E-book store using pay-pal?

I had this same problem with my site http://www.raysebookshop.com/ I looked through a lot of php scripts and everyone wants you to pay something here and there, and the free ones were tough to set up. I also got a big run around, not to mention i wanted to keep control of how my eBook system works.

My first solution was to create a downloads folder with a strange name, like site.com/I82sMeZ, i did that so people cant just guess the name "downloads" and access the folder. That folder hosted all my downloads. I then changed the permissions of that folder to be 711 in CHmod (FTP). So they could go to the direct link within the folder, but they could not access the folder itself to see whats in there. Then on each page i put a paypal button and set it up in paypal button options so that after each purchase they get redirected to the specific page. That solution worked. But that was me setting up each page website manually, using webpage creation software. It gets a little hard to manage.

Now i use http://www.oscommerce.com/ Its a shopping cart service that you can use to host all your ebook downloads. Its free, but it takes some editing to make it look good and function how you want to. It pretty much makes the database and keeps everything in there. Then with contributions you can change how the downloads are handled. I use a paypal Instant Payment Notification (IPN), the downloads are protected in a folder and after purchase they receive the link. I set it to allow them to download it 7 times, and it expires in 7 days. Once 7 links are used or 7 days expires the link no longer works.

Those are the free options i know of, there are plenty of pay options just search for paypal secure ipn ebook downloads in google and you'll find a ton.

Check out Drupal, and it's eCommerce add-in module. Both are free (it's open-source), and it gives you the secure file area you need.

The part where you build the downloadable products also gives you the option of specifying HOW LONG a recent purchase will be available for download.

I'm also in the process of building an interactive training program on creating online stores with Drupal. The more the merrier, because students will be visiting and grading each other's stores. Anyone reading this who is interested, feel free to contact me, as I don't want to plug the site directly here (it's private registration only).

NOTE: If you're going to try Drupal, as if this writing (19 Feb 2008), do NOT get the latest Drupal (version 6), as the eCommerce module has not been released for that yet. Instead, snag the latest version of Drupal 5.x

What Peter says is spot on. Dreamweaver is great for presentation (although from a coders point of view it adds a lot of useless crap), but does nothing when it comes to server/database interaction. Unfortunately, you will need to either code these pages yourself using some server side scripting to create things like accounts and shopping carts. You could also look into premade templated solutions, or hosts that are geared towards what you want. Either way, there will be some customization work. Dreamweaver alone will not do it. From scratch you would need at the least a book on databases, one on server side scripting language of your choice, and some knowledge of SQL/MySQL, and security. If you are dead set on doing it yourself then you need to head to a bookshop and pick up a few books. Just browse through and find an approach you like. Any of the major publishers will be pretty much as good as another depending on your learning style. and please....if someone comes to your site they want to see your site, an intro page is superfluous and a turnoff. Many of your visitors will also have their own music or tv programs playing, so music on a web site just gets many people to leave

How about a PHP/MySQL solution?

When a person pays, they are allocated a unique ID (maybe use date/time to generate this randomly). The unique ID is stored in your SQL database and marked as 'paid' when paypal tells you the transaction was successful.

The 'download' link would then use this unique transaction ID, and when the download has been successfully completed, it would mark a 'downloaded' flag in the database.

If someone tries to use the download link without the ID being marked as 'paid', or with it marked as 'downloaded' then you can redirect to other pages.