Choosing a Site to Sell Terrain

One of the decisions I need to make is what site am I going to use to sell my terrain.  If you ask anyone that knows me, you'll know that I have been vascillated between choices.  These are my considerations:

• custom
• MyMiniFactory
• Patreon
• MyMiniFactory Tribes
• Cults3D

Each has their pros and cons which I will detail.  I have no desire to sell physical copies of the terrain, but instead will be selling the STL files.

custom

I am a software developer, and for the last 10 years, I've been a cloud engineer for a large fintech organization, so my first instinct when I originally thought about this was to just build my own website to host and sell the STL files.  I have domains hosted on GoDaddy, so I know they offer website hosting, but I'm also familiar with others like Google's web hosting services through work.  I also am very familiar with running Apache and/or Tomcat servers and I run Linux on my desktop, so I'm able to build the site from the ground up.  The biggest pros of going this direction are:

• fees are lower because hosting fees are low
• the site can be tailored specifically to my needs
• I will be able to control everything from top to bottom

There are tradeoffs to building a custom site however, including:

• it will take time to build the site
• it has no audience
• I will own everything about maintaining the site

Ultimately, the younger me would have relished the idea of building and maintaining the site, but the older me prefers a turn-key solution so I can concentrate on the end product, the STL files.

MyMiniFactory

To me, the cadillac of choices is MyMiniFactory.  This site was designed for creators to sell STL files and they cater to the table top gaming crowd.  The main pros are:

• it's a turn-key solution
• it has a built-in audience
• it has a targetted audience
• it has a large audience

Honestly, what more could you want?  This was my first choice and it would have been my go to solution, but there is one major, and for me, show-stopping drawback:

• it has a fixed, monthly fee

With a fixed monthly fee starting at $9.99 in addition to the commission of 15%, I just couldn't pull the trigger.  At least not yet.  I want to use MyMiniFactory, but I first need to prove that I am going to be able to make money from selling my 3D terrain designs.  I'm not willing to pay $9.99 until I know I can make money at this.

Patreon

Patreon is a popular choice for beginning creators.  It has several advantages:

• it's a mostly turn-key solution
• fees are low with 8% commission
• tiered follower fees

The idea behind Patreon is a creator just creates and gathers a following that pays them a monthly fee.  The follower fees can vary depending on several factors.  It sounds good except:

• followers are not sticky
• building an audience requires work
• I would need to be constantly creating
• Hosting STL files is done somewhere else

Honestly, Patreon is an enticing choice.  I know I am up to the task of creating decent terrain, but I'm not sure just how fast I can churn them out.  I'm still new to the tools and processes used to create the terrain.  Additionally, Patreon is not designed for what I'm specifically going to sell, STL files.  My understanding is I would need to host my STL files elsewhere.  This big drawback is addressed by my next choice however.

MyMiniFactory Tribes

MyMiniFactory Tribes is basically Patreon, except it is designed specifically for creators of STL files.  Unfortunately, I'm not going this route because I'm still concerned if I can produce enough terrain fast enough to keep a pipeline full to warrant an audience staying interested.

Cults3D

My final consideration is Cults3D.  It's advantages are:

• it's a turn-key solution
• it has a built-in audience
• it has a large audience

Cults3D is not targetted to the table top gaming crowd, but it is used by many to sell 3D files.  For me, the main cons are:

• a fairly high 20% commission
• payment is in euros

I'm based in the US, so if I use Cults3D, there is going to be a fee for converting euros to dollars.

Conclusion

Honestly, this was not an easy decision.  I like aspects of all my choices, but in the end, I have decided I will use Cults3D until I prove there is an audience for my terrain.  I will only see about 65-70% of the income by using Cults3D after commissions, conversion fees, and business fees, but the advantage is I am not paying any upfront money unless something sells.  If and when I see there is a business here for me to pursue, I will use MyMiniFactory which is the superior selling site for established terrain designers.