Using PayPal to Sell Your Work - Page 2

aformerescort · 04-23-2011, 04:46 PM

The Wp-ecommerce plugin does secure digital downloads integrating with paypal, really easily - it's at - http://www.instinct.co.nz/e-commerce/ or via the wordpress plugin repository.

I almost forgot about it!

bhartman36 · 04-28-2011, 01:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aformerescort

The Wp-ecommerce plugin does secure digital downloads integrating with paypal, really easily - it's at - http://www.instinct.co.nz/e-commerce/ or via the wordpress plugin repository.

I almost forgot about it!

Thanks for that!

I just put my first book (of 6 short stories) on my website, so I have the PayPal buttons and links already set, but I'll look into this.

altworld · 04-29-2011, 01:31 PM

This thread has just reminded me I have to get all my products collected together to work through a store plugin on my website, before it gets out of hand.

You know selling Ninja shirts and books, even the small amount of product that I have I've got to make it easier for the end user.
Arigato,
Nick Davis

bhartman36 · 04-29-2011, 07:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by altworld

This thread has just reminded me I have to get all my products collected together to work through a store plugin on my website, before it gets out of hand.

Good luck to you.

altworld · 05-02-2011, 01:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bhartman36

Good luck to you.

Had to change my buttons from buy it now to add to cart, I don't foresee selling anymore than 2 dozen items on my website at a time. So I'm letting paypal to the heavy lifting and using their free cart.
Arigato,
Nick Davis

bhartman36 · 05-03-2011, 10:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by altworld

Had to change my buttons from buy it now to add to cart, I don't foresee selling anymore than 2 dozen items on my website at a time. So I'm letting paypal to the heavy lifting and using their free cart.
Arigato,
Nick Davis

Good move.

I don't have the cart on my site because I don't think people will buy more than one at a time. (Hell, my site hasn't received any hits yet for the stories, although my Kindle account has.)

Keith Robinson · 05-04-2011, 09:24 AM

The answer might be to use the IPN (instant payment notification) system on PayPal. It's free and not too complicated. After someone buys something, PayPal returns the customer to a "hidden" page of your site where the customer can download the book (as opposed to returning them to a standard thank you page). Also, to go a bit further, I added code on that page that hides the actual download link, which prevents the paying customer from forwarding the link to all and sundry.

I'm a website designer so have done lots of different systems, but I found the IPN method very simple for those who want a free service. I don't use it on my own site because I only sell signed paperbacks, but I've done it for a customer who was selling mp3 tracks.

You can check it out in PayPal under Profile > More Options > My Selling Tools (look for "Instant payment notifications").

There are always those who refuse to use PayPal, and that's their choice. Probably the same number of people refuse to use credit cards online. That's also their choice. The best thing is to offer a few options -- PayPal, Google Checkout, Amazon links, maybe even a "manual" option via email for those who want to write you a check or stop by your house with cash!

Of course, you can never stop people from emailing their downloaded book to all and sundry, but that's the danger of selling PDFs and so on. For that reason I never sell PDFs.

Keith Robinson · 05-04-2011, 09:44 AM

...Or, even simpler, just use the auto-return redirect. But don't set it within your web page's PayPal code; just set it directly within your PayPal account so it's hidden.

In PayPal, go to Profile > My Selling Tools and look for "Website preferences." Here you'll switch Auto Return on and add a return address. This address should be the download page of your website (which will be hidden from users of the website). When someone pays, they're redirected to this page so they can download the book.

This might work well enough for one single book; with multiple books you'd have to specify different return urls, and this method wouldn't work.

The downside? Unless things have changed lately, the return isn't always 100% guraranteed -- sometimes, instead of an auto-return, there's a PayPal thank you page that displays a button saying something like "return to customer's website" which customers don't always click. Also, once the customer has the return page url, he can post it to all and sundry. Return urls don't allow unique codes via the GET method, so you can't really do much with it.

Still, even though IPN is a better method, even the simple auto-return method is better than what you're suggesting in your initial post. NEVER let people see the download links until after they've made payment!

bhartman36 · 05-04-2011, 09:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Keith Robinson

Still, even though IPN is a better method, even the simple auto-return method is better than what you're suggesting in your initial post. NEVER let people see the download links until after they've made payment!

That's true. The initial way I was doing it just wasn't smart. I think I've obscured things enough now to where people aren't going to be able to get at things without paying.

Andrew Ashling · 05-24-2011, 08:38 AM

My website is built on Joomla (see signature).

They have a module for installing a download service, and one to make it payable. Works like a charm. (On my website go to Ebooks in the Main Menu)

Joomla itself is free and there are many free templates, though I went with a professional one. Some modules that offer extra functionality are free, others not. Most are inexpensive. The ones I use have paid for themselves in about two months, and I'm a virtually unknown writer.

lissie · 05-30-2011, 04:56 PM

One option that hasn't been mentioned yet is ejunkie - they secure your file to prevent illegal downloads and also allow more options to pay than just paypal - $5/month to start

bhartman36 · 06-03-2011, 09:57 AM

Thanks again for all the good suggestions.

05-04-2011, 09:44 AM	#23
Keith Robinson "I've nearly started!" Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Chickamauga, GA (although originally from England) Device: Kindle, Nook	...Or, even simpler, just use the auto-return redirect. But don't set it within your web page's PayPal code; just set it directly within your PayPal account so it's hidden. In PayPal, go to Profile > My Selling Tools and look for "Website preferences." Here you'll switch Auto Return on and add a return address. This address should be the download page of your website (which will be hidden from users of the website). When someone pays, they're redirected to this page so they can download the book. This might work well enough for one single book; with multiple books you'd have to specify different return urls, and this method wouldn't work. The downside? Unless things have changed lately, the return isn't always 100% guraranteed -- sometimes, instead of an auto-return, there's a PayPal thank you page that displays a button saying something like "return to customer's website" which customers don't always click. Also, once the customer has the return page url, he can post it to all and sundry. Return urls don't allow unique codes via the GET method, so you can't really do much with it. Still, even though IPN is a better method, even the simple auto-return method is better than what you're suggesting in your initial post. NEVER let people see the download links until after they've made payment! Last edited by Keith Robinson; 05-04-2011 at 09:46 AM.

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04-23-2011, 04:46 PM	#16
aformerescort Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2011 Device: kindle, smashwords	The Wp-ecommerce plugin does secure digital downloads integrating with paypal, really easily - it's at - http://www.instinct.co.nz/e-commerce/ or via the wordpress plugin repository. I almost forgot about it!

04-29-2011, 01:31 PM	#18
altworld Evangelist Posts: 495 Karma: 746472 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Deep in Maryland Device: Android G1	This thread has just reminded me I have to get all my products collected together to work through a store plugin on my website, before it gets out of hand. You know selling Ninja shirts and books, even the small amount of product that I have I've got to make it easier for the end user. Arigato, Nick Davis

05-04-2011, 09:24 AM	#22
Keith Robinson "I've nearly started!" Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Chickamauga, GA (although originally from England) Device: Kindle, Nook	The answer might be to use the IPN (instant payment notification) system on PayPal. It's free and not too complicated. After someone buys something, PayPal returns the customer to a "hidden" page of your site where the customer can download the book (as opposed to returning them to a standard thank you page). Also, to go a bit further, I added code on that page that hides the actual download link, which prevents the paying customer from forwarding the link to all and sundry. I'm a website designer so have done lots of different systems, but I found the IPN method very simple for those who want a free service. I don't use it on my own site because I only sell signed paperbacks, but I've done it for a customer who was selling mp3 tracks. You can check it out in PayPal under Profile > More Options > My Selling Tools (look for "Instant payment notifications"). There are always those who refuse to use PayPal, and that's their choice. Probably the same number of people refuse to use credit cards online. That's also their choice. The best thing is to offer a few options -- PayPal, Google Checkout, Amazon links, maybe even a "manual" option via email for those who want to write you a check or stop by your house with cash! Of course, you can never stop people from emailing their downloaded book to all and sundry, but that's the danger of selling PDFs and so on. For that reason I never sell PDFs.

05-24-2011, 08:38 AM	#25
Andrew Ashling Connoisseur Posts: 60 Karma: 549264 Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: I divide my time between Ormidon, Ximerion and Antwerp, Belgium Device: Kobo Glo HD, Kobo Aura H2O, Kobo Clara, Kobo Aura One, Kobo Libra H2O	My website is built on Joomla (see signature). They have a module for installing a download service, and one to make it payable. Works like a charm. (On my website go to Ebooks in the Main Menu) Joomla itself is free and there are many free templates, though I went with a professional one. Some modules that offer extra functionality are free, others not. Most are inexpensive. The ones I use have paid for themselves in about two months, and I'm a virtually unknown writer.

05-30-2011, 04:56 PM	#26
lissie Enthusiast Posts: 30 Karma: 502132 Join Date: May 2011 Device: Kindle3	One option that hasn't been mentioned yet is ejunkie - they secure your file to prevent illegal downloads and also allow more options to pay than just paypal - $5/month to start

06-03-2011, 09:57 AM	#27
bhartman36 Wizard Posts: 1,316 Karma: 1515835 Join Date: Mar 2009 Device: Kindle 3 Wi-Fi, Craig CMP738a Android Tablet	Thanks again for all the good suggestions.

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