Changes to Pattern Prices, a Follow-up

When I posted on Instagram about the forthcoming changes to prices, there were a few queries, and I want to follow up on some questions - hopefully I can clear a few things up!

Image description: the crown of the Rhinebeck Hat is featured, shown in teal and variegated autumnal shades. with lines of stitches radiating out from the centre.⁠

My prices haven't increased in over 3 years. In that time my business has changed & I've needed to take on extra help, which in turn means costs have increased. I can't keep absorbing that. I make minimum wage & we survive because I spend nearly 300 hours a month working.

This increase is not because of taxes. I mentioned that my prices are tax-inclusive as a reminder that no-one will be paying extra where possible - but that isn't the reason for the increase. Taxes, like any business cost, have to be taken into account, but my prices have always been tax-inclusive.

Knitting pattern prices have been kept artificially low, the majority of Hat patterns are still given away for free. It's soul destroying seeing this happen, as if somehow a Hat pattern doesn't take time or effort to develop, as if it cannot be unique or of value.

Hat pattern prices vary greatly, to only look at one market or demographic for comparison is a bit of a trap. Take into account the differences in content or support between designers & publishers and it gets even trickier, not to mention varying business costs, experience, fees & tax set-ups.

A lot of time has been spent considering my options before coming to this decision. There are designers charging more for their Hat patterns, & there are designers charging less, but again - our work varies so much & comparing what we charge is counter-productive.

I hadn't mentioned it previously but Patreon rewards will change to reflect the price increase & there's the option of annual memberships for folks who'd like an additional discount or don’t want the worry of monthly payments. And as always, The Woolly Hat Society is free to join & members receive exclusive discounts & early access to free patterns.

As someone who's been priced out of things my entire life, I totally get folks concerns & how it can feel like yet another thing is financially out of reach. I've put a lot of thought into this because I want to keep my prices as fair as possible for everyone. But we need to remember that financial accessibility isn't a one-way street.

Changes to Pattern Prices

There's a change that we need to tell you about, and I've popped in today to talk through the details.⁠

Image description: the crown of the Pavone Hat is featured, shown in purple, with what appears to be droplets of stitches radiating out from the centre.⁠

From 4th October the cost of my patterns and eBooks will change. The new prices will be as follows:⁠
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Single patterns: $9/€7/£6⁠
< 10 pattern eBooks: $23/€19/£17⁠
= 10 pattern eBooks: $25/€21/£18⁠
> 10 pattern eBooks: $27/€23/£19⁠
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These prices are inclusive of taxes - which means where possible, I pay the VAT, GST or sales tax. Not every platform allows me do that, and once the new site is ready I'll have much more control over various settings and will encourage you all to shop there to avoid paying extra! I mention this as it's important to me that everyone pays the same wherever they happen to live.⁠
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I've been reluctant to increase prices for many reasons but I can't afford to keep them as low as they are. Financial accessibility still concerns me and if you'd like to help with that then do consider supporting me over on Patreon - patron support goes towards creating more new free patterns and tutorials, and translating my patterns into more languages. You can also purchase Community Fund patterns, which help me offer deeper discounts on new releases.⁠
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Going forward I'm going to try and review prices once a year, it's not ideal to leave it another 3 years or so.⁠
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If you've any questions I'll do my best to answer them!⁠

Payhip and Digital VAT part 3

You may feel that this next post in our series on #Payhip and #VATmoss doesn't apply to you if you're not a designer, creator or store owner based within the EU, but we suggest having a read through anyway as it could be mighty helpful.⁠

Image Description: the words "Payhip & digital VAT - part 3" are written across the crown detail of my Arkanoid pattern.

Digital VAT is a B2C tax, meaning there doesn't need to be any VAT charged between businesses. Furthermore, VATmoss, or digital VAT, can't be claimed back or offset in the same way that tangible VAT can, so once it's collected that's it. Given that many platforms over or incorrectly charge digital VAT, you can maybe appreciate why we thought these tips could be of use!⁠
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This option is a lesser known option within the Payhip store and it won't cost you anything at all but it could earn you more sales.⁠
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Account > Account Settings > Taxes > "Redeem EU VAT company numbers"⁠
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What this does is simply allow your customer to add their VAT number, if they have one, so that VAT then isn't charged.⁠
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It doesn't matter whether you've set your base price to include VAT or not - if Payhip are handling the VAT then this option won't cost you anything but it could save your customer money, which is always a win.⁠
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Mostly though, it'll build goodwill. It'll save VAT registered businesses paying VAT that doesn't need to be paid.⁠ It's something Woolly always appreciates, and it nearly always results in repeat purchases. And it's just one check box within your store settings!⁠
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Ravelry haven't enabled an option like this despite EU law and Etsy are even further behind in their handling of digital VAT, so this is definitely a win for Payhip.⁠
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VAT is neither straightforward or easy, yet you don't need to be an expert to implement these useful steps, as Payhip have done all the work and made it easier for you.⁠
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We hope these posts have been helpful, even if VAT isn't your favourite subject?⁠

eta/ this post was updated on 11th March 2022 with a new post graphic. The image shows the crown of my Arkanoid pattern.

Payhip and Digital VAT part 2

And here's our next post about VAT options within Payhip! We know VAT is rarely a favourite subject but we're keen to share and help designers who have a store on Payhip, and encourage more to consider it.⁠

Image Description: the words "Payhip & digital VAT - part 2" are written across the crown detail of my Erica pattern.

When VATmoss first came into being, the rates across the EU were pretty consistent. Since then, many countries have realised that charging such high rates is punitive and is having a negative impact on digital sales and small creators. Their aim, after all, was to target the tech giants - they didn't think about the millions of nano digital businesses.⁠
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In light of this, governments are reviewing their rates. The rules aren't easy to follow by any means, but eBooks are treated pretty consistently throughout Europe and many countries now have a lower rate for them - they're zero rated in the UK and Norway, for instance.⁠
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What counts as an eBook or ePublication is still up for debate but if you have an ISBN, or it's a collection or book of some kind, or is a reasonable chunk of pages, then Payhip has an option for you!⁠
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Edit Digital Product > Advanced Options > "Product is an ebook"⁠
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This option can make the difference between 22% VAT being charged or 9% VAT, or 20% and zero. Regardless of whether you set your store to have VAT added on top of your price or included in it, ⁠it's going to ensure that your customers, or you, are not paying more than is needed.⁠
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Use this option wisely, it won't help anyone to abuse it. Doing some research on what is classed as an eBook, or getting advise from an accountant, is in your best interests.⁠
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Currently we're in the process of getting all Woolly Wormhead patterns ISBNs, the collections already have them, purely for accounting purposes. Who knew that single knitting patterns could fit the ISBN criteria? Exactly! Not all knitting patterns will, but it's worth looking into, regardless of the size of your business.⁠

eta/ this post was updated on 11th March 2022 with a new post graphic. The image shows the crown of my Erica pattern.

Payhip and Digital VAT part 1

Payhip manages VATmoss for creators and sellers of digital items, which is one big plus in their favour. They're the platform, they have to!⁠

Image Description: the words "Payhip & digital VAT - part 1" are written across the crown detail of my Concentricity pattern.

But did you know they're pretty VAT-savvy and offer store owners a number of VAT options?⁠
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1) if you're a VAT registered business and wish to manage the VAT yourself, you can!⁠
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This option means you can either let Payhip handle everything and you receive the amount after VAT OR you can decide to do it all yourself and they provide the information you need.⁠ There may be many reasons to handle it yourself, one being the ever changing VAT rates and making sure no-one is paying more tax than they need to. Or wanting to avoid extra platform fees associated with VAT handling.⁠
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Account > Account Settings > Taxes > "Let Payhip handle digital products EU VAT automatically for you"⁠
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2) if you'd prefer to offer pricing that includes the VAT, then that's an option too.⁠
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All stores legally have to show the price inclusive of VAT at every point - they're not allowed to add it on at checkout as they might sales tax. ⁠
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But this option is a choice between you as a store owner paying the VAT or your customer paying it. Put another way, it's whether you set a baseline price and it be the same for all EU customers, or whether you let the system add the VAT on top of your baseline price, where the amount is dependent on your customer's country rate.⁠
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This can be a heated topic that comes up a lot and we're not going to get into it here but if you'd prefer to have your customers pay the same regardless of where they live then you can! And that's really refreshing, as many platforms don't provide this option.⁠
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Account > Account Settings > Taxes > "Include taxes within product price"⁠
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We'll share some more tips over the next few posts that could help prevent VAT over-payment, which can only be a good thing, right?⁠

eta/ this post was updated on 11th March 2022 with a new post graphic. The image shows the crown of my Concentricity pattern.