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Will My Business Be Dictated By a Shopping Cart???

by Nightengale
6 replies
Hi Warriors,

Ok, I'm more than a little frustrated right now, to say the least.

I'm in the middle of launching a new product and membership program. As I launch the product, I want to offer a free 1-month trial to the membership program as a bonus to my new product. So my customer clicks ONE "Buy Now" button and when they get to the order page, they see a shopping cart with two things in it: the product and the membership.

For cashflow and testing purposes, I want to keep my costs as low as possible and not commit to any ongoing or large expenses.

Just for the sake of example, let's say the product would be $97 (for a how-to-info-product) and the monthly membership fee would be $19 (for an ongoing, done-for-you service).

Unfortunately, I'm unable to create a PayPal shopping cart for the product AND the membership program (with the free 1-month trial which then becomes a recurring monthly fee). Apparently, PayPal's shopping cart only supports products with a one-time fee.

My next choice (which should probably be my first choice) is 1ShoppingCart. It will be more expensive and a bigger commitment (I'd now have an ongoing monthly fee), but I can just use PayPal for my payment processor, right? But when I looked more closely, PayPal doesn't integrate with 1ShoppingCart's recurring billing feature. Arrrrgggghh!

So I'd have to apply for a merchant account which comes with it's own set-up AND application fees PLUS the monthly fee for 1ShoppingCart. The lowest price point is $34/mo, plus whatever my monthly merchant fees would be.

This is NUTS!

For cashflow and testing purposes, I'm not willing to commit a minimum of $60/month just for paypment processing and shopping cart capabilities -- not for an untested program and not with the economy the way it is.

So, unless I want to make the commitment for 1ShoppingCart, my only other option is to re-configure my single information product into a monthly series, charge a monthly fee and just set up a subscription product in PayPal, period. Mathematically, it seems simple: just add $97 + $19, divide by 12 and voila! I have the monthly fee to charge. But stretching out the how-to info over 12 months really isn't feasible or desirable for my customers.

Any ideas on how to handle it?

I think it's nuts that a shopping cart is determining my business model!!!!

Any ideas?

Thanks,
Michelle
#business #cart #dictated #shopping
  • Profile picture of the author bethparker
    Maybe you could sell the monthly subscription as the main product and turn your $97 product into a free bonus.
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  • Profile picture of the author Scott Murdaugh
    Simple.

    Sell the product with Paypal. No shopping cart needed, just a BIN button.

    Once they purchase, upsell them with the bonus for a free membership... On this page you have a Paypal button with the 1 month free trial/recurring billing.

    Beyond that, I think Infusionsoft is a good way to handle this (I've been doing some research myself) but you need a merchant account and they ain't cheap.

    Don't turn mole hills into mountains

    Good luck!

    -Scott
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    Over $30 Million In Marketing Data And A Decade Of Consistently Generating Breakthrough Results - Ask How My Unique Approach To Copy Typically Outsells Traditional Ads By Up To 29x Or More...

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    • Profile picture of the author Nightengale
      Just reverse it. Hmmmm..... BRILLIANT idea Beth! Thanks.

      With what I'm trying to do, that idea will still take some thinking and tweaking to make it work. But it sounds like an idea on the right track.

      Scott,

      I honestly don't think I'm making a mountain out of a molehill. I truly thought this would be the simplest thing in the world. I never thought this would be a such problem.

      I've chosen my target market.

      I've designed the product.

      I planned for backend sales.

      I've written the sales copy.

      I've planned the promotion.

      The only thing left to do to actually make it happen was set up the payment process and do a test run to make sure everything worked. I know PayPal is there and I can start and test this with no ongoing monthly fees. Or so I thought.

      Then I find out I can't set it up the way I want/need to.... Arrrgggh!

      I COULD present the membership as an upsell, I guess. But the problem still remains: it can't be added to the PayPal shopping cart at the time of the initial purchase. The customer has to give their info all over again in a separate "buy" transaction. That's INSANE and many customers just won't do it. The idea is to automate it all and auto-enroll customers when they purchase the initial product.

      Think about it: asking a customer to call in twice with two separate orders would seriously cripple the response to an infomercial. It's the same with an online order.

      And you're right about merchant accounts, which is why I'm in no hurry to sign up for one and why I'm not just biting the bullet and doing it.

      Beth's idea needs some work to make it work for what I'm trying to do. But it's certainly a huge step in the right direction.

      Michelle
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      "You can't market here. This is a marketing discussion forum!"
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  • Profile picture of the author lakshaybehl
    Michelle, if you would like to use aMember script for the entire job (Payment AND Delivery), please let me know and I will be more than happy to assist you with whetever you want- Forced or Optional continuity. I recommend optional, though.

    I know what it feels like... I have been there too.

    -Lakshay

    P.S. This is actually easy to do when you see the power of aMember... Clubbed with wordpress, you can go for multiple levels... Upto 2 upsells, front end PLUS continuity.

    P.P.S. The only thing is that with Paypal whatever you upsell, they will have to pay twice. Though Paypal is good for a Front End PLUS continuity, which is what I guess you have right now. In future if that changes, you can just opt to go for your own merchant account for 1 click upsellls etc.
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    • Profile picture of the author Nightengale
      Thanks Lakshay.

      Wouldn't you know....

      I just purchased WishList member last night INSTEAD OF aMember! Grrrr!

      How does aMember handle this problem, anyway? I believe you can integrate it with PayPal, right? But that STILL doesn't solve the problem of selling a $97 info product on the front end with the customer AUTOMATICALLY enrolled in the membership program. Like I said, I can't add both products to PayPal's shopping cart.

      So now I'm confused about how using aMember would solve this problem. ????

      Michelle
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      • Profile picture of the author lakshaybehl
        Originally Posted by Nightengale View Post

        Thanks Lakshay.

        Wouldn't you know....

        I just purchased WishList member last night INSTEAD OF aMember! Grrrr!

        How does aMember handle this problem, anyway? I believe you can integrate it with PayPal, right? But that STILL doesn't solve the problem of selling a $97 info product on the front end with the customer AUTOMATICALLY enrolled in the membership program. Like I said, I can't add both products to PayPal's shopping cart.

        So now I'm confused about how using aMember would solve this problem. ????

        Michelle
        Michelle,

        This is forced continuity I am talking about. You basically set up a 30 days trial for $97... Your front end price. This trial leads to your $19.95 continuity after the initial 30 days. If they unsubscribe from continuity, they are automatically subscribed to a hidden product which enables them to download front end for the rest of their lives.

        I know it sounds complicated, but its easier done than said. PM me for more practical and specific help. I am off to bed now, but tomorrow morning I'll reply to any PM's you might have sent.

        -Lakshay
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