Instant Download Credit Purchase Vs Shopping Cart Purchase

I'm trying to figure out the pros and cons to both methods. I've always used the traditional cart method and I'm starting to get questions about the Download Credits.

When a client buys a traditional download item with their shopping cart, they can download the image from a link in their order online after they check out. What happens with a purchase is made with a download credit? I know they can download the image instantly, but how does a client re-download the item again later?

Are people offering Download Credits when services are booked? is there an automatic way to do that?

Edited Tue Jan 30, 18 5:30 AM by Paul M

I can’t answer all you questions and some of them are pretty good question. I thought I would tell you what I do.

I offer to allow anyone to purchase download credits and allow them to use it on my two different line of work. I do action shots and also Team and Individual pictures. I assign every download type a credit amount. For example for my action shots I offer three different quality types and the downloads are 1, 2, and 8. Basically 1 download credit is $5. But if you buy download credits in “packs or bulk” then you get a credit. So for example I give 5 credit for $20. In this fashion it is a way to give a discount. I do the same with my Team and Individual work except the are “more expensive”.

I like it because I want to encourage please to by my pictures and it gives them perceived value. Does it work? I suppose it does. My T&I picture do typically get purchased they way but that is basically because it is a print business. The action shots are typically downloaded this way. Warning: The sports action business is basically dead and so it really doesn’t ge that much traffic.

Can’t help you about downloading them again later on. I have not really looked into that although it wouldn’t be hard to setup a test case.

You can always assign people codes ahead of time. Generate some code and give it to them. But I think I have learned recently that they MUST have a account. I wasn’t requiring people to create an account and so people wouldn’t and then they bought credits. But when they did that they either missed the mail with the code or didn’t get. So then they didn’t redeem the code. I think I solved that by requiring them to sign up.

Edited Tue Jan 30, 18 11:26 AM by Scott Lowe