Shareware

[Mark Levin]

(I know there was that recent article claiming that shareware is dead, but still... :P )

What "low-end" options are there right now for a shareware author to accept registrations? I've been looking around, but most of the advice is too much for me- guidelines for starting small corporations, contracting with web store companies, etc. How does "amateur" shareware work these days?

[monteboyd]

Kagi works for me:

http://www.kagi.com/

I know quite a few others use Esellerate:

http://www.esellerate.net/

[Bachus]

There's always Pay Pal (http://www.paypal.com/). Then again Pay Pal Sucks (http://www.paypalsucks.com/). Most all the software I download wants money through Pay Pal, Kagi, or just sent to the author him/herself.

[codemattic]

Ive found these links to be informative:

<http://www.macdevcenter.com/lpt/a/2859>

<http://www.blackcatsystems.com/regservices/>

hth,
Codemattic

[Jake]

I use paypal for my game Escape, and it works great. Kagi is WAY to expensive for my game though, but if you are selling an expensive game they are a good option

[kelvin]

Originally posted by Jake
I use paypal for my game Escape, and it works great.
just curious... how about posting in this thread (http://www.idevgames.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2672)?

[Jake]

Ok I just did, I always forget about those forums (biz, anouncements)

[Carlos Camacho]

Check out (nice pun)

http://www.2checkout.com/

[Carlos Camacho]

Another company to check out:

http://www.authorizenet.com/

Cheers

[Carlos Camacho]

If you use PayPal, this CGI script looks interesting:

http://mrcorey.no-ip.com/now1/pay2download/

I would like to see a PHP version. Also, not sure if it allows for multiple items or just one.

Cheers

[kelvin]

Paypal is good about passing data back to you upon successful transaction. It took me about an hour to set up a form to send my buyers to paypal, confirm the transaction, and then generate a registration key upon success in PHP. If you need help on doing this, I'd be glad to share my experience.:ninja:

[Carlos Camacho]

I'm sure people here would be interested in such a run down if you made it into an article.

Cheers

[Jake]

Originally posted by kelvin
Paypal is good about passing data back to you upon successful transaction. It took me about an hour to set up a form to send my buyers to paypal, confirm the transaction, and then generate a registration key upon success in PHP. If you need help on doing this, I'd be glad to share my experience.:ninja:

I may need help with this in about 3 months when my new game is ready to be sold.

[kelvin]

The form to send the user to paypal is as follows:
<form action="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr" method="post">
<input type="hidden" name="cmd" value="_xclick">
<input type="hidden" name="business" value="YOUR_PAYPAL_EMAIL_ADDRESS">
<input type="hidden" name="item_name" value="WHAT YOU ARE SELLING">
<input type="hidden" name="item_number" value="SOME PRODUCT NUMBER">
<input type="hidden" name="amount" value="0.00">
*your price "0.00" if you want a client definable payment

<input type="hidden" name="image_url" value="http://YOUR_LOGO_ADDRESS_150x50">
*Your logo to be displayed on the paypal pages (https is better)

<input type="hidden" name="no_shipping" value="1">
*Turn off shipping address because we're going to have email and instant registration

<input type="hidden" name="return" value="http://THE_PHP_FILE_ON_YOUR_SITE_TO_PROCESS_COMPLETED_REG ISTRATION">
<input type="hidden" name="rm" value="2">
*This value makes paypal post it's variables to your php page

<input type="hidden" name="cancel_return" value="http://THE_PAGE_TO_RETURN_TO_IF_THE_USER_CLICKS_CANCEL">
<input type="hidden" name="cn" value="CAPTION FOR FEEDBACK TEXTAREA">
<input type="hidden" name="currency_code" value="USD">
US Dollars

<input type="image" src="https://www.paypal.com/images/x-click-but01.gif" border="0" name="submit" alt="Make payments with PayPal - it's fast, free and secure!">
</form>

In the php file on your site that is returned to upon success, the following variables are available: (if variable is [last_name] access by using $last_name within your php code) [payment_date] => 16:19:33 Mar 13, 2003 PST
[txn_type] => web_accept
[last_name] => (customer last name)
[payment_gross] => 1.00
[mc_currency] => USD
[item_name] => (WHAT YOU ARE SELLING)
[payment_type] => instant
[business] => (YOUR_PAYPAL_EMAIL_ADDRESS)
[verify_sign] => (a verification code)
[payer_status] => verified
[payer_email] => (customer email address)
[tax] => 0.00
[txn_id] => (transaction serial id; https://www.paypal.com/vst/id=$txn_id to link back to the transaction)
[first_name] => (customer first name)
[quantity] => 1
[receiver_email] => (YOUR_PAYPAL_EMAIL_ADDRESS)
[payer_id] => (paypal payer serial id; you can use this in correspondance to paypal support)
[memo] => (The text that was entered in your feedback textarea)
[item_number] => (SOME PRODUCT NUMBER)
[payment_status] => Completed
[mc_fee] => 0.33 (Paypal's handling fee this is not a %age)
[payment_fee] => 0.33
[mc_gross] => 1.00 (Total payed by buyer)
[custom] => customvalue (you can specify a custom variable in your form; I did not include one in the above form)
[notify_version] => 1.4 (paypal notify version)


I generate the registration code on the return page with with a function on $first_name,$last_name,and $item_name. My return page also emails a copy of all the information to the customer as well as myself. Note that these emails will be redundant (except for the registration code) since paypal sends transaction emails to you and the customer. Paypal has a pdf document on how to utilize all of the different posting options if you click on the "sell" tab when you log in. Hope this helps, if you have any more questions, post here and I'll attempt to answer.

[Danlab]

im using esellerate
this is not expensive and the support is exellent :wow:

[Bachus]

CafePress is now doing data CDs (http://www.cafepress.com/cp/info/sell/data.aspx). Though they take a pretty hefty chunk of change from each CD, they're probably a better choice for someone who wants to sell an actual CD, instead of just sending out registration codes.

EDIT: Doh! And now I see DaFalcon's thread on this very same thing.

[Jake]

Thanks for the code!

[Ian Kerr]

Originally posted by kelvin
I generate the registration code on the return page with with a function on $first_name,$last_name,and $item_name.

I've never really understood how registration codes work so maybe you can help me out here. It sounds like you generate the registration code based on their first and last name as well as the item name, correct? I guess I'm stuck on the next part... When they go to register the program, do they input their first name, last name and registration code? It is my understanding that the program would then use the first name and last name (it already knows the item name I assume) to verify the registration code. Am I on the right track here?

-- Ian

[kelvin]

The first/last name are returned from paypal as a verified name. When the customer goes to input the key and activate the shareware, they input their full name and the key that was generated. The shareware uses the same algorithm to generate a key with the name that was input then it compares the key it generated to the key that was entered. If they match it unlocks itself. In the email that is sent I stress that they must enter their name exactly "first last" (the name that was returned from paypal).