Designer FAQ
by mikelissDesigner's FAQ
Things and Thingiverse Apps
- How do I remove my Thing from use with an App ?
- How do I opt out of an App?
- How does my license affect app usage?
- I have a design, but there are now 50 remixes because users have used an app to edit/customize my design, what's up with that?
Designer Tips
- What are Designer Tips?
- How do I receive tips?
- What about customized things? Who gets the tip if someone purchases a Thing that is the product of a customizable Thing?
- Is there a way to make only one of your Things require a tip, but not all of them?
- Is Thingiverse making money off my designs?
- If a user tips me $1 do I get the full $1 tip?
- What's the rationale for tip amounts being in fixed values? ($1, $3, $5, $8, $13, $21)
- Why is the minimum tip amount for user-to-user tipping set to $3?
- How do I know if someone tips me?
- Why are my tips paid out monthly?
- Why was the tip amount I was paid out less than the actual tip I was tipped?
- How do I export my tip transactions for accounting or other purposes?
- Am I responsible for taxes on tips?
- For Thingiverse Apps tipping, the tip I recieve is sometimes lower than the mandatory tip amount I requested, why does that happen?
- Someone stole my design and is making tips off of it. What can I do / How do I report it?
Things and Thingiverse Apps
How do I remove my Thing from use with an App ?
Thingiverse is a community of makers, hobbyists, educators, professionals, and many others who all have a passion for turning digital designs into real life objects via 3D printing and other methods! Thingiverse allows its community members to upload, share, and discuss digital designs and projects.
Go back to the topHow do I opt out of an App?
Things are digital designs/files and instructions that can be turned into a real life physical object.
Go back to the topHow does my license affect app usage?
Collections operate like folders and allow users to save Things they might be interested in for future use and organize them into different collections.
Go back to the topI have a design, but there are now 50 remixes because users have used an app to edit/customize my design, what's up with that?
Remixes are digital designs that have been "remixed", or modified in some way, from an original digital design. Users are free to remix other user's digital designs as long as the license on the original design allows for derivatives.
Go back to the topDesigner Tips
What are Designer Tips?
Designers can now receive money for their work via 2 different methods: Thingiverse Apps or User-to-User Tipping. Since Thingiverse Apps now allow payment for services, we ensured designers could receive a share of revenue when their design is used in a purchase. To do this, we've introduced designer payments where designers can receive a payment when their Thing is used in a purchase. These payments can be setup as either a mandatory payment or optional tip, which would let the customer leave a tip if they choose to. Users can also tip each other directly with User-to-User Tipping. User-to-User Tipping is optional and cannot be made mandatory. We at Thingiverse believe that 3D designs should always be available to download for free, and therefore User-to-User tipping will always be optional. 100% of designer payments will always go to the designer, minus transaction fees, if applicable (see question below for more details).
Go back to the topHow do I receive tips?
You will need to link your PayPal account to your Thingiverse Account (available in your Users Settings under "App Settings"). You will receive payment via PayPal at the beginning of each month for the previous month's earnings.
Go back to the topWhat about customized things? Who gets the tip if someone purchases a Thing that is the product of a customizable Thing?
We believe the majority of the work and creativity of a customized Thing comes from the creator of the customizable Thing itself. Therefore, customized Things are considered an extension of the original customizable Thing, and any tips earned in a commercial transaction will go to the creator of the original customizable Thing.
Go back to the topIs there a way to make only one of your Things require a tip, but not all of them?
No. Currently, requiring a tip applies to all designs on your user account
Go back to the topIs Thingiverse making money off my designs?
All tips go to designers. For Thingiverse Apps purchases, Thingiverse charges the developers a fee, but it is only subtracted from the developer's earnings, not from the designer's percentage.
Go back to the topIf a user tips me $1, do I get the full $1 tip?
It depends on how you received the tip. Yes, you will receive the full $1 tip if the tip is received during a Thingiverse App purchase since the developer of the app is responsible for payment processing fees. If the tip is a User-to-User Tip, you will receive the $1 minus payment processing fees, which unfortunately, can be substantial, especially for small amounts PayPal charges 2.9%+$0.30 per transaction. We are currently in the process of trying to lower the fees by working with Paypal or others to use a new type of payment method and we'll announce more information once available.
Go back to the topWhat's the rationale for tip amounts being in fixed values? ($1, $3, $5, $8, $13, $21)
It's the fibonacci sequence :) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fibonacci_number
Go back to the topWhy is the minimum tip amount for user-to-user tipping set to $3?
Payment processing companies like to charge big fees. We determined that the minimum tip amount that gave as much money to the user, without losing an unreasonable amount to fees, was $3. For Thing Apps purchases, the total purchase amount is typically far higher than $3, so the restriction does not apply.
Go back to the topHow do I know if someone tips me?
You'll receive a notification via your Thingiverse Dashboard, as well as receive an email notification.
Go back to the topWhy are my tips paid out monthly?
Payment processing companies like to charge big fees. These fees occur every time a transaction occurs and we found that collecting tips and holding them until the end of the month led to the least amount of fees for you. Additionally, app purchases have a 30 day refund window where if an order is refunded, the tip received on that order is refunded as well. Due to this, Thingiverse has to keep the tip amount for the 30 day period in case of refunds.
Go back to the topWhy was the tip amount I was paid out less than the actual amount I was tipped?
Payment processing companies like to charge big fees that are not friendly for small amounts. We tried very hard to minimize these fees but they can still take a sizable portion of a tip amount, especially if the total tip amount you received in the past month was very low.
Go back to the topHow do I export my tip transactions for accounting or other purposes?
We are building this functionality at the moment. You will soon be able to export a CSV file containing your tip transactions by navigating to your Earning History on your Order History page and clicking "Export to CSV".
Go back to the topAm I responsible for taxes on tips?
Yes, if you receive income from tips on your designs, you are responsible for any taxes incurred.
Go back to the topFor Thingiverse Apps tipping, the tip I recieve is sometimes lower than the mandatory tip amount I requested, why does that happen?
Because app developers are responsible for payment processing fees which take a percentage of the payment amount, if a tip amount is much larger than the order amount during a purchase, the developer might lose money when taking transaction fees into account. To ensure developer's don't ever lose money on a transaction, we dynamically cap tips based upon the total order amount.
Go back to the topSomeone stole my design and is making tips off of it. What can I do / How do I report it?
On the Thing Page in question, report the Thing using the "Report Thing" button on the Thing's page. Our Community Manager will follow up and take it down and we will investigate any withholding of payments.
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