PNP Transparency Statement:
The information below illustrates the way things work at Peace Not Profit. If you have a question that isn't answered below, feel free to email crustaphiles@peacenotprofit.org.
Isn't selling stuff on Peace Not Profit tantamount to hypocrisy?
Yes! …But only if it generates profit. However, the items sold on PNP do not generate profit, nor do they generate capital (distinction for Marxists). Mostly they just generate food for the bands whose stuff you're buying, and, ideally, enjoyment for you. In fact, beyond a couple processing charges amounting to a few cents, all revenue is forwarded directly to the bands. Here's how it works—with each purchase at PNP:
2.9% + $0.30 goes to PayPal (out of $10 this amounts to $0.59)
(This is what paypal charges for the use of their credit card processing services)
10% to 20% goes to PNP (depending on the order total)
(The entirety of this sum purchases bandwidth to keep PNP up and running)
Shipping is paid according to whatever rate, other than media mail, is cheapest
(There is no separate shipping fee at PNP—the prices are what they are)
The Remainder goes to the band(s) whose merchandise is being purchased
(From a $10 CD at PNP, around $6 goes to the band, or about $11 at solidarity price)
The cut received by the bands involved far exceeds the returns bands get from major record contracts (not that any of the bands featured on PNP want to be on major record labels). The idea behind this is to support up and coming outfits, and to spread little known underground music to the four corners of the earth.
What is the Solidarity Price all about?
The solidarity price provides a way for people who are enthusiastic about a band to show their extra support. Think about it like this, if you heard the band playing at a venue somewhere and saw a tip jar or an open guitar case, would you put something in it? If so, then voila! Solidarity Price. All solidarity funds go directly to the bands toward whom they are directed.
What do the bands do with the money?
The money goes firstly to cover the production costs of whatever has been purchased. Each band produces their albums and merchandise DIY in small batches, which means the production cost per item is quite high. When major record labels print CD's, they print them in massive quantities which winds up costing a few cents per CD, which they then turn around and sell for $20 a piece or so (relatively little of which actually trickles down to the band). Small print jobs for a CD can be a dollar or more per disc, depending on the type of print job. Beyond that, the money goes to keeping the bands operational, by printing more albums, silk screening t-shirts and patches, putting gas in their tour vans, strings on their guitars, and food in their bellies. That's where your money is going when you buy from PNP.
What's up with the "10% to 20%" for bandwidth?
Under capitalism, nothing is free: not the people; not the animals; not even stuff on the internet. For those who aren't particularly tech savvy, bandwidth is the quantity of data transferred over a network. Every time you do anything on the internet, be it downloading a file, or just going to a webpage, your computer is downloading data from another location—and that means spent bandwidth. And since bandwidth costs money, spent band width is spent cash. Most websites deal with this by reducing file and image sizes, so that as little bandwidth is expended as possible with each visit to their website, and also by taking on paid advertisements (yes, that's why there's so many annoying adds on every webpage across the internet these days).
The MP3 files available on PNP are all of remarkably high sound quality, and that means more bandwidth being spent per download. The vast majority of MP3s at PNP are 192kbs, which is an MP3 approximation of CD quality sound. (For the audiophiles out there, MP3s actually can't reproduce true CD quality sound, though they can get very close. For best sound quality, I say go analog and listen to some vinyl.) So, the quality you experience at PNP comes at the cost of bandwidth. You also may have noticed the dearth of inane advertisements plastered across this website. No ads means no extra money in PNP's coffers. Therefore, the small sums which PNP retains from each purchase are essential to keeping PNP functioning.
How does shipping work at PNP?
Shipping is paid for out of the order total. There are no separate shipping costs at PNP. Everything beyond the shipping, the PayPal fee, and the bandwidth fee goes directly to the bands.
International Shipping?
Outside of the US, Canada, and Mexico, purchases must be made at the solidarity price. At solidarity price, we'll ship orders to anywhere mail carriers dare to venture.
Why on earth do you support PayPal?
While we can only speculate as to the devious deeds which PayPal might choose to unleash with the fees they extol from all the purchases which fall under their purview, the alternative would be to create our own secure network with which to receive credit card payments, and thus be liable for their security, or to run entirely off of mailed in money orders, which will discourage some purchases. So the evils of PayPal, whatever they may be, must, for the time being, be endured. If you don't want to support PayPal, then send a money order, but first send an email to crustaphiles@peacenotprofit.org so we can hammer out the details.
Will buying from Peace Not Profit create peace?
It's doubtful, though it may very well generate peace of mind for the bands you'll be supporting with your purchase. The only way to create peace is to get out in the street, raise your fist, and chant anti-war slogans at the top of your lungs. This might seem contradictory, but that's just the kind of topsy-turvy world we live in. The more people you can get to join you in this endeavor, the better off we all are. As history shows, it takes a mass movement to win change. So let's get organized!
Best of luck,
--Crustaphiles