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RGB Classic Games
Keeping the classics alive
Currently hosting 566 great games!

Donations

How does RGB Classic Games make money, and why?

RGB Classic Games makes money through three different methods. RGB accepts donations, either through PayPal or Flattr. The entire RGB Classic Games website is available as a DVD-ROM, which is free, but a donation to cover the cost of producing and shipping the DVD-ROM is appreciated. RGB is also an affiliate of DotEmu, GOG, and Amazon, which means that RGB earns a commission when visitors purchase games and other goods from those organizations after clicking a link from this website. Finally, RGB receives money from advertisers.

RGB Classic Games has two recurring, mandatory expenses: domain name registration and web hosting. RGB also has non-recurring expenses, such as the cost of producing and shipping the RGB Classic Games DVD-ROM, and PayPal fees on donations and payments. RGB also chooses to donate money to worthwhile causes, such as our sponsored child, Samira, and donations to the developers of programs that allow classic games to be played on modern computers.

To be clear, when you make a donation to RGB Classic Games you are not paying for the games that appear on this site, nor does your donation register your shareware. RGB's goal is to spend all of the money that the website receives to pay for the site's expenses and preservation initiatives, and to support the preservation initiatives of others. I believe in the principle of transparent accounting practices, therefore all expenses and revenues will be published on the site.

Donors
Accounting
Affiliate income details

Donors

Donations through PayPal are totally secure, and the amount of your donation is entirely up to you. What is it worth to you to have access to games that you used to play, or hidden gems that you are discovering for the first time? Even if it's just a few dollars, every penny helps me out. Donors will, of course, be graciously acknowledged on this page.

James Goddard
Pierre Mihok
Dan Stewart
Dave Allen
Rahbar Latifi
Pascal Wenger
Jess Franklin
Manuel Brito
Alexander Mair
Michael Kohel
Johan Nilsson
Michael Trinh
Philip Salvador
Kenilee Campbell
Johnney Greever
Kazuo Shiota
Toru Nishikawa
Sanusi Fujimoto
Tamura L Okabayashi
Joseph Meador
Maarten Hachmang
Masaoki V Kimiko
Doug Rhea

Accounting

In the interest of transparency and full disclosure, all site-related income and expenses are entered into the public record. I try to include only expenses that are exclusively for the benefit of websites owned and operated by RGB Classic Games. I've made many purchases (specifically, computer upgrades) that I probably wouldn't have made if not for this web site, but they are not included because I enjoy the benefit of those purchases outside of the maintenance and operation of the site.

Cumulative Financial Brief
Year Revenues ($) Expenses ($) Surplus/Loss ($)
Total 22328.64 (10958.09) 11370.55
2016 3142.05 (394.05) 2793.00
2015 2546.39 (494.00) 2052.39
2014 2372.62 (2076.94) 295.68
2013 1224.20 (1465.39) -241.19
2012 1748.19 (487.49) 1260.70
2011 3368.60 (830.27) 2583.33
2010 3177.59 (1978.26) 1199.33
2009 2557.00 (1902.46) 654.54
2008 985.00 (523.06) 461.94
2007 1175.00 (715.00) 460.00
2006 32.00 (35.16) -3.16
2005 0.00 (101.01) -101.01
2016 Financial Statement
Expenses: $349.05
$34.05 PayPal fees from payments.
$315.00 Expenses related to RGB Classic Games' sponsored child, Samira, at a rate of $35 per month through World Vision.
Revenues: $3142.05
$2850.00 Advertising.
$292.05 Commissions from GOG. Whenever you buy any game on GOG after clicking that link, RGB will get a small commission.
2016 Total: $2793.00

2015 Financial Statement
Expenses: $494.00
$61.35 PayPal fees from payments.
$420.00 Expenses related to RGB Classic Games' sponsored child, Samira.
$12.65 Expenses related to the Official RGB Classic Games DVD-ROM. $6.75 for CD bubble mailers. $5.90 for shipping.
Revenues: $2546.39
$17.00 Donations made through PayPal.
$66.25 Official RGB Classic Games DVD-ROM donations.
$1500.00 Advertising.
$286.29 Commissions from Amazon for visitors who used our links to discontinued games to order something (not necessarily a discontinued game). In fact, you don't even have to buy a classic game if you want to help the site. Just click the link for Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.fr, or Amazon.de and it will take you to the main page. We'll get a small commission on anything you buy, and it costs you nothing to give the site that little bit of support.
$676.85 Commissions from GOG.
2015 Total: $2052.39

2014 Financial Statement
Expenses: $2076.94
$116.55 3 year web hosting package with Host Gator ($12.95/month, less 75% discount). The Business package includes unlimited bandwidth, unlimited storage, unlimited databases, and a free SSL certificate.
$254.33 2 year Thawte Java-signing certificate from The SSL Store.
$86.06 PayPal fees from payments.
$420.00 Expenses related to RGB Classic Games' sponsored child, Samira.
$200.00 Donation to the Reading Rainbow Kickstarter Campaign.
$1000.00 Donation to the DOSBox project.
Revenues: $2372.62
$540.00 Donations made through PayPal.
$20.00 Official RGB Classic Games DVD-ROM donations.
$1225.00 Advertising.
$155.20 Commissions from Amazon.
$432.42 Commissions from GOG.
2014 Total: $295.68

2013 Financial Statement
Expenses: $1465.39
$45.39 PayPal fees from payments.
$420.00 Expenses related to RGB Classic Games' sponsored child, Samira.
$1000.00 Donation to the jDosbox project.
Revenues: $1224.20
$800.00 Advertising.
$30.00 Donations made through PayPal.
$108.04 Commissions from Amazon.
$286.16 Commissions from GOG.
2013 Total: -$241.19

2012 Financial Statement
Expenses: $487.49
$67.49 PayPal fees from payments.
$420.00 Expenses related to RGB Classic Games' sponsored child, Samira.
Revenues: $1748.19
$1365.00 Advertising.
$102.31 Commissions from Amazon.
$280.88 Commissions from GOG.
2012 Total: $1260.70

2011 Financial Statement
Expenses: $830.27
$278.25 3 year web hosting package with Host Gator ($7.95/month, less $7.95 discount).
$127.33 PayPal fees from payments.
$4.69 Expenses related to the Official RGB Classic Games DVD-ROM. $2.02 for CD bubble mailers. $2.67 for shipping.
$420.00 Expenses related to RGB Classic Games' sponsored child, Samira.
Revenues: $3368.60
$48.60 Donations made through PayPal.
$50.00 Official RGB Classic Games DVD-ROM donations.
$3270.00 Advertising.
2011 Total: $2538.33

2010 Financial Statement
Expenses: $1978.26
$143.15 PayPal fees from payments.
$65.11 Expenses related to the Official RGB Classic Games DVD-ROM. $25.73 for 100-pack of DVD-Rs. $15.00 for 30-pack spindle of Imation DVD+R 8x with ForceField Protective Coating. $7.64 for CD bubble mailers. $9.52 for shipping.
$420.00 Expenses related to RGB Classic Games' sponsored child, Samira.
$1350.00 One-time donation to World Vision. The World Food Programme and the Government of Canada matched this donation, providing $4050 for food, health care and education.
Revenues: $3177.59
$105.00 Official RGB Classic Games DVD-ROM donations.
$2970.05 Advertising.
$102.54 Commissions from Amazon.
2010 Total: $1199.33

2009 Financial Statement
Expenses: $1902.46
$101.84 PayPal fees from payments.
$1622.00 Distributed the surplus by paying community members $1 per forum post.
$31.12 Registration of Highslide.
$7.50 Expenses related to the Official Classic DOS Games DVD-ROM. $4.04 for CD bubble mailers. $3.46 for shipping.
$140.00 Expenses related to Classic DOS Games' adopted child, Samira.
Revenues: $2557.00
$60.00 Donations made through PayPal.
$30.00 Official Classic DOS Games DVD-ROM donations.
$2467.00 Advertising.
2009 Total: $654.54

2008 Financial Statement
Expenses: $523.06
$228.96 3 year web hosting package with Host Gator ($7.95/month, less 20% discount).
$89.91 Three 3 month web hosting packages with 1&1 ($9.99/month). Upgraded to the Business package because an advertiser required SSI, but the ads never ended up working.
$39.57 PayPal fees from payments.
$35.95 1 year domain name registration for classicdosgames.com, classicwindowsgames.com, classicwindowsgames.org (we have Win16 games now!), olddosgames.org (registered to prevent cybersquatting following an interview in which I mentioned that the site was originally going to be called Old DOS Games), classicdosgaming.com (registered to prevent cybersquatting after Apogee/3D Realms got our domain name wrong in a news item about the site!). classicdosgames.org is free with our hosting package. Minus $1.00 credit when registrar agreed to give a one-time discount after advising of price increase to $8.99 per year after a domain had already been registered while the old rate was still being advertised.
$46.30 Expenses related to the Official Classic DOS Games DVD-ROM. $27.11 for a Memorex 120 CD/DVD Label Replacement Kit. $7.65 for CD bubble mailers. $11.54 for shipping.
$24.00 Attempted to purchase Space Bats 1 and 2 as part of the campaign to try to resolve the unfulfilled order scandal.
$3.00 PayPal payment to Ron Balewski in a failed attempt to purchase his freeware Mahjong tiles for the site.
$1.21 Postage to mail the 22 page Zork petition to Activision's corporate headquarters.
$54.16 Purchased one of the last two Dopefish mugs that will ever be made available to the public.
Revenues: $985.00
$145.00 Official Classic DOS Games DVD-ROM donations.
$840.00 Advertising.
2008 Total: $461.94

2007 Financial Statement
Expenses: $715.00
$47.88 Two 6 month web hosting packages with 1&1 ($3.99/month).
$24.00 PayPal fees from payments.
$23.96 1 year domain name registration for classicdosgames.com, olddosgames.org (registered to prevent cybersquatting following an interview in which I mentioned that the site was originally going to be called Old DOS Games), classicwindowsgames.com (in anticipation of adding Win16 games), classicdosgaming.com (registered to prevent cybersquatting after Apogee/3D Realms got our domain name wrong in a news item about the site!). classicdosgames.org is free with our hosting package.
$619.16 Expenses related to the Official Classic DOS Games DVD-ROM. $106.02 for a Plextor PX-810SA DVD±RW. $33.05 for a Memorex CD/DVD Label Maker Kit Expert. $7.28 for CD bubble mailers. $7.88 for shipping. $10.82 for Dynex 100-Pack CD/DVD Sleeves. $67.65 for my failed attempt to purchase a Xerox Phaser 6110N color laser printer. $386.46 for a Xerox Phaser 6120N color laser printer.
Revenues: $1175.00
$65.00 Donations made through PayPal.
$200.00 Official Classic DOS Games DVD-ROM donations.
$910.00 Advertising.
2007 Total: $460.00

2006 Financial Statement
Expenses: $35.16
Expenses related to all sites
$17.94 6 month web hosting and domain name registration with 1&1 ($2.99/month).
$2.29 PayPal fees from payments.
DOS Historical Preservation Society expenses
$14.93 5 year domain name registration
Revenues: $32.00
$32.00 Donations made through PayPal.
2006 Total: -$3.16

2005 Financial Statement
Expenses: $101.01
$101.01 2 year web hosting and domain name registration with PowWeb, after pro-rated refund due to early cancellation in 2006.
Revenues: $0.00
2005 Total: -$101.01

Affiliate income details


Amazon
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Total Payment threshold Payments Paid out Unpaid balance
.com $0.45 $5.75 $5.59 $21.67 $57.59 $64.78 $43.72 $93.88 $51.18 $195.17 $132.64 $13.50 $685.92 $100.00 6 $648.04 $37.88
.ca $8.48 $0.94 $15.96 $3.48 $4.36 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $33.22 $100.00 0 $0.00 $33.22
.uk £0.71 £1.73 £12.69 £4.86 £15.05 £23.49 £1.50 £60.03 £50.00 1 £55.70 £4.33
.de €0.00 €8.39 €20.11 €14.82 €21.67 €27.23 €0.00 €92.22 €50.00 1 €50.64 €41.58
.fr €0.00 €0.80 €0.00 €0.00 €0.00 €0.00 €0.80 €50.00 0 €0.00 €0.80
Flattr
2012 2013 2014 2015 Total Withdrawn
€0.56 €2.90 €2.49 €0.12 €6.07 €0.00
DotEmu
2013 2014 2015 2016 Total Paid out
$9.97 $14.85 $19.26 $0.69 $44.77 $0.00