Important Announcement: PLEASURE BON BON LAST CHAPTER.

[Vanessa]

Dear friends,

With this message I want to tell you that I'll stop drawing the comic Pleasure Bon Bon by the end of chapter 16. This decision has been made, after a long and painful cogitation, on the last week of may, after noticing that my pay has once more dropped below the threshold that allows me to live by means of this job.

To be short, My story is that after leaving my family years ago, I started investing in my future based on this project (Pleasure Bon Bon), based on the sales of the site at the time being really good; And I could count on a dignified living drawing PBB; but now things have changed.

I've written more than once during these last years that the more the time passed, and the more members that betrayed our good faith (sharing almost immediately the new pages on pirate sites) did damage to my job and the future of the site. Truth is, as everyone knows, that I don't get anything from piracy, while the pirate sites earn something from my work, thanks to others seeing their website that have commercial banners and to the donations, but I don't want to talk about this anymore.

Another truth is that I have never obtained 100% of the profits of the site, the earnings of Pleasure Bon Bon are split between many people, the staff, the provider, the banks…Only at the very end, months late, I get a small part of the profits, I'm really the last person who gets the remaining money. If anyone thought that I earned 100% of your monthly subscriptions, well, it's not like that! I want to clarify this because I read somewhere else that there's someone who thinks that I got rich with this site. It's not like that.

For a period I had to stop coloring (for chapter 15) or doing a page every two weeks because I had to take on another part time job to earn a living. But now the situation has become unbearable and I need a full time job to restart with, and I have had to slow down drawing PBB. It’s depressing for me since every page, required twice the effort and twice the work that ends up be shared the very same day they get released.

I never would have wanted to do this, interrupting Pleasure Bon Bon production, only to restart somewhere and organize everything. I need to take a break.

In my defense, I want you to know that I don’t want to change job, because I love these characters, they are the result of so much effort and commitment, as well as my greatest passion.

I thank you all for all the love and support you have given me despite me being some sort of ghost. I live in a country as small and far away as Italy is, and I don't attend chats, public forums… for me you're above all friends, and I was sad not being able to interact more with you due to the different language and the little time I can spend online.

A dream of mine was to someday attend an Anthrocon to meet some of you live (in person) and draw for you! Print PBB on paper and sell them at Pleasure Bon Bon's booth at a Comicon! That was a great desire for me.

It's very hard to stop dreaming about this, but I need to interrupt the series of PBB to look for a job that could give me a wage to live on. It’s not because I got bored or ran out of ideas, because there are 12 more chapters in all the saga, including the ending, and from chapter 17 onward there would have been many plot twists, we were entering the heart of the story, what you read up to now was barely the introduction. What was about to start was a saga loaded with emotions and I was really thrilled at the idea of Mary's wedding, the return of Edelweiss and the chance to reveal to you all the secrets of all the characters up to the big surprise ending.

But now I must conclude this letter of farewell with my future intents.

The last two pages of chapter 16 (page 23 and 24) will be the last updates, they will be sketches and there will be an auction to earn the last cameos in a “your character here” mode, and all the earnings this time will go directly to me to keep me afloat in the next months while I'll get ready my resume and portfolio that I'll start sending every day looking for work. The winner of the auction will be contacted by me by E-mail and will receive the pages in 300 dpi, in PSD file with the levels.

After that, I'll stop to work and get things together. And it won't be easy for me, as it's not easy for me now to write this post.

The return of PBB will depend exclusively from Patreon, a tool that thirteen years ago didn't exist and that now allows an artist to work on her own and get support directly from her supporters.

My Patreon page will be dedicated exclusively to gathering donations to resume drawing Pleasure Bon Bon from chapter 17 onward, and when I'll have reached the goal of a dignified wage to resume doing this job to live on, then the new pages will be published only on Patreon for the patrons that helped me become active once more; but only once the goal has been reached, because if I'll have found another job in the meantime (something I hope for and I need) I won't be able to quit once more, risking yet again the loss of everything! I have a mortgage and bills to pay.

My Patreon page will be the place where, when I'll resume drawing, I'll first and foremost create some custom monthly rewards like : fursonas, avatars, badges, commissions… and they'll all be with the “Pleasure Bon Bon” theme, and to make them official, if you want, they'll be posted on this site as well. I'll create the fursonas (like the Royal Members), and some badges if you want, to conclude the obligations I still have pending. By means of Patreon I'll be able to give you personally your avatars in 300 dpi, in PSD file with levels, printable format, and you''ll also get the palettes.

I'm saying farewell, thanking you from the bottom of my heart for all these years of happiness that you gave me, it was thrilling and a great honor and privilege to be an international professional comic artist, with a work of my own, written, drawn and colored by me, I still can't believe it. I felt like a privileged person. It was wonderful knowing that I had fans, customers that bought my work, that I had made a renowned furry webcomic . Thank you.

I'm gonna conclude reminding you that my last works here will be the last two pages of chapter 16 on commission; the auction will take place on this forum in few hours. Stay Tuned!

This site for now will stay as an archive of all the work done from the year 2003 up to now including any new games, and won't be closed.

You'll find me on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/VanessaSan on DeviantArt http://vanessasan.deviantart.com/ and on the FaceBook page of Pleasure Bon Bon https://www.facebook.com/bonboncomic/ for the updates and future announcements.

Now I leave the word to Ronald who will also explain the situation from his view of webmaster and admin.

Thank you, see you!

Vanessa.
_________________

http://www.pleasurebonbon.com

[Ronald]

Greetings to all the Fans/Members of Pleasure Bon Bon.

I want to take a moment to give you guys an understanding of what’s going on with Pleasure Bon Bon. You can consider this the “State of the Pleasure Bon Bon” address.

What’s happening and why it’s happening. And where do we go from here.

New Comics updates will be on hold after the completion of Chapter 16. The website will be focused more on interactive content moving forward. If additional comics do get created from Vanessa’s Patreon, they will appear here at a later date as archived content for loyal members. Vanessa’s Patreon will be used for new and exclusive access to the latest pages if Vanessa reaches her Patreon goals. You will have to visit her Patreon for details related to any new comics moving forward.

The biggest take away is that Pleasure Bon Bon sales has been down and largely because of piracy and the nature of the format of the comics. The business model/billing system that monetizes the comics is somewhat to blame as well. When the site sales aren’t making enough money, it’s hard for Vanessa and myself to devote more time to producing more content because we need to pay our personal bills and also “maintain” the website. Maintenance includes, hosting services (bandwidth, hardware upgrades, logs rotations, and backup files). With the low sales, we have to split our time to other work to create the supplement income needed. This in turn slows content creation down and further impact sales as people expect content production like they used to be when the site was doing really well. (I actually hired another developer working with me for a while in creating some of the games.)

Currently, we use a very old membership business model that was adopted from the “adult websites” industry, where people expect to pay membership and access everything (including old archives) and stay as member monthly to see new content/updates. While, this works for Netflix, it really doesn’t work 100% for “comics/photos” as content. The system we have in place now just doesn’t work on comics and so Patreon seems to be the best way to get comics created. Netflix actually rotates their content offering, we unfortunately, don’t have a rotation of content besides the bonus games. This business model does work for an interactive website such as my games website www.EAdultGames.com. And Bon Bon is partially a game site. So moving forward, we will focus on building the interactive aspects based on the Pleasure Bon Bon world.


The problems and challenges that we faced as a membership style comic site is that people who join wants to be able to read the comics from the beginning if they’re a new customer. But then how do we handle returning customers who wants to see the latest updated pages. Do we force newly members to read the comics from the start and force them to pay monthly for each page updated from the start? (similar to a “back” issues concept) Back when the site was created, new members who joined then pays monthly to see the pages updated monthly. Before we had a loyal/royal members area, everybody who joined got the same access. Which is somewhat unfair to those who paid from the start. And then when people join and view the content, and then quit and then wait 6 months or a year to rejoin to catch up again. They skip out monthly support. What makes it worst is that the content gets reposted on pirate sites. And sometimes people who join from pirated content, wants to see the newest latest as well. They skipped out years of updated content support. It’s a growing problem. We could break the comics down into issues and charge people for each issues. But realize that the content gets pirated or already pirated. Do people want to pay for something they already saw on pirated sites. It’s hard to shut down every pirated site doing DMCA notices. And some sites are hosted in countries that do not follow DMCA laws.

Another problem is the nature of how we accept money. We use the billing process CCBILL. They’re really one of the best third party merchant available providing various benefits such as affiliates programs (sending checks out to partners who are affiliates that market Bon Bon) and fraud protection (maintaining a database of stolen credit cards). BUT the fees are really high and having to also pay an annual fee as well. And most people don’t understand why CCBILL (how it works, and why it works). Adult Content falls under the category of “high risk” merchants. There is a history and reason behind using CCBILL or any other third party merchants like CCBILL. Even if you get your own merchant account skipping CCBILL, you’re high risk if you do adult content, and there’s a different %fee category. I can explain more details related to CCBILL, PAYPAL, and PATREON in a different posting later for anybody who wants to know the behind the scenes story related to billing processing.

I’m excited to work on some new interactive content for Pleasure Bon Bon. Marco has been helping me with some game sprites and some animations of the characters walking. I will create a working demo to show you guys soon. Vanessa has been working with Marco in overseeing some of the character designs and background tiles for the games. We may consider doing a Patreon or a Kickster project for an expanded version of this game in the future if it gets more interests.


Now go support Vanessa’s Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/VanessaSan



What can we do to help?

Support Vanessa's Patreon so she reaches her goal to get new comics content made. Continue supporting the website for the Interactive content and maintaining archives.

The best thing to do is continue being a member of Pleasure Bon Bon so our sales aren't dropping. Remember, Vanessa will continue to receive shares from the website. Help us maintain this website. Spread the word around, get us more support for the website and her Patreon. We'll get some interactive content as updates and any archive materials Vanessa sends our way from Patreon after they're no longer exclusive. If sales on the website increases and reaches back to a threshold that pays her bills, she can reevaluate her situation.




-Ronald
_________________
"Every exit is an entrance somewhere else." -Tom Stoppard

http://www.eadultcomics.com/ - for the best in online erotic adult comics
http://www.eadultgames.com/ - adult games, strip poker, strip blackjack, and more.

[Silvador]

OK, so, subscriptions. What is happening with those.

I've been a long time subscriber to PBB because I love the comic. I'm more than happy to maintain that subscription. (Heck, if I had a spare ten grand lying around I'd be happy to donate it to the cause. Unfortunately, that's not the case.) But what I'm hearing is that it would be more beneficial for both Vanessa and the production of the comic if I moved my subscription to her Patreon. Is this correct?

I know the forum itself can be accessed without a subscription, but truth be told, it's been far too long since I wasn't a paying member to remember exactly what I can and can't access on the site itself as a non-subscription member.


From what I'm understanding, new pages (if and when they are created) will be posted to Patreon first, and possibly(?) on the PBB main site later. Interactive content will still be made and posted on the PBB main site. Current comic pages will be kept on the PBB main site as an archive. And subscriptions to the PBB main site can be continued to generate (a minor) revenue for Vanessa.

If any of this is incorrect, please set me straight.


That being said, if I were to cease my subscription to the PBB main site, what would I still have access to and what would be locked out?
_________________

Fursonas: http://tinyurl.com/yzcsyug

[Ronald]

The subscription will be getting interactive content moving forward. It just wont be getting new comics for a while unless She produces them from her Patreon.

It is entirely possible that if the sales of the subscription dramatically increases, she can do additional comics. Since we can never predict or know how this announcement will make people feel (including those who have been pirating her content.)

I wouldn't say "minor" income - just not high enough to meet her personal threshold to meet her bills/mortgage. The income is just slipping downward overtime. And so she is having to react to this. Comparing the Patreon current goal versus her income here from her shares, the website actually is a significantly larger contribution between the two.

I recommend supporting her in whatever way you can.

We're just refocusing the direction of the website so that it can see a bigger value to people who signup rather then simply just for the comics.

It's not just Vanessa who is having financial issues here. Since I do most of the interactive content and maintenance of the website, I'm also affected by the low sales. Been trying to work on new interactive materials for the site, but without hired help due to lack of funds, I can't produce the interactive content as quickly as before. The Strip Poker game interactive and character animation at the table was actually one of the most involved projects we did. I wanted to expand the Strip Poker game to more of a multiplayer version with other members at one point, and Vanessa thought of possibly offering Royal members version of the characters sitting at the table as well. Or some form of customization on the characters. Would have been great for Royal members to play poker with each other in real time.

Supporting the subscription on the site will allow us to produce newer and better interactive games. Like the adventure game and dating sims game. Currently working on two things right now, a find the difference game for Bon Bon. And the adventured game that was hinted at in the work in progress.
_________________
"Every exit is an entrance somewhere else." -Tom Stoppard

http://www.eadultcomics.com/ - for the best in online erotic adult comics
http://www.eadultgames.com/ - adult games, strip poker, strip blackjack, and more.

[Silvador]

I looked at Vanessa's Patreon, and there are some very nice additions on it. I'd be more than happy to pledge to the $30 tier.

But I also do not wish to miss out on any content from the main PBB site due to not having a subscription. I can't afford to do both.

If I'm understanding what has been said correctly, pledging to Vanessa's Patreon at the $30 tier will mean Vanessa gets more of that money directly into her pocket, allowing her to dedicate more time to the comic. But doing so will also cut me off from interactive content on the PBB main site.

If this is correct, you're kinda tying my hands, here. Either way, I'm missing out on something regardless of how I support the comic.

Please, if I'm any of that is incorrect, clarify so that I can make a better choice. I'm very sad to see that things have come to this and I wish to continue to support the comic and Vanessa's production of it as best I can, but without fully understanding precisely what each possible course of action will entail, I can't make that decision.

For the sake of reference, my current subscription is tri-monthly and $70aud. From what has been said, only a portion of that actually gets to Vanessa, presently.

The monthly $30 tier on Patreon is USD, for a total of $90 every three months, a whopping $135aud that should, mostly, go directly to Vanessa. Is this incorrect?

I'll be the first to admit, I don't often play the games or do the puzzles, but they are a lovely feature and I enjoy the X-Rays and the puzzles (God knows I can't get very far with blackjack or the "Bejeweled" games), and I would be sad to lose access to those.
_________________

Fursonas: http://tinyurl.com/yzcsyug

[Ronald]

Patreon does take a % of the fees, as well as Paypal bank transfers in Italy for currency conversions and bank fees. It's actually higher for non-us based creators.

https://patreon.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/204606125-How-do-you-calculate-fees-


When you compare numbers, the subscription website gets volume sales.

It's harder to break down the %fees associated with the website because it also pays affiliates partners who sends us traffic that advertises Bon Bon. This is how we managed to get a huge exposure to the Internet by offering affiliates. CCBILL takes their %processing fees as well. Vanessa gets 50% of the profit of the site less processing fee, while I actually absorb a lot of the fees for running the merchant account including any chargeback fees. Chargebacks suck a lot when people do it, because not only do we lose the money that they chargeback, but the merchant account holder gets hit penalty fees. I also pay the annual fees for high risk merchant to VISA and MasterCard.

The website has also been a volume members service since a lot of the content is organized into sections and has great features to offer people who join. We don't have to manually interact with everybody who joins the site. Members get instant access to content and can play games while they wait for the next update. With Patreon, its very manual labor, and the content is posted via blog style and not as organized. You don't get interactive content. Your reward isn't instant. Rewards have to be handed out to Patreon customers manually and individually (aside from Patreon blog posts) at the end of the month. Which can get tedious and intense. Patreon folks won't have anything to do while they wait for their rewards to be delivered.

Patreon is still a donations site at the end of the day, and people can still donate without receiving rewards in the lower tier. So any donation helps.

So, as a possible suggestion to show your support, you could subscribe here, and give her some donations of any sort on the lower tier that you can afford. Any bit helps. And if there's enough volume on that, Vanessa can evaluate where her priorities are. Vanessa does offer commissions through her Patreon, so for those looking to be apart of the comics can have a chance to talk to her for commissions opportunities.

Speaking of which, she will be posting an Auction here on the Forums for character appearances in the last 2 pages of Chapter 16. This is a chance for people to bid on commission for the featured character slots.


If you're supporting Vanessa's Patreon, she will see large portion of your money through Patreon. If you're supporting the website, depending on how you signed up to the website, she and myself may see a large portion of it. Or a smaller portion if its from an affiliate referral. Those who joined through an affiliate, we see a smaller portion of the sales because we offer affiliates an ongoing share as incentive to continue to send us business. If people who cancelled and rejoin, we actually see a higher portion of the sales. It's complicated to explain. So if you're an old member who haven't been to the site in a while, and you get a newsletter via email offering you a discount, signing up to that helps us a lot.

People will have to decide where they're seeing Value and how they can help Vanessa. Her Patreon is for the comics only, and this website is for the Interactive materials. And if people want to see new Interactive materials and better ones, supporting the site will still help Vanessa. Especially if it shows people want to see the Bon Bon world grow beyond the comics.


I'm a big believer in producing interactive content, since it gets people to join the website and stay as a fan, gives people a reason to support us long term since the interactive experience itself is something unique to the individual that cant be pirated but only experienced for yourself.
_________________
"Every exit is an entrance somewhere else." -Tom Stoppard

http://www.eadultcomics.com/ - for the best in online erotic adult comics
http://www.eadultgames.com/ - adult games, strip poker, strip blackjack, and more.

[Ronald]

[Silvador]

[Ronald]

Its not an ideal situation we want to put members in either.

In a perfect world, the sales of the website is high enough for Vanessa to consider continuing doing the comics, and more interactive games get produced as well from the thriving sales. And the comics being shared is just a side effect that brings in more customers as a marketing tool so long as the sales meet a threshold to be viable for all parties to do their job full time rather than part time.

It's not necessarily an either or situation if you can afford to support both. Or you can split your support here and there as well by trying out Patreon for a bit, and come back here for the Interactive games for a bit. Archives will eventually be made available here.

As I suggested above, you could get a discounted subscription and provide a low tier Patreon support. (Drop me an email, so I can look up your subscription to see if you're subscribed via affiliates or not and what I can do to offer loyal customers discounts if any.)

I can't speak for the service that you will get on Patreon. You'll have to give it a shot and see.

If it comes down to an overwhelming increase in sales here and less on Patreon, Vanessa can reconsider how she does Patreon. For instance, sales here are really high, the comics can be updated like they used to be in the old days weekly. Patreon could be a place for commissions and personalized inclusion of Royal members. I'm just speaking out loud hypothetically and ideally.
_________________
"Every exit is an entrance somewhere else." -Tom Stoppard

http://www.eadultcomics.com/ - for the best in online erotic adult comics
http://www.eadultgames.com/ - adult games, strip poker, strip blackjack, and more.

[Ronald]

[Silvador]

[Ronald]

That's actually a very Interesting suggestion and idea Silvador.

Since I'm still new to this Patreon concept, I hear about some of the various horror stories of Patreon and Kickstarter supports turning out to be 'fake or duds just to bloat the goal, and then end up being charged back or failing to meet the goals when it's time to collect money.

Your Bot Net idea is great. I'll keep that in mind when I do a Patreon of my own.
_________________
"Every exit is an entrance somewhere else." -Tom Stoppard

http://www.eadultcomics.com/ - for the best in online erotic adult comics
http://www.eadultgames.com/ - adult games, strip poker, strip blackjack, and more.

[ToddRogue69]

I really want to help keep PBB going, but I’m not sure if I will be able to. I’m barely making any money myself. The last thing I want is to see this wonderful comic/site wither away and die, but at the same time I need to make a living and so I can provide for myself.

PBB has been a great influence in my life and it helped me become the artist I am today. Not only that, but I have a deep and personal love for the story and all the characters within it. I cannot bare to see all of that just vanish. Though if I need to, I can try and find ways of making more money and helping support Vanessa’s Patreon page.

But for now, all I can do is wish Vanessa and everyone else who help make PBB what is, nothing less than the very best. And to Vanessa, may you have all the financial support you need and so much more so that you can continue to bring fine quality entertainment to those who enjoy it. I wish I could do more.

_________________
https://e621.net/user/show/143867

http://www.furaffinity.net/user/toddrogue69/

https://toddrogue69.sofurry.com/

[Rikardo]

To be honest, I can quite understand the troubles her country is going through as well. Italy should follow the UK and leave the EU, because I think the EU only cares about itself in Brussels, and never the countries that it unifies. The Euro problem was bad enough, and now we're getting unvetted migrants from Africa and the Middle East that the media kept lying and saying that they are refugees fleeing Syria, just so to gain more views and money for their bias news channels, votes for those in power, and cheap labour in the work force. And all in the name of multiculturalism.

Well, for Patreon, I will give her the support she deserves.
_________________
Furaffinity: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/rikarda/



http://theelzeronchronicles.webcomic.ws/comics/1/

[Symphony]

It's very sad news

I still can't believe it's really happening.
_________________
Constance Mayflower's bio

Constance Mayflower's diary

The Mayflower Diaries

[Jerin Nekros]

Unfortunately this drops me into a bit of a pickle as well since I can afford one or the other. Also looks like sadly this means i won't be able to get my avatar designed. Well hopefully things pick back up soonish.
_________________
My Fursona(updates occasionally) http://forums.pleasurebonbon.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=7537
"Revenge is a dish that is best served cold. It is very cold in space." - Khan (Ricardo Montalban) Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

[Greycat Rademenes]

It's sad to see it, but I do understand your position.

One of the reasons I haven't sent any guest art for a while was due to having myself get a day job. Hopefully things will turn around for the better and we get to see the end to this story.

I'm currently tied up in other projects, but if I find some time, alongside with few other guest artists, maybe we could do some temporary content.
_________________
SYON!
Greycat R!

www.freewebs.com/greycatrademenes
www.furaffinity.net/user/greycatr

[The Adept]

oh no and i was finally back in position to resub this saddens me so much to here but i can understand your reason and i will definitely be supporting vanessa patron
_________________
A fact of life: After monday and tuesday even the calender says WTF...
Kyle Stingray http://forums.pleasurebonbon.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=8106
Escape of The Blue Rose (Story)
http://forums.pleasurebonbon.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=9549&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=
My FA
http://www.furaffinity.net/user/theadept/

[Silvador]

Question for Vanessa, how do you take payments on your Patreon? Do you use the advance method (pay before the month) or the original method (pay after the month)?
_________________

Fursonas: http://tinyurl.com/yzcsyug