Delivery Methods

[Former_Member]

I'm grappling with the best form of delivery for buyers of my digital files. What do you do? Email the file directly? Send a link so they can download from the cloud (i.e. dropbox, box.com, etc)?

How do you do it?

[BluegrassWhimsy]

I email directly. But have never tried anything else.

[aStateOfGrace]

I also email directly, but I have never tried cloud dowload delivery.

[ShadesOfEveryColor]

Direct email is what I use. But if they do not want the file through email. Box.com is great to use, you could just send them a link in there receipt, or through an etsy message. Wishing you the best!

[Former_Member]

I've got a free account on box.com and I email a link so they can download from the cloud. This is nice because I don't have to worry about attachment size, or having to resend it if they accidentally lose or delete it, or it gets corrupted. Each document is customized, so resale isn't really a concern of mine. Downloading from the cloud also means I don't have to worry about getting additional contact info, so I can just send an Etsy message with the link, which gets the dialogue going between us, and this has already led to additional sales and custom item requests for me! [Not many yet, since I'm just starting, but it's still exciting!]

[bonhomieDESIGN]

i've had a box.com account for some time but hadn't thought of hosting customer designs there - i really like that idea!!

[Former_Member]

I just opened my shop and had my first sale yesterday. I emailed the PDFs directly, but love the cloud idea. Great suggestion!

[Former_Member]

Hi, just wondering how you send PDF files through e-mail? When I try to attach one, it says that it is over Gmail's 25MB attachment limit. Thanks!

[PlanningInspired]

If your files allow you to do this, you can send them instantly to customers using Craft Hub.
http://www.crafthub.me/register.php?ref=484

[lkdBoutique]

When I started sending files, I usually just attached them to an email. When my sales volume started growing, I was finding more and more of my customers not receiving my emails. Most of them were gmail users. I looked into what was causing the issues but realized that finding another file-sharing solution would be a better use of my time.

Now, I use a cloud-type service from GoDaddy that lets me back up my files remotely then share the files I choose by creating a link. I can password protect, but Mac users seem to have issues entering the password and accessing the files. I upload to the online folders using Filezilla then log into my GoDaddy web interface and share the file. My only real complaint so far is that I can't have the link automatically expire, so I have to go in and remove the link manually.

Good luck!!

[Former_Member]

I send them via an email attachment. I would love to be able to offer an immediate download, but several of my files are personalized, so that isn't possible.

I normally create a .zip file so that the files are small enough to email without a problem. To do that just right click on the file and hit "archive" or "zip" (depending on your computer). I've only had one time that files didn't go through correctly the first time, so this method works well for me!

[Former_Member]

My files are HUGE, many of my items have well over 200 items so email is out of the question. I use email when I can, but 50% of my sales I use yousendit.com and another 40% of my sales (at least) are too large for them so I use box. I don't really understand how to set up box so that the files are private except to specific people. Do I have to pay for that or something? Or is it a simple button I'm totally missing? I am concerned about people sharing the link, or previous customers going back onto the link to see what else they can upload for free. (Call me paranoid, I just like to think ahead for potential problems). I have noticed that when I use box the files get downloaded multiple times..so it may be a valid concern. Any help setting up box?