We did not discuss PayPal in the meeting actually. The PayPal fee on £5 is 27p at the
lower fee rate, though I expect we'll shortly be moved back up to the higher rate at
which it's 37p. I don't think there's any question of us removing the PayPal
option, and it would also be counter-productive to charge a different rate for PayPal
memberships, particularly since our CRM system cannot handle different rates depending on
payment method, which means we have to manually edit transactions for people who sign up
online but then pay by cheque. That we lose a few quid in change is a little unfortunate,
but I think it's worth it for a simple, transparent system (and for the increase in
membership).
What we decided in essence was that in light of our earnings in the fundraiser, we would
no longer be looking to membership as a way of generating revenue. Thus instead of looking
at it as a required contribution to us (which justified charging extra for PayPal) I guess
we are looking at it as a required level of commitment (which justifies charging everyone
the same amount).
Tom
-----Original Message-----
From: wikimediauk-l-bounces(a)lists.wikimedia.org
[mailto:wikimediauk-l-bounces@lists.wikimedia.org] On Behalf Of Bod Notbod
Sent: 16 February 2010 11:35 PM
To: wikimediauk-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org
Subject: Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Membership Fee Cut
On Tue, Feb 16, 2010 at 10:46 PM, Tom Holden <tom.holden(a)economics.ox.ac.uk> wrote:
Does anyone object to this? We appreciate that some of
you will have
recently paid membership fees at the full rate, but if we are to make
such a cut it is inevitable that some people will have paid the full
rate in the months before the cut,
I paid at the £6 rate but even had I paid the full rate I don't think I'd be too
upset.
Are you sure price cutting is the answer?
As I understood it WMUK was already a bit peeved if people paid the lower rate via PayPal
because of PayPal taking a cut, so presumably the £5 rate will cause any Paypal sign-ups
to be virtually counter-productive, yet it would be my argument that Paypal's probably
the single biggest area ripe for growth in garnering funds.
I probably wouldn't have got my arse in gear to sign up if there had been no Paypal or
at least debit card option.
So I'll ask the question; if you decide to make the rate £5 are you going to remove
the Paypal payment option?
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