Selling Downloadable Products [closed]

Question

I have a few questions that I've been trying to find the answer to for a few weeks to no avail. I am starting a business where I sell downloadable files I've created. They'll be in .zip format. Once I find a theme I like, and do any design work to the theme, etc, I'm good to go. My problems are as follows:

1. I can only upload 2megabyte files to wordpress, thought the products I'll be selling are about 12megabytes each. So can I get around this? (been looking and trying for days now, I'm not sure whether it's my hosting site that's blocking higher uploads because I've tried every tweak) Or can I host the file for sale on another site and have it accessible through a purchase on wordpress that way? Does that make sense? I know it's a complicated question.

2. See, my intention was to upload these 5, 12 megabyte files to my media library, and then link to them and set up the paypal, etc--using what I found on this page: http://www.heatherporter.com/get-more-customers/adding-paypal-to-wordpress-sell-ebook/ But this only works if you're using a small file.

3. So I guess my question is, are there any e-commerce plugins that allow you to host the file for sale on another site, or something like that, yet are still downloadable if someone were to buy them on my wordpress site?

4. Once I've picked a theme I like and I decide to buy it for $50 bucks or whatever they charge, can I then purchase an e-commerce plugin separately and have it work with the theme I bought?

I realize I've asked 4 tough questions. I appreciate your help so much. It's been a goal of mine for 2 years now to get this website up and running. I've spent the last 2 years designing what I'm going to be selling and now the only thing standing in the way of me starting my business is my ignorance at how to accomplish it. THere's so much information it's overwhelming.

Thank you,

Kelsey Todd

Answer 1

your file upload limits are controlled by your php configuration (php.ini). if you've tried the various fixes found when searching "php increase maximum upload filesize" or similar, then that's a question for your host.

as far as hosting files elsewhere and a commerce plugin that supports that feature, I suggest having a look at Woocommerce and their extension for hosting files on Amazon S3. It's not free, but it's a well-supported and reliable system.

Answer 2

Cart66 allows you to do exactly what you need (you should use Amazon S3 with it) and would be a great fit. Here is an article on how to set everything up.

Answer 3

I would highly suggest using a separate service to offer the digital download and process payment. There are certainly several high quality e-commerce plugins for WordPress, but they are always a hassle to get up and running correctly, and if your host is limiting to 2 MB anyway, then you are probably out of luck unless you switch hosts.

Instead, use a service like Gumroad, FetchApp, Quixly, or Pulley. My personal favorite is Gumroad, though a little more expensive than the others, has the slickest checkout process and only charges you when you actually make a sale. FetchApp is a close second. I was actually helping someone through this exact process not too long ago, so here are some estimated figures to give you an idea.

Let's say that you are selling your digital download for $15, it's sized at 12 MB like you said, and you make 25 sales in your first month. For each of the aforementioned services, your fees and profit would look like the following:

           Monthly Fee + Trnsction Fees = Ttl Mnthly Fees | Total Profit  | % kept
Payloadz   $14.95        $31.00           $45.95            $329.05         88%
FetchApp   $5.00         $0.00            $5.00             $370.00         99%
Quixly     $10.00        $0.00            $10.00            $365.00         97%
Pulley     $6.00         $0.00            $6.00             $369.00         98%
Gumroad    $0.00         $25.00           $25.00            $350.00         93%

As you can see, most charge a monthly fee, and then some will charge a percentage of the sale or per megabyte transferred. Payloadz is an old-school player, don't go with them. You'll obviously want to crunch the numbers for your own expected figures, but hopefully this gives you an idea.

Each of these services will let you upload your file to them, and then hook up a PayPal or Google Checkout account to it. You just include a link to your product on the pages that you want to sell it at, and then the services will handle the rest. Very slick, very well done, and takes a huge burden off of you. Well worth the cost in my opinion.