I could go back a lot further but looks pretty consistent. Seems to me that a lot of the big customers like media companies that buy regular use Envato credits as it’s an easy way to buy in bulk across all marketplaces as has already been discussed, some like to buy on the fly for say…sound fx maybe? Others buy maybe one item at a time? But if you’ve topped up with credits? Your going to buy across the market places! That’s an incentive!!!
Dumping Envato credits is not going to help these people if they have to keep getting the company credit card out every five minutes!
It is true when searching for a music track most customers download the preview and when the project is finished buy a license, maybe one at a time or several? This could be added to the cart but from what I’ve been reading here customers want the convenience of being able to use credits! If this costs Envato money then maybe add the surcharge to the credit system which has already been mentioned, i wouldn’t like to presume but…if i were buying 100 credits for instance i wouldn’t have a problem with a 2 Dollar surcharge! I’m sure some customers won’t mind if this helps to make things more convenient.
To be fair though in the past @collis has been an active part of the forums…but Envato has grown massively since then and I’m sure he’s taking a well earned backseat now. I think it’s unfair to expect him to reply in the forums nowadays, that’s what you employ people for isn’t it? To do that job for you! but i have to say that it’s not the same company it was 5 yrs ago. A lot more frustration in the the forums nowadays is consistent and i don’t think Envato have helped themselves by making some poor decisions over the last couple of years (broadcast licences in Elements, still a poor search engine etc but i still have faith ) dumping credits has got to be one of the worst!
Please give customers the option to buy how they would like! Do what’s right for them that’s how any good business should work…give customers choices on how to pay! Don’t tell them how to pay!!! After all…Envato wants your business and the door is open to all you creatives! Isn’t it?
Sorry rant over!
As for the legality? This obviously applies in the UK and most parts of Europe but how those customers will see it remains to be seen?
Good point @simaudio. I hadn’t considered mentioning that here, even though this is exactly how I work and use (actually, I guess I should say “used”) Envato credits. I buy audio, video, photos and WordPress themes from Envato, and nearly all of my purchases have been made using credits.
Yes, some of my purchases were made using credits accumulated from my AudioJungle sales, but I spend more that I make here, so I would also purchase credits when I had used up those that had come from my sales.
Thanks dude @promosapien for chiming in…as an author and buyer your voice is paramount and you have that experience of being in both camps which is very important in this discussion! Glad you see my point
It just makes so much sense to have credits…if a customer is able to buy a 100 credits they can spend this across all market places when they like and not all at once, convenience that’s what matters here…for customers! This gives customers an incentive to return and top up.
The credit system should be one of those things that helps to make Envato Great!
But you need to understand how people buy. If I’m buying a theme for a client, that’s one transaction, if I do 6 photos for another that’s another transaction…and then maybe a video asset for another. Yes it’s a fee per transaction but the way most of us shop for our clients and to keep our costs organized is that we buy one at a time for many people. We essentially are paying a fee for nearly every item. Bulk buying themes and videos and photos for multiple clients isn’t practical at all.
This change just makes it harder for customers. Nobody want’s to have to plan out there cart to avoid some bogus handling fee.
Fees are annoying on there own, removing an efficient way to purchase items even more frustrating. Even though the change was only to remove credits, customers are now being forced to deal with two very off putting factors at the same time.
I think Envato is over estimating customer loyalty. As we’ve seen, customers who’ve come here for years are immediately dismissing the entire market based on this change. And why wouldn’t they? there are soooo many other options these days that don’t make you jump through hoops to avoid being punished by fees.
Really? There will be NO payment options that don’t include a handling fee? Time to start looking for themes elsewhere… that’s just ridiculous that you’re being charged a fee for any and all purchases.
Of course, I do understand but the fact is still that the transaction fee is applied per transaction and not per each individual item. Therefore, I was simply correcting the statements that come along or leave the impression that this is added to each individual purchase. There are quite a lot of buyers that bulk purchase items and having the information spread out that the fee is per item and not per transaction can make this situation stickier. I never said it to offend you or your spending habits on the market. Cheers!
Interesting, this probably then apply to entire EU, meaning Envato is breaking EU laws? Not sure if it does, but they could be braking at least German laws.
Interesting, did not know about the particular law.
I posted about this earlier (see previous link to UK Gov website) It is law in the EU but Envato aren’t breaking any laws in the EU as this only applies to countries within the EEA. They have no control over other countries applying fees.
Paragraph taken from their article;
The ban on credit and debit card surcharges is effective across the EU from Saturday 13th January 2018, and will apply to all purchases made where the banks of the consumer and retailer are within the EEA. In the vast majority of other circumstances surcharges are capped at the cost to the retailer for processing the payment. The UK Government took the decision to also include other payment methods such as PayPal in the ban to further protect consumers.
Yes. To ensure merchants are given a reasonable opportunity to recover the costs of accepting payments online, we’ve aligned with the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) new card scheme surcharging standard.
If you choose to, you can surcharge up to the average fee you’re charged per transaction by PayPal over a 12 month period. However, we don’t recommend you do surcharge your customers. Adding a surcharge can significantly increase your abandonment rates and, in turn, your ability to grow your online business.
Any surcharge you apply may only be expressed as a percentage of the sale total, not a fixed dollar amount.
We have spent a 5-figure amount on Envato as it has been our primary source of stock footage and templates for many years now. The number one reason - even more than quality - was the credit system. There are three people in our company owning a business credit card, but the account is used by more than ten employees and freelancers.
The credit system is the only way to let everyone work flexibly while maintaining a secure cap on the amount spent.
You just removed this number one reason.
We will take most of our dollars elsewhere now.
PS: We used both “Buy Now” and the shopping cart with the credit system, you shouldn’t take the “Buy now” option as a reference.
Envato, what option in the Envato Market are you giving now to companies that have employees to buy items and don’t want to give access to their credit card and paypal password. Once now employees either have to use their bosses credit card and paypal password or asking the boss every time they need to buy something.
Hi @jamesgiroux will Envato adress this issue on Envato Market?
Adding the 2$ fee before purchasing (LIKE IT WAS ONCE) could be very beneficial once again!
A small Label that says “2$one time fee” or something like this
There’s the chance the buyer will buy other stuff knowing there’s a 1 time fee
Hello @rheinklang you are totally right, please I ask you if you are able to wait for Envato response to this issue before leaving this market, I think they will adress this issue as this is a very important matter. Thank you!
) dumping credits has got to be one of the worst!