Creating a simple and inexpensive e-commerce website?

[Clariman]

What are the options for creating a simple and inexpensive e-commerce website? The products being sold would be downloadable PDFs.

I could pay Stooz to develop it for me , but I'm just looking for something easy that I could maintain. I have a website for our holiday lets which uses the cheapest weebly package but that is not an e-commerce site. I could probably use basic weebly but I'd need to hand-crank some of it. Their e-commerce packages start at 12 USD per month and the more practical one is 25 USD per month.

To be honest, the items I would be selling would be about 10 GBP each, with a limited market and might only sell a handful a year. Commercially it may not be worth it, but it would be an interesting project to get underway.

Thanks
C

[johnhemming]

Probably best worth looking around for something that offers a service including getting you paid. It may be, for instance, that something like eBay could do this.

[Clariman]

To give you a bit more info. The PDFs are sheet music. I've made quite a lot of musical arrangements for my own pleasure and performing, over many years - and quite a lot in the last 12 months.

These are the broad options I am considering:

• Put them on a non-commercial 3rd party music website for free. No cost to me but no income. I have put a few arrangements on one already and they have been popular.
• Create my own website to sell them as downloads (the subject of this TLF topic). Costs and income to me.
• Sell them on a commercial 3rd party music website. The main one gives the arranger/composer "45% commission" which they promote as a good thing. The way I look at it, they are taking 55% commission from something that the arranger has created! But they are widely used and provide everything that is required to sell music. Another plus point is that you can sell arrangements of most copyright music there because they have negotiated deals with major copyright holders. The arranger only gets a pittance but the alternative would be negotiating your own license agreement with the copyright holder which is a lot of work.
• Combination of 2 and 3 above. Have my own website as a focal point but selling both directly and via the 3rd party

That's just a FYI to give you a better context.

C

[didds]

I did something similar for a friend years (decades?) ago.

A very quick google throws this up

https://freewebstore.com/

and there are lots of other hits including review sites (but I dunno what gotchas may be involved)

Good luck - and whatever you end up doing please report back for interest sake

[didds]

i also googled "wordpress e-commerce free" and this was first hit apparently discussing wordpress plugins that may do what is needed?

again, no other delving

https://ecommerce-platforms.com/article ... e-plug-ins

[johnhemming]

[*]Sell them on a commercial 3rd party music website. The main one gives the arranger/composer "45% commission" which they promote as a good thing. The way I look at it, they are taking 55% commission from something that the arranger has created! But they are widely used and provide everything that is required to sell music. Another plus point is that you can sell arrangements of most copyright music there because they have negotiated deals with major copyright holders. The arranger only gets a pittance but the alternative would be negotiating your own license agreement with the copyright holder which is a lot of work.
[*]Combination of 2 and 3 above. Have my own website as a focal point but selling both directly and via the 3rd party[/list]

I think you will probably find either the 3rd party site or a combination as the best route. It is a question of how much time you want to spend on this. Appearing on the 3rd party site will probably result in more sales.

Hence apart from the costs being zero (other than their 55% commo) you are likely to have more revenue. Running your own site to talk about it in some way is a good marketing route, however.

[Mike4]

I'm with johnhemming on this, as suggested in post 2.

Design a website featuring, describing and promoting your music, and incorporate links to listings of the product itself for sale on ebay or amazon.

Totally sidesteps all the complications and security risks associated with running an e-commerce site yourself, a side benefit is people search ebay or amazon for sheet music may well land on your listings directly and buy.

[servodude]

I think you will probably find either the 3rd party site or a combination as the best route. It is a question of how much time you want to spend on this. Appearing on the 3rd party site will probably result in more sales.
Hence apart from the costs being zero (other than their 55% commo) you are likely to have more revenue. Running your own site to talk about it in some way is a good marketing route, however.

I'm with johnhemming on this, as suggested in post 2.
Design a website featuring, describing and promoting your music, and incorporate links to listings of the product itself for sale on ebay or amazon.
Totally sidesteps all the complications and security risks associated with running an e-commerce site yourself, a side benefit is people search ebay or amazon for sheet music may well land on your listings directly and buy.

^ these guys make good sense

Unless you have another related website on to which you can graft the pdf sales & advertising (e.g. patreon, you-tube channel, bandzoogle, soundcloud etc) there's a reason that the likes of SMP charge what they do

Alternatively spin off a makers market from the music board here?
- I'm sure there are many who would like to offer support

- sd

[UncleEbenezer]

To give you a bit more info. The PDFs are sheet music. I've made quite a lot of musical arrangements for my own pleasure and performing, over many years - and quite a lot in the last 12 months.

Interesting. I've written a little music over the years, and more recently a more ambitious work for full chorus and orchestra which I had - erm - hoped would premier last year. Maybe it's time I considered some of the same options you're looking at?

• Put them on a non-commercial 3rd party music website for free. No cost to me but no income. I have put a few arrangements on one already and they have been popular.
• Create my own website to sell them as downloads (the subject of this TLF topic). Costs and income to me.
• Sell them on a commercial 3rd party music website. The main one gives the arranger/composer "45% commission" which they promote as a good thing. The way I look at it, they are taking 55% commission from something that the arranger has created! But they are widely used and provide everything that is required to sell music. Another plus point is that you can sell arrangements of most copyright music there because they have negotiated deals with major copyright holders. The arranger only gets a pittance but the alternative would be negotiating your own license agreement with the copyright holder which is a lot of work.
• Combination of 2 and 3 above. Have my own website as a focal point but selling both directly and via the 3rd party

As others have said, go for an established site where people look for music. That's how you get eyes beyond your own social circle. Free or paid is obviously your choice: free will get you more eyes, particularly if you don't have the name-recognition you have here. Free to download but pay a royalty to perform might be another option.

Regarding your first option that you're using already, would it be unduly cheeky to ask for some more about your experience, and perhaps a URL?

[AsleepInYorkshire]

What are the options for creating a simple and inexpensive e-commerce website? The products being sold would be downloadable PDFs.

I could pay Stooz to develop it for me , but I'm just looking for something easy that I could maintain. I have a website for our holiday lets which uses the cheapest weebly package but that is not an e-commerce site. I could probably use basic weebly but I'd need to hand-crank some of it. Their e-commerce packages start at 12 USD per month and the more practical one is 25 USD per month.

To be honest, the items I would be selling would be about 10 GBP each, with a limited market and might only sell a handful a year. Commercially it may not be worth it, but it would be an interesting project to get underway.

Thanks
C

I may be missing the point on this one, if so apologies, but have you thought about Gumtree?

AiY

[stewamax]

I second Didds reply. If your Internet service provider also gives you limited free Wordpress, the Woocommerce plug-in is free. I use it.
You may in future want to buy some flashy and more market-focused theme, but to start with there is no need.
And there are all sorts of online payment options.

[Mike4]

I second Didds reply. If your Internet service provider also gives you limited free Wordpress, the Woocommerce plug-in is free. I use it.
You may in future want to buy some flashy and more market-focused theme, but to start with there is no need.
And there are all sorts of online payment options.

Specifically, I recommend offering PayPal as an online payment option, based on my own behaviour.

When I land on a website selling a product I am interested in, firstly I look to see it that product is for sale on ebay because my experience is that in case of trouble, ebay side with the buyer and refund the money. If I don't find it on ebay I then look for PayPal on the selling site as a payment option, and use that.

If I find neither, I become very, very wary indeed and generally don't purchase. Two reasons... 1) it is an utter ballache typing in card number, exp date, CSV, associated name, address postcode etc to make a purchase on a whim, and my reluctance to do this is usually stronger than the whim. And 2) I simply don't trust some random e-commerce site I've never heard of and possibly written by rank amateurs not to get hacked and spill my card etc details. So again, I generally chicken out of making the purchase.

Bear my behaviour in mind as I think a lot of possible customers think similarly. No PayPal, no sale.