Payment Options for an eBook Site

[Aminka Ozmun]

Hey Smart People!

What do you think about payment options for an eBook site??

It's not just a simple "tactical" question, as the answer will determine my very strategy!

I just learned that using PayPal means they actually have legal right to your money, as the money's simply deposited in their account, an account that's legally theirs.

That does make me think twice! But a traditional merchant account seems rather expensive. Maybe I should just let my eBook site be a simple "business card" type of site, pointing to eBooks available through Amazon or something??

Ideally I'd like to be able to offer digital downloads through my site as well as through outlets like Amazon, Smashwords, etc. But with the PayPal horror stories I've been reading, I'm not so sure of my original plans anymore!


Thanks a lot for all your thoughts....

[Agota]

That's a bit offtopic, but do you mind me asking why do you want to start e-book site when your main competition is Amazon?

That's not to disencourage or anything, I'm just wondering

[DBV]

How about using E-Junkie or Clickbank for processing. Or maybe get a merchant account and a shopping cart plug-in for site.

[mainstreetcm]

You can use e-junkie for content delivery. That is what I would use, especially if your selling just a few ebooks. If your selling a lot... you will need a complete shopping cart/download manager integration.

As for payment processing I would use 2checkout. I say this because not only will they process payments from major credit cards but they also accept PayPal payments--so you will not leave your PayPal customer's in the dark.

You will completely circumvent the whole PayPal process, and removes the possibility of your funds being held for one of the many "TOS Violations" PayPal likes to throw at digital product creators.

It also integrates with many shopping cart backends with ease. Finally you can be vetted with 2co, which puts your business on SOLID financial ground--whereas with PayPal your pretty much sitting on a flimsy platform on top of quick sand.

[Aminka Ozmun]

No, Agota, I'm only going to be selling my own eBooks! I'd also list 'em on Amazon, Smashwords, and so forth, but I just like the idea of people being able to purchase my eBooks on my own site (also gets me more of the money!).

DBV: If I had a couple of hundred dollars in business a month, consistently, I'd certainly get a merchant account! But starting out, I'm afraid that's out of the question. For one thing, I'm not even registered as a business! Actually, that reminds me...do authors have to register themselves as a business??

Thanks for the ref, mainstreetcm, but at 5.5% plus $0.45 per transaction, I'm not sure how they beat PayPal's micropayments program of 5% + $0.05 per. Are payments deposited directly in my own bank account? On their site, it simply says in the FAQ section that payments are deposited into one's account without specifying whether that's a bank account or 2CheckOut account. Also, what are the ways in which PayPal has been abusing digital product creators??

[Agota]

Oh, okay, no I get it!

Thank you for clarification!

[DBV]

Originally Posted by Aminka Ozmun

DBV: If I had a couple of hundred dollars in business a month, consistently, I'd certainly get a merchant account! But starting out, I'm afraid that's out of the question. For one thing, I'm not even registered as a business! Actually, that reminds me...do authors have to register themselves as a business??

I think you need to be self-employed then at least if not registering a business.

Perfectly understand you about the money issue!

[shadowfax]

Start with paypal. They are easy to use, cheap, and most people have accounts there. When you actually start making sales, then you will be able to see what income you have to redirect to a better merchant.

I have used paypal since they came out with no major issues. Obviously people can have problems but I wouldn't focus on this as the main problem to be worried about.

If you aren't getting traffic and making conversions then it doesn't matter who you are with.

If you don't like paypal then pick another one... again, the bigger thing to focus on is the conversions and making sales than what merchant you have. At least when you are starting out!

[Clint Cora]

For ebooks, I use Clickbank. But since I also have physical versions of my titles, I also have a merchant account that accepts the major credit cards. You want to make it as easy as possible for your customers.