Small Fortune - Shrink Fan Comics

[qzar9999]

Vincent, if I'm not mistaken, the reason certain subscription services (evidently including the Fan sites) don't take prepaid cards is because they can't be rebilled if there's no money on them.

[LK]

Do I interject with actual finance knowledge... hmmm...

Click: You do realize that Verotel isn't a billing solution based in the United States, right? Your bank probably flagged that company as a precautionary measure, especially if you don't make many overseas transactions. But who knows, maybe your bank is one of those Religious Freedom firms that judge you silently rather than provide you neutral service.

Clearing card blocks for Fraud or suspicious transactions usually entail "Did you authorize this transaction?", not "And what was the nature of your purchase?" Porn providers as a general rule don't put "THIS CHARGE WAS FOR PORN" on credit statements for many reasons.

As for not accepting gift cards, it is likely that Verotel, being outside the U.S., has blocked certain BINs as a risk item. I don't know how detailed BIN registries get on the type of cards that are accepted or denied, but you can always look up your card at BINBase and get some insight.

The real questions I have are what's keeping you from one of those nice, private credit cards like I have where you don't have to deal with any of that. I am not really interested in the answer nor is it any of my business, but "I buy prepaid cards for porn subscriptions" is telling of something a bit more interesting about you than about the billing company.

[ArcaneBEFan]

Hmmm... maybe I can't buy this comic, but I can buy Cabin Fever, Scale Model, Megan's Mini Mayhem 1: Backfire out of the link in qzar9999's signature.

Cezar's Comix - New 6/15! http://www.e-junkie.com/cezarscomix

[vincent_richter]

Oh fuck off Lore, I keep my private life private.
You can blast your preferences all over Facebook if you like, but my taste in porn is between me and my lover, not you and certainly not some bored worker at Citibank who can make a few bucks off my name.

Although, I can probably leave it at "I know how current your information is, how confident are you in mine when the name sounds that fake?"

[Doll-Elf]

How would anyone make a few bucks off your name? Generally the statements made on the credit billing are inane at best and sound boringly generic. They don't give actual names of the comics, or the website billed from.

[vincent_richter]

Of course I'm not talking specifically about my name, but anyone at a bank could tie Mothership back to a purchase made there, and they're not exactly known for caviar and fine china. Even "my" name sounds feasible, if not laughably contrived. That's the point: I take great pains to make sure only people I trust can tie my perversions back to "actual me", and exactly one other person here even knows part of that persona. The only other person who knows is someone who's already committing her life to helping make "us" work, and that's how it's going to stay.

[LK]

You should start using TOR then, wouldn't want any bored broadband employee tying your traffic to these sites. Maybe use a disposable e-mail address. Oh, and for god's sake, get off Google search engines!

Your activity isn't as hidden as you think and you overestimate how much any one person cares. You aren't immune to a DOX should someone care enough. But yeah, people who use Facebook or other social media for this are weird.

Major banks want as little to do with adult sites as possible. If you have ever tried to start your own business that accepts credit cards, you'd know. It is also why I find complaining about Paypal not allowing themselves to be used for adult content to be laughable. Fetishists hide their activity from others because of the social impact, why should PayPal have their brand damaged by being accepted at such fine establishments as Bangerz and CamGirlWhores4U?

[LK]

I don't get the disconnect where something considered illicit and socially unacceptable should be made more accessible just so you can have your fix. It is like you are a heavy consumer of heroin who doesn't get why you can't use your Bank of America card to get your over-the-counter dosage at Walgreens.

[qzar9999]

Originally Posted by LK

But who knows, maybe your bank is one of those Religious Freedom firms that judge you silently rather than provide you neutral service.

Credit where it's due, I'll admit I laughed at that one.

Originally Posted by LK

Clearing card blocks for Fraud or suspicious transactions usually entail "Did you authorize this transaction?", not "And what was the nature of your purchase?" Porn providers as a general rule don't put "THIS CHARGE WAS FOR PORN" on credit statements for many reasons.

And - what he said, Click. You're not going to have to call your bank and tell them "I want to buy porn." You'd only have to tell them not to block "Verotel."

Originally Posted by ArcaneBEFan

Hmmm... maybe I can't buy this comic, but I can buy Cabin Fever, Scale Model, Megan's Mini Mayhem 1: Backfire out of the link in qzar9999's signature.

Thanks for the plug! I hope you enjoyed my stuff.

[J Yubari]

Wow... there's a lot to respond to in this thread.

First things first, we are rolling out Paypal as a payment method this coming week. Integration is tricky but we already have it up and running for VoreFan and BDSMFan.

You should be able to sign up using debit, credit or gift cards via Verotel. I've contacted their client services department and they informed me that it should be OK. If it doesn't work it may be blocked by that specific card issuer, in which case you'd need to contact them to allow the payment to go through. Please note that some cards (like those branded with Disney characters) will not work since payments to adult-related services are not for young folks. Regular visa/mastercard gift cards should work. American Express is not accepted for adult-related services.

I totally understand some of you may want to avoid an awkward conversation with a phone representative about unblocking a payment -- but I doubt they care or even know what the payment is for. If anonymity is essential to you I suggest paying with bitcoin since it's "pseudo-anonymous" and the only info we will receive is a random bitcoin wallet address and your e-mail -- no name, address or any other identifying info.

I should also point out that we do our best to keep your information private (as per our privacy policy). We don't share or sell your information to anyone. We've implemented HTTPS (SSL) across our websites for an added layer of security.

tldr; paypal coming soon

Ok, carry on folks!

[ArcaneBEFan]

Originally Posted by qzar9999

Thanks for the plug! I hope you enjoyed my stuff.

I spend money on stuff when it's clearly of a high quality, and also exactly what I'm looking for. Which is why I buy everything BustArtist releases... I even bought his GTS comic (even though I don't care for GTS) because that's an artist I want supported.

Scale Model was the uncontested winner of the purchases. Would love to see a comic of that one.

Backfire was brief, but satisfying. The dialog was very solid, making it easy to focus on the artwork.

Both represented sort of iconic shrinking fantasies for me, and for that reason I was doubly satisfied with the purchase.

Cabin Fever is on my to-do list.

[ArcaneBEFan]

Originally Posted by J Yubari

tldr; paypal coming soon

Ok, carry on folks!

I will confess, my unfamiliarity with companies like ccbill or verotel did make me uncomfortable when I did register for Expansion Fan & Shrink Fan. And it was a contributing factor to me canceling. Being able to use Paypal definitely makes it easier to keep track of the subscription and adds to my sense of security in the transaction.

Though the other reason i unsubbed was... harder to pin down. The artwork and writing on all of your comics are definitely top-notch, no question there.

Power Patrol & Watch Your Tongue had the best shrinking scenes out of the whole site catalog, being the only two I REALLY enjoyed.. but at the same time I was really only happy with the shrinking scenes themselves. I couldn't justify a subscription based on that assessment, but I aaaaalmost just kept the subscription exclusively so I could get Small Fortune when it was released.

I know individual sales are not presently a thing, but I would happily pay $20 for a PDF of this comic. Otherwise....I suppose more comics written by Cezar Nix could be solid motivation to renew that subscription (once Paypal is implemented).