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Not Using PayPal = End Of The World..... Not really..

by iAmNameLess
8 replies
I know there are countless threads about PayPal, how to make money without them, how to post a WSO without using PayPal, how if you do have a product nobody is going to be able to buy it since you're not accepting PayPal, and so on.

Well, I've had bad luck with PayPal many times. Twice I've had long term holds and limitations on a substantial amount of money.

I launched a WSO very recently and was told that everything would be okay since I set up the PayPal account in a new business entity. No link to a past account whatsoever. Well, I was an idiot and activated the debit card they send you and that's how they linked it together because I was the one that voided the whole separation between me personally, and the business entity.

I get the email saying I've been limited due to a past account that was deemed high risk. (Which they still never released any money after 3-4 years). So, no biggie, I was a bit pissed off, but most of my clients pay check by phone anyway, and the ones that don't I've used Stripe and they're pretty good.

However... I was wondering how to sell my ebook... I'm sure there were options with Stripe but I didn't see a good solution.

Enter Gumroad...

Gumroad is pretty legit. For USA and Japan users they deposit into your bank account. For the rest of the world so far they deposit into your PayPal, so that sucks. Another bad thing is a 2 week payout structure.

However... the surprising thing was the conversions of the payment page.

WITH PAYPAL - 80% shopping cart abandonment rate...

I only had a 20.5% conversion from the payment page to successful payment. That's awful. Now to be fair, I've seen conversions range from 15-40% with paypal checkout.

With Gumroad... so far the conversion rate of payment page to completion is 64%.

That's a pretty big difference.

More sales than I've expected...and definitely better conversions.

All in all, I just wanted to share this with you guys. You probably will want to stick with platforms that allow affiliates but if you're wanting an easy way to sell digital products with a delivery platform, this is really a great way to go. Not just for WSOs, but for ebooks, music, PLR, etc. Very easy to implement on your website.
#end #paypal #world
  • Profile picture of the author internetmarketer1
    I will definitely look into Gumroad. It seems like it can be used for a lot of topics and not just products.

    I know the difficulty involved with PayPal and the hidden aspect that ruin and make it more difficult when selling stuff.



    I definitely have to look into Gumroad. For a lot of people who just want to sell their products, I feel like it would be a quick fix but also an easy fix. Great recommendation
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    • Profile picture of the author agmccall
      So, you still have to have a paypal account. But, you can now pay 5% instead of 2.5%

      You pay twice as much in fees, for what?

      I find it hard to believe that a payment processor will increase conversions.

      al
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      "Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." Thomas Edison

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      • Profile picture of the author iAmNameLess
        Originally Posted by agmccall View Post

        So, you still have to have a paypal account. But, you can now pay 5% instead of 2.5%

        You pay twice as much in fees, for what?

        I find it hard to believe that a payment processor will increase conversions.

        al
        Not in the USA or Japan... I realize this won't help out people in the UK and other areas but for US product creators it is helpful.

        If you look at clickbank you're paying an activation fee, payment processing fee, $1 transaction fee, and 7.5%. JVzoo at 5% + Paypal fees, warrior + is using 3.9% + 10 cents a transaction + paypal fees.

        If you're in the US, you don't need to use PayPal...

        As for the conversions... statistics don't lie my friend. I urge you to take a look at them and see the checkout process. Simple... and so far "shopping cart" abandonment is very very low in comparison.
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      • Profile picture of the author Yimmy Worldwide
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    • Profile picture of the author iAmNameLess
      Originally Posted by internetmarketer1 View Post

      I will definitely look into Gumroad. It seems like it can be used for a lot of topics and not just products.

      I know the difficulty involved with PayPal and the hidden aspect that ruin and make it more difficult when selling stuff.



      I definitely have to look into Gumroad. For a lot of people who just want to sell their products, I feel like it would be a quick fix but also an easy fix. Great recommendation
      It's so simple. A few people have commented on how much easier it's been to pay instead of PayPal.

      If you think about it logically, the reason why the checkout pages work so well on it is because it's so minimalistic. You don't have other call to actions like joining paypal, or financing through bill me later, it's just easy.

      I see them being a major player in the future, especially if they can do bank wires in other countries. The more they get away from paypal, the better off they will be, and could become a serious competitor.
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  • Profile picture of the author treyton
    So they have your money and are not giving it to you?
    Isn't that the definition of "stealing"?

    Originally Posted by iAmNameLess View Post

    ... I get the email saying I've been limited due to a past account that was deemed high risk. (Which they still never released any money after 3-4 years).
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    • Profile picture of the author agmccall
      does it also mange your affiliates. i.e. tax documents and payments to affiliates?

      al
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      "Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." Thomas Edison

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  • Profile picture of the author smna1586
    Will definitely look into it. Might be a good solution for me.

    Thanks for sharing this great info as we don't have access to PayPal at all; might work for us as a PayPal alternative for the moment.
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  • Profile picture of the author Joan Altz
    Another good one is Send Owl. They are similar to Gumroad and have an affiliate system in place. They also pay to your PayPal but won't hold payments - it's optional - and they also handle all delivery for you, plus store up to 15 gig on the $39/mth plan. And that's all you pay, period, $39 a month (they have smaller plans as well). No transaction fees and simple-simon checkout for customers like Gumroad.

    You can set up expiring download links (any number of days you choose or x-number of downloads, both or neither), and they will handle any PayPal refunds automatically if you like (you have to provide the keys from PP). You can set up a shopping cart or buy now button.

    Pretty sweet and some heavy hitters have used them. They are like Gumroad and Ejunkie combined. Easy setup. You can even notify customers of updates through them and they'll deliver the update package. Integration with autoresponders, etc.., customization of delivery emails sent from their system and so on.

    They'll also pay instant payments to Stripe.
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