Sythe.org Player-Auctions Donation Center

I have been thinking about this for a while, about the whole donation aspect of Sythe, and while I realise the DNS list says: Paypal donations.
I see a way around that. Basically, what I'm proposing is:

A Sythe.org Player Auctions Donation Center.
This donation center would be run by an Admin / Global mod, and would be based on the secure trading site: www.playerauctions.com

The advantage of this, is that it would open up paypal donations to the public, meaning more income for "Sythe",
as well as more donations which could help to improve the site.

As I'm sure you're all aware, Player Auctions offers 100% security to it's customers, even when accepting paypal payments.
And my proposal is that a Player Auctions thread gets created with the name, "Sythe.org Donation Center",
which allows users to donate by paypal, which is obviously the biggest payment method available to the users.

I realise there are fees on Player Auctions, for example gold selling has the following fees: 9.99% + $2.
If a donation thread was to be created on sythe, the prices could be as followed:

$25 Donation = $32
$50 Donation = $60
$100 Donation = $115

Another option that FireZ's post made me think about is item selling:
For those mods who are contemplating this idea, what you would do is sell an item such as a needle.
The Sythe member is purchasing needles, in exchange for a donation package.

1 needle = $32 (Which equals a $25 donation package).
2 needles = $60 (Which equals a $50 donation package).
4 needles = $115 (Which equals a $100 donation package).

By doing this, even including the fees, you are receiving the same amount of donation money (if not more),
from the users as you would through any other form of donation.

I know this sounds complicated, but it really isn't too hard. By using the above prices, you are able to record proof, and therefor, prove that you have delivered.
When placing an order, there is a section for notes, (a perfect place for the user to include the sythe username they'd like upgraded).

Essentially, this is easier then RSGP donations, doesn't require the buy / sell aspect.

Thoughts / Improvements?

EDIT: To Matthew, here is some proof about the charge-back problem, directly from their customer support: http://i868.photobucket.com/albums/ab244/Rstrademe/PAConfirmation.png[/COLOR]​

 

If there is a Global or Admin willing to do this then I see no problem with it. Just like with the RSGP donations, there will be a lot of people who won't mind paying the %10 fee just for the ease of use of Paypal

 

This could be one possible way to solve the PayPal (not being trusted -> charge back) problem and to be honest with you it isn't a bad one ~ but someone also needs to take care of things such as: - who is paying what (what donator rank they want), the whole process of talking to a donator and making sure everything goes smooth ~ At this moment, it might be seen as an alternative (which I think it is) but you also have to look at problems that might stand up in the future.

Also the main problem/issue is it's mega 10% fee ~ as you are paying more and receiving less recognition, unless they are able to come up with different donor ranks.

 

Very convenient for those who have paypal.
You got my vote

 

If Sythe Admins or Mods are willing to take the time to sort out the payments, I see no problem with this.

Of course people will pay extra to have the convenience of Paypal.

 

I would support this no doubt.PayPal was one of the main aspect to donating to Sythe and I'm sure most people are willing to give up only 10% for PA fees. However the down side would be that it could be stressful for a mod or admin to run this but still could be done.

 

The way I see it, members of sythe wouldn't have an issue paying an extra 10% for the ease of paypal donations. This suggestion could either be a quick fix, or with tweaking, a permanent one.

Stressful, possible, although I can't imagine running Plznate's Donation Center, FireZ's Donation Center, or Spyike's Donation Center was an easy job, and I don't imagine this one would be, especially when trying to get it started. But if it is at all possible, it'd be a great boost for the site.

 

If they ever come back there is no reason to not run them through PA

 

This is possible, but if for some reason PlayerAuctions holds the payment ~ everyone is quite clear about the fact that they want proof, if this trade really took place (they require personal information + pictures of the trades) - I don't know how that would be possible, unless you fake it and send them fake pictures but again that opens up a whole new window of going against PlayerAuction's rules.

I am also 100% on this as PlayerAuctions sometimes holds payments for no reason ~ which they call "random checks" ~ It took PlayerAuctions, 3 weeks to release funds for some of the top traders I know here on Sythe, including myself.

 

You wouldnt trade gold, it would be needles, or fish or something meaningless that we could get millions and millions of with ease.

 

I'm sure with the creative team we have here, someone will be able to come up with a solution for this. This suggestion is only in the first stages, so I'm sure with a lot more support, there will be a remedy. I also don't think that there will be to many problems with customers complaining. The people on sythe, who want to donate generally are the type we'd like to keep active on the site. So I don't really see an issue with people claiming the never got their "RSGP". If they do, ban them.

This is one option. I'll try think of a way to incorporate it into the OP, and PM you JT.

 

Couldn't I ring up my credit card company and say I never made that purchase and they'll reverse and then sythe would get chargedback?

 

That's why you pay the PA fees. Player Auctions fights those kind of battles for you, and even if they lose, you keep your money. So that isn't an issue.

 

So If I donate $200 to sythe and ring my credit card company and charge back - player auction would help me (the guy who charged back) >___>. And I don't get what fees have to do with it.

 

no, he meant the seller, PA would help the seller fight the chargeback.

 

But you can't win against somebody calling the credit card company :/. They just take it back.

 

In this case, PA loses out. I know that they pursue any successful charge-backs with legal action. You as the seller aren't effected by chargebacks made by the buyer. So in the case of this example, the Sythe representative will still receive the money. When I described the fees, I meant that PA takes a certain fee for every payment they verify, by doing this they make enough money to be able to operate, even with payments being chargedback.

Hope I cleared that up.

 

Just to work out they PA send money it goes like this: You send PA $200 (for example) it goes into their money holding (I don't know what to call it) and then they send it to Sythe.org (taking out the fee)?

 

This is actually a pretty good idea. I'll direct Matthew to this, and if he likes the idea, I'd be willing to do this for the site.

 

Somewhat yeah. I'll explain it for you now.

You create an order, and send the money to Player Auctions. They then "verify the payment", meaning they deem it safe, and once that has happened, they let the seller know, the seller delivers the product, both buyer and seller confirm, upon confirmation, they send the payment to the seller, while taking their fee.

Thanks, I've also thought of something else, which I will investigate, and add to the OP if it's worth it.