Upcoming changes to CGTrader payout system - Why we're doing this and how it benefits you

I want to cry.... I will have less royalties now... :"(

8=э CGt. Lol.

Currently I have 75% earning rate, if this new fee is applied I will reduce 6% and get 69% money, I am thinking is this a way for cgtrader to increase the fee for using the service?. Let's give our opinion on this.

I must be honest, considering the fact that in the last years, the expantion of AI and its generating tools have decreased our sales (for many sellers for sure)
I feel not Happy.

this is just cruel, this means my payout rate will be reduced from 74% to 65 % smh

I’ve been on this platform since 2019 and have invested years into building a high-quality, real-time-ready asset library. In 2021, I reached my peak performance in sales that year. Since then, despite increasing my portfolio from 24 to 54 carefully crafted models, my sales have dropped by roughly 80%.

With this new payout system based only on the past 12 months, I’m being pushed down from an 80% royalty rate to under 70%, not because my content declined in quality or effort, but because the platform-wide visibility and sales have tanked. That’s deeply disheartening, especially when CGTrader’s competitive royalty model was one of the main reasons I stayed here instead of switching to marketplaces like TurboSquid.

It feels like long-time, dedicated sellers are being penalized for shifts we can’t control — from AI flood and batch uploads to algorithm changes and declining platform traffic. I will be increasing my prices to try and absorb the drop in royalties, but if that doesn't stabilize things, I’ll strongly consider moving my portfolio elsewhere.

I really hope CGTrader reconsiders how this change affects loyal contributors who helped shape the platform in the first place.

Thanks for your time,

Deeply disappointed with CGT!

AI expansion is just an excuse to introduce system new ways to take even more money from sellers. This is certainly enormous step back and all other platforms like this will surely be happy for these changes for many reasons.

1.) This will highly discourage all new sellers because nobody want to waste years and give you even more money (current system is also robbery, but new one takes it to another level). People should earn fortune for you first, just to be able to get more money for themselves.

2.) A lot of people will just abandon their accounts here and focus to other markets with better royalties. It's already happening but this will speed up process.

3.) Most of those who decide to stay will increase their selling price which will lead to less models sold and make other markets more affordable.

4.) Most pro designers are not using CGT anyway and you're just shutting the door for newcomers (so who will remain here).

5.) All this will drive traffic out of CGT and boost other selling platforms. I've seen a lot of sellers from here at TurboSquid and RenderHub.

---

CGT has a lot of problems that require urgent fixing, such as slow support, terrible discount system, confusing donation system, zero protection against scammers... and instead of fixing that, what you do CGT? - just casually making new ways to take even more money from sellers (like you don't take already huge portion). After June 2nd, we all can start pack our luggage and move on. Very soon this place will be like 3DExport, FlipNormals, CubeBrush and other platforms with low to zero traffic. There will be no reason for many to continue selling here, and for new ones to even start using this platform.

No pros, just cons! And remember shameful greed has destroyed many civilizations. Good luck gentlemen.

So, in some previous topic "15 models sold in 5 sec" cgtrader complain about selling stuff to "corporate cgt clients" who use it to train AI. Now they will fight with AI generated models by increasing their rates. Bravo !!!

CGTrader essentially states that if you don’t generate enough revenue for them, they will deduct the shortfall from your loyalty earnings.

Yes nice. So as a small seller with quality models that I have to offer cheaply to be able to compete, my earning rate will drop with 8 percent... Thanks cgt.

CGTrader always manages to present something negative for us in the most positive way! ;)

- They unilaterally changed the payment method to Hyperwallet.
- My "Settings" mysteriously reset to "Participate in promotions" last month, even though I had it set to "NOT participate" since I joined.
- A mysterious company buys tons of models within minutes, but I still can't see the payment on my dashboard even after a week.

And now, with the new earnings calculation system based on the past 12 months, am I supposed to just accept losing 10%?!

Good luck keeping your CG slaves, CGTrader!

To understand whether this decision benefits the sellers or CGTrader itself, it's enough to compare the old and new payout rates for the sellers.

In previous comments, everyone has complained about a significant drop in payout rates. While we don't have exact statistics, it's not hard to assume that this has been the case for the vast majority of sellers on CGTrader.

Of course, CGTrader is free to change its payout structure as it sees fit, but what's disappointing is the lack of honesty in the way it's being presented, as if it's somehow to the sellers' advantage.
I'd bet that the percentage of sellers whose payout rate has increased or even stayed the same doesn’t exceed one percent.

Additionally, the rise in AI-generated models has been used as an excuse for this change. If AI models are truly that valuable to CGTrader, I’d love to see what happens if, after a large-scale boycott, the platform is left with nothing but AI-generated content.

Am I reading the new policy right? It sounds to me that it is basically increasing CG Trader cut across the board, with few extra steps to not sound as horrible as it is.

if a statement ends with "Thank you for your understanding" this is not good for you

This new payout rate is only going to harm new users (by taking upto 40% of the sale price) or lower the current royality rate to a point were you have to price yourself out of the market.

This isn't a fair and balanced solution for the users of this site, so I hope they will reconsider and re-evaluate this policy.

Rewarding sellers whose models are actually selling makes sense, and I'm glad the reputation system is going as it always promoted junk in volume over any kind of quality.

What this is missing entirely however, is HOW this is going to help increase sales. Is the search algorithm updating? How are you going to promote our work through marketing that you weren't doing before? Are sales numbers the ONLY variable that determines your royalty rate? There are some very niche areas that simply don't have a huge market, and this would quite literally penalize you for operating in it.

Right now this all reads like a fancy way of saying you want us to drive more traffic to our own models and in the end we get paid less for it.

And lastly, this is a monumental change with practically zero heads up. This is the type of thing that should have been brought up at least 6 months ago - not days before it rolls out.

Do better.

Well, i think that old payout system was really outdated and something had to be done about that. AI content generators were reaching top rank in less than a week just by uploading vast amounts of crap and cgtrader has to pay for hosting that shit even if 99% of it will probably never by sold. But if it really would be about AI content and batch uploads and fairness to sellers who are crafting high quality models, then it would very easy to resolve situation by removing reputation points for uploaded models, forum comments, likes and other crap. Count rep points for life-time sales and base royalty rate on that and everybody will be happy. I think that would be seen as fair system by most sellers.

A utopian payout system for creators... basically means “buy yourselves IV drips and work 24/7,” and maybe you'll reach 70% royalties. Earning $300,000 a year is unrealistic if you're doing everything alone — that’s probably an achievable number for just a few percent of people across all 3D stock platforms. And as we know, those people aren't on CGTrader. This isn’t a food market; it’s a niche product... Seems like CGTrader just decided to lower royalties and came up with this scheme to justify it))) Thanks, CGTrader.
I’m disappointed in you!

I think the new payout system is not that bad in principle, but the threshold is way too steep. If you want to keep 80% rate, you'd need to sell 30K per year. While we can't know real figures, i think it's safe to assume that very small number of sellers are reaching such numbers. It's quite cynical for cgtrader to say that the changes benefits most of the sellers, when it's clear that it really benefits, only cgtrader itself and top 1% All the others will be punished. Great move cgtrader, shareholders will be very happy with your move. You are truly NOT a community driven marketplace.

Hmm, CG Trader is effectively increasing their cut to 40% for most sellers... while Fab has 12%. Tho Fab has it's own set of problems too...

It's a meaningless decision and will completely harm the artists.
Looks like we are moving to the other platforms.
Sadly, this happened after spending so much time here for years.

> The current payout model was introduced over a decade ago and no longer reflects how the marketplace works today. It rewards various outdated metrics like the number of models uploaded (which is currently much easier to take advantage of with AI-generated models and batch uploads) as opposed to model quality and buyer appreciation. 

Am I only one that sees this as super hypocritical take as well? The easy way to fix the old system would be... banning AI generated models or removing them from reputation system.

The decision is understandable. You lost too much sellers after your "democratic" decisions to:
1. Ban the website in "non democratic" Russia and Belarus,
2. Introduce Hyperwallet system,
3. Decrease the projects royalty from 95% to 85%.
As a result, many people now migrated to other platforms and your earnings now are less than they were a year ago.
If you really want to help artists, please decrease the demands by 10 times, make the required top level sales $30,000 instead of $300,000. Otherwise, after year, you will lose more money and be forced to introduce another "important update". This will lead to bad future.

I guess a lot of companies have experience of recievieng - instead of small amount of something - 100% of nothing. Cgtrader on this way with a speed of light

This means that creators with small niches, who are already in a bad place to start with, especially if they create high quality models and do not focus on quantity, will be punished and all their hard work over the years will be erased.

CGTrader says that old system rewards quantity of models over quality and long term consistency in sales. Okay ditch all the nonsense points for comments, likes, and even model uploads. For creators who have 50-100 quality models uploaded and have reached higher status levels and royalty %, most of their points came from sales, and not from other factors anyway.

With this new system, only thing I can think of doing to increase my sales is pumping tons of low effort models and hope they sell out, and that is something I've been avoiding for last 5 years.

Alao they really chose perfect time to implement this change. Last year has been worst year for me and I guess many other creators in terms of sales, probably due to surgence of AI generated models and decline in general industry needs for 3D models. So yeah lets just go with worst year our creators had and take big chunk of their income to punish them even more.

Discarding all previous achievements and history will not benefit long time and loyal cgtrader creators in any shape or form.

And this puts me in a situation to either take selling models on CGTrader as a full time job, and not a side thing and additional income source, or completely abandon the platform since my royalty rate will decrease for almost a 10% based on last 12 months and erase 5 years of work.

Also If I am understanding this correctly, they are not calculating full amount that our models were sold for but just the revenue we creators got after platform already took their cut into that 12 month period. So that means if you have sold models for total of 2800$ during last year, which is threshold for 70% payout rate in new system, your annual sales will not be 2800$ but actually somewhere around 2000-2100$ if you were in between 70-75% royalties during past year and that will land you into 68% payout rate under a new system...

Well done CGTrader, it would be better if you just stated that you are raising your cut and gave zero explanation then pretending that you care about your so called community and creators...

"For many users, the payout rate will remain the same or at a similar level. You can check your past 12 months of sales directly in your My Sales>Monthly Summary."

This was the funniest joke I’ve heard in a long time.

By the way, will this be applied only to model sales? Or also to the projects?

In this case, the most practical step sellers can take to protect themselves is to reflect the rate cut applied by CGTrader onto their model prices by at least the same proportion.

For example, if your previous earning rate was 80%, you used to earn $7.50 from a $10 model. Now, in order to make the same amount, you need to price your model at at least $11.50 (assuming the payment processing fee and tax deduction remain constant).

Yes, this method means shifting the damage caused by CGTrader directly onto the customer and sales might get even worse. But since this is a problem that doesn't originate from the seller, the seller shouldn't be the only one bearing the responsibility.

From 73% to 61%. Okay this is one of the worst royalties on the market for me.

The gaslighting has reached points of truly legendary status.

Do they really think anyone here is buying what they are shoveling?

I keep reading solutions or complaints about what is, without question, utterly UNACCEPTABLE.

Probable next move of CGTaders to quell the wave of disagreement:
=> "We care deeply about you and your invaluable feedback. As an exceptionally NICE company, we believe it’s absolutely crucial to listen to our partners. So, in a truly magnanimous display of generosity, we’ve decided not to implement this ‘more profit solution,’ even though, of course, we’re not going to make more money off your hard work."

Reading between the lines:
=> "We tried to pull a fast one on you, but you saw right through it! Now, we’ll have to graciously ‘adjust’ our plan."

How many of us think it’s impossible to work with this kind of absolutely brilliant and transparent behavior from people who, let’s not forget, ALREADY make more than enough money off our work?
Tell me I’m not the only one who sees through this masterpiece of corporate logic...

Also, a cgtrader client bought 115 of my models, and for example, for model Price of 8$ i Got less Than 2$. That Is OK i Guess, because of agreemet that CG trader have with their costumers, and we as designers agree with that in Our agreement with CG trader. But thing that bothers me Is that status of payout for that 115 models Is still avaiting costumers to pay it. And it was a week
ago. Gosh!
And in the end i read this post for changes. Great Times.

Those sales thresholds are ridiculously high for the royalties provided and the statement that many sellers will remain at the same rates is more than obviously a blatant lie and it is insulting for artists to even suggest that.
CGT is basically lowering the royalties for 99% of sellers and there is no way this will lead to "a fairer, more sustainable environment for all designers".
The significant drop in sales over the years made me reconsider investing time in creating models for sale and I'm sure this new move will make a lot of designers to make the same thing.
That will also increase the quantity of AI generated crap, as less people will be willing to spend the time making a high quality models.
This is a bad move CGT.
It may have been a good system with a more fair rates and already implemented features that help the artists, but now you only take from us and make us even less motivated to create models for you.

I was about to upload 20+ high quality models that took over 4 months to make and was expecting to earn reputation points from these uploads and thus increase my loyalty rate to 73%, but now with this new change my rate will drop to 64%. That's less than the default 70% we got right from the start before this ridiculous change. Now, uploading these models is no longer very stimulating.

''The payout system offers a clear and motivating pathway for designers to grow their earnings in tandem with their sales. As success builds, so do the rewards.'' Well, this new payout system was just the opposite of motivating for me, it was one of the most depressing bad news I've read recently.

If CGTrader's intention is to reward high-quality models with higher payout rates, then a more fair and accurate approach would be to use the positive-to-negative rating ratio as a performance metric. That would actually reflect model quality—not just total sale.
I'm very disappointed as long-term user of this platform.

This new payout rate that will start on June 2nd totally discourages new and small sellers. The rate is very low and to compensate for the ~10% increase in the fee, there will have to be an increase in the price of the products sold. And with the increase in the price of the products, there will be fewer sales. The previous percentage of net profit was already low, now it will be practically unfeasible. This is quite sad.

Isn't it funny when 3D stock marketplace introduce AI model generator and then few months later uses AI generated models influx as an excuse to slack everyone's payouts? Bloody brilliant move!
https://cgdream.ai/features/ai-3d-model-generator-image-to-3d

What is odd, is that in the past there were members threatening to quit CGT based on other policy changes. I don't see that here...yet. It was obvious that members didn't like the automatic enrollment into sales discounts. When that didn't work for CGT to generate more income, they resorted to this!

Great way to alienate your users even more.

Once, CGTrader was the go-to site for selling 3D models, but that hasn’t been the case for quite some time now.

In the short term, you might increase your revenue by taking an additional 5–15% from 99.9% of your users. But in the long run, I don’t see anything good coming from this—for your users or for CGTrader itself.

New users won’t be inclined to join when the base percentage has been slashed to just 60%, and current users won’t be happy about having their payouts cut significantly. Many will look for alternative platforms to sell their models.

Let’s compare CGTrader and Cults3D, where I also sell my models for the same prices: $29.90 USD and €29.90, respectively.

CGTrader (before): $29.90 – $1.23 (processing) × 0.76 = $21.78 USD

Cults3D: €29.90 × 0.80 = €23.92 ≈ $27.12 USD

CGTrader (after change): $29.90 – $1.23 (processing) × 0.70 = $20.07 USD

I'm actively losing money when selling on CGTrader compared to Cults3D. Even so, I used to direct people to CGTrader whenever they asked where to purchase my models. Sadly, I don’t see myself doing that anymore—not when I can earn 35% more elsewhere.

Super disappointed in CGTrader once again.

I have been working with microstocks for photography for over 10 years. They all introduced a similar system, that we lower the percentage of payments for you, and we will do something cool there that as a result you will earn more. In practice, this always cuts the income of authors, I have repeatedly experienced all this on different sites. Moreover, 3D models are not sold often like photographs, and if a 3D model is bought once, then it is already good, it rarely happens that one 3D model is bought 100 or more times. We will simply receive less for the sale, a small percentage plus discounts ..

We will increase the price of our work by 20 percent, and as a result - we will get fewer sales, both for the site and for ourselves. We are very upset about this news today, disgusting news and it is clearly not suitable for the 3D model market, this is not a microstock of photographs, do not follow their example, this path is only a minus for authors.

Specifically, we are engaged in photogrammetry, and spend dozens of hours calculating a high-quality 3D model on powerful computers. As a result, the model will no longer cover the cost of electricity and we simply will not do it. Not to mention the shooting, the cost of cameras, light sources, etc.

I don't think anything good will come out of this idea.
Efficient managers are so efficient.

Just goes to show they talk out of both sides of their mouth.

I wonder where that "Ukraine Donation" money really went? Like most charities sadly, the money goes into some oneelses pockets.

The results of this new system will definitely be bad. They are reducing the profit margins of us sellers. As a result, the prices of the models will increase and this will reduce the sales. So, as a result, both we and CGTrader will lose. They just don't realize it yet.

I am a new author on CGTrader, I have made 260 models in a year. Yesterday I did not plan to change 3D stock, and today I am planning to study other trading platforms. It seems that this is not exactly what CGTrader planned? Lol. This is a strange and stupid decision. Now all authors will raise prices for their goods. Sales will fall. Authors will go to competitors, or stop developing their portfolio. CGTrader wants to get money, but instead they will get problems. CGTrader decided to repeat the experience of Getty and Shutterstock, but he forgot that 3D stocks do not have a fixed price. And CGTrader is not a huge corporation, but a small company. And this decision can destroy this company. In general, I like it here, I am used to it and feel comfortable. Therefore, I hope that CGTrader will cancel this illogical decision and I will stay here

Yeah, no thanks.
I will simply be closing my shop if this shameless cash grab goes through.

Hi everyone,

Thank you for all the thoughtful and passionate feedback regarding the upcoming changes to our payout system. We understand this is a significant shift, and your input, especially from our long-time loyal contributors and new creators alike, is incredibly important to us.

We are currently reviewing all of your feedback carefully. While the new structure is scheduled to go into effect on June 2, 2025, we want to assure you that this is not the end of the conversation.

We are actively exploring adjustments - if not immediately on day one, then very shortly thereafter - to ensure the new system better reflects the value brought by our long-term loyal sellers who placed their trust in CGTrader from the early days, as well as new sellers who are just beginning their 3D selling journey.

Your voice matters, and our team is committed to finding the right balance. Please continue sharing your insights - they will directly influence how we move forward.

Thank you for helping shape CGTrader into a better, fairer marketplace for everyone.

CGTrader Team

Of course It would be awesome if old users could keep their "earned" royalties... But at least, i think cgtrader should lower the maximum 1 year profit criteria for the new royalties. They are way too High. Especially for Mid and High tier. That's my 2 cents

I worked honestly for a year to get 75 percent. I did not use AI, I did not advertise myself on other platforms. My rating is absolutely honest and transparent. Yes, I am a new user, but I also deserve attention and respect, like other new sellers

Nah, enough is enough.
This site still had potential to be no. 1 but this management is totally clueless a killed it with a series of greedy, gimmicky decisions.
Even if they roll it back I'm moving to other platforms and raising prices here. It will slowly die anyway.

So, on your first page you invite to join the community
https://www.cgtrader.com/. And we joined. Many of us joined many years ago. Joined and trusted you with what we worked hard for many years. For many years, we, with our work, actually created your reputation in the digital products market. We created with our work traffic for you and... profit for this platform. And that is why now there are more than 2 million 3D models on this platform. And we all believed that this was a partnership.
But let me take you on a historical journey into the recent past and share with the CGTrader community the experience from the TurboSquid platform, where we, 3D creators, post our models. Perhaps this will give you the correct idea that Partnership is something that should work properly in both directions! So, February 2022. It was the beginning of the war in Ukraine. The TurboSquid platform transferred $250 in aid to each Ukrainian 3D creator, regardless of the number of models each. To each Ukrainian 3D creator, I repeat! None of us knows what TurboSquid's economic situation was at that time. But they did it, understanding the full severity of the situation of people who are suffering all the hardships of war. Respect to them and enormous gratitude for this act of goodwill and mercy. And we remembered it. And now let me ask you, dear CGTrader team, a question: What has the CGTrader team done for us, Ukrainian creators on your platform, as partners? Maybe you sent at least one of us targeted aid? No. Or maybe you distributed the aid that the CGTrader community donated to you? Or at least the CGTrader team was interested in how, literally, each Ukrainian 3D creator goes through a "survival quest" in the conditions of constant shelling and bombing, with destroyed houses, hiding in basements, without water and food, with no electricity and other human conditions in order to create 3D and bring it here to earn some money for survival? What exactly did CGTrader do and what are you interested in at all? Where do you put this money that the authors deducted from sales? .... And now you are unilaterally, without prior discussion (simply treacherously) going to take away from the authors YEARS and hard-earned ratings, literally snatching bread crumbs from our mouths? That is, presented us with a fait accompli? ... Returning to the question of partnership, of course, about FAIR partnership, today we see that CGTrader violates the BASIC PRINCIPLES of fair partnership. And now it turns out that we all lived for many years under the illusion that this was a partnership. In what part of the universe is your corporate ethics, dignity, honor and conscience now located?

I want to add to you: Shutterstock, which is also part of the common team together with turbosquid, also paid financial assistance to Ukrainian authors. We received $ 250 from Shutterstock in 2022. Indeed, it is logical to send assistance directly to Ukrainian authors, and not give it to the pockets of corrupt officials in Ukraine. I understand and support your pain. It was very difficult for me to work without electricity, under shelling and under severe stress

https://x.com/MyLordBebo/status/1895752927991792126
In such conditions, designers from Ukraine are trying to make 3D models.

TO EVERYONE.

Did you saw the 26 steps? Its fucking hilarious.
300.000$ MONTHLY to get 80% Are you fucking idiots or what?

Look at ArtStation Marketplace 95% PAYOUT!!!! 95 fucking %
You all here in the system of CGTRADER are insane.
60% payout is where you SELLERS are all gonna be for the couple of years or more.

Lets assume: from 2mln models available here
the average monthly sales on all the platform is roughly 250.000$
(from which CG Trader grabs to itself and ASTONISHING amount of money!!! 40% is 100.000$ to the pocket

I'm sorry to say this but, did you looked at your site from 2005?
With such an amount of income monthly you doing ASTONISHINGLY BAD JOB and you want MORE MONEY!

Your payout rate must be AT LEAST 85% to 95% to all of the USERS PERIOD!
USERS.... LETS VOTE FOR THIS!!!!!!!! 85 to 95 or we just QUIT to any other available place with better %

Otherwise its not a platform its a fucking robbery. Are you a TAX 40% system on which we pay another fucking 40% tax on top? GET OUT!

The change introduced by CGTrader is not neutral – it clearly disadvantages small and mid-level sellers. And that’s a problem.

Why this can rightfully be called a rip-off:
The standard payout rate used to be 70% – now it’s only 60%.
→ That’s a real loss for everyone who doesn’t sell at high volume.

The tiered reward system claims to be “fair,” but in reality it punishes smaller creators.
→ You need to generate hundreds or even thousands of dollars in sales just to get back to the previous standard rates.

CGTrader benefits greatly from this change.
→ The platform keeps a larger share of the revenue without doing any extra work – especially from those who already earn the least.

The introduction of Hyperwallet means:

Additional fees

Less control

Problems in many countries
→ This is not user-friendly – it’s profit maximization at the expense of creatives.

Personally?
When a system is changed in a way that worsens the conditions for the same work, without giving users a real choice, it can rightfully be called a rip-off. And morally, it’s highly questionable.

As long as there are artists that are willing to work for crumbs, this situation ripping off artists, will continue.

I have decided not to upload models for now and wait for changes. I have two folders, the first one is stocks that are going down, the second one is stocks that are going up. Stocks that are going down are divided into those that do not bring anything at all, those that bring something but rarely, and those that take a huge percentage, sometimes the entire income for their services. Normal stocks are those that bring 75 + percent of payments and often sell works, and also inspire and motivate to do this direction in work. If they start paying 60 percent to authors, as once pond5, for me this is immediately a sign that it is time to move all this to one folder with Squid, because over 10 years I have seen something similar on different sites many times and it always led to the same result - the stock closed over time. So, I will wait and see what happens next, and for now I will do other things.

My rate will also go down, like everyone else it seems, i haven't seen anyone with a reaction "Thats fair, it will benefit me". Sales for me on CGTrader have never been that good, and like many others i have had to increase the price of my models on CGTrader because of the already low rate, if i want to stay here i have to increase the price more. I cant see how this new system will benefit anyone in the long run.

I have increased the prices of all my products to compensate for the percentage that CGTrader will take from me. If my sales fall, I have already looked at new options for trading platforms. I am sure that most sellers will adhere to this strategy. Only old portfolios from companies will remain. Independent sellers will leave. Something like this happened on TurboSquid. For the sake of interest, I duplicate my models there - one sale per month, while on CGTrader there are several dozen. It is a pity that CGTrader has chosen a path that will lead to its decline

Hi.
I think this table should be completely renewed. Right now it says 38k per year for 80%. This should change to 5k at most. I still can't catch 80% but at least it should be like this.

If I drop from 80 percent to 70 percent, my loss is 12.5 percent. I will earn 87.5 dollars a month when I should have earned 100 dollars. Or 875 dollars when I should have earned 1000 dollars.

The earnings on other sites and on this site have already dropped to 1/3. How will I make up for this missing money?

What if a link between total yearly sales and individual repository size existed?

Just throwing some ideas. In practice, it might look something like this?
We get a base of 70%, then 75%, 80% and finally max of 85% royalty.
But,... it can also go from 70% to as low as 25% (or cap at 50%?)!

Optionally, beyond some absolute low, there can also be situation one actually needs to pay some fee to keep models online?

Some examples;
Starting out (base level applies) at 70% royalty.
Annual evaluation applies when a portfolio reaches at least 20 models.
Simulation with 20 models and $1,000/year in sales would result in $1,000 ÷ 20 = 50, keeping the 70% royalty in effect.

However, 50 could be the tipping point to go reverse?

For example, with $900 in sales ($900 ÷ 20 = 45), the royalty would decrease.
45 becomes 65%, 40 → 60%, 35 → 55%, 30 → 50% (cap?), or all the way down to as low as 5 → 25%.

Ultimately, 25% can be lowest one can get, but perhaps, bellow 1 (making less than $20/year with 20 models), in that case $1 penalty fee (hosting fee) per model would be “paid” to keep them online for another year?

Then moving forward and upward, a year with 20 models and $1,500 in sales ($1,500 ÷ 20 = 75) would increase the royalty to 75% in the following year. Eventually, reaching $1,700/year (or more) with 20 models ($1,700 ÷ 20 = 85) would grant the maximum 85% royalty following year.

In contrast, simulating this with 500 models would mean earn at least $42,500 annually ($42,500 ÷ 500 = 85) to reach 85% royalty. Otherwise, stay at 70%, 65%, or worse (e.g., below $22,500).

Note, you’d probably also need a system to prevent users from creating countless accounts with 19 models each to avoid evaluation (to control AI floodgate), probably also sample the above metric on a weekly or monthly basis to avoid a yearly temporally shift to free models?
(and rid those uploading points!)

Anyways, such a setup would maybe have better chance rewarding individuals delivering excellent work and maintaining high-performing portfolios (regardless size), while at same time, discouraging neglect and careless uploading?

There are about 20+ sites on the market. Some pay 40 percent, some 95.

When a new designer comes to the site, regardless of his experience, he needs a lot of time to upload models before they will sell for at least $50.

If he gets a tiny percentage from model sales, he simply will not participate in this, and will not work with the site on principle.

My girlfriend and I have been uploading photogrammetry models to the site for a year now.

I can't say that they sell well, they sell poorly. If they tell us that the percentage is now small, we have only one option - to raise the price specifically on this site.

For example, I make a 3D photogrammetry model of a nut. I expect that if it is bought, I will get, for example, $8 from it. If the site tells me - that you will not get $8 from it, but only $2 ... what do I have on the horizon?

1 - I spent half an hour shooting
2 - I bought a macro lens to shoot this nut
3 - I spent 2 hours of computer calculations on assembling photogrammetry
4 - I spent several thousand dollars on the computer itself with a strong modern video card.
5 - I spent time preparing models, textures, aligning models, editing it, LODs, and uploading to the site.
6 - I spent on electricity for the video card

So I worked on the model for a total of more than 3 hours, so that if it were sold, I would get 2-3 bucks?)
Seriously?) So I won't get 8 dollars if this model is sold, I'll get 2-3, which means there's no point in me doing it.
There's simply no profit. And the portfolio is young, just created.

My point of view - payments to authors are 75-80 percent for ALL.
Depending on their activity, they are promoted in the model search engine. If the percentage is lower, then the model will cost not 8 dollars but 12, if even lower, then not 12 but 20, and so on.
Yes, they will not buy it here, they will buy it on another site, since there is no exclusivity here. But any games with a percentage of payments = an increase in the price of models.

Probably, the calculation is that old authors with a large portfolio will not change prices, and this will be the profit for the site. But new authors will upload to the site as secondary, with the price of the model relative to the percentage and the profit they expect for their work.

While this issue is still being discussed and has not been clarified, I hope that the new system will not be active on June 2, that is, today.

I had 76% now went down to 69% What a mess

I had 75 percent. Now I have 67. L.O.L. To get to 75 percent I have to sell models for an unrealistic amount. Of course, everything is for the best for the sellers ha ha. Well. It's time to go to other trading platforms. Yes, I should develop further

I used to have a 78% royalty rate, now it’s 70%, and in order to reach 71% I need to make $3,500 more in sales per year — this is madness, it’s absurd. $3,500 just for a single percent increase. Even $1,000 would have been a lot — but $3,500? Only a few 3D artists will ever reach 80%.

You’ve created an unfair and overly complicated system. It needs to be reconsidered. Lately, your marketplace has been disappointing. It seemed like things were starting to improve — I was even happy to see some positive changes — but now you drop another unpleasant surprise.

What kind of reaction are you expecting? Who is supposed to feel motivated or encouraged by this? Am I now supposed to work around the clock just to make an extra $3,500 a year for 1% more in royalties?

from 74% to 64% this is disappointing and unfair cgtrader!?

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My mistake I said here from 76% to 69%. This is not motivation for those we are doing hard but I went from 76% to 65%. The worst ever and here I think I lost motivation to sell anything. Bravo CGTrader for that. It will be much better to all who stays here be in same level as before. Strange Organisation you have.

Having 75 votes "against" and launching the new system. Very "democratic" change.

Many newer sellers probably don't even know that this is not first time when cgtrader increasing their cut on our sales. I've been here since 2015 and i remember that payout has been reduced 3 times and AFAIK it also happened once before i signed up, so yeah, cgtrader has long history of squeezing artists and as someone here already mentioned, next step will likely be subscription plans, where our models will be sold in bulk for pennies. How many marketplaces do you know that constantly reduces payouts for the sellers? I personally don't know any, only cgtrader does that, the marketplace that used to describe themselves as marketplace by artists for artists. Oh what an irony.

My payout dropped by 11% now. I'm sure it's for my benefit as it will be next year well it will drop to some 40%. So thank you cgtrader for being such dick, you can go to hell now.

I can't seem to find the dashboard submenu in the profile menu. I guess cgtrader has decided not to irritate users with a straight slanted line in sales in the last few months and a changed rate . I think it's time to forget about this site - so many scammers in mail/forum, complains from customers about payment problems and stupid 3 days wait for project to begin, so many thieves and AI crap. Good luck cgtrader

Well, that's it, 61 percent for my new portfolio.
And it's not even the beginning of the year.
Everything is clear in general.

From 73% to 61%.
I haven't decided to delete my models or raise prices yet.
But I don't publish new models on this site anymore.

There has been no change in the table. Are we talking in vain here? If the table is not going to change, why are you asking for our opinion?

There has been no change in the table. Are we talking in vain here? If the table is not going to change, why are you asking for our opinion?

from 74% to 65%, AHAHAHAHAHA i don't care anymore i've raised my price by significant amount, IDGAF whether it's gonna sell or not, that means CGT won't get money from me anyway

Lol, they don't even count the new payout rate from your SALES (sold for, can be seen now in monthly summary) but from your REVENUE.
That means if you have stable sales (not improving) your payout rate will keep declining.

Example - last 12 months you sold models worth of $1 000 with a rate of 80% - that's $800 minus processing fees (~5%) - your REVENUE something like $750 (max rate never was really 80% but 75%).

This year with same sales you will get 66% - that's $660 - minus processing fees - about $610 and you will fall to 64% payout rate.

The solution is simple folks.
Raise prices.
Find a site with a better royalty rate.
and make the prices on that site lower than those here.

They clearly don't care much about the creators, who are the main source of this site and the main source of this work.

This situation Is very very sad for us artists :-(

Yes, we too, after seeing this percentage, decided to duplicate the portfolio on several sites. It will take time, but everything is clear here) We weren't even very upset, to be honest, you just need to put everything in different baskets. The prices are very simple.
You want for your sale, for example - 10 dollars.
You take the percentage of the sites' commission, and based on this, you calculate what the price should be on it. It's simple.

To get 10 dollars.
A site with 60 percent, for example squid - 25 dollars in price
A site with 40 percent, for example you know who - 16.6 dollars
A site with 5 percent - 10.53 dollars.

It turns out with such a percentage, each site has a different price.
And the best price can be offered by the site with the lowest percentage on the market for authors.
That's all.

Hey everyone,

While we're aware of the concerns regarding recent changes, we want to make sure you're also aware of new tools designed to directly help your sales. Today, we're launching Search Boost – a powerful new feature that gives your models top visibility in search results.

This means your designs can now appear first for relevant keywords, significantly increasing their chances of being seen and purchased, which eventually helps you to increase your payout percentage rate. We've even provided free credits in your account (converted from your past reputation) so you can try it out immediately and see the potential impact on your revenue.

You can find all the details and get started with Search Boost in our main announcement thread here: https://www.cgtrader.com/forum/general-discussions/get-ready-to-be-seen-introducing-search-boost-on-cgtrader

We hope this new feature will provide a valuable avenue for you to boost your sales and mitigate some of the challenges you're facing.

Happy boosting and selling,
The CGTrader Team

Few cents from me.
It's reality, it's their business. They didn't make it for us, but for them to earn money. And I think here high enough royalty, or 40% is better?
To get 70% need Revenue $235/month - if you aren't undercutter and sell models for 3$ then it's not a problem at all, 70% not bad royalty.
I sell 3D models like 13 years, and there all time changes on market, we can't do anything about that :)

Looking at what CGT turned into, I now regret that I had spent so much time of my life , trying to make this site a better place.
: /

All my models are now priced at $500 each.
It is out of the question to continue under these unacceptable conditions.

The decision to reduce the payout percentage for model designers is a complete disappointment. It doesn’t just affect our earnings — it deeply damages our motivation. Uploading affordable models is no longer an option, because we’re simply not being compensated fairly for our work.

!!! Under these conditions, the only logical response is to opt out of every discount event. Maybe that’s the only way we can even begin to reach the already reduced percentage they expect us to earn from.!!!

We’ve spent years building up our portfolios, meeting every standard this platform demands, investing countless hours into creating high-quality models. And this is the thanks we get? Designers are the backbone of this system, yet we’re the ones being neglected the most.

This is a major letdown for every artist who’s ever contributed to this platform. You need to hear our voices — because if this decision stands, many of us are losing faith in the future here.

The reduction in earnings percentage for model designers is simply unacceptable. This isn’t just a financial loss — it’s a complete disregard for the years of effort, time, and creativity we’ve put into our work. Uploading affordable models no longer makes sense, because the compensation doesn’t reflect the value of our labor.

!!!Joining any discount event under these new terms would only hurt us further. That’s why we must not participate in any discount campaigns. Maybe then, our voices will be heard and this unfair revenue model will be reconsidered.!!!

We’ve contributed to the growth and quality of this platform for years. We’ve met the standards, consistently produced content, and invested ourselves fully. But clearly, all that effort means nothing now. Designers are the foundation of this system, yet we’re the ones suffering the most from this decision.

Being part of a system that ignores its creators like this is becoming harder to justify. We are truly disappointed.

https://www.cgtrader.com/3d-models/exterior/sci-fi-exterior/no-new-payout-rate

my payout rate decreased from 78% to 62%. "thanks" CGTrader...

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When I looked yesterday my payout rate was 73%, now I look and it has dropped to 72%. I have never seen such a ridiculous system. In other words, as sales decrease day by day, the earnings rating is constantly decreasing.

I can't understand how such a ridiculous system can be. The bad thing is that I sell my models the most on this site. CGTRader is aware of this, unfortunately this is the most well-known site.

There is nothing we can do, we will increase the prices. But this will decrease the sales even more, in the end, even if we make sales, we will have to settle for 65%.

You can be as famous as you want, but if the modelers sell their models cheaper on other well-known sales platforms, CGTrader has gained nothing.

Just increse prices, we all must do it, and wait to see what will happen. I did it already

Yes, I also raised prices as soon as I found out about the new changes.