal has access to referrer information. What that means (for those who don't know) is that paypal can see the site that was last visited before coming to the paypal site, this is the "referral" site. So, if the last thing your commissioner (or you) viewed was your note/comment/whatever here on FA and immediately went to paypal to enter it in, if there is a problem, it doesn't take a genius to take the username and apply it to the site you came from. This may sound paranoid, but it's a very basic tool that most sites have (even a tool that I have on my websites to track where my traffic is coming from). It helps them track where most of their business is coming from so they can better appeal to those sites as well as track where their trouble is coming from and flag those sites for review.
Something strange I noticed. It seems the reason paypal sets a limit of 'Gifts' is to avoid people avoiding paypal's fees. However, at least for me, whenever I get gifts or send gifts, I still get charged the same percentage. So I'm puzzled as to why, if the Gift option still charges the same percentage fee as an expense owed or invoice, why is it such a taboo where it calls for limitation?
I plan on taking my first commission soon, so I'm entirely new to this. Your infographic is very helpful, but there's something else I'm concerned with.
I don't have a lot of faith in my talents, so I'm charging really low for my services and just hoping for tips. Now, the invoice thing is easy to work the regular fee with, but how can I make it so that my customers (if I'll get any) can tip me?
I don't have a lot of faith in my talents, so I'm charging really low for my services and just hoping for tips. Now, the invoice thing is easy to work the regular fee with, but how can I make it so that my customers (if I'll get any) can tip me?
They will still have your address from the invoice and can still send you an actual gift transaction if they feel like it. The only time you would ever get your tip WITH payment, regardless of the method used for taking payments, is if you take payment AFTER you've finished your commission (how will they know to tip if they don't see/get it first?), which is such a huge "no no" in itself, so I hope this is not what you are doing.
Alright, so what would happen if an artist like me was already doing transactions I should not have been doing and I have probably unintentionally left a bit of a paper trail of sorts behind (just not bad enough to throw a flag in itself).
Even if I never do explicit work or transactions again and use this request payment method above for future transactions, do I still have any risk from someone who might deliberately attack my account in order to freeze it, such as in the example you used?
This was a little hard for me to read. I don't have the best reading comprehension.
Even if I never do explicit work or transactions again and use this request payment method above for future transactions, do I still have any risk from someone who might deliberately attack my account in order to freeze it, such as in the example you used?
This was a little hard for me to read. I don't have the best reading comprehension.
I think it's a bit of a paranoid fear but if this was the case and you had developed a reputation to not take payments this way and refunded it saying "I don't take adult commissions" in the refund box, you'd have a good case for harassment against them and it would be them under the microscope, not you.
As much as I hate to say this, one things rings true. And from my very own personal experiences.
I personally would guess that 85% of the world populace lacks something called "Common Sense".
It doesn't take a genius to ask the artist you are commissioning a few minor questions. Since I
myself purchase commissions. Whether it be for me, or for friends.
Take for example: "How would you like this filled out?", "Is there anything in particular you would like
me to use in the comment area for the transaction?", "Would you like to send me an invoice, I can send
my information to you.".
Small things like that. Usually, I am asked just to include my username in the area, and that is it. I always
ask that I am told when they receive a payment from me. And that it is from a *My name here*. And I have
had not a single issue from PayPal itself, or the artist I commission for that matter. I would rather pay their fees,
instead of have my money, or another artists assets frozen. Due to "Inappropriate Content" and the like.
Your tutorial here speaks for itself. Kudos for taking the time to make this.
I personally would guess that 85% of the world populace lacks something called "Common Sense".
It doesn't take a genius to ask the artist you are commissioning a few minor questions. Since I
myself purchase commissions. Whether it be for me, or for friends.
Take for example: "How would you like this filled out?", "Is there anything in particular you would like
me to use in the comment area for the transaction?", "Would you like to send me an invoice, I can send
my information to you.".
Small things like that. Usually, I am asked just to include my username in the area, and that is it. I always
ask that I am told when they receive a payment from me. And that it is from a *My name here*. And I have
had not a single issue from PayPal itself, or the artist I commission for that matter. I would rather pay their fees,
instead of have my money, or another artists assets frozen. Due to "Inappropriate Content" and the like.
Your tutorial here speaks for itself. Kudos for taking the time to make this.
I thank you very much for having something like this up here because i plan to start taking commissions soon.
but this is my dilemma...
What If people are paying you for literature instead of artwork?
(*ack, I do apologize if it's a stupid question, but "The more you know..." Y'know?)
but this is my dilemma...
What If people are paying you for literature instead of artwork?
(*ack, I do apologize if it's a stupid question, but "The more you know..." Y'know?)
I have gotten some compromising info in my paypal payments, even if I always asked the commissioners to not add anything in the payment information. Some people added their furaffinity user links "firaffinity.net/user/heyitsmeomg", others added infor like "Its for the gay auction".
However my account has not been banned so far, thanks god.
So, my question goes like this: If I start using the request money feature, or invoicing, to keep the control of the information hold in the transactions, that already compromising data won't be a problem in the future?
Thanks for sharing this guide. I wish I did find it before.
However my account has not been banned so far, thanks god.
So, my question goes like this: If I start using the request money feature, or invoicing, to keep the control of the information hold in the transactions, that already compromising data won't be a problem in the future?
Thanks for sharing this guide. I wish I did find it before.
It's hard to say. The safest thing would have been to immediately refund those people. Paypal records and transactions never disappear, if something comes into question with your account, there is a chance it will come up depending on the issue, however it never hurts to start doing it safely. Another option is to close your paypal account and open a new one with a fresh start.
Thank you very much. I'll consider the option of starting a new account.
About that... I wonder what should I do about the personal information they require when creating an account. If I close my actual account, I don't think the data will be deleted from their files at all, and if I try to make another account that matches my address, phone, real name... might be troublesome, right? What would be your advice about proceeding to close and make a new account? I can't really fake information, since they will be able to retrieve my real data when linking the account to a bank or card... i believe.
About that... I wonder what should I do about the personal information they require when creating an account. If I close my actual account, I don't think the data will be deleted from their files at all, and if I try to make another account that matches my address, phone, real name... might be troublesome, right? What would be your advice about proceeding to close and make a new account? I can't really fake information, since they will be able to retrieve my real data when linking the account to a bank or card... i believe.
Not necessarily. It depends how deep they want to look into you. If you set off red flags, they will first scan your account, if they find more they'll look into others. It is not uncommon for people to have multiple paypal accounts for things like work, personal, family, etc. If you start a new account, it is highly unlikely they will go after you for your old one unless something really nasty comes up on your new one. If you stop doing business on your old one, it will not really draw any attention to itself to warrant looking into your new one if it hasn't yet already.
I wouldn't fake your information on your new account, I would just make it as is. You should be fine, it's not against their rules to have more than one account or to move accounts. It is not an uncommon practice when people feel their accounts might be compromised.
I wouldn't fake your information on your new account, I would just make it as is. You should be fine, it's not against their rules to have more than one account or to move accounts. It is not an uncommon practice when people feel their accounts might be compromised.
Hey, thank you so much for writing this guide. Just wanted to add my two cents.
I had an issue recently where I sent an invoice as you suggested here, and the commissioner ignored it, opting to send the money as a gift instead so that they could add a tip. Nice as this was, I really don't want people sending me money like that.
So, I went hunting through settings, and I found an option to block commissioners from sending you money except in response to an invoice. Basically, if they try to do it the wrong way, it doesn't work. They have to send money in response to a payment request like the one you've so kindly showed us how to send.
The option is in kind of a back menu, the path I took to find it was:
My Account > Profile > My Selling Tools > Credit Card Statement Name > Block payment from users who: [x] Initiate payments from the Pay Anyone subtab of the Send Money tab
Here's a direct link to the menu where the option exists: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/cust.....ef&#ccName
The option appears to only be available on a business account.
I had an issue recently where I sent an invoice as you suggested here, and the commissioner ignored it, opting to send the money as a gift instead so that they could add a tip. Nice as this was, I really don't want people sending me money like that.
So, I went hunting through settings, and I found an option to block commissioners from sending you money except in response to an invoice. Basically, if they try to do it the wrong way, it doesn't work. They have to send money in response to a payment request like the one you've so kindly showed us how to send.
The option is in kind of a back menu, the path I took to find it was:
My Account > Profile > My Selling Tools > Credit Card Statement Name > Block payment from users who: [x] Initiate payments from the Pay Anyone subtab of the Send Money tab
Here's a direct link to the menu where the option exists: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/cust.....ef&#ccName
The option appears to only be available on a business account.
This seems really useful! I'm assuming it's still relevant, one year later?
I'm taking my first commissions currently. If I use this method, combined with my paypal email being different than my FA username, and communicating commission information via notes, will I be safe? I can just put "For artwork" in the subject and "Commission payment" in the info box, and I won't have to worry about anything, even with many multiple transactions over a long period of time?
To clarify, I'm imagining this process:
Step 1: Note commissioner about commish details
Step 2: Draw commission
Step 3: Send invoice, titled "For art" with comment "commission payment"
Step 4: Note commissioner to tell them invoice has been sent
Step 5: Commissioner pays, has no opportunity to say anything incriminating, and I get my money.
I am a VERY paranoid person and I just want to be able to take commissions when I feel like it without worrying about being screwed over by paypal. I really appreciate the help and the image.
I'm taking my first commissions currently. If I use this method, combined with my paypal email being different than my FA username, and communicating commission information via notes, will I be safe? I can just put "For artwork" in the subject and "Commission payment" in the info box, and I won't have to worry about anything, even with many multiple transactions over a long period of time?
To clarify, I'm imagining this process:
Step 1: Note commissioner about commish details
Step 2: Draw commission
Step 3: Send invoice, titled "For art" with comment "commission payment"
Step 4: Note commissioner to tell them invoice has been sent
Step 5: Commissioner pays, has no opportunity to say anything incriminating, and I get my money.
I am a VERY paranoid person and I just want to be able to take commissions when I feel like it without worrying about being screwed over by paypal. I really appreciate the help and the image.
My process is:
1. note commissioner about commission details
2. send invoice titled "For art" with comment "commission payment"
3. receive money for commission without issue
4. draw commission
Honestly, I would be much more worried about being screwed over by commissioners refusing payment (something I have experienced many many times) than paypal.
1. note commissioner about commission details
2. send invoice titled "For art" with comment "commission payment"
3. receive money for commission without issue
4. draw commission
Honestly, I would be much more worried about being screwed over by commissioners refusing payment (something I have experienced many many times) than paypal.
Hey, I plan on taking commissions soon, thank you very much for making this and taking your time for replies! <3
I think I read every comment and every reply from you, and I do have a question, before reading this tutorial, I was thinking to give the possibility to my future commissioners to pay me in "stages", so in example, someone wants me to draw two fully detailed characters and a fully detailed background, it will cost $150, but he/she is afraid to make a full payment to me to start working, because I'm not a known/popular artist. So with that possiblity, I could ask first for $5-10 for a sketch of what he/she requested, if the commissioner is happy with the sketch I can start working on it, I could ask first $50 to finish one character, then the next $50 for the other character, and then the last $50 for the background. So, is this "payment in stages" safe with this paypal method?
It's just something that I thought since I'm new at making commissions and it's understandable if people doesn't want to trust in me because is afraid of being ripped off. So with this method people could feel a bit better when commissioning me, but still I wouldn't mind asking only for full payment at first.
Also sorry for my bad english !
I think I read every comment and every reply from you, and I do have a question, before reading this tutorial, I was thinking to give the possibility to my future commissioners to pay me in "stages", so in example, someone wants me to draw two fully detailed characters and a fully detailed background, it will cost $150, but he/she is afraid to make a full payment to me to start working, because I'm not a known/popular artist. So with that possiblity, I could ask first for $5-10 for a sketch of what he/she requested, if the commissioner is happy with the sketch I can start working on it, I could ask first $50 to finish one character, then the next $50 for the other character, and then the last $50 for the background. So, is this "payment in stages" safe with this paypal method?
It's just something that I thought since I'm new at making commissions and it's understandable if people doesn't want to trust in me because is afraid of being ripped off. So with this method people could feel a bit better when commissioning me, but still I wouldn't mind asking only for full payment at first.
Also sorry for my bad english !
Hello! Payments in installments is pretty common, particularly with very expensive commissions. I often do this for anything that will cost over $300. This is generally safe so long as you are getting the payment for what you are about to do before you start on it. So long as you're not, for example, starting the linart stage before they've payed you for that stage, there isn't really risk on your part on not being paid for your work, if your commissioner disappears, you got paid for the hours you've put into it thus far. Just make sure the payment you're asking for at each stage is equal to the work being put into it so you don't fall behind on hours. You can bill for each stage ahead of time and start the work on that stage once the commissioner has paid it's bill :)
I guess I'm screwed if things ever went sour.
Instead if the "Request Money", I use "Create an Invoice".
I just like to see every iten that they purchased in one little shopping list. I would list the things that I sold as "Two View Character Reference sheet" or "Flat Coloured Sketch", and I also do not keep my PayPal address private.
I gotta get this under control, so I don't lose my only source of income.
Instead if the "Request Money", I use "Create an Invoice".
I just like to see every iten that they purchased in one little shopping list. I would list the things that I sold as "Two View Character Reference sheet" or "Flat Coloured Sketch", and I also do not keep my PayPal address private.
I gotta get this under control, so I don't lose my only source of income.
So I'm late to the party (lol)
but uhm I'm new to this with paypal and stuff and have already gotten two payments
one sent to me and the other I sent an invoice
I don't believe the one sent to me is a big deal, but on the invoice I mentioned that it's an adopt.
Do you think I'll be okay and should I refrain from using those type of words in the future?
sorry if this seems like a dumb question x.x
but uhm I'm new to this with paypal and stuff and have already gotten two payments
one sent to me and the other I sent an invoice
I don't believe the one sent to me is a big deal, but on the invoice I mentioned that it's an adopt.
Do you think I'll be okay and should I refrain from using those type of words in the future?
sorry if this seems like a dumb question x.x
Oh, honestly, you don't have to be secretive about your words. "commission" "adopts" "art" it's all good, these are all things paypal allows. Things like "porn" and "furry" and "furaffinity" and your user name are things to avoid. Even if you're doing nothing wrong, it's best to avoid weird trigger words or things that might make them think you're doing something against their AUP.
Oh. Okay! Thank you for clearing that up for me~
I think I'm okay then- The only thing is that my email has my username in it?
uh and I actually had another question if that's okay? Still with PayPal but uhm I've seen people with "horror stories" of doing a commission and then the person like taking the money back or something? I was just wondering if before hooking my bank account to paypal and sending over money I should do something or.. uh yea?
Sorry if you don't have time or anything like that don't worry about it~
Thank you so much anyway <3
I think I'm okay then- The only thing is that my email has my username in it?
uh and I actually had another question if that's okay? Still with PayPal but uhm I've seen people with "horror stories" of doing a commission and then the person like taking the money back or something? I was just wondering if before hooking my bank account to paypal and sending over money I should do something or.. uh yea?
Sorry if you don't have time or anything like that don't worry about it~
Thank you so much anyway <3
a commissioner can not automaticly take back money. If they want a forced refund, they have to submit a complaint to paypal that states that they didn't receive what they purchased (either that they never got it or it is not what they commissioned). After they submit a formal complaint, paypal notifies the artist, who then gets to submit proof that they did indeed deliver what was commissioned from them. I have only actually heard of this happening once, at least during my time here, and it was actually the artist spreading falsehoods about the situation. Though it is a danger when selling porn if you are dealing with someone dishonest, since you can not prove you drew them porn without also proving that you used paypal for porn and getting banned. The community here is generally quite honest and it is rare that this sort of thing happens. If you have a record of these horror stories, I would like to read them, I'm always interested in what's going on :)
The last I saw may have actually been on deviantart, but if I come across one again I'll be sure to send it over :)
I could have always misread and there was a similar mistake- unsure but either way I'll be certain to show you~
Anyway, thank you so much for clearing this all up for me I really appreciate it you taking the time <3
And I just realized you/you guys(?) are Sambees and Dapper-owl sidbcius aah I was thinking someone just had a similar style~
I'm so excited to have found you~ <33
I could have always misread and there was a similar mistake- unsure but either way I'll be certain to show you~
Anyway, thank you so much for clearing this all up for me I really appreciate it you taking the time <3
And I just realized you/you guys(?) are Sambees and Dapper-owl sidbcius aah I was thinking someone just had a similar style~
I'm so excited to have found you~ <33
I'm planning on maybe starting up commissions as well, but I ain't using paypal. NOPE. I plan to charge Bitcoin or altcoin for my art and I can always convert it to fiat (nation money) if I need to. I'm not the only one thinking about doing this. I'll let you know how this process works out. Give it a try and go for a part time minimum wage job like I'm trying to do in case it doesn't work out.
I'm aware this is very old, but it is still a popular submission and I hope that you read my comment so that people taking the advice here don't get banned. You may want to make a correction regarding point 2 under the "More advice" area.
Paypal has been cracking down on incorrect use of the "donate" buttons lately. So many people such as artists, youtubers, streamers etc are getting burned by this.
If you cannot provide documentation proving that you are registered as a not-for-profit organization or charity then the funds can at any time be removed and you can be fined/banned. I say again: THE DONATE BUTTON IS NOT PERMITTED TO BE USED FOR NON-OFFICIAL DONATIONS TO CAUSES. I was upset when I found this out originally, but reading through their terms of service and legal jabber it makes sense.
Paypal has been cracking down on incorrect use of the "donate" buttons lately. So many people such as artists, youtubers, streamers etc are getting burned by this.
If you cannot provide documentation proving that you are registered as a not-for-profit organization or charity then the funds can at any time be removed and you can be fined/banned. I say again: THE DONATE BUTTON IS NOT PERMITTED TO BE USED FOR NON-OFFICIAL DONATIONS TO CAUSES. I was upset when I found this out originally, but reading through their terms of service and legal jabber it makes sense.
I don't know if anyone's asked this before, but I'm going to: is there any difference between the "Request Money" and "Create an Invoice" options on PayPal? I've mainly used the Create an Invoice option because it allows for more organizational options, but now I'm wondering if there's anything more to that - something that I'm not seeing in terms of avoiding trouble with PayPal. Or am I just getting paranoid?
http://www.rolbe.com/paypal4.htm seems to be a dead link that likes to redirect to malicious websites, I realize this is two years old but I thought you should know.
:|
Yep, gunna be a n00b and ask anyway.
So... this is legit? O_o like Paypal won't allow this.
Like, someone wants me to draw... like, Lugia banging another Lugia
And they send me money, via the paypal method (on the left) then I get screwed over?
//stares
That sounds... odd... for some reason.
Yep, gunna be a n00b and ask anyway.
So... this is legit? O_o like Paypal won't allow this.
Like, someone wants me to draw... like, Lugia banging another Lugia
And they send me money, via the paypal method (on the left) then I get screwed over?
//stares
That sounds... odd... for some reason.
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