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Tell HN: DigitalRiver/MyCommerce stopped paying vendors since July

154 points grujicd | 10 comments | 15 Oct 24 12:40 UTC | HN request time: 0.398s | source | bottom

We're a small family company and the $20k MyCommerce owes us is a big deal.

For those who don't know MyCommerce is a platform for selling software online. They're merchant of record, they handle taxes, generate license keys, etc so they're a bit higher level than Stripe or PayPal. We're with them since 2005. Things started going south in August. July payment was due on August 15 but never came. Few days afterwards they sent and email that they're changing contract terms and that payments will now be sent 60 days instead of 15 days after the month. Sadly, I didn't switch to another payment processor immediately that day - accountants were on holiday, we were investigating our options, and we were generally happy for 20 years with them. We switched only in September, where they worsened contract terms even more, introducing monthly fee, hourly fee for support, increased payment thresholds, etc. By the time we switched, MyCommerce already sat on entire revenue from July, August, and half of September. Their support is not helpful.

This is not only about us, it's about myriad other vendors, mostly small ones. Unfortunately, we didn't have online space to share our findings and experiences. I only found today that it was discussed on kvraudio forum, and a bit on LinkedIn. There are many small vendors who are now in a hole for tens of thousands of dollars/euros.

It looks pretty much that MyCommerce / DigitarRiver Gmbh are in financial trouble. There are news of layoffs and new management. It's questionable whether we'll see any of our money and when. But the troubling part is MyCommerce still operates and takes orders. If there are vendors who still only know about what MyCommerce officially told them and wait for delayed payments - please reconsider your position.

https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=612462

https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=614929&start=...

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/lorant-barla_mycommerce-digit...

1. anthonyeden ◴[16 Oct 24 10:08 UTC] No.41857375[source]▶
Digital River emailed out of the blue a few months back saying we need to do new Know-Your-Customer paperwork. The forms are painful and I've had to resubmit a couple of times for minor mistakes - unsure if they'll ever actually accept it, and it seems to take a week or more for any response to a ticket.

Their new platform terms come into effect today, and they have absolutely buried the scale of their new monthly fee (US$100/month for me - unsure if it varies per customer). None of the emails mention the fee amounts. Customer support couldn't tell me the fee amounts. I checked the portal again today and the new contract finally has the new fees in it.

I setup a new merchant of record a few weeks ago, but that doesn't help the fact they're sitting on a few grand of my sales. My balance is above their new payout threshold (US$2500), but it wouldn't surprise me if they sit on the money and let the monthly fees eat into it until it's back below the threshold.

Thought I was doing the right thing by using a merchant of record to handle my international B2B sales since 2016. Apparently not. Fun times.

replies(1): >>41876172 #
2. troymc ◴[18 Oct 24 03:46 UTC] No.41876172[source]▶
Using a merchant of record is a good idea in 2024, now that every little jurisdiction wants you to collect their sales tax for them, and to remit that sales tax to them. (That wasn't always true.)

Stripe recently acquired Lemon Squeezy, another merchant of record, so maybe look into that. (Stripe Tax will help you collect the right amount of sales tax, but that's only half the problem. You still have to remit it to all the relevant jurisdictions.)

Other options are Paddle and FastSpring.

replies(4): >>41876414 #>>41876662 #>>41877076 #>>41877687 #
3. morpheuskafka ◴[18 Oct 24 04:44 UTC] No.41876414[source]▶
I saw a thread here a couple days ago about new product liability rules for software in the EU that would apply to importers/distributors where the manufacturer is overseas. I wonder if anyone will still be willing to provide this "merchant of record" service in the EU once that takes effect.
replies(2): >>41877043 #>>41877244 #
4. aitchnyu ◴[18 Oct 24 05:49 UTC] No.41876662[source]▶
What are the options if a business wants to collect subscriptions worldwide and pay cashbacks to US customers? Guess Stripe offers tools for both.
replies(1): >>41881426 #
5. bryanrasmussen ◴[18 Oct 24 07:15 UTC] No.41877043{3}[source]▶
at the worst wouldn't it just mean that a lot of merchants of record will say we don't handle software, and maybe one or two big ones scoop up all the software business with some fancy insurance deals?

I believe this is what the theories of capitalism say would happen.

6. ◴[18 Oct 24 07:23 UTC] No.41877076[source]▶
7. SSLy ◴[18 Oct 24 07:56 UTC] No.41877244{3}[source]▶
Aren't those rules related to software shipped in hardware?
replies(1): >>41877934 #
8. anthonyeden ◴[18 Oct 24 09:28 UTC] No.41877687[source]▶
Thanks. I ended up going with Lemon Squeezy a couple of weeks back. Had a lot of account verification problems (500 errors on various screens), but eventually got that sorted after their support realised there was an actual product problem. I like their product, but wish the product setup & cart was more flexible.
9. victorbjorklund ◴[18 Oct 24 10:17 UTC] No.41877934{4}[source]▶
No, it is broader than that. It includes software in general (but excl open source)

https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2024...

10. archy_ ◴[18 Oct 24 17:13 UTC] No.41881426{3}[source]▶
Isn't that just a nationalist version of a ponzi scheme?