Those are definitely all very good points. Everyone's situation is so different, I'm always hesitate to give any advice as a "prescription" and more of "here's what we did and why we did it so you can decide for yourself".

I'm definitely aware of how easily the new services enable you to entirely avoid the PCI issues. Personally, I'd say that their cut is probably well worth it relative to the time and effort that it takes to build it from scratch. However, that's driven in large part because I'd much rather invest time in the product than worry about the billing details. It's not that it's all that difficult, it's just that it's not the core of what makes Sifter unique.

With regards to promotions and stuff, I'm not a big fan of that. I'm a strong believer in keeping things simple and people either like it enough to pay for it or they don't. I feel that promotions might attract people for the wrong reasons. The more complex the pricing is, the more painful it is to deal with, and it can quickly become a distraction from simply crafting a better product.

Of course, plenty of companies have had great success with promotions, but it's not for us. To each their own, right? Either way, I hope the info helps. Best of luck which ever way ends up working out for you.