Best method to sell PDF's from your own website?

[tldenmark]

I've been working on a number of games, and hopefully will have at least one of them ready for Gen Con SoCal  in December. I'll definitely have them ready for Gen Con next year.

I know there are a number of RPG sites that sell PDF's that are downloaded. But what is the best method to sell them securely on your own website? I've got paypal, but I'd hate to have to deal with them on a 1 on 1 basis.


td
www.denmarkstudio.com

[Ron Edwards]

Hello,

Thomas, that's actually two questions if I'm not mistaken.

1. How do I accept and deal with payments?

2. How do I make the now-purchased game available to the customer?

As far as #1 goes, I suggest that Paypal is very convenient, and also provides good record-keeping through downloads for you. You can choose whether payments are automatically accepted (in which case you don't have to "deal with" them), and you can choose which categories of customer have to get screened by you first, if any.

So if you wanted, using Paypal would mean nothing but cha-ching, cha-ching, with no "dealing with" on your part at all besides transferring funds to your bank account periodically.

For #2, I recommend contacting Clinton, for the Forge Bookshelf. Despite its little hiccup earlier this year, this service functions well overall. He can also tell you about other alternatives if it doesn't suit your needs.

Best,
Ron

[tldenmark]

Thomas, that's actually two questions if I'm not mistaken.

I like how your mind breaks things down. Such a gamer. ;)

I will look into the Forge Bookshelf option. I'm very close to having material ready, there are several things I've been working on, but being a perfectionist makes it hard to finish!

Thanks for the pointer.

[jdagna]

I came across another option today that might work, if you really want to do everything on your own.  The Agora shopping cart allows for lots of add-on features, one of which will process payments through PayPal, take the instant payment notification and pass download URLS to the buyer.  The core shopping cart is free, but the add-ons I found will cost $50.

I have URLs bookmarked somewhere here if you want them, but I'd honestly recommend going with PayPal or Clinton's excellent Bookshelf.