This is a post to let you know we will be raising our prices for new subscriptions on February 1, 2025. Please read the entire post to know what’s happening to you as a current subscriber.
I’m sharing this again as a reminder so you can choose the level at which you want to be before it’s locked in on January 31, 2025, at 3 pm PST.
Quick note, these are in US dollars. To answer your question, click here – Administrative stuff: Why do we charge in US dollars, even though we’re Canadian?
The new levels are…
- Foundation – $5 – Access to the site, formula directory, duplication suggestion post, and super happy fun member to member post.
- Formulation – $8 – All the foundation level things as well as the monthly Q&A post, where I guarantee I’ll answer your question. This level will also receive random fun things like PDF downloads and comparison charts. And you’ll get to join us for Zoom workshops!
- Innovation – $15 – All the formulation level things as well as a coupon for the e-book of the month; random fun things like comparison charts, bonus formulas, and discount coupons for SwiftCraftyMonkey e-Zines and e-Books. You’ll get to join us for Zoom workshops! This level is often offered discount coupons from suppliers as an additional gift.
What do you get with each level? A chart!
| Foundation | Formulation | Innovation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| “All” the posts* | YES | YES | YES |
| All the formulas on the site | YES | YES | YES |
| Ad free | YES | YES | YES |
| Popup free | YES | YES | YES |
| Sponsored content free | YES | YES | YES |
| ”One Weird Trick” free | YES | YES | YES |
| Access to the formula directory | YES | YES | YES |
| Contribute to monthly Duplication thread | YES | YES | YES |
| Question answered in Q&A thread | YES | YES | |
| Participating in Zoom workshops | YES | YES | |
| E-book coupon code monthly for the months you are subscribed | YES |
*Excluding the posts for specific levels, like the monthly duplication post, monthly Q&A post, monthly e-book coupons, Zoom workshop codes, and some vendor/supplier coupons when available.
Innovation level subscribers are often offered discount coupons from suppliers in the suppliers’ coupon section of the site. (These are not part of the subscription, offered by suppliers as a gift to my readers.)
Special thanks to Natalie and family for the level names!
What does this mean to you, a current subscriber?
You can stay at the level you’re subscribed to on January 31, 2025, at 3 pm PST (Vancouver, Canada time) until the end of 2025.
If you’re a $3 subscriber, you will become a Foundation subscriber at the old price ($3). You do not need to do anything.
If you’re a $5 subscriber, you will become a Formulation subscriber at the old price ($5). You do not need to do anything.
If you’re a $10 subscriber, you will become an Innovation subscriber at the old price ($10). You do not need to do anything.
If you’re staying at the old levels, if you want to upgrade, if you cancel your subscription and re-subscribe, or if your payment fails – if your subscription lapses for any reason – you’ll have to subscribe at one of the new levels on or after February 1, 2025.
If you’re a Patreon subscriber, this all applies to you too. Also, consider subscribing over here instead of Patreon. They charge me more than 25% of the subscription in fees and offer me absolutely nothing beyond collecting fees in return.
For new subscribers on Patreon, we will only be offering the Innovation level subscription over there as of February 1, 2025.
If you’re a current subscriber and enjoy my work, consider subscribing at one of these new levels so we can keep offering you more and more awesome stuff!
Important note to $1 subscribers!
We will be eliminating $1 subscriptions later this year, and if you want to continue to access the site after that time, you’ll have to sign up for another level before then.
I will share more information later this year, giving you loads of time to choose your level.
We eliminated new subscriptions at the $1 level in June 2023.
Why are we raising prices?
One, I set these rates in nine years ago in 2016 when I had 3,000 or so formulas and posts to offer on the old blogspot site.
As of January 8, 2025, we have 4,960 formulas and posts – over 3.5 million words in late 2023, so even more now – so you’re getting huge value for money.
You can access all the posts written over the last 16 years going back to the very first one! Holy cow!
You not only get formulas, but you get all my science and theory posts so you can become a formulator who can modify formulas and create your own, too!
And all my ingredient posts that are well-researched with references – not just marketing materials – so you can learn even more!
Don’t get me started on the epic series you’ll find here, like combining emollients, Rheology modifiers, surfactants and mildness, and so many more!
The e-books you get as an Innovation subscriber
are massive these days! I started with 30 to 40 page e-zines. Now I find it hard to get them below 110 pages!
A ranty aside…
Have you seen the price people charge for formulas, posts on sites, e- books, and comparison charts? I’ve seen prices as high as $500! Wow!
Don’t get me started on monthly subscriptions at other sites! You can sign up here for a year for less than what some are charging per month! And you know my formulas are safe, stable, effective, and awesome as people have been making them since 2009!
Also, there are a lot of people out there building their careers on the work of others! So much plagiarism! Why pay a subscription or Patreon to someone who’s poorly copying my work and formulas? Get my original formulas, ingredient profiles, equipment reviews, beginners’ section, comparison charts, and everything else here instead!
I don’t usually pay attention to what other people are doing, but did some wandering around the ‘net as I worked on these price increases and wow…just wow!
Two, we want to keep this site free from all the nonsense you’re subjected to elsewhere!
We offer you a quiet experience free from ads, pop ups, banner ads, those gross ads with fungus toes and fatty livers, and other things that get in the way of a good read.
We don’t take sponsored posts, offer sponsored content, or share affiliate links – so you know when we like something, we really like it – so the only revenue we generate is from subscriptions and e-book sales here and with suppliers.
Three, we have more costs now being a business – it’s not just me tapping away at my computer before I rush off to work every day.
I’m using a far larger range of ingredients and they’re all way more expensive than they were in 2016, especially when you include costs of shipping, duties, taxes, customs, and all that other stuff for parcels from far-away lands.
I’ve purchased a lot of new equipment – homogenizers, an incubator, so many pH meters, an astonishing number of scales – and we always need to buy a few more of everything to create formulas or awesome reviews.
I’m taking courses at university and through the Society of Cosmetic Chemists, which I share with you through my writing and formulas.
Learn more about me and the courses I’ve taken or are taking here!
We are hosting our site on a more awesome, more reliable, more secure – but more expensive – service, and have to pay for everything from the URL to individual e-mail addresses to storage, and it turns out we need a lot of storage.
We have monthly subscriptions now to programs like Canva and PicCollage to provide you with more visual charts, graphs, and infographics, which add up fast.
Add to this the fees charged by PayPal and Stripe, and the need to submit GST quarterly, and all kinds of other business-y things we’re not really good at, and you’ll know why we have a bookkeeper, accountant, and lawyer to help us with all of this.
Four, we’re supposed to be charging subscribers 5% tax on subscriptions, but we haven’t been charging that, paying it on your behalf.
This isn’t sustainable, so we’re incorporating it into our new pricing structure. You won’t see the tax being charged on your subscription, it’s rolled into the monthly price.
You may notice it on e-books, if you’re Canadian.
Five, we’ve been adding more graphics, illustrations, and guest posts to make for an even more epic experience.
More information from people in the know, more illustrations to make core concepts easier to understand, and more graphics for visual learners.
We pay well for great work because we believe everyone should prosper.
You will never find any form of AI here! Everything you see is written, drawn, assembled, and formatted by a human.
And finally, don’t forget that you can write this off as a business expense, if applicable! (You can also write any e-books you buy!)
So there we are. Thanks for reading to the end!
If you have ideas, questions, concerns, or general wonderings, we’d love to hear from you in the comments below! We always want to hear your thoughts!