China-based indie selling overseas: why I picked Paddle as Merchant of Record

Hey IH —

I’m building Forge Regex (https://regex.ststudio.top) from China, selling a $9/mo Pro plan to overseas developers.

The constraint

I needed card + PayPal (and local methods by region) without becoming a tax/compliance expert on day one. Stripe / Lemon Squeezy paths were painful for my setup. Paddle-as-MoR was the path that actually let me ship checkout.

What I implemented

• Paddle.js overlay checkout from the pricing page
• Webhook → activate subscription in SQLite
• Client “activate” call after checkout for faster UX
• Magic-link email login so Pro isn’t stuck to one browser cookie

Footguns I hit

1. UI said $9 while env still pointed at a $1 test Price ID.
2. “I paid but I’m not Pro” = webhook lag + cookie-only entitlement. Email session fixed it.
3. MoR means your refund / tax copy must match Paddle’s role — I updated Terms / Refund pages accordingly.

Ask

If you’re a non-US indie selling globally: did you stay on MoR (Paddle/LS) or fight for Stripe? What broke first for you?