Is "SellYourEvents.Com" as good as it seems?

February 24, 2010 10:43 AM

Does anyone here have any experience with the events management and online registration website "SellYourEvents.Com"?

I'm responsible for the website of a small local summer camp. This year they wanted to install an online payment and registration system. I told them I didn't have any experience coding that kind of system from scratch, and a few days later the client came back to me with a suggestion to simply use www.sellyourevents.com and integrate the resulting form into the website.

The website allows you to create events and charge customers via PayPal, while taking a small cut of the revenue. While the interface isn't perfect, it's versatile and flexible enough to make it seem like the website had been in business long enough to know what it's doing. I'd like to know if anyone else has had any experience with that site? Since my client suggested the app, it's not like I would be personally liable if sellyourevents.com did turn out to be sketchy, but I wouldn't want my client to get scammed, either.

Thanks, everyone!

posted by Phire to computers & internet (6 answers total)

I've looked at the site and really don't understand what you gain over simply putting a PayPal button on your website yourself and thus avoiding the extra fees. Please could you clarify?
posted by turkeyphant at 1:02 PM on February 24, 2010

I've never heard of that one, but I personally like EventBrite. (If you can't do what turkeyphant suggests.)
posted by functionequalsform at 1:45 PM on February 24, 2010

The client wants to collect the registration information online as well and I personally don't know the PHP/MySQL needed to code something that will process that information. (I've told the client this and that they're probably better off finding someone with the expertise to implement this, but they'd prefer dealing with me...)

Thanks for the suggestion, functionequalsform.
posted by Phire at 5:42 PM on February 24, 2010

One of the operators of SellYourEvents.com is a friend of mine. I don't have any experience using it, but I, stranger on the internet, can vouch for it being a real website, not run by scammers.

Here's a comment from my said friend:

Basically, SYE is no risk - we take no fees until the event organizer has received payment. It's a lot like eventbrite, but allows for more customization.
posted by consummate dilettante at 5:44 PM on February 24, 2010

Phire: "The client wants to collect the registration information online as well and I personally don't know the PHP/MySQL needed to code something that will process that information."

I mean, what registration information exactly do you need? PayPal can automatically collect names and addresses and do "stock counts".
posted by turkeyphant at 3:31 AM on February 25, 2010

Child(ren) name(s), dietary restrictions, allergies, gender/school/grade, media consent releases, information about who's allowed to collect the child(ren) at the end of the day or whether they're allowed to leave on their own, etc. Your typical fare for a summer camp. They had previously done this via cheques and PDF forms, but I guess if you're handling multiple sessions of dozens of kids, having all this information aggregated and automated might be appealing. I'll pass the suggestion along, though.
posted by Phire at 3:35 AM on February 25, 2010