RPGNow Question

[0-hr]

RPGNow only sends you a monthly check if they owe you $50 or more. If you make $40 a month, do you get an $80 check every other month, of does RPGNow just keep that money?



Edit: also, the FAQ on this page is out of date. RPGNow is currently taking 25% (30% for Gold). There is also a $40 fee up front. Overall, it's a lot less attractive than it was when I started writing my book :\ Ah, the joys of oligopoly...

 

[PlotDevice]

The former, of course. If you are owed less than the minimum, they hold it till you are owed more than the minimum, then they pay out the ballance.

 

[0-hr]

Ok thanks, I'm glad to hear that. Still, giving them $65 (on average) plus 25% of sales is rough when I'm only hoping to make a couple of hundred total. I guess we are in that economic phase where a good idea has caught on enough to be costly, but hasn't caught on enough to generate real competition yet. Such is business I suppose, and it's certainly better than nothing.

My advice to others - be sure to get a current ePublishing guide before investing the time and effort!

 

[aryus]

Still, giving them $65 (on average) plus 25% of sales

Not sure what you mean by the $65. RPGNow's new $40 fee is a One-Time fee to become a vendor on their website. It is not per month, year, or product.

My advice to others - be sure to get a current ePublishing guide before investing the time and effort!

BTW, the $40 vendor listing fee includes new copies of all the ePublisher Guides produced by Minion Games.

Don't forget to take a look at the new standards guide as well. James is trying to improve the image of RPGNow and its product line so it pays to have all your ducks in a row before submitting your products for sale.

Hope this helps.

 

[0-hr]

Not sure what you mean by the $65. RPGNow's new $40 fee is a One-Time fee to become a vendor on their website. It is not per month, year, or product.

They won't send that last bit of money your product makes. If they keep up to $50, then on average they keep about $25 per product at the end of its run. That plus the $40 up front is $65.

If it's one-time though, rather than per-product, that's not so bad. And if that last $0 to $50 they owe you carries over into your next product, then that's even better. They really should make this stuff a bit more clear for cynical first-timers like me.

 

[jmucchiello]

They won't send that last bit of money your product makes. If they keep up to $50, then on average they keep about $25 per product at the end of its run. That plus the $40 up front is $65.

If it's one-time though, rather than per-product, that's not so bad. And if that last $0 to $50 they owe you carries over into your next product, then that's even better. They really should make this stuff a bit more clear for cynical first-timers like me.

It's not $50 per product. It's whenever they owe you less the $50 TOTAL, they don't cut a check that month. When total unpaid sales of all you products exceeds $50, you get a check for the outstanding balance. If you terminate your contract with RPGNow, they must send you a check for your outstanding balance. There is no $65. The $40 is a one time fee. I don't see how this is unclear.

And if you find this onerous, trying selling your idea to an existing PDF publisher. You'll get even less money out of that deal but you won't have to deal with setup fees and such.

Quite frankly if you cannot make up the $40 in the first two weeks your product is out there, your product is crap.

 

[GMSkarka]

They won't send that last bit of money your product makes. If they keep up to $50, then on average they keep about $25 per product at the end of its run. That plus the $40 up front is $65.

Nope. The $40 is a one-time charge for set-up, and includes all of the ePublishing guides. Minimum amount for payout is $50, and if no payout occurs, then the balance forwards to the next month until the minimum payout is reached.

They really should make this stuff a bit more clear for cynical first-timers like me.

The contract is available on the Publisher Information Page. It's very clear.

 

[DanMcS]

It's not $50 per product. It's whenever they owe you less the $50 TOTAL, they don't cut a check that month. When total unpaid sales of all you products exceeds $50, you get a check for the outstanding balance. If you terminate your contract with RPGNow, they must send you a check for your outstanding balance. There is no $65. The $40 is a one time fee. I don't see how this is unclear.

It's not in any way unclear.

 

[rpghost]

The only unclear part to some people is that they think at the time that we cut checks if they have $50 in earnings they'll get a check. When it is really the PREVIOUS MONTH has to have earned $50 to get a check.

In other words, if you earned $40 last month and another $20 this month before the 15th when the payments were made, you still wouldn't get paid this month. Cause you only earned $40 during the period that is being paid out (eg. last month). We pay 15 days behind to cover returns/cancels/etc (which is actually very rare).

Also, we never keep your money other then the setup fee and our %. The rest is yours and when you (or we) cancel your contract you'll get full payout the next payment cycle.

James

 

[0-hr]

Thanks for the help.