Tag: skype cam girls and money

Payment Processing for Skype Cam Girls: Update

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New Fees for Skype Cam Girls

Not all change is for the better, and the latest development in the arena of payment processing for skype cam girls sucks. Those of you who have independent skype cam girl merchant accounts already know this, but for those skype cam girls out there who are weighing the pros and cons of different payment processing options before making the leap, know that Mastercard has now decided to charge an annual $500 fee per merchant account for the ability to offer this particular credit card option. Combined with the annual $500 Visa fee, upfront charge of $750 and per-sale payment processing costs that typically range from 10-15%, we’re talking a significant chunk of change per year, solely for the privilege of offering Visa and Mastercard payment options to our cam sex customers.

 

Options for Skype Cam Girls That Do Not Involve Annual Fees

Luckily there are ways around these new skype cam girl merchant account fees. Zombaio is one payment processing option that involves no upfront or annual fees for credit card processing and has low processing rates by adult industry standards. It’s a service I recommend highly. The drawbacks, as I’ve explored before here, are that the installation of Zombaio can be quite tricky if their automatic installation system won’t work on your site, and payouts must process for a full month before being sent out. It’s not an ideal solution for those skype cam girls who rely on quick payouts.

One positive thing I’ve noticed about Zombaio is that over the past couple of years it’s become far more well-known amongst customers and potential customers. This is important because many guys are a bit wary of using a total unknown (to them) payment method, and it wasn’t too long ago that many guys only felt safe using a well-known system like CCBill. I’ve definitely noticed that over the past couple of years more and more new customers feel comfortable using Zombaio, perhaps because many mainstream cam sites use non-CCBill options so they are growing accustomed to trying other systems, but either way this is good news for independent camgirls who want to process their own payments without paying a ton of money to Visa and Mastercard for the privilege of doing so. Zombaio is my first choice processor and I’ve been happily using it to book high volumes of business for almost a year now.

You can also join an independent skype cam girl listing site and use that site’s payment processor, but the drawback here is that sites that do not offer processing through CCBill are set up in such a way that you have no control over the money you earn until the site owner sends it to you. The main risk involved in using private processing offered by sites that list skype cam girls is that you rely upon the goodwill and professionalism of the site owner to send you the payments you’ve earned. Luckily the vast majority of skype cam girl listing site owners are honest and professional, but still I’d be wary of building too much of your business around something you don’t fully control.

While the processing rates for skype cam girl listing sites that offer CCBill tend to be high (at 25%, leaving you with 75%), the main benefit is that payments are sent directly through CCBill, these sites do not act as a middle-man between you and your money.

 

How Should Skype Cam Girls Proceed Regarding These New Credit Card Fees?

There is no ‘one size fits all’ answer, of course, but if you’re a brand new to being a skype cam girl I would not recommend that you set up your own merchant account and pay the fees for credit card processing right away, as many skype cam girls start off making fairly little as they build their customer bases and businesses. What I would suggest is using a range of options to minimize risk, using a combination of Zombaio and skype cam girl listing site processing to ensure that, should something go wrong, your entire business model does not come crashing down or your funds lost.

In all things, we skype cam girls must think strategically. Being an entrepreneur means using creativity and logic in equal doses when creating and executing a business plan, and finding secure, reliable and sustainable payment processing options is a huge part of that. You can’t build a successful and sustainable business on amazon giftcards, moneypak and payoneer private load paments alone so finding good credit card processing options are a must.

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Independent Camgirls and Taxes

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Independent Camgirls Gotta Pay Taxes

Since I just finished wrapping up the oh-so-fun task of doing my taxes last week I figured this would be a good time to write about the responsibilities that we independent camgirls regarding taxes. As tax laws differ from nation to nation obviously you’ll need to research the laws in your own jurisdiction, but please know that independent camgirls gotta pay tax. I observe some independent camgirls who seem to assume that if they aren’t being paid by a company that they don’t need to declare that income, but this mentality couldn’t be further from the truth. Even setting aside the ethical issue of each of us paying our fair share for participation in a civilized society, not declaring income can set up independent camgirls for a whole host of legal and financial difficulties down the road.

 

As Independent Camgirls Our Incomes Are Traceable

If you work online and accept electronic payments from customers for skype cam sex shows and content, the payments you receive are impossible to hide. There is always an electronic record of the transfer of money from our customers to our financial accounts (eg: bank accounts, payoneer accounts, etc) so if you opt not to declare your income and end up getting audited it would be quite easy for your government to discover your undeclared earnings. Under-reporting taxes can result in huge penalties and interest charges that greatly exceed any tax you would have owed had you just declared your income in the first place.

 

Benefits of Declaring Income

Beyond the ‘downside’ of having to pay tax on our earnings as independent camgirls, there are a whole host of benefits that come along with declaring income honestly. One such benefit emerges when it comes to large ‘milestone’ purchases. Let’s say you’re saving for a down payment on your first home or want to buy a new car or rent your first apartment, in all these cases your financial records will be factored into your ability to pay for what you seek to purchase or rent. If you declare your income, you can also deposit large sums into savings accounts without worry that the government will question where all this money is coming from. If you want to enjoy your life and secure your future you need to keep ‘clean’ financially, as making a large purchase will raise red flags is your reported income is significantly less than your actual purchasing power or savings account balances.

For independent camgirls who are in school, have children or are in a low income bracket, declaring income can actually result in a net financial benefit, in that by filing taxes you will be eligible for tax breaks and tax credits that you won’t receive if you don’t file.

 

How to Set Money Aside for Expected Taxes

In general, it’s advised that all camgirls (not just independent camgirls) set aside 30-35% of our earnings each week/month to a specific ‘tax fund’ so that when tax time rolls around you won’t struggle to come up with the tax monies owing. Bear in mid however that if you are earning well (eg: 2k per week or more consistently) you’d be wise to set aside more than that.  One way to estimate how much money you will end up owing come tax time is to look over your earnings records and extrapolate that over the year. Then consult tax bracket calculators online to get a rough sense of what your tax responsibility will end up being. It’s always better to over-save than to be left without necessary funds, so err on the side of saving too much than too little for taxes. If your taxes end up being less than you thought you end up with a nice little boost to your personal savings accounts, so it’s a win/win to save more than you expect you’ll need.

Many camgirls who do not set aside money for taxes end up with a great deal of stress come tax time, as they find themselves without the funds necessary to pay what they owe. The biggest mistake I see many camgirls make is in assuming that the whole of each paycheck is disposable income, for each of us to use however we wish. Nothing could be further from the truth, in that unlike those who receive paychecks as employees (and thus have state, federal tax etc deducted automatically from each paycheck), as independent camgirls we are NOT employees of any company and receive our payments with no such deductions. It’s our responsibility to set part of each payment we receive in anticipation of the taxes we will be required to pay at a later date.

If this is your first year as a camgirl, you don’t need to make quarterly tax payments, although if you are an American camgirl do anticipate that you will be required to make quarterly tax payments during your second year as an independent contractor and each year thereafter. In Canada the rules are slightly different, and camgirls need not make quarterly tax payments unless notified to do so by Canada Revenue.

For further reading on taxes as they relate to camgirls (including independent camgirls), visit the tax authority website for your jurisdiction (eg: the IRS, HM Revenue & Customs or Canada Revenue  for American, UK and Canadian independent camgirls, respectively). Do not get caught in the misconception that just because we as independent camgirls do not receive earnings statements (such as 1099′s) from cam sites that we are free and clear of paying tax on our earnings. What we earn is traceable and it’s impossible to live a good life and plan (and save!) for your future without declaring your income. The risks of not doing so just aren’t worth it.

Money Tips For New Camgirls

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How Much Money Do Camgirls Earn?

If you’re new to adult internet modelling and cam sex sites, probably your biggest question is “how much money do camgirls typically earn?”. Unfortunately there is no ‘one size fits all” answer to that, as every cam girl will have different levels of earnings that also vary from site. You could make $100 an hour average, you could make nothing, or you may hover somewhere in between. As camgirls we’re independent contractors, which means that it’s up to us to earn the money we want, no customer or cam site is simply going to hand it to us. That said, below I’ll explore some of the tips I’ve learned from my peers throughout the years, as well as a few earnings tips that I’ve figured out for myself that will hopefully help you earn the money you want as a camgirl or ‘adult internet model’ (personally I hate that latter phrase…I’m not a fucking ‘model’).

 

New Camgirls Need Network Cam Sites

I love being an independent skype cam girl and I do a ‘fuck yess’ every time I see camgirls really commit themselves to this cam sex niche, but I would never recommend that brand new camgirls venture out independently. The main reason why is that without customers you have no business, and acquiring customers as an independent camgirl is a marathon, not a race. If you start out as a skype camgirl and have no clue what you’re doing (how to promote, acquire customers, manage boundaries, maintain your website and payment processing, create return customers) chances are you’ll earn very little. I see many camgirls who assume that all that’s required to be a skype camgirl is throw up a website and join an independent camgirl listing site or two, when in reality that’s not even 1% of the job.  That’s why most of the independent camgirl websites floating around out there on the net will be dead in a year…most camgirls who venture out independently quit because it’s really hard work.

 

Which Cam Sex Sites to Choose?

As different cam sites offer different features, have different site cultures and cater to different types of customer traffic, your best bet is to sign up to at least two cam sites and experiment until you find the cam site that works best for you. Some camgirls do well on one site and can’t earn a dime on another, with other camgirls it will be vice versa. A huge part of being a successful camgirl is experiementing with different strategies until you figure out what works best for you, so have patience and confidence and don’t give up if you have a rough start. Most successful camgirls worked up to their earnings levels, it’s rare for a new camgirl to consistently bank each and every shift right off the bat. Check out the forum linked above to learn more about the different cam sites and pick a couple that you’re interested in trying out.

 

How Camgirls Earn Money on Cam

You might assume that camgirls strictly use our sexuality to earn money, but there’s really far more to the job that that. Don’t be afraid to experiment with your cam persona and be original and unique in everything you do on cam and with your customers. If all customers wanted was a routine ‘paint-by-numbers’ sex show they’d be on the tube sites surfing free porn, but they come to us because they want an authentic and symbiotic experience with another human being. There’s way more to being a successful camgirl than weilding a sex toy, so use your mind, your personality and your creativity to give your customers an interactive experience they’ll never forget. They’ll keep coming back (hate the pun, not the punner), you’ll have fun and your earnings will grow and grow.

Most importantly though, in order to earn large you actually have to log in and turn on your webcam. All of the successful camgirls I know (myself included) work steady, regular hours. Simply put, if you want to bank you need to be prepared to work. It is a job, and the hours you put in will be reflected in your paychecks.

I’ll probably expand this post when I have a bit more time, but for now I’ll leave you with a couple more links to check out in your research. Good luck and happy camming!

Payment Processing For Independent Cam Girls

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How Independent Cam Girls Get Paid: Payment Processing Options

In an earlier post regarding the risks of using paypal I mentioned a couple of the adult-friendly payment processing options most widely used by independent cam girls. For those cam girls who are newly independent and wishing to know a bit more about the features of various payment processing options, I’ll outline them here.

 

Zombaio Processing For Skype Camgirls

Zombaio offers a 10.99% processing fee (which lowers as sales volume grows) but the processor also had a fairly long processing time for payments. In general, expect to wait a month for a payment to finish processing and be sent out. Also, the minimum withdrawal level is $100, so while this isn’t an issue for more experienced independent cam girls, many new skype cam girls just starting out may find that it takes time to reach the $100 minimum withdrawal threshold. However, there are no out-of-pocket fees associated with Zombaio other than the payment processing costs that are deducted from each sale. In order to offer Zombaio you must have your own website upon which to install the script.

 

CCBill Processing For Independent Cam Girls

CCBill charges $750 upfront to be able to offer Visa processing, and $500 per year for account maintenance thereafter, in addition to the payment processing costs of 15% per sale. However, payments are sent out bi-weekly on a two week delay, and the payout threshold for CCBill is significantly lower than Zombaio at $20, making it an attractive option for skype cam girls just starting out who may not earn much, but wish to receive what they do earn more quickly. There is also a slightly smaller decline rate with CCBill than with Zombaio. Like Zombaio, in order to offer CCBill you must have your own website. You can’t install the script on a tumblr or free blogger site, for example.

 

Payoneer Payments for Skype and Yahoo Cam Sex

Payoneer is an option that tends to be most heavily used by independent cam girls just starting out. The main reason why is that you only need a payoneer debit card in order to accept ‘private load’ payments from customers, you don’t need to own your own website. With Payoneer you simply send your customer a link to your private load page, and he pays for his skype cam show or  digital content on that payment page. The main drawbacks to using Payoneer is that the service isn’t intended to be used primarily for private loads, meaning that  independent cam girls who book high volumes of business may run into problems in having those payments processed. Further, with Payoneer one can currently only send private load payments to a prepaid Payoneer debit, meaning there is no way to transfer your funds directly to a bank account. While the prcoessing fees for payoneer private loads are much lower than the costs of Zombaio or CCBill, expect to pay a variety of annual fixed and variable transaction-specific fees (load fees, ATM fees, etc) that add to considerable sums over time.

 

This Sucks, Why Do I Have to Pay To Use Adult-Friendly Payment Processors?

Probably the most important piece of advice I can give you, based on my three years as an independent cam girl, is to swallow the fact that you have to pay fees. Every business has operating costs and being an independent cam girl is no different. Sure, you can use alternatives such as payoneer, Gift Rocket and MoneyPak as occasional payment options (the latter two with US-based customers only), but in order to build and maintain a sustainable and profitable business that allows customers from all over the globe to send you high amounts of money as payment for skype webcam shows and content, you need an actual payment processor. There is no way around this…trust me, I’ve looked

Truth is, the less time you spend sending customers all over the internet trying out payment options not intended to be used for your actual purposes, the stronger and more successful your business will be, simply because you’ll have more time to spend making money. Further, real adult payment processing offers tools to help you avoid chargebacks that alternatives such as Gift Rocket and Payoneer do not. Remember that once a customer does a chargeback he is blacklisted from the majority of payment processors out there, so if he can’t use a credit card to book a show, wonder why.

I hope this article has been of some use to those of you are just starting out as independent cam girls. If you still have questions about any of the options I’ve listed above, check out their websites and read through their sign-up process and FAQ sections. Always remember to treat your business like a business and protect your own interests as much as possible. Don’t make it easy for the (luckily few) losers out there to steal from you by charging back their cam sex show or digital goods purchase, so use adult-friendly payment processors that help you protect yourself while allowing you to book high volumes of business with customers throughout the world. Beyond having hella fun on cam, isn’t that what we’re all here for?

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Skype Cam Girls, Stay Away From PayPal

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‘Paypal bb’ is Nothing But Grief For Skype Cam Girls

Wow. I stumbled on a site tonight that featured a blacklist of customers who had charged back the cam shows they had purchased from skype cam girls. It was a long list. My first thought was “where the fuck are they getting their traffic?!” (cuz no one’s chargeback rate should be anywhere near that high) but then I realized…the method of payment used by each and every douchebag on that list who had stolen from skype cam girls by charging back their cam shows had used…yep, you guessed it. Fucking paypal.
For real, just don’t use it. Offering paypal is basically rolling out the red carpet for every loser out there who gets a thrill out of ruining someone’s day, it’s a huge signal blaring the message “please take advantage of me”. Um, hell no. There are enough alternate adult-friendly options out there that using paypal isn’t necessary. Quite the opposite, using paypal shows that you’re not serious about your business and that you don’t give a damn about yourself OR your customers. Remember that guys can get their accounts frozen for using our services as well if they’re caught. Being independent means taking yourself and your business seriously and searching through the available adult-friendly options out there so that you have a reliable way to get paid for your yahoo and skype cam shows.

 

Payment Processing For Skype Cam Girls

My top recommendations are LiveCamModelShows and CCBill. There are pros and cons to both (which is why I use both) that I’ll probably cover in a later post, but you can do your own research as well. That’s what being independent means, right?

Happy camming y’all.