Hi everyone,
Today, we are officially launching Tindie’s new payment and seller payout system. This is an important change for the platform, and we want to explain why it was necessary, what is now available, and what sellers should expect during the transition.
First, thank you for your patience over the past few months. We know the payout situation has caused frustration, delays, and additional work for many sellers. We are sincerely sorry for the inconvenience.
Why we had to change the payout system
For more than two months, we worked continuously with PayPal to restore the automated Payouts function previously used by Tindie. We submitted extensive company, identity, transaction, order, fulfillment, and shipping documentation, and made more than one hundred calls to different PayPal support teams. At several points, we were told that Payouts had been approved or enabled. However, actual seller payouts through the API continued to be blocked by PayPal’s internal risk systems.
The main difficulty is that our PayPal account is new, while Tindie is an established marketplace that immediately began processing a large volume of transactions. Tindie is also not a traditional retailer: products are stocked and shipped directly by independent sellers, so the platform itself cannot provide fulfillment documents for every order. After repeated reviews, temporary approvals, new restrictions, and additional document requests, it became clear that PayPal was unlikely to provide us with a stable automated payout solution in the near term.
We could not ask sellers to wait indefinitely, so we had no practical choice but to introduce a new system, which we’re announcing today! Some sellers may have already noticed the changes on site. You now have two options for payouts.
What is now available
Stripe Connect
Stripe Connect is now Tindie’s primary automated payout method. Sellers in supported countries can connect or create a Stripe account, complete the required verification, and receive eligible payouts automatically. Availability, verification requirements, and payout timing may vary by country. Once you have established a Stripe account, it should be smooth sailing moving forward for payouts.
Wise
Wise is available as a manual payout option for sellers who cannot use Stripe Connect or prefer Wise. Wise is an online payment processor that we have used internally and had great experiences with. It’s easy to set up an account, and you can easily convert between different currencies and then either use a Wise card directly or transfer funds to other bank accounts. Wise payout requests will have to be reviewed and processed manually by the Tindie team, though, so it may not be as fast as Stripe Connect. Sellers may be asked to provide a Wise payment link or other account details in order to have funds disbursed.
Updated payment and marketplace information
Along with the new payment system, we have also updated several important pages on Tindie:
- Buying on Tindie
- Selling on Tindie
- The Tindie Guarantee
- Terms of Service
These pages provide clearer information about payments, seller payouts, fees, shipping responsibilities, refunds, buyer protection, and the roles of Tindie, Stripe, Wise, buyers, and sellers.
We encourage everyone to review the updated information.
A clearer and more sustainable payment structure
This update is not only a change of providers. It also allows us to make Tindie’s payment and payout structure clearer and more sustainable.
The real cost of international marketplace transactions can vary significantly depending on the buyer’s country, payment method, currency conversion, refunds, and payout method.
Under the previous system, these costs were not always reflected clearly and were sometimes absorbed by the platform. That approach was difficult to sustain and limited our ability to invest in support, security, infrastructure, maintenance, and new features.
The updated structure is designed to provide clearer fee information, more reliable seller payouts, and a healthier foundation for Tindie’s long-term growth.
Please expect a transition period
During the past two months, our technical team has also been:
- stabilizing Tindie after migration to our infrastructure;
- repairing problems in an older system with many third-party plugins;
- responding to large volumes of malicious traffic and attacks;
- implementing and testing the new payment system;
- manually processing seller payouts during the transition.
We have done everything reasonably possible to make the new system stable before launch. Even so, some sellers may encounter verification requests, country-specific limitations, payout delays, or interface issues during the first days and weeks. If you experience a problem, please contact Tindie Support and include your store name, country, payout method, and a screenshot or clear description of the issue. Our team will work with you to find the most suitable available solution.
We understand that changing payment methods may be inconvenient, especially for sellers who have used PayPal for many years. We are sorry for the additional steps, and we appreciate your understanding and support. Unfortunately, we are left with no choice after trying to find a solution with PayPal.
Looking ahead
Launching the new payment system is an important step, but it is only the beginning. Our immediate priorities are stable platform operation, reliable seller payouts, clearer fee information, faster support, stronger security, and better tools for sellers and buyers. Once these foundations are stable, we will continue adding new features and connecting Tindie with more industry resources.
Our goal is to make Tindie a stronger home for makers around the world — a place where creative hardware ideas can become real products more efficiently and reach the people who need them.
Thank you for your patience, feedback, and continued support as we take this step forward together.
— The Tindie Team
source https://blog.tindie.com/2026/07/important-update-tindies-new-payment-and-seller-payout-system-is-now-live/
No comments:
Post a Comment