How to Deliver a Digital Product

[NRMEC]

I want to be able to deliver a password and user name for a web page with downloadable digital products.  Is there any way to have PayPal email the password/user name after confirmation of payment?  I'm trying not to use a third party shopping cart.  Thank you in advance.

[skier]

Use PayPal's IPN feature along with Auto Return. This method does require additional programming skills. After the payment is processed, PayPal posts the transaction details to your IPN script. At this point, you could have your IPN script either send out an email with the item as an attachment, or an email that has a link to a secure page where the item can be downloaded from.

Regards,

skier

[barryh]

I'm looking for the same answers.  I hope someone who knows will respond.

[skier]

You basically have 3 options.

The first is to use PayPal's IPN feature.  As previously mentioned, this does require some additional coding skills and not intended for beginners.  IPN is explained here.  Testing IPN tips and a sample script can be found here.  And some troubleshooting tips can be found here.   Note, you will also need your own https or secure server.

Your next option and "easiest" is to use a 3rd party Digital Goods Delivery Service.  There's no programming involved and you don't have to have your own https or secure server.   You can find a list of Digital Goods Delivery Services here.    For example, check out this service, it's easy to work with, you can be up and running quickly and they provide support.

The last option is to hire a Developer to do the work for you.  These folks do custom coding for a living.  You can find a list of Developers here.

There is one more option however, it's not recommended because there no security.   You can enable the Auto Return feature in your Account Profile. After a successful transaction, the buyer is immediately sent back to a specific page where they could download the item.  Note, using this method, the URL can be shared with others as it is not secure.

Regards,

skier

[NRMEC]

Thank you skier for your suggestions.  I'm saving them for when I am a little more technology savy.

Here is what I ended up doing.  I used the "auto return" feature and had customers directed to a web page that provided them with a user name and password, and a link to the password-protected web page.  Then on the password-protected web page I am providing my downloadable digital product.

I grant you this is not perfect, but for this product and the small number of sales I am expecting, it is sufficient.

On my next product I will explore the other ideas mentioned by skier.

Again, thank you.