2) It would be nice if payment could occur after a solution is accepted, but in practice that presents some thorny issues. Notably, how would I ensure the bounty creator pays after they receive a working solution?
3) What would you suggest as a more appropriate fee schedule? Considering expenses, of course :)
1) Awesome. That's the biggest usability improvement right now.
2) Accept all CC info at time of posting a bounty and create a Stripe customer record. Charge automatically when the user accepts an answer--acceptance is the delayed "confirm payment" step, so to speak. Create a system whereby the deadline for bounties applies to both parties--poster must accept an answer within 7 days, unless there are no answers or something. Figure out how to handle bad answers, etc. Or make it so they will be charged automatically in 7 days unless no answer is provided, and the bounty will be applied equally to all the responders or something. Get creative. The forced charity thing really shouldn't be happening. Give the money to the people who take the time to answer questions, leaving it up to the poster to ensure they award the full bounty to the right person. Keep a reputation system on a post:accept ratio or something so responders can get an idea of whether they're likely to be awarded a bounty from a given poster or not.
3. That's a bit tougher one to answer from the outside. I can't figure out how expenses could be as high as the upcharge. I completely understand wanting to make money off the service, and think you absolutely should. But, upwards of 300% is a bit much. The reason this sticks out so much is that people will accept fees, but when the fees get excessively higher at different steps in a way that is not an equal percentage across all steps, it becomes obvious that there is something wrong. I think this is highly likely to be noticed among the audience using this service. So come up with a flat rate that applies across the board--say, 10%. Enough to cover Stripe's fee & have a bit extra left over. You should be making money off building up a vibrant service, not off gouging your users.
1) I'll add a filter for open bounties.
2) It would be nice if payment could occur after a solution is accepted, but in practice that presents some thorny issues. Notably, how would I ensure the bounty creator pays after they receive a working solution?
3) What would you suggest as a more appropriate fee schedule? Considering expenses, of course :)