How to Sell Zip Files Online
Every few months someone asks to buy a license to some old course notes I wrote. Usually it takes a few days for me to get around to invoicing them, packing up the zip files, and e-mailing them. I’d like to make this more automatic.
What services do folks recommend for selling basic files? i.e. zip files? I don’t need DRM or anything fancy. However I do want it to be hands off after I upload the files. Also, my sales volume is low so no monthly fees is a must. I am willing to pay a reasonable percentage of the transaction or per-megabyte sold charge.
I’m not looking to make a great deal of money, or become an online store, just automate the delivery and download process a little more so it’s a bit easier to buy from me. Any ideas?
September 30th, 2010 at 1:31 AM
I know nothing about DocStoc, but they seem to have a reasonable business model: no upfront or storage fees, you set the price, they keep 50% of it. Typical prices are $15-$25, according to DocStoc, but it’s totally up to you. The only downside I see is that they only accept plain text, RTF, Office, OfficeXML, and PDF, and no zipfiles (I wouldn’t either; they would be a pain to validate). Seller’s FAQ. Legalese.
October 2nd, 2010 at 11:04 AM
Dreamhost offers this with their Files Forever (http://wiki.dreamhost.com/Files_Forever). It’s been around for a while, but it doesn’t look like it has ever taken off. There must be something better out there.
June 20th, 2011 at 2:03 AM
http://fileply.com have the same free no upfront storage fee. you set the price and they keep 5% to 20% of the selling price.
they also have free online store accounts to set up your online store and sell more files