Merch for Memberships is only available to creators who are already using it. If you don’t see the Merch tab in your page settings, this feature isn’t available for your page.
So you’ve just set up merch benefits through Patreon for the first time – this article will explain how and when members earn their merch benefits.
How members earn merch
Members earn merch when they meet two requirements:
- They joined a tier that contains a merch item
- They’ve made a required number of consecutive payments in that tier. The number of payments depends on the type of merch programme you offer the item in (three months or loyalty programme)
Both new and existing members earn progress towards a merch item by making successful monthly payments after the item is added to their tier. Each successful payment counts as one month of progress.
To continue earning toward the item, the member must remain actively subscribed to a tier that includes the merch item and make uninterrupted payments. If a payment fails, the member cancels their membership, or switches to a tier that doesn’t include the item, any progress toward that merch item is lost. If the member later rejoins a qualifying tier, their progress restarts from the beginning.
Only memberships with payments made directly from the member’s account are eligible to earn merchandise rewards. Progress does not begin until the member’s account successfully makes a payment. Please note that merchandise rewards are not earned through gifted memberships.
What may interrupt earning progress
Certain events can interrupt progress toward earning Merch and reset it. These events include:
- Refunds
- Billing pauses
- Failed or declined payments
- Temporary removal of the merchandise item from the tier
- Any other disruption to a member’s paid access to the qualifying tier
Once billing resumes without any interruptions on a tier that offers the item, the member will start accumulating progress again from the beginning.
Real-life scenarios
Let’s look at some examples to understand when members typically earn merch. For this example, we’ll use a merch program that delivers an item once every 3 months.
- If a creator who charges members up front adds a merch item to a tier on 15th May, existing members will have their next payment made after 15th May count towards their merch item. For example, a member whose billing anniversary was the 20th would make their first eligible payment on 20th May. On 20th June, that member would process their second payment towards earning that merch item. On 20th July, the member would earn the merch item. If a new member joins on 15th July, they will be charged immediately upon sign-up and process their first payment towards their merch item. The new member would process their second payment towards their merch item on 15th August and then earn the merch item on 15th September.
- If a creator who charges members up front adds a merch item to a tier on 15 May, existing members will have their next payment (1 June) count towards their merch item. On 1 July, those members would process their second payment towards earning that merch item. On 1 August, members would earn the merch item. If a new member joins on 15 July, they would be charged immediately upon sign-up and earn their first payment towards their merch item. The new member would earn their second payment towards their merch item on 1 August and then earn the merch item on 1 September.
- Suppose a creator who does not charge members up front adds a merch item to a tier on 15 May. In that case, existing members with a valid membership in that tier will earn their first payment towards that merch item on 1 June, eventually earning the item on 1 August. A new member who joins on 15 July would earn their merch item on 1 October.
As a reminder, you can always find what benefits your members have earned, including Merch for Membership benefits, on your Benefits page.
FAQ
- Typically, existing members will earn their merch item on their third successful charge after the merch has been added. Previous payments do not count towards a member earning merch.
- No, editing the design of a merch item won’t impact a member’s progress towards earning it.
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If you’ve removed an item or loyalty programme from any tiers, members will stop all earnings progress for those tiers.
If you’ve added an item or loyalty programme to any new tiers, members of those new tiers will begin earning the items when you click the Publish merch button. You can find when you added each item or loyalty programme to each tier on your merch tab.