Is there any way payment schedules could be bi-weekly

[Lysis]

I know I'm treading on a touchy subject since this is money, but is there any hope that CC may possibly revise payment frequency to be bi-weekly or weekly? One of my biggest problems with focusing on CC is that I can't wait a month for payment. I'm sure you're not hurting for more writers, but it would be easier for your regular writers to slip into a more constant article flow if we knew that we'd get paid within a week or 2. If there is any type of consideration for bi-weekly/weekly payments, I'd really like to hear from the CC people.

[Debbi]

Hear, hear! I am also hoping that increased payout frequency is on CC's agenda.Though weekly would be fabulous, I would be extremely happy if it were once every two weeks. Once a month is hard on the tight budget. Would payouts twice a month affect the wonders of mass pay? I wouldn't want to give that up. I hate giving paypal a cent of my money.

Off-topic:
Speaking of which, apparently paypal and eBay have something cooked up to where paypal holds onto your payment for 21 days or until the buyer gives you positive feedback, and there are a lot of buyers who don't bother with feedback. What a racket. I'm sure paypal is using that money to their great benefit for that 21 days. I only use eBay to sell my halloween book in October each year so maybe this has been going on for a while and this is the first I've heard about it. Puh!

Debbi

[nichewriter]

Would payouts twice a month affect the wonders of mass pay? I wouldn't want to give that up. I hate giving paypal a cent of my money.

With mass pay, Paypal doesn't charge transaction fees for payments you receive no matter how often mass pay is used by CC (or any other company that uses it to pay people). It costs the person/company sending the payment $1 for using mass pay to send payments.

Speaking of which, apparently paypal and eBay have something cooked up to where paypal holds onto your payment for 21 days or until the buyer gives you positive feedback, and there are a lot of buyers who don't bother with feedback. What a racket. I'm sure paypal is using that money to their great benefit for that 21 days. I only use eBay to sell my halloween book in October each year so maybe this has been going on for a while and this is the first I've heard about it. Puh! Debbi

This is news to me. I'm an eBay seller and Paypal and eBay have not held payments for people who have purchased from my eBay store. In fact, I could withdraw the eBay payments right away and transfer to my bank account.

[Debbi]

$1 total or $1 per person being paid?

[nichewriter]

$1 total or $1 per person being paid?

$1 per mass payment, no matter how many people are paid out. (PP Mass Pay allows you to upload a file containing email addresses and amounts to be paid).

[Constant]

Thanks for the suggestion. It is always something we've thought about, but you guys have made it clear that this is something we need to seriously consider. I can't promise it will happen right away, but after some chatting amongst the denizens of CC here at HQ, we don't think that there are serious drawbacks to the idea in general.

[Lysis]

Sweet! I will hang on to that tiny thread of hope then! Thank you!

[Debbi]

Wonderful to hear! CC is the best, so responsive and accomodating

[BarryDavidson]

I guess I'm the one who always swims against the current...

To be completely honest, I have no problems with the monthly pay schedule. I have looked at it both as an author and from a business owner's view. As an author, knowing that a bigger chunk of change is coming at the beginning of the month is always something to look forward to, especially since there is no minimum amount before payment is sent. As a business owner, using a money market account like Paypal as opposed to an FDIC insured "bank" account makes me want to keep the maximum in my account to offset transaction and operational costs.

CC is one of the very few sites which has no minimum before payment. Those sites which pay pennies on the dollar, and require up to three hundred dollars be acquired before payment, are a pain. Keep in mind that with Paypal, even though the interest rate has gone way down, will pay more in interest for larger amounts in the account. Personally, I'd rather get a dollar in interest than two or three cents. The reason I mention his is because with the prospect of two monthly payments most people will empty their Paypal account of one of those payments within a day or two. I'd probably do it too.

The money I made last November in one chunk gave me the scope of my entire Christmas budget. The only I make in other months in one payment lets me automatically pay bills later in the month without accidentally having Paypal draw from my checking account - causing me to pay thirty-five dollars in overdraft fees if the bank balance is low.

[Debbi]

CC has a $5 minimum before payout. I guess it used to be $50.

Being paid once a month is okay for authors who have a financial reserve but for those of us who are living hand-to-mouth it is very difficult. I'm hoping my sales increase enough to keep this from being such a pressing issue, but for now I'd really appreciate having funds available twice a month.

If I had a money market account and didn't need the money so frequently, I guess I'd leave it in my Paypal account and withdraw it once a month. It would be essentially the same thing as getting paid on a monthly basis.

Debbi

[Lysis]

> Being paid once a month is okay for authors who have a financial reserve but for those of us who are living hand-to-mouth it is very difficult.

This is my problem. I can't really focus more on CC because I'm digging into my savings to do it. Veterans on CC are probably fine and have enough of a flow, but for people like me, I can't wait a month for payment. It's also harder to get a portfolio going since poor Ed is swamped, so even if you make 0 mistakes on your articles, you need to wait a week for your first batch to be seen. If you make a mistake, it's up to 2 weeks. So, it might be over a month before you even see financial rewards for your work. Then, add the extra 30 days to get paid. We're talking about 2-3 months to start making money. It would be easier for new authors to focus on CC and build a portfolio if we weren't so financially strapped in the process.

[nichewriter]

Why not give authors the option to be paid twice a month or once a month? Those who prefer to continue being paid once a month can check that option, and those who prefer being paid twice a month can go with that option. I know a couple of freelancing sites do this - even allowing authors to change their preference and switch between being paid once a month and twice a month (the sites just give them a cut-off date to set their preference - like 5 days before the cut-off date).

Just thinking aloud,
~Sherry

[BarryDavidson]

CC has a $5 minimum before payout. I guess it used to be $50.

Sorry... After all of the sites I've tried over the years, a five dollar minimum is like not having a minimum at all. I forget about it.

Just for clarification though, if you have Paypal you have a money market account. It's one of the ways they get away with not having to join the FDIC and insuring your account.

I wouldn't be opposed to allowing writers the ability to choose between one or two monthly payments. Having run an online business, and been administrator for several types of forums, I tend to look from the business side of the equation - especially after a decade spent in management. I won't go into the details, but from a business owner's standpoint it's better to go with one monthly payment given that the minimum payment dropped to five dollars. Even if the payment process is completely automated, someone had to be paid to set that up in terms of money or time (usually both).

Don't get me wrong, I understand the other side too. My family is paying out more than we're bringing in at the moment. I hope to change that in the near future, but one never knows.