PaymentsBeing built
Readers pay you, through your own Stripe account.
Being built. Stripe doesn’t work with Lanternbee yet. What follows separates what works today from what’s planned.
Lanternbee does not hold your money. You connect your own Stripe account, and every sale is a payment to you, made on Stripe’s checkout page with your store name on it. Stripe takes its card fee and pays out to your bank on its usual schedule. Lanternbee only takes its fee on the Free plan, and only when you sell. The checkout is being built now, so this page describes how it will work when stores open.
What it does in Lanternbee
- Readers pay on a Stripe checkout page with your store name and logo, by card, or with Apple Pay or Google Pay where Stripe offers them.
- The payment lands in your Stripe account, not ours. You are the seller on the reader’s bank statement and receipt.
- Stripe Tax works out VAT or sales tax for the reader’s country and adds it at checkout.
- On the Free plan, our fee is taken from each payment as it happens. On Author there is no fee.
- When the payment goes through, the order is written, ebooks and audiobooks are sent, and print copies are passed on for printing or packing.
- Refunds and disputes stay between you and the reader, in your own Stripe dashboard.
Limits
- The checkout is not live yet. Stores open to a small group of authors first, from the waitlist.
- You need a Stripe account in a country Stripe supports. Stripe decides whether it can work with your business.
- Stripe’s card fees come out of every sale, on every plan. Lanternbee does not set or lower them.
- You are the seller, so you file and pay the tax Stripe Tax collects. Lanternbee does not do that for you yet.
- Lanternbee takes payments through Stripe only. PayPal is not offered.
How it works
Open Payments in your store
In Lanternbee, go to your store’s payment settings and choose to connect Stripe.
Sign in or create a Stripe account
Stripe asks for your business details and bank account. If you already sell with Stripe, sign in to the account you have.
Come back to Lanternbee
Stripe sends you back when it is done. Your store can take payments once Stripe has checked your details.
Check your payouts in Stripe
Payouts, refunds and disputes are all in your Stripe dashboard, linked from Lanternbee.
What it costs
| What | Cost | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Card payment, US account | 2.9% + 30¢ | Stripe’s standard rate for a US card. Cards issued outside the US add 1.5%, and paying in another currency adds 1%. |
| Card payment, UK account | 1.5% + 20p | Standard UK cards. EEA cards are 2.5% + 20p, other international cards 3.15% + 20p, plus 2% when the currency is converted. |
| Card payment, EU account (Ireland) | 1.5% + €0.25 | Standard EEA cards. UK cards are 2.5% + €0.25, other international cards 3.15% + €0.25, plus 2% when the currency is converted. |
| Stripe Tax | 0.5% per sale | Only on sales where you are registered to collect tax. This is the pay-as-you-go rate for Stripe’s own checkout. |
| Connecting Stripe to Lanternbee | No extra Stripe fee | Stripe charges you its normal prices directly. It adds nothing for being connected to Lanternbee. |
Questions about Stripe
Why my own Stripe account and not yours?
Because the money is yours. Readers pay you directly, payouts go straight to your bank, and you keep your Stripe history if you ever leave Lanternbee.
Who handles refunds?
You do. The payment is in your Stripe account, so refunds and disputes are handled there.
Who files the VAT or sales tax?
You do, because you are the seller. Stripe Tax works out the right amount at checkout and shows it in your reports. We plan to take EU VAT on ebooks off your hands later, but that is not live.
Formats it works with
Related integrations
Read more
Not open yet
Save your place
We’re opening Lanternbee to authors a few at a time. Leave your email and we’ll write when your store is ready to set up.
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