[satvikpendem]

I invested $1,000 in Gumroad back when they did the public fundraise, and I got back ~$70 so far. At this rate it'll take multiple years to break even, much less earn a multiplier. But oh well, I liked the Gumroad team so I wasn't looking for much of a profit anyway.

Related, I thought it was hilarious how so many creators on Twitter publicly stated they were leaving Gumroad when the 10% fee change was enacted, only to have the fee actually be a success. It's Netflix all over again, it just goes to show how the internet and the people on it create a vast but very vocal minority of opinions that are not worth listening to in the real world. Anyone worth listening to is not shitposting on Twitter and other social media.

[Aurornis]

> I invested $1,000 in Gumroad back when they did the public fundraise, and I got back ~$70 so far. At this rate it'll take multiple years to break even, much less earn a multiplier. But oh well, I liked the Gumroad team so I wasn't looking for much of a profit anyway.

It's great that you wanted to fund the company with no expectation of return, but this is a perfect example of what contractors would need to consider when they choose to trade some of their compensation for equity.

[satvikpendem]

Indeed, I would've made more money if I put it into VTI. It's always tenuous to hold equity in such companies, especially at a 100 million dollar valuation which means my 1k would become 10k at most if Gumroad reaches a billion dollar valuation, which might be quite a while from now.

[ta1243]

> it just goes to show how the internet and the people on it create a vast but very vocal minority of opinions that are not worth listening to in the real world

I saw this criticism of Twitter, way before Musk bought it, possibly even before Trump became president. This [0] story from 2018 was about journalists paying too much attention

It does feel like Twitter and Facebook are shadows of their former selves though - partly because on the rare days I go to facebook, it rarely has anything on from humans, partly because it's not covered in news that "Blah Blah said Blah on Platform". That's a good thing.

I'm uncertain what drives Meta's continual growth

[0] https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/journalists-on-twitter-s...

[lotsofpulp]

Instagram and WhatsApp are very popular. Also, Facebook marketplace.

[jjice]

Sorry, but to confirm, they charge a 10% flat fee and that's it? That's insanely good compared to every other platform I've seen for any type of commerce. Sure, Amazon, Apple, and the like also help offer exposure and some other services, but 10% flat seems completely worth it until you hit a critical mass where it makes sense to handle things yourself. I imagine that number is very high though.

[asicsp]

10% flat fee + payment processing fee (2.9% + .30c IIRC) - it works out to about 16% for a $10 product. That is still better than comparable ebook platform like Leanpub which charges 20%.

[zrn900]

> That's insanely good compared to every other platform I've seen for any type of commerce

I think Patreon has better rates and now they have commerce.

[Wytwwww]

> Sure, Amazon, Apple, and the like also help offer exposure and some other services

Considering you'd only be paying Apple 15% (I doubt many people on Gumroad are making more than $1 million) it still seems like a relatively good deal in comparison.

[satvikpendem]

Well it was more so compared to LemonSqueezy which is 5% or Stripe Checkout which is 3%. But I believe both don't offer hosting of the actual products such as ebooks or videos while Gumroad does.

[omnimus]

LemonSqueezy didnt exist when Gumroad changed the pricing. Lemon has some hidden fees on top of the 5% but they are a lot cheaper. Stripe checkout is not Merchant of Record so completely different product.

The company that was (still is) eating Gumroad is Paddle that have true 5% + 50¢ pricing.

Gumroad, Lemon, Paddle all do digital files fulfilment. Paddle wont give you website just pay links / overlay. I guess thats main reason why some people choose Gumroad/Lemon over Paddle.

[satvikpendem]

LemonSqueezy was founded in 2020. Gumroad changed their pricing to a flat 10% on January 31, 2023, as stated in the article.

Yes, Paddle is also a competitor but my main point was that many people on social media thought Gumroad was too expensive yet it turns out no sellers in the real world actually cared. The benefits of Gumroad (apparently to them) outweigh the extra 5% they pay.