-> About IMVU's new changes! <-

by **ViciousPassion** Fri Apr 10, 2015 12:08 pm

As some of you may have noticed, imvu made some changes regarding credits and money transactions. You may read Imvu's announcement in detail here {Link}

- Long story short:
* Imvu closed all credit reseller websites. From now on you can only buy/sell credits from imvu.com
* Imvu does not provide an option to sell credits like reseller websites did. You may chose to receive credits or money with every product sale. However credit transfers are not converted to money. The "selling credit" rate is 4$ per 10.000 credits
* If you chose to receive money instead of credits you must fill the appropriate taxation forms and send them to imvu via help ticket. Imvu will also ask you for your tax id. If you fail to provide it imvu will be withholding 30% of your incoming credits for the IRS. For more details about the process read imvu's announcement.
* You may withdraw your collected money only to your PayPal account and only for minimum 50$.

- How this change affects file sellers/buyers.
Since credit transfers are not converted to money and cannot be sold to imvu we decided to currently allow PayPal transactions. However we encourage you to use sticker payments instead of Paypal. As stated in our ToS we are not responsible for any transaction gone bad therefor you are responsible of your account safety. Imvu is working to resolve this issue.

Important Notes:
- Imvu does not allow users to sell/buy credits from each other.
- Credits you already have can be sold to credits resellers until April 12th (if you find any resellers buying credits).
- Credits you already have cannot be converted to real money. If you cannot find a reseller to buy your credits you can create a sticker and buy it from yourself. This will count as a product sale and will convert your credits into money.
- You may withdraw the money you collected at minimum of 50$ and only once a month. Imvu states that if you withdraw your money more than once a month might charge you with 30$.

We understand that most of you may not like the new changes (400 pages of complains within 48 hours proves that).
You may sign the petition here {Link}

If you have any questions feel free to ask.

by MidnightRaven Fri Apr 10, 2015 1:05 pm

Thank you Vicious for outlining this for us. I have read in detail the Changes being implemented by IMVU and have already signed the Petition and commented as well. I think it is incredibly sad that Our Creators,Designers,Developers and Resellers, which we are fortunate to have the best, are having what is an "Income" to most effected in this manner. And worse still is that we stand to lose so many of these talented members. I myself would like to thank all of them, yourself included Smile

, for all the help, encouragement and advice that you have all given to us still learning, so freely. So a BIG Thank You from me to you all

~ MidnightRaven ~

by Gawth Fri Apr 10, 2015 3:24 pm

Thank you for being flexible with your policies Vicious. Please keep us updated if your rules change in future! This really hits hard for file sellers and even buyers, especially those who use it for assisting their income a little.

by **ViciousPassion** Fri Apr 10, 2015 3:26 pm

I understand the needs of file sellers as I am one myself and my imvu income is very important for me as it helps me in real life. Im sure many creators feel the same.

by Gawth Fri Apr 10, 2015 3:40 pm

ViciousPassion wrote:I understand the needs of file sellers as I am one myself and my imvu income is very important for me as it helps me in real life. Im sure many creators feel the same.

Of course, I remember that too, that you use it to help you in real life also. Though may I suggest you add in that Paypal details are to be exchanged privately so there is less chance of fraude? If you haven't already Smile

by **Lapin** Fri Apr 10, 2015 4:02 pm

Much like GASR, We are not responsible for fraudulent payments, we are just a platform to sell on, so users should be handle payments and paypal information as they see fit, since paypal itself is very secure, just having the email is little value to access the accounts as they are very strict in their policies.

by Gawth Fri Apr 10, 2015 4:05 pm

Lapin wrote:Much like GASR, We are not responsible for fraudulent payments, we are just a platform to sell on, so users should be handle payments and paypal information as they see fit, since paypal itself is very secure, just having the email is little value to access the accounts as they are very strict in their policies.

Truth but even if not monitoring it would make users who would not think about that become a little more aware of the dangers involved =/

by **Lapin** Fri Apr 10, 2015 4:10 pm

As i said, it is up to users to make their own choices on how to divulge their paypal information, if they choose to use that method.

We are not, nor have, nor will, ever be responsible for how payments are carried out.
The most we can do is ban a user from the forum and suggest the best way to repair the problem either with IMVU or, now, with Paypal.
Should a user choose to make their paypal information private, that is their choice, however personally i have never had issues with Paypal so having my paypal information public does not worry me as i know paypal is its own entity specifically towards hosting money and as such it is much more secure than any security we could offer as it is their intended purpose, as even private transactions can still go wrong.
So either way, it should not be a rule, but up to the user themselves, as there has always been a small risk in selling anything, paypal is no different than sending credits with a persons username, however it is more protected.

by **Asylum** Fri Apr 10, 2015 4:11 pm

There is no possible way for Fraud to happen with an open paypal email address? They can't force paypal to send them money on your behalf, nor can they send you money and then say it was fraudulently sent without your knowledge. Paypal makes you aware of everything and does nothing without your consent. In fact, if it's out in the open it's less likely to be fraudulent, because fraud is secretive. The only issue with paypal right now is that not every country can use it, which over all means those that can't will not be able to profit from IMVU anyway.

by Gawth Fri Apr 10, 2015 4:14 pm

Well it was a suggestion, not really a rule. Real life details show up in Paypal transactions, such as someone's real name. If that were in a screenshot, it'd be showing private information publicly. It is not so much due to hacking, more that.

Anywho, just some food for thought, no biggy ^^

by **Lapin** Fri Apr 10, 2015 4:16 pm

Many screenshot programs allow you to black out sections of your screenshot, however Paypal will email you for every transaction, and it will also show up in a log, so that is not really an issue if a person does feel uncomfortable posting their information public, though usually it is nothing more than their name.

by **Asylum** Fri Apr 10, 2015 4:16 pm

Unless you literally plan on stalking that person, their real name makes very little difference and I wouldn't be surprised if paypal had an option to hide personal details. All they'd have to do to get that info is file a DMCA on a useless product instead of dealing with your paypal info.

by Gawth Fri Apr 10, 2015 4:23 pm

Again, just a suggestion :3

by **ViciousPassion** Fri Apr 10, 2015 4:59 pm

Varsha wrote:UPDATE:

Based on your feedback, we are updating our Creator Agreement and Creator Policy to reflect the following:

Current policy text:

If a creator makes more than one request for payment of money amounts from IMVU in any 30 day period, IMVU reserves the right the charge the creator a payment service fee of US$30 per payment transaction, and IMVU is permitted to deduct the amount of such a service fee from the proceeds to be paid to the creator.

Will be changed to:

If a creator makes more than two request for payment of money amounts from IMVU in any 30 day period, IMVU reserves the right to charge the creator a payment service fee of US $5 per payment transaction, and IMVU is permitted to deduct the amount of such a service fee from the proceeds to be paid to the creator.

Again it is important to remember that no such fees are being charged. We will be monitoring the volume of payout requests and then make that decision later.

Thank you

by TheIridescentHollow Fri Apr 10, 2015 9:22 pm

Can someone explain to me what a "sticker" payment is?

by Gawth Fri Apr 10, 2015 9:53 pm

TheIridescentHollow wrote:Can someone explain to me what a "sticker" payment is?

A sticker payment is when you create a sticker in your catalog with a higher price, say, for example, I made a sticker and it had a 15,000cr profit, and someone wished to buy a file of mine worth 15k, they would buy that sticker and I'd receive the payment after it went through pend Smile

by **ViciousPassion** Sat Apr 11, 2015 12:00 am

Gawth wrote:
TheIridescentHollow wrote:Can someone explain to me what a "sticker" payment is?

A sticker payment is when you create a sticker in your catalog with a higher price, say, for example, I made a sticker and it had a 15,000cr profit, and someone wished to buy a file of mine worth 15k, they would buy that sticker and I'd receive the payment after it went through pend

What he said. People start using the sticker payments when imvu applied the limits on credit transfers resulting in many users not being able to transfer credits. However if I'm correct imvu gets a cut on sticker sales like every other product.

by **Lollirot** Sat Apr 11, 2015 3:40 am

I would like to add that there have been several changes made today alone and, there will probably be more for a few more days. IMVU Staff is well aware of the outrage and is in fact reading most of the thread posts in the correct location; and is attempting to answer and document to later answer concerns.

A change we should all be aware of is this:
- IMVU allows one withdrawal of a minimum amount of $50 per month. The fee of $30 has been switched to a fee of $5 instead; and a note has been added that this fee is NOT in effect for the time being. It will depend on the volume of withdrawals going on.

We have also been informed there will also be NO currency converting. Meaning you may not trade Credits out for another Virtual World income, such as Linden. And while we can still freely trade our Credits between users - it has NOT been addressed if there will be limits we can send each other on top of a monthly limit in general.

You MAY juggle between Cash Payout, and Credit Payout as you like - or it has been stated we will be able to. This will make sure you do not have to purchase credits to have submission fee's and so on.

by TrixxiMoonZhadow Sun Apr 12, 2015 11:53 pm

I have signed the petition as well. This is just outrageous. They are monopolizing credit sales to just them. It's illegal to monopolize. They are just too pricey and not to mention if you have a low credit score Paypal denies you their service access. I know because I was just recently denied after buying credits from a reseller recently because my credit score was too low.

by **Lollirot** Mon Apr 13, 2015 12:00 am

There is no legality in monopolizing on virtual income; it is not USD.
As well, it seems that due to the IRS changes - ReSellers would in fact be breaking the law.
We can only wait for more answers this week.

by **ViciousPassion** Mon Apr 13, 2015 2:18 am

Indeed Lollirot. I'm not arguing that this change had to be made. I simply think that imvu handled it unprofessionally and without respect to us. A professional imvu would run a survey first asking all the critical questions and feedback (if they had they would already had a solution for file sellers and art sellers and they would know that 4$ per 10k is too low rate). Then they would decide what exactly they should do and it would happen smoothly. Now what they did is like dropping a bomb. They scared us away, panicked us, confused us.

If you have noticed every time we talk about a forum change, Im always thinking what the majority of our members want. As a file seller I have sent many surveys to my vips because I respect them and value their opinion. Thats the right behavior. Without file buyers, there would be no file sellers.

What would happen if all creators decided to hide their products? Imvu would die. Not only we provide new products making imvu more interested for other users, but imvu also gets paid on everything we do (vip pass, submission fee, profit from every single sale we make) Yet imvu over the years never did one single change in creator's benefit. If I had to describe imvu with 2 words I would choose "greedy" and "ungrateful".

by MidnightRaven Mon Apr 13, 2015 5:31 am

Well it seems as if things are not being made difficult enough for Developers,creators and Artists alike, many File Sellers are now restricting their sales to cash only through Paypal. I can understand their point as well but it just means that now regular buyers from them will now be making their Purchases elsewhere until, they cannot purchase with credits anymore at all and that means goodbye to a great many more of the Developers. Sad but it is as I suspected when I first saw it having an awful snowball effect

by Lexx Tue Apr 14, 2015 4:36 pm

Thank you! I added paypal to mine for trusted customers.

by **ViciousPassion** Fri Apr 17, 2015 3:09 am

Update:

Varsha wrote:
All tickets are in our system. The fact that you are not seeing them (some of you) is a temporary glitch and we are resolving it. There is no need to file duplicate ones.

To restate my earlier clarification: If you do not wish to earn money for your sales and plan to continue to earn Credits, you do NOT have to verify your account. Soon, you will however have to sign the updated Creator Agreement and Creator Policy in order to continue creating.

There is no time limit to when you verify your account. You can do it today, next week or any time when you decide to start earning money.

Thank you

Varsha wrote:Clarifications about taxes:

REMINDER: This is informational and not meant to be tax advice. Forums are not to be used to seek or provide legal/tax-related assistance.

Account verification for US Creators:

You must provide your full name, physical address, Paypal ID and a completed and signed W-9 Form. Account verification includes a review of your submitted information, your account and catalog by our team.

Account verification for non-US Creators:

You must provide your full name, physical address and Paypal ID in order to request cash payouts irrespective of the tax documents as listed below. Account verification includes a review of your submitted information, your account and catalog by our team.

List of countries which have a tax treaty with the US. Check Pages 53 and 55.

If you are from a country with a tax treaty, then you must submit a completed and signed W-8BEN form in order to not be subject to 30% withholding.

If you are from a country with a tax treaty but your country does not provide a tax ID then you may apply to a US TIN.

If you are from a country with a tax treaty but do not submit W-8BEN form your payouts will be subject to 30% withholding.

If you are from a country that does NOT have a tax treaty, then there is no need to submit a W-8BEN form. Your payouts will always be subject to 30% withholding.

Again, whether or not you submit a W-8BEN form, in order to verify your account you still need to provide your name, physical address, Paypal ID. That information and your account and catalog will be reviewed before you are verified.

Thank you

Varsha wrote:Update (good news)!

Effective immediately, any derivation fees that a Creator/mesher is paid when someone derives from their product will also be paid in cash if that Creator/mesher has elected to earn money.. This change is for such derivation fees going forward.

Thank you

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