E-Commerce Programs to Sell E-Books and other Digital Downloads
Web Commerce Today, Issue 66, January 15, 2003
In the last year, many well-known shopping carts have upgraded to include the ability to sell digital products. Some host the digital products on their site, others allow download from a webpage on the merchant's site. The better systems have URLs that are disabled after a certain number of days or download tries, preventing people from sharing download URLs with their friends. Some systems set up password-protected directories on the merchant's site that can be accessed with a username and password generated by the shopping cart.
There is no way to make a comprehensive list of shopping cart programs that allow digital download -- there are too many and quality varies. But here are some that advertise this capability on their websites and have some popularity with merchants. (Note: Information like this becomes obsolete rapidly, so check the vendor's website for up-to-date information and prices.)
If you have favorites (whether listed here or not) -- or some dogs you know about -- please let me know. (www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=51675168116)
AShop for Downloads (www.wilsonweb.com/afd/ashop.htm). Particularly designed for digital downloads. Built-in affiliate program. Expiring password for downloads, records IP numbers. Written in PHP with MySQL database. Supports Authorize.net, 2CheckOut, WorldPay, PaySystems, PlanetPayment, and PayPal with IPN (Instant Payment Notification). $200 plus $30 install if needed.
1ShoppingCart (www.wilsonweb.com/afd/1shoppingcart.htm). Hosted ASP system. Pro version handles digital downloads, autoresponders, newsletters, ad tracking, affiliate program, etc. Also sold under labels such as 1AutomationWiz, Professional Cart Solutions, etc. Uses many payment gateways such as Authorize.net, LinkPoint, Paymentech, Planet Payment, PayPal (without IPN), World Pay, and VeriSign PayFlow Pro. $69/mo. or $599/yr.
Actinic (www.suresolutionsinc.com). Ver. 6.0 includes digital download plus tangible products. Close tie-in with database on PC and QuickBooks.
Americart (www.cartserver.com/americart). Hosted ASP cart. See their electronic delivery demo example for digital downloads. Very flexible to sell all sorts of products. Supports payment gateways LinkPoint, Authorize.net, VeriSign PayFlow Pro, PayPal (without IPN). $249/year.
Cart32 (www.cart32.com). Can be configured to give download URL on either thank you page or confirmation e-mail. Can sell many kinds of products. Installs on Windows servers. Interfaces with QuickBooks. Payment gateways supported include Authorize.net, LinkPoint, Quick Commerce, VeriSign Payflow Pro, PayPal (without IPN), and others. $299.95
ClickBank (www.clickbank.com). See detailed information in "Digital Download Tools for ClickBank and PayPal Merchants," Web Commerce Today, 1/15/03 (www.wilsonweb.com/wct6/ebooks_clickbank_paypal.htm)
Dansie (www.dansie.net). Perl cart for Unix or Windows. Allows you to sell passwords to password-protected directories. Payment gateways include 2Checkout, Authorize.net, LinkPoint, NetBanx, PayPal, VeriSign PayFlow Link, World Pay, etc. $150, $50 optional installation.
DigiBuy (www.digibuy.com). Owned by DigitalRiver. Hosted ASP allows sale of digital softgoods without a merchant account. $29.99 set-up fee plus 13.9% of each sale ($3 minimum). No monthly charge.
DigitalRiver (www.digitalriver.com). Hosted ASP capable of handling enterprise level comprehensive outsourcing of digital goods such as software, shareware, e-books, etc., including some or all of marketing, customer service, downloads, and e-commerce, depending on client's needs. Set-up fee $1,000 to $5,000, and revenue share range of 16% to 23%.
Kagi (www.kagi.com). Hosted ASP for sales of software and digital goods. No set-up fees or merchant account required. Revenue share varies with price of product. Under $25 fee is 5% of transaction total plus $1.25. $25 to $100, 10%. Over $100 percentage drops to 7.5% as low as 5.8%.
LeGarde StoreFront 6.0 (www.storefront.net). AE and XE products offer download delivery. Lots of flexibility to sell all kinds of products. Supports payment gateways WorldPay, LinkPoint, Authorize.net, PayPal, etc. $979 - $1379.
MerchandiZer (www.merchandizer.com) Hosted ASP, allows digital sales. $149.95/month and up.
Miva Merchant (www.miva.com). Installed on your server with flexibility to sell many kinds of products. Built-in affiliate program, support for many payment gateways. Digital downloads through third party plug-ins.
PDG Shopping Cart (www.pdgsoft.com). Installs on Unix servers. Cart system supports softgood downloads, affiliate program, flexible system to sell many products. Payment gateways include Authorize.net, LinkPoint, WorldPay, VeriSign PayFlow Pro. $399.
ShopSite Pro (www.shopsite.com). Installs on Unix and Windows servers. Pro version has strong support for digital downloads, plus flexibility to sell many products. Payment gateways include Authorize.net, VeriSign PayFlow Pro, PayPal (without IPN). $1,295.
Yahoo Store (http://store.yahoo.com). Allows delivery of softgoods. URL in e-mail confirmation message allows immediate download. Flexibility to sell many kinds of products. Requires merchant account, except does allow payment by Yahoo! PayDirect. Built-in payment gateway and basic affiliate program. $49.95/mo. hosting, 10¢/mo. product insertion fee, 0.5% transaction fee plus 3.5% revenue share on traffic from Yahoo Network.
PayPal (www.paypal.com). See detailed information in "Digital Download Tools for ClickBank and PayPal Merchants," Web Commerce Today, 1/15/03 (www.wilsonweb.com/wct6/ebooks_clickbank_paypal.htm)
Synergyx (http://www.synergyx.com). Perl cart system installed on Unix servers. Excellent affiliate program, system for digital downloads, and support. Requires merchant account. Payment gateways support Authorize.net, VeriSign, etc. $1500 installed.
If you have a favorite (whether listed here or not) -- or some dogs you know about -- please let me know. (www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=51675168116)
