# TASK 54 — Marcom round: free-forever positioning + merch (queued 2026-10-08)

> ⛔ **THE FREE-FOREVER RULING IN THIS FILE IS SUPERSEDED — 2026-10-30.** The app is **freemium**:
> every feature is still free, and a paid edition exists for higher output quality (free is capped
> at a 921,600 px / 30 fps profile, stream **and** recording). Live policy:
> [`docs/ai/commercial.md`](../docs/ai/commercial.md). Cause of death:
> [`docs/ai/decisions.md`](../docs/ai/decisions.md) → Monetization. Read the rest of this file as
> the 2026-10-08 record — the merch/gratuity half still stands, the "free forever, no paid tier"
> half does not.

> Catalog: [`TASKS.md`](../TASKS.md) — status and requirements live here.

**Why:** the monetization decision changed. LlamaCasty launches **watermark-free and free as in beer,
forever** — no paid tiers, no branding flash. The old watermark-paid-delta plan (TASK 10) is
superseded. Money, if any, comes from **gratuity and branded merch**, never from gating the app.

**History of the ruling (creator-led, 2026-10-08):** feature set is locked for v1; there are no new
pricing tiers to build. The compensation decision: ship the app free and watermark-free, put a
coffee jar / merch storefront in front of people, done. Assistant recommendation that was accepted:
**print-on-demand merch** instead of a tip jar for the main channel, because a t-shirt the viewer
wears is free advertising a donation is not.

**Done so far:**

- ✅ llamacasty.com stripped of ALL pricing (2026-10-08): plans ($0/$10/$400), the feature chart,
  the "made with LlamaCasty!" flash copy, and the `#pricing` section replaced with a **free-forever
  band**: "Free forever. Completely yours." — no watermark, no branding on stream, no subscription,
  no account. Nav + footer relinked to `#free`. Deployed + verified live (0 pricing refs).
- ✅ Ruling recorded: no watermark, no branding-flash, app ships as-is.

**Merch plan (accepted, corrected 2026-10-08):**

- **Printful as the producer/fulfillment** (quality + creative control). **Storefront-layer facts
  (verified via websearch 2026-10-08 — there is NO free one-site tier that integrates Printful):**
  - Printful's built-in storefront ("Quick Stores") = US-seller/US-buyer only, no custom domain.
  - **Ecwid:** free Starter plan has **no third-party app integrations** — Printful's own doc states
    Printful requires Venture, Business, or Unlimited (Venture ≈ $29/mo annual). Dead on a free tier.
  - **PROVIDER DECISION (2026-10-08, after websearch of the POD market):** **Fourthwall**, not
  Printful. It eliminates the storefront-layer problem entirely:
  - Real free plan ($0/mo, not a trial), **built-in storefront**, connect own domain
    (`shop.llamacasty.com`) for free (Pro $19/mo adds .store domain, 0% digital fees).
  - Native creator integrations: **YouTube Merch Shelf, Twitch product gifting, TikTok Shop,
    Discord** — where the young audience buys.
  - Fulfillment incl. **Mexico** (US/UK/EU/CA/MX/AU/JP partners); Merchant of Record (tax/VAT
    handled); Fourthwall handles catalog-order customer support.
  - **No platform fee on physical products** — base cost + processing (2.9%+30¢ domestic) only;
    you keep 100% of markup. Quality-first curated partners (max-ink printing), not supplier lottery.
  - vs rivals: Printful/POD = production-only (storefront friction = the whole Square/BigCartel/
    Ecwid saga above); Printify = cheapest bases but needs third-party store + own tax/support.
  - **GO/NO-GO to verify at signup:** Fourthwall seller payout to a Mexico-based account (MX
    *shipping* is confirmed; seller payouts unverified).
  - Design assets (llama 816×1645 @300dpi PNG, back-URL text) port as-is; re-confirm the catalog
    picks (hoodie, tee, stickers, bottle) in Fourthwall's catalog.
- **Small lineup: 3–5 items** to start (t-shirt, mug, sticker set — the llama logo is the obvious
  draw). Assets live in `llamacasty.web/assets/img/` (icon-512.png, logo.webp, gramps-480.webp).

**In-app tasks bundled here (small, App-layer only):**

- ☐ Branding-flash text becomes **"llamacasty.com"** (single small mention) instead of the
  "made with LlamaCasty!" overlay — pending the "no branding, completely yours" wording conflict:
  a streamer showing zero branding and a streamer showing "llamacasty.com" are different promises;
  creator to pick.
- ☐ Add the merch/storefront links to the **About pop-up** so the store is reachable from inside
  the app at all times.

**Marcom write-up:** capture this whole decision (positioning, competitor note — Meld Studio runs
free core + paid AI tiers and a merch store; ArtCraft monetizes AI credits — the free-forever
difference) into the dedicated **marcom.md** file once the creator creates it. This task file is the
working copy until then.