The Problem We Were Actually Solving
I started with a simple product: ZIP files of .lrtemplate files plus a small Electron uploader so users could preview presets before buying. I expected 90% of revenue to come through Gumroad, because their checkout flow is seamless and I had heard affiliate fees were low. Within two weeks I realized my assumption was wrong. Gumroads URL returned a 403 error with the message Their payment processor does not operate in your country. PayPals API likewise returned INVALID_COUNTRY_CODE. Stripe gave me a similar refusal, even though I tried creating the account under a U.S. shell company. Each refusal cost me a sale; the preset files themselves are trivial to distribute, but taking money is the hard part.
What We Tried First (And Why It Failed)
First I tried Payhip; they accepted accounts from my country. After a week I had $800 in sales, but then Payhips payout threshold jumped from $20 to $100 overnight and the payout itself took 30 days. I also noticed a 5% fee on top of PayPals fees, so after currency conversion I was losing nearly 11% on every sale. When I emailed support they replied with a pre-written sentence about global expansion plans. I stopped using Payhip after one chargeback I couldnt dispute.
