Promo codes and Sale Incentives at checkout

Two different things on Creatures sound similar and are easy to mix up, so this article keeps them clearly apart. A promo code is a discount the buyer types in at checkout to pay less. A Sale Incentive is a seller-funded bonus paid to whoever refers a sale, on top of the normal promoter reward. One lowers what a buyer pays; the other pays a promoter more. They are unrelated, and a seller setting up one should not confuse it with the other.

Promo codes: a discount the buyer enters

A promo code is entered by the buyer in the "Have a promo code?" field at checkout. When a valid code is applied, checkout previews the discount before you pay, so you always see the new total first.

What a code takes off

A code is one of two kinds, and the kind decides how the discount is calculated:

• Percentage: a percent off the item price (for example 10% off). The discount scales with the price.
• Fixed amount: a set dollar amount off (for example $25 off). If a fixed code is larger than the item price, it is capped at the price, so a code can take an item to $0 but never below it.

Who pays for the discount (the funding source)

Every code is funded by one of two parties, and this is invisible to you as the buyer but it matters to the seller:

• Seller-funded: the seller absorbs the discount. The seller is then paid out on the discounted total, so the code comes out of the seller's own proceeds.
• Platform-funded: Creatures absorbs the discount. The seller is paid out on the full, pre-discount total, so the seller is kept whole and the discount is on Creatures. Platform-funded codes are created by Creatures, not by sellers.

Either way, the buyer sees the same thing: a lower price at checkout. The difference only changes who covers it behind the scenes.

The limits a code can carry

A code is not always usable by everyone, every time. Depending on how it was set up, a code can have any of these conditions, and if one is not met, checkout tells you why the code did not apply:

• A total usage limit: the code can be redeemed only a set number of times across all customers. Once it is exhausted, it stops working for everyone.
• A per-customer limit: each customer can use the code only so many times (often just once).
• A minimum order: the code applies only if your subtotal is at least a set amount. Below that, checkout says the order does not meet the code's minimum.
• A validity window: the code is active only between a start date and an end date. Outside that window it is "not active yet" or "no longer valid".
• New customers only: some codes are for first-time buyers. If you have bought on Creatures before (anywhere on the platform, including a past subscription), a new-customers code will not apply to you.

If a code is rejected, the message at checkout tells you the reason (expired, fully redeemed, minimum not met, sign in to use it, and so on), so you know whether to try a different code or just buy at the listed price.

Sale Incentives: a seller-funded bonus for promoters

A Sale Incentive is the opposite side of the coin. It is not a discount and the buyer never sees it. It is an extra payout a seller attaches to their own listing for whoever refers the sale, paid on top of the standard promoter reward. Sellers use it to make a listing more attractive to share.

• Where it is set: on the listing's create or edit form, using the Promote & Earn boost control (a "Percentage of sale" or "Fixed amount" choice plus the boost value). In code this is the listing's seller bonus.
• What it does: when someone refers a sale on that listing through their referral link, they earn their normal base reward plus this bonus. It rewards the promoter, not the buyer, so it never lowers the sale price.
• A fixed dollar amount or a percentage: the seller sets the boost as a flat dollar amount, or as a percentage of the sale price, whichever suits the listing.
• Capped so the seller is protected: the bonus is capped so a seller can never be pushed below zero by their own boost. On the form it is limited to a share of the listing price (up to 90% of price, or up to 95% for a seller on Creatures Pro), and at payout it is trimmed to the seller's actual net proceeds after fees if it would otherwise exceed them. A generous boost is automatically reduced to what the seller can actually afford to pay out.

For the full promoter experience (referral links, attribution, when bonuses pay out), see Referrals and promoter rewards: earn by sharing. For the seller's how-to on setting a boost, see Promoting your listing and seller bonuses.

Telling them apart, in one line

• A promo code is entered by the buyer at checkout and lowers what the buyer pays.
• A Sale Incentive is set by the seller on the listing and pays a promoter more; the buyer's price does not change.

Keep that split in mind and the two never get tangled. For how a purchase and its money flow work overall, see How buying works.

Related information

• Creatures Pro: pricing, benefits, and managing your plan

Updated on: 23/06/2026