I recently noticed that Donorbox, the donation platform I use to manage fundraising for multiple nonprofits, relegated basic header image customization to a $139/month premium plan. This surprised me considering we already pay substantial fees of 1.75% per donation in addition to Stripe’s 2.9% + $0.30. Across the nearly $1 million raised annually on Donorbox, that’s over $15K in platform fees per year. And I’ve used Donorbox for at least 4 years.

Hiding simple customization features behind a paywall after benefiting from significant fees feels like a bait-and-switch. Especially for something as basic as a header image that aids branding. By the way, this is a recent change! They’ve had header images forever. And yet, someone in the company consider it valued at $129/mo. Lovely.

Also, $89/month for CSS customization? That’s egregious and exorbitant!

Unfortunately, more companies employ tactics that nickel and dime loyal customers. Amazon Prime no longer includes an ad-free experience, requiring an add-on charge for something previously included and marketed as such. Given rising Prime costs, I re-evaluated whether the $113 in shipping savings from last year justified renewal after 6 years of membership.

Rather than reward companies that bait-and-switch or excessively carve out services, we must reconsider spending our hard-earned dollars elsewhere.

Honestly, this continuous disrespect for customer satisfaction will impact the company’s bottom line when folks like myself take their money and direct it toward businesses who value the relationship better.

I aim to move my clients to donation platforms that meet our needs at reasonable costs, and will do the same as a customer. Ultimately, my dollar, and voice, is best spent supporting companies who demonstrate a deeper respect for customer satisfaction through transparent offerings at fair prices.

(Oh and let’s not forget about the dark and deceptive patterns companies will use to prevent you from cancelling…sigh)