What do you do when customers' payment plans fail?

Break the course into sections / payments. They pay as they go.

You could offer a discount if they pay for the full course with a single payment or tack on some additional amount per section. That way there is an incentive to make a single payment.

If you actually finance it and they get the full course. Inevitable some are going to burn you.

I doubt that getting debt collectors involved would be much use, especially if your customers are from other countries.

How do your buyers access the videos? If a customer can download the whole course immediately, you don't have much leverage. But if the videos were streamed and password protected, you could simply deactivate the passwords until payment is received. They could still cram in all the course videos in the first month or two, but being unable to go back to them might at least be some kind of a deterrent.

It might also help if you stated you'd be adding "important" updates or revisions at various points during the first year of the course.

How many payments total are involved.
And what. Is the added cost to the customer for going with payments over 1 payment
What percent of those on payment plan default.

If the amount of money involved is small it will probably cost you moreoney time and basic mental stability to recover than you will actually get .

Add a premium to your payment plan and I am making up this part as I go so there is probably a real figure for this

Let's say you have 6 payments and the normal default point is 2 payments. Each payment has a premium say the full price is 250 bucks instead of 6 payment of 41.69. the payment are 46 or.

Blah blah blah . Just add an extra fee to each payment so so it you have 1 out of 5 payment default you make the same amount as if you sold 5 courses without payments.

Processing and payment fees

Btw, one thing I will certainly do is add solid terms and conditions that also let them pay interest for payment delays. That might actually be an incentive to pay. I will also add my choice of jurisdiction and applicable law.

Finally, a letter by an attorney makes most people panic and comply. This is a big part of the business model of insurance companies all over the world. You can also try making their credit score worse, but I have no idea if that is possible for me (also depends on country, etc.).

Also, don't forget to block these people from ever purchasing from you again. Stripe has a function called "Radar," and most good shopping carts have a blocking function too.

How come 4 honest people have to pay for one fraudster? I would already be content if I could give them a serious disadvantage, even without myself gaining an advantage (as long as it's effortless for me). But there has to be some repercussion by the merchant, or they will just go on to do this to the next guy (to you) as well.

IMO, 6 months is too long to hold their interest and your results seem to prove that. Why not stick with 4 months - and learn how to set up the drip you say is available?

I think you are on the wrong track. You are looking for ways to compel payment or add 'consequences'....when you should be looking for a way to have fewer payments or provide the course in sections that follow each payment.

What is the cost of the product - what are the payments? You say 'small sample' - how small?

These are not necessarily 'fraudsters' - they are buyers who lost interest. They've seen the entire 'product' and they're done. I don't think this would happen to many sellers here - most would not provide the whole enchilada and trust people to keep paying for 5 more months after that.

You can do all that - but if I saw it on a sales page - I'd change my mind about buying. If you 'protest' too much, prospects will wonder what's wrong with the product. Something to think about.

Preventive measure would be the most effective. Working on freelancing sites that offer seller security (like Fiverr or PeoplePerHour) would help reduce the probability of having payment issues. You can also choose to deliver in parts, as payment is made, or request full payment before completing the delivery.