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Geobunny · Nov 28, 2004, 07:59 PM

I'm the author of clamXav - free Mac OS X GUI for the open-source ClamAV virus scanner. I'm not charging for it as I don't believe it's right to charge for GUI wrappers to free command-line software, but I am collecting donations via PayPal.

However, I've come across a problem - a large number of people distrust PayPal for one reason or another and have been asking if I have any other means of receiving payment. My bank has a charge for paying in cheques in a foreign currency and people are rightly afraid to send cash in the post (although it usually tends to be ok). I was wondering if anyone here knows of any good, cheap, trustworthy websites which accept online payment and also allow me to withdraw it to a regular bank account.

Other than Kagi (who are quite pricey), are there any online payment systems that you developers use to accept money/donations?

Thanks

smeger · Nov 28, 2004, 09:35 PM

I use eSellerate, and I've been pretty pleased with 'em.

Arkham_c · Nov 28, 2004, 10:37 PM

I use Kagi and am happy with their service.

http://www.kagi.com

Chuckit · Nov 29, 2004, 12:35 AM

MacDevCenter ran a series on selling shareware, the third part of which covered esellers. That might be interesting to you if you're looking for Kagi alternatives.

hayesk · Nov 29, 2004, 09:25 AM

Originally posted by Arkham_c:
I use Kagi and am happy with their service.

http://www.kagi.com

Same here. They've been great.

Geobunny · Nov 30, 2004, 02:20 PM

Thanks for the replies. I'll probably go with eSellerate as they seem to be the cheapest for my level of income.

Ibson · Nov 30, 2004, 10:14 PM

What is interesting (if my understanding is correct), is that Kagi's KGM (an integrated seller, much nicer than eSellerate's, and it can be changed through nibs and such) is cheaper than their normal webstore. So to use their example, they take $2.00 for a $15 product - which is rather outrageous - but only $1.61 through KGM. So that means they take 10.75% compared with eSellerate's 10%. Not too bad, and I certainly like the greater customisation Kagi offers, as well as the idea of a Cocoa integrated seller.

My only query about using Kagi myself is talk of their unpredictable means of communication and the fact that you have to set everything up through email, which they can apparently take days to reply to. Is this still the case? It doesn't seem to be here at least. I know from experience that eSellerate provide very good support, but I have never used Kagi.

hayesk · Dec 1, 2004, 08:26 AM

Originally posted by Ibson:
My only query about using Kagi myself is talk of their unpredictable means of communication and the fact that you have to set everything up through email, which they can apparently take days to reply to. Is this still the case? It doesn't seem to be here at least. I know from experience that eSellerate provide very good support, but I have never used Kagi.

I've never experienced it taking days to do. All queries have taken a day or less. As for setting up a product, it's been awhile but I seem to remember it taking less than a day. Not that it really matters, it's not like you add new products all the time.

Brass · Dec 1, 2004, 07:39 PM

Trouble with Kagi is that they when they "pay" you, what they actually do is hold the money for a full month, collecting interest on it, and then send you a cheque after a month is passed. As if their fees weren't high enough!

I'm considering switching to eSellerate.

I also use PayPal and PayPal are much cheaper than Kagi, and they get money directly into my bank account, for a very small fee. This is an international bank transaction.

With Kagi, not only do they take a month to send the cheque after sending you details of the payment (as if it has already been paid), but it then takes another month for that cheque to clear for an international transaction.

Painful.

Geobunny · Dec 1, 2004, 07:48 PM

Originally posted by Brass:
Trouble with Kagi is that they when they "pay" you, what they actually do is hold the money for a full month, collecting interest on it, and then send you a cheque after a month is passed. As if their fees weren't high enough!

With Kagi, not only do they take a month to send the cheque after sending you details of the payment (as if it has already been paid), but it then takes another month for that cheque to clear for an international transaction.

Holy crap! So, not only do Kagi wait an entire month before sending you any money, but they also send only one cheque at a time?! That's phenomenal! I can't believe they get away with pulling that stunt, especially now that there's more competition in terms of different online sellers.

Well, that's definitely Kagi ruled out now. I'm glad I asked, thanks.

Angus_D · Dec 2, 2004, 01:18 PM

Originally posted by Brass:
Trouble with Kagi is that they when they "pay" you, what they actually do is hold the money for a full month, collecting interest on it, and then send you a cheque after a month is passed. As if their fees weren't high enough!

eSellerate will also do this.

I also use PayPal and PayPal are much cheaper than Kagi, and they get money directly into my bank account, for a very small fee. This is an international bank transaction.

eSellerate will do a SWIFT transaction for you as well, which takes about 5-7 working days IIRC.

hayesk · Dec 2, 2004, 01:40 PM

Originally posted by Geobunny:
Holy crap! So, not only do Kagi wait an entire month before sending you any money, but they also send only one cheque at a time?! That's phenomenal! I can't believe they get away with pulling that stunt, especially now that there's more competition in terms of different online sellers.

I can't tell if you are being sarcastic or not, but I would much rather get a single cheque than multiple transactions. True, they keep it for a month, but how much does that amount to? A fraction of a percent is not a big deal.

Geobunny · Dec 2, 2004, 01:46 PM

Originally posted by hayesk:
I can't tell if you are being sarcastic or not, but I would much rather get a single cheque than multiple transactions. True, they keep it for a month, but how much does that amount to? A fraction of a percent is not a big deal.

I'm not at all being sarcastic. The thing I like about PayPal is that my money stays there as long as I want it to and I can take out however much I like in ONE lump sum (or as many lumps as I like, for that matter). To have lots of individual cheques flying my way would be a major inconvenience - I'm not prepared to make multiple trips to the bank, plus the fact that my bank actually issues a handling charge for paying in a cheque in a foreign currency!

Arclite · Dec 3, 2004, 12:52 AM

They take all the money given to you in a month by donators and lump it together in one check, I think. They don't use a whole month to send you one donation.

kupan787 · 04:58 PM

I use esellerate, but only to collect money and send me a check. I don't use their software at all. I love how responsive their website is. You try and get your history using paypal, they have to get back to you with results. With esellerate, it is virtually instant. I love it if I need to track some one down that lost a code, or just to see how many sales I made in a given month, or year, etc.

Another option, if people don't want to do online payments, is postal moneyorders. Much better than sending cash through the mail, but works in a very similar manner. Granted, you then need to go to the post office (I think) or bank to cash it, but it is safer than just sticking cash in an envelope and hoping it comes through.

I honestly don't get peoples issues with Paypal. Yes some people fall for phising schemes, but that isn't Paypals fault (scammers will target the largest audiences). Something happens to one person, and everyone freaks out and thinks it will happen to them so they stop using a service. I have used them for 3 years, and never had a single problem. It is even now to the point where you don't have to have an account with them to make a payment. You just enter your info like any other webstore, your credit card is billed, and that is that. So for someone to say they don't trust paypal, when they are just making a payment on a good or service, is just ignorant. They are as good as any other retailer who uses your credit card (if not better than Suzy at the local Gap, who could easily copy your card info down...)

Angus_D · Dec 9, 2004, 01:49 PM

Originally posted by kupan787:
I use esellerate, but only to collect money and send me a check. I don't use their software at all.

They weren't too helpful when I told them I wanted to implement my own serial number algorithm -- they don't like doing it because they have to link your compiled DLL into their web server or something equally stupid.

If you use their serial verification thing, it's almost mind-numbingly trivial to circumvent.