> patron pledges $1, patron pays $1, creator ends up with some amount significantly less than $1, depending on all the fees.

from [1], the "previous" (current) situation the creator would receive 85-93% of the amount. So $0.85 from $1, vs .95 from 1.38? Unless I'm completely flobbing the maths, that's ~69% in the new system?

[1] https://blog.patreon.com/updating-patreons-fee-structure/

The pledge is $1, what the patron pays is different from the pledge, that's the point. (It's not a good system but I'm not sure what you're getting hung up on.)

They used to bundle CC transactions, when they stop doing that micro payments become infeasible.

So transaction cost for a lot of 1$ pledges goes from 5-10% to 31%.

Is it a common scheme? It seems super misleading to do it that way, why have a percentage fee on both sides? "I pledge $x, I end up paying more and the creator ends up receiving less".

It's uncommon in this context, common in other contexts. There are lots of things you can buy in retail stores that might involve fees. You might pay extra for using a credit card (versus cash) than the stated price to cover the processing fees. And it's possible that if you're using some service or intermediary for selling something then they might take an additional cut as well.

i'm not defending patreon here, but it is pretty normal.

Even the state takes both income tax and sales tax.

Not including taxes in the prices is a US thing only.

Most other countries have sane regulation that foster competition and transparency.

I know, I'm German after all and pay mehrwertsteuer on everything.

But wherever it is listed directly up front or not doesn't change the fact that the state takes money on both sides. When you're earning it and when you're using it.

The actual tax in Germany is about 50 %, it's just hidden in several smaller percentages

Let me add a bit of info for you that is the missing piece of the puzzle:

Previously: Patreon made 0.05.

Soon: Patreon makes 0.104