Gumroad Gets $1.1 Million To Turn Any Link Into A Payment System
1–10 of 61 posts
Re: Gumroad Gets $1.1 Million To Turn Any Link Into A Payment System
#2It all started here on Hacker News: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2406614
So... thanks! :)
Re: Gumroad Gets $1.1 Million To Turn Any Link Into A Payment System
#3From the article:
'Gumroad monetizes by taking a 5% cut and 30 cents out of every transaction'
From the HN launch thread:
'I think something like "5%, but at least $0.30" would make more sense'
Good on ya for listening to your potential users :)
Re: Gumroad Gets $1.1 Million To Turn Any Link Into A Payment System
#4I'm confused. Once some one buys the link do they get the real url? Could this person share this real url on Facebook?
I understand that with a traditional online store, a customer could upload the downloaded file as a torrent and share it on Facebook, however, the ease of sharing a link compared to creating a torrent is pretty large.
I guess the idea is to use this for content that you never really expected to make much money from, so if it is shared you are okay with that.
I almost feel like the service should have a pay what you want option. Some people may use the stolen free link if the only pay option is $10 but would be willing to pay $5 if it was an option.
Re: Gumroad Gets $1.1 Million To Turn Any Link Into A Payment System
#5Wow. I remember when this first got started on HN a while back. It's amazing to see where you guys are now.
Congratulations Sahil!
Re: Gumroad Gets $1.1 Million To Turn Any Link Into A Payment System
#6I'm confused. Once some one buys the link do they get the real url? Could this person share this real url on Facebook? I understand that with a traditional online store, a customer could upload the downloaded file as a torrent and share it on Facebook, however, the ease of sharing a link compared to creating a torrent is pretty large. I guess the idea is to use this for content that you never really expected to make…
I think Sahil addressed this elsewhere before, but my own assumption is that if someone is willing to hand over money for something they understand that creators deserve to be paid for their work and they won't then go ahead and distribute it at no cost. The latter shouldn't be a concern anyway, even if the link was unsharable someone could still download and re-upload elsewhere.
The technical solution I assume (which actually goes against what appears to be the idea of Gumroad -- simple for everyone) would be a Paypal IPN type system.
You can upload directly to Gumroad and that has no issue of unauthorised sharing, but if you use the pay wall for a link type then you do risk it.
Re: Gumroad Gets $1.1 Million To Turn Any Link Into A Payment System
#7Is it just me having a hard time reaching the site?
Re: Gumroad Gets $1.1 Million To Turn Any Link Into A Payment System
#8What are you going to spend the money on?
Re: Gumroad Gets $1.1 Million To Turn Any Link Into A Payment System
#9I'm confused. Once some one buys the link do they get the real url? Could this person share this real url on Facebook? I understand that with a traditional online store, a customer could upload the downloaded file as a torrent and share it on Facebook, however, the ease of sharing a link compared to creating a torrent is pretty large. I guess the idea is to use this for content that you never really expected to make…
I think Sahil addressed this elsewhere before, but my own assumption is that if someone is willing to hand over money for something they understand that creators deserve to be paid for their work and they won't then go ahead and distribute it at no cost. The latter shouldn't be a concern anyway, even if the link was unsharable someone could still download and re-upload elsewhere. The technical solution I assume (whic…
Gumroad could proxy the download (what else would people be selling?) but I suppose that implies large bandwidth costs.
Re: Gumroad Gets $1.1 Million To Turn Any Link Into A Payment System
#10Sahil is very sharp and a great designer. What's more amazing is how well he understands the underlying gears that drive Silicon Valley. Congrats and expecting big things.