Ecommerce Solution

December 4, 2008 10:39 AM

What is the simplest option for selling access to a bundle of files and/or section of a website?

I don't mind if I have to pay, but I want something where people can purchase access to a collection of web pages and/or files.

Thing GOG, where you purchase the game and have immediate access to the game download, the .pdf manual, some extras like a wallpaper or two, etc.

Or The Intergalactic Medicine Show, where you can log in and read the stories in a given issue after you purchase it.

I've messed around with ZenCart, and it's stupid difficult (or at least it seems that way to me), and it's not set up to allow access to webpages, either--just some very clunky file download options.

Something that would integrate easily with Wordpress would be awesome, but that's not necessary.

Does Expression Engine's simple e-commerce module allow for functionality like this?

Simplicity and theming are important. Free is not important. I'd be wiling to pay a small amount--under $200--for software or programming. Recurring costs, though, should be minimal or nonexistent. Paypal is fine as sole or primary payment mechanism.

Is there a solution that's ready to go?

posted by Nonce to computers & internet (10 comments total)

Lulu.com provies an option for selling PDFs.
posted by wheat at 10:58 AM on December 4, 2008

I'd like any solution to be file type and size agnostic.
posted by Nonce at 11:23 AM on December 4, 2008

FoxyCart might be worth a look. Supports downloads, and looks quite easy to implement - shouldn't be too tough to get to work with Wordpress and some custom fields.

Good introduction here:

Using Foxycart for ecommerce
posted by backwards guitar at 11:23 AM on December 4, 2008

The recurring $15 per month payment for FoxyCart is too much (for what I am looking for at the moment. It's pretty reasonable in other contexts).
posted by Nonce at 12:01 PM on December 4, 2008

I think the transaction part of this could be handled by Paypal. I feel like I've done something like that before (from the Purchaser standpoint) but can't recall many details. A quick google search on selling files with Paypal comes up with This PHP script. Alternatively there are a few companies doing this if you need a more hands-off approach but again I can't vouch for any of them. Cerizmo, Payloadz, and TradeBit.
posted by genial at 12:17 PM on December 4, 2008

$15/mo for a year is under your $200 budget, though. That seems like enough time to see if it can pay for itself.
posted by rhizome at 12:19 PM on December 4, 2008

Yeah, I figured $15 for FoxyCart fell under the $200 budget.

What about the Wordpress e-Commerce Plugin?
posted by backwards guitar at 12:27 PM on December 4, 2008

The reason I'm shying away from FoxyCart is a general aversion to subscriptions. If I pay $200 for this, I want an asset to show for it. Not that FoxyCart doesn't provide value, and were the thing I'm working on ever create a steady stream of income, I would certainly change my tune on low-cost, high-feature services.

I'll look into the e-Commerce plugin. It seems promising. Does anyone have personal experience with it?
posted by Nonce at 12:41 PM on December 4, 2008

One way to think about it is that you can use FoxyCart and start making money now, while having $200 worth of months to find something better that doesn't offend your sensibilities. You can always change carts, and frankly if you're using Wordpress you can be fairly confident that there will have been plenty of people asking for help on whatever it is you wind up choosing. So, my philosophical advice is for you to use whatever's easiest right now just so you can get started, then make things better as time goes on.
posted by rhizome at 10:46 AM on December 5, 2008

FoxyCart is only half a solution, though. I also want the ability to partition off portions of the site and allow visitors to purchase access to those pages. FoxyCart looks like it would only handle allowing the sale of digital downloads.
posted by Nonce at 8:15 PM on December 5, 2008