Selling Epubs via Flash Drives

[SigilBear]

If you sell epubs on your own, then you're obviously going to set it up so that people can download a book after they make their payment.

But I suspect there may be a few people who are hesitant to make credit card purchases online. In this era of all-out surveillance, some people may also want their reading habits to remain their secret.

In that spirit, I wondered if some people might prefer to send an author a check with an extra $5 and have their book delivered via an inexpensive flash drive.

Have you heard of any epub sellers offering this option? (I was surprised to learn that you can buy flash drives as cheap as $2.)

Thanks.

[Deskisamess]

No way I'd buy books this way. Credit card transactions have many safeguards. Plugging a thumb drive from a stranger into my computer? No way. It's been a long time since we have had to repair a computer ravaged by malware, bloatware, etc.

When I see online sellers of digital books offering them in this way, I assume they are illegally pirated books.

Originally Posted by Deskisamess

No way I'd buy books this way. Credit card transactions have many safeguards. Plugging a thumb drive from a stranger into my computer? No way. It's been a long time since we have had to repair a computer ravaged by malware, bloatware, etc.

When I see online sellers of digital books offering them in this way, I assume they are illegally pirated books.

In addition to all of the above, such a system assumed you live somewhere that still uses cheques. I haven't written or received one in nearly 20 years, and most banks her go to quite extreme lengths to discourage their use.

[SigilBear]

Originally Posted by Deskisamess

When I see online sellers of digital books offering them in this way, I assume they are illegally pirated books.

So you HAVE seen online sellers offering this option?

[Deskisamess]

Once or twice a year we still write a check. We recently had some home repair work done, and using a check meant a 3% reduction in the price. They (a legit business) would also take cash, but we wanted a paper trail.

Up until 2017, our local property tax bill couldn't be paid via online banking, so we used a check. But it has become a rarity for us. I never carry checks, and haven't for years.

I'm loving Apple Pay via my watch. The added layer of security with that method is great. Retailers never get my actual CC number.

[Deskisamess]

Originally Posted by SigilBear

So you HAVE seen online sellers offering this option?

Sure, on eBay. Selling pirated books. If I saw an "author" selling this way, I'd be immediately suspicious.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by SigilBear

So you HAVE seen online sellers offering this option?

Don't recall seeing it in the sense of order a specific book or two and have it arrive on a flash drive, but have seen things like the one from e-Go or the people putting a bunch of PD titles on one (or pirated titles) and selling them (or on SD card or CD).

[Apache]

Originally Posted by Deskisamess

Once or twice a year we still write a check. We recently had some home repair work done, and using a check meant a 3% reduction in the price. They (a legit business) would also take cash, but we wanted a paper trail.

Up until 2017, our local property tax bill couldn't be paid via online banking, so we used a check. But it has become a rarity for us. I never carry checks, and haven't for years.

I'm loving Apple Pay via my watch. The added layer of security with that method is great. Retailers never get my actual CC number.

I still write a check each month to pay my utility bill. The fees imposed by the city for paying by credit card or electronic debit are excessive. Until they drop the fees I will continue to send them a check each month. Everything else I pay by electronic debit.
Apache

[Dazrin]

Why make it hard on yourself? Use a reputable payment system and run with it. Anyone looking specifically for e-books is likely to be comfortable with online payments and, if not, have their own method of doing business online that makes them comfortable.

For example, if someone is really concerned about it they can get a pre-paid Visa or MasterCard and use that for their online transactions instead of a personal card. Fixed amount of potential loss and you don't even need to give a real name.

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by Apache

I still write a check each month to pay my utility bill. The fees imposed by the city for paying by credit card or electronic debit are excessive. Until they drop the fees I will continue to send them a check each month. Everything else I pay by electronic debit.
Apache

Interesting. I pay pretty much all of my bills by electronic payment via my bank (they call it bill pay). I've never had a fee charged. I have had fees charged when I used a credit card to pay online (car tag and property tax). I like using the bank since I can push the payment whenever I wish and it doesn't give anyone else a hook into my accounts. I think I write about one or two actual checks a year these days.

[Apache]

It is not the bank charging the fee. It is the city and the "fee" they charge is quite a bit higher than the fees they pay the charge card processors and banks. They have the right to want to make a large profit on each electronic payment made and I have the right to not pay them electronically. This means they have to higher more employees to process the cash and check payments they receive.
Apache

[4691mls]

Originally Posted by SigilBear

But I suspect there may be a few people who are hesitant to make credit card purchases online. In this era of all-out surveillance, some people may also want their reading habits to remain their secret.

I'm thinking that anyone who doesn't do online purchasing may also be old-fashioned enough not to read ebooks. I doubt there would be much of a market for books sold by the method you propose.

[Gardenman]

Originally Posted by Deskisamess

Once or twice a year we still write a check. We recently had some home repair work done, and using a check meant a 3% reduction in the price. They (a legit business) would also take cash, but we wanted a paper trail.

Up until 2017, our local property tax bill couldn't be paid via online banking, so we used a check. But it has become a rarity for us. I never carry checks, and haven't for years.

I'm loving Apple Pay via my watch. The added layer of security with that method is great. Retailers never get my actual CC number.

Same with me. Any payment to my county done by credit or debit card a fee is charged

[HarryT]

Cheques work extremely poorly as an international payment medium, and in many countries they are essentially (or actually) obsolete.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Deskisamess

I'm loving Apple Pay via my watch. The added layer of security with that method is great. Retailers never get my actual CC number.

The same is true of pretty much all online sales portals (Sage Pay, World Pay, PayPal, etc). The retailer just gets the details of your order and the delivery address; they never see your card information. It's only the really major retailers such as Amazon who do credit card processing themselves.