An idea about micro payments

Micropayments, Macropayments, Subscriptions, etc.

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Jake Thompson
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Post by Jake Thompson »

Hello everybody!
I just got done reading all the I can't stop thinking strips and I think I may have a solution to micropayments.
What if you could walk into your neighborhood comic store and buy an access card. These would be very similar to prepaid phone cards and would come in various amounts. Each site could have a window where you could enter your access code and it would deduct the appropriate amount from your card.
There would still be middle men such as the card company and a cut for retailers. But as a manager of a comic store and an up and coming creator of comics (soon to be web based)I think this system would work very well, especialy say each downloaded comic cost $ .25 and the creator recieved 15 cents with the remaining 10 cents covering the card manufacturer/processor and the retailer.
Suddenly we as retailers would have an immensly powerful tool with which to recomend new titles to skeptical shoppers, thusly opening peoples eyes to new things and possibly increasing hard copy sales as well. Also we as creators would be better off to do what we do best and create!
Let me know what you all think of this. We need to find a solution that fits us the fans retailers and creators not some corporate suit.
Hi folks I am Jake Thompson. I am the creator of Psycho comic clerk. A comic about working in a game and comic store. I have published one comic to date which was called Kiss of the Drow it was a black and white ashcan and was a pretty rough first atempt
box
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Post by box »

I like this idea.

I am not fond of the whole micropayment thing, mainly due to the often sited thought that everyone thinks their stuff is "worth a nickel." And that idea may kill the whole micropayments concept. But in the world of Micropayments, this one seems to have some substance.

The key to making it successful is to make sure everyone up and down the line can make some money on it. The guy who ran Coke years ago said that he wanted "everyone who touches our product to make money." This idea would let comic shops make a little money. The bank guys could make a little money. The creator might not share a percentage of what he transacted with the bank.

An alternative idea: The bank and the comic store might share a service fee, say $1.00 on a $10.00 card and when you make a purchase online, the creator would get all of the money.

The service charge would be small to the end user for the quantity of material he would get, but it would give everyone down the line incentive to spread it. (one of the keys to being successful with something.)



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: box on 2001-08-23 08:58 ]</font>
Tim Mallos
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Post by Tim Mallos »

Hmmm.
But now we're distributing cards instead of comics.

And someone has to decide they want contribute / pay for a comic, get up from their computer, find a comic store (if they are among the 99% of the population who have never had a desire to go in one), buy the card, go home, remeber to come back to the site and have the comic create in them the same desire to pay / contribute.

I understand the desire of a comic store owner to want something physical to sell. It just doesn't seem like the most direct path.

T
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Greg Stephens
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Post by Greg Stephens »

Moving this topic to the RC:Commerce forum.
Good morning! That's a nice tnetennba.
Jake Thompson
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Post by Jake Thompson »

On 2001-08-23 01:51, Jake Thompson wrote:
Hello everybody!
I just got done reading all the I can't stop thinking strips and I think I may have a solution to micropayments.
What if you could walk into your neighborhood comic store and buy an access card. These would be very similar to prepaid phone cards and would come in various amounts. Each site could have a window where you could enter your access code and it would deduct the appropriate amount from your card.
There would still be middle men such as the card company and a cut for retailers. But as a manager of a comic store and an up and coming creator of comics (soon to be web based)I think this system would work very well, especialy say each downloaded comic cost $ .25 and the creator recieved 15 cents with the remaining 10 cents covering the card manufacturer/processor and the retailer.
Suddenly we as retailers would have an immensly powerful tool with which to recomend new titles to skeptical shoppers, thusly opening peoples eyes to new things and possibly increasing hard copy sales as well. Also we as creators would be better off to do what we do best and create!
Let me know what you all think of this. We need to find a solution that fits us the fans retailers and creators not some corporate suit.
ming
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Post by ming »

i have a suggestion, i tought of using when i start my website(early next year).what we need is a bunch of creators, more importantly a bounch of comics...a growing bunch. what we do is impress the viewer enough to sell them credits via the net: 2,5,10 bucks maybe. vievers will use these credits to make micropayments.
they could use a credit card,or mail order, and as new methods of payment emerge we could incoperate them.

it's like a universal money changer.what do you guys think?

im thinking for the money i'll throw in a comic reader interface, sort of like a video game interface which records:credits,your collection,nevigation and stuff.
Jake Thompson
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Post by Jake Thompson »

I like the idea of useing an E-book to read and record comics. Maybee we could have quarter vending machines in the stores where you could download from a vast library of graphic litterature to an E-book if you dont have net access at home. Of course those of us that do would be able to download directly from the sites we visit.
Oh and in response to the earlier post about quality of content, that is the true beauty of micropayments. it allows a larger crowd to see and be exposed to new and unexpected stories
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