4 ms·

I don't have a document handy, but it is in Visa's merchant ToS (at the least, I don't know about other CC companies) that you can't actually charge a credit ca

I don't have a document handy, but it is in Visa's merchant ToS (at the least, I don't know about other CC companies) that you can't actually charge a credit card until the good they are paying for has been shipped to them. This is why when you order things online, your credit card is typically not charged (i.e. Apple pre-orders) until your item has shipped. IANAL so I don't know how certain things work such as Tesla deposits (what did they "ship" to you for $2,500?) and so on. But I've heard this is why Kickstarter can't do this directly. I'm sure there are ways around it, but something to keep in mind.

kbenson 13y ago
That doesn't seem to make sense. The funded parties generally aren't sending you anything immediately after it's funded either. You're backing a project which eventually may send you an item, after it's been created in some way.
shalmanese 13y ago
This is why Kickstarter is not a store. A pledge is not the purchase of a good, it's a donation towards a goal with an optional reward attached to it.
- xentronium 13y ago
  I doubt it's a donation. Who can accept donations is highly regulated because taxes.
  - jimktrains2 13y ago
    Who can accept tax exempt donations is highly regulated. You can donate or gift money to anyone, you just may not be able to make it tax deductible.
  - jrochkind1 13y ago
    Not true. Anyone can accept donations, in the US anyway. (Are there really other countries that prevent you from giving money to someone?). The receiver will have to pay income taxes on the donations; and the giver will not be able to deduct the donation on their own income taxes. That's what requires special status. This actually makes me realize I never thought about how people have to pay income tax on what they receive via kickstarter; I can't think of any reason they wouldn't. http://www.kickstarter.com/help/taxes http://www.kickstarter.com/help/taxes
    - aidenn0 13y ago
      Assuming the people running the kickstarter campaigns are running a business, they only need to pay taxes on net income. I imagine most kickstarter campaigns go through the money fairly quickly so that's probably not typically a problem.

kbenson 13y ago

That doesn't seem to make sense. The funded parties generally aren't sending you anything immediately after it's funded either. You're backing a project which eventually may send you an item, after it's been created in some way.

shalmanese 13y ago

This is why Kickstarter is not a store. A pledge is not the purchase of a good, it's a donation towards a goal with an optional reward attached to it.

xentronium 13y ago
I doubt it's a donation. Who can accept donations is highly regulated because taxes.
- jimktrains2 13y ago
  Who can accept tax exempt donations is highly regulated. You can donate or gift money to anyone, you just may not be able to make it tax deductible.
- jrochkind1 13y ago
  Not true. Anyone can accept donations, in the US anyway. (Are there really other countries that prevent you from giving money to someone?). The receiver will have to pay income taxes on the donations; and the giver will not be able to deduct the donation on their own income taxes. That's what requires special status. This actually makes me realize I never thought about how people have to pay income tax on what they receive via kickstarter; I can't think of any reason they wouldn't. http://www.kickstarter.com/help/taxes http://www.kickstarter.com/help/taxes
  - aidenn0 13y ago
    Assuming the people running the kickstarter campaigns are running a business, they only need to pay taxes on net income. I imagine most kickstarter campaigns go through the money fairly quickly so that's probably not typically a problem.