An Overview of Shareware Registration Services
Most sucessful shareware authors use one or more registration services to process their credit card orders,
since obtaining a merchant account can be a difficult (if not impossible) procedure. The
registration service handles payment by credit card (and usually can handle checks and other
forms of payment as well), and sends the author a monthly (typically) check, minus various
processing fees, which vary from service to service.
Below, I present the calculated processing fee for each registration service, for a variety of
product prices. Following that is a brief summary of the transaction and other associated fees
for each service. Please note that some services have "setup fees", and most, but not all, charge
the vendor each time a customer requests a refund.
The information below was gathered from the website of each registration service, and is believed
to be accurate, but be sure to check with the actual service. If any registration service notes an
error in any of the information here, please contact me at
cps@blackcatsystems.com
and I will be happy to correct it. Likewise, if a registration service that is not listed wishes to
be listed, contact me with the details / transaction fees for your service, and I will include
them in the next update of this page.
I am not affiliated with any service listed below
except as a customer, and have received no compensation from any service for the listings below.
Chris Smolinski
Black Cat Systems
Click on the above link for some really great Macintosh software!
Calculated Processing Fees For Each Registration Service
Service / Price |
$5 |
$10 |
$15 |
$20 |
$25 |
$35 |
$50 |
$75 |
$100 |
$250 |
Apptastic.net |
$3.00 |
$3.00 |
$3.00 |
$3.00 |
$3.00 |
$3.12 |
$4.45 |
$6.68 |
$8.90 |
$22.25 |
AVANGATE |
$2.50 |
$2.50 |
$2.50 |
$2.50 |
$2.50 |
$2.80 |
$4.00 |
$6.00 |
$7.40 |
$14.75 |
BMT Micro |
$1.25 |
$1.25 |
$1.43 |
$1.90 |
$2.38 |
$3.33 |
$4.75 |
$7.13 |
$9.50 |
$23.75 |
Digi-Buy |
$3.00 |
$3.00 |
$3.00 |
$3.00 |
$3.48 |
$4.87 |
$6.95 |
$10.43 |
$13.90 |
$34.74 |
Digital Candle |
$0.50 |
$1.00 |
$1.50 |
$2.00 |
$2.50 |
$3.50 |
$5.00 |
$7.50 |
$10.00 |
$25.00 |
Emetrix |
$3.00 |
$3.00 |
$3.00 |
$3.00 |
$3.48 |
$4.87 |
$6.95 |
$10.43 |
$13.90 |
$34.75 |
eSellerate |
$0.75 |
$1.50 |
$2.25 |
$3.00 |
$3.75 |
$5.25 |
$7.50 |
$11.25 |
$15.00 |
$37.50 |
Get Software |
$3.00 |
$3.00 |
$3.00 |
$3.00 |
$3.75 |
$5.25 |
$7.50 |
$11.25 |
$15.00 |
$37.50 |
iPortis.com |
$0.83 |
$1.15 |
$1.48 |
$1.80 |
$2.13 |
$2.78 |
$3.75 |
$5.38 |
$7.00 |
$16.75 |
Kagi |
$1.50 |
$1.75 |
$2.00 |
$2.25 |
$2.50 |
$3.50 |
$5.00 |
$7.50 |
$10.00 |
$17.50 |
NorthStar |
$2.20 |
$2.40 |
$2.60 |
$2.80 |
$3.00 |
$3.40 |
$4.00 |
$5.00 |
$6.00 |
$12.00 |
Order1.net |
$0.75 |
$1.50 |
$2.25 |
$3.00 |
$3.75 |
$5.25 |
$7.50 |
$11.25 |
$15.00 |
$37.50 |
The Ordering Network |
$1.35 |
$2.10 |
$2.85 |
$3.60 |
$4.35 |
$3.58 |
$4.85 |
$6.98 |
$9.10 |
$21.85 |
Osolis |
$1.25 |
$1.75 |
$2.25 |
$2.75 |
$3.25 |
$4.25 |
$5.75 |
$8.25 |
$10.75 |
$25.75 |
RegNet |
$1.00 |
$2.00 |
$3.00 |
$4.00 |
$5.20 |
$6.20 |
$7.70 |
$10.20 |
$12.70 |
$27.70 |
RegNow |
$2.00 |
$2.00 |
$2.04 |
$2.38 |
$2.73 |
$3.42 |
$4.45 |
$6.18 |
$7.90 |
$18.25 |
RegSoft |
$3.00 |
$3.00 |
$3.00 |
$3.00 |
$3.00 |
$3.50 |
$5.00 |
$7.50 |
$10.00 |
$25.00 |
ShareIt |
$2.50 |
$2.50 |
$2.50 |
$2.98 |
$3.73 |
$4.70 |
$5.45 |
$6.70 |
$7.95 |
$15.45 |
SWREG |
$0.69 |
$1.60 |
$1.90 |
$2.20 |
$2.50 |
$3.10 |
$4.00 |
$5.50 |
$7.00 |
$16.00 |
Virtually-Free.com |
$0.75 |
$1.50 |
$2.25 |
$3.00 |
$3.75 |
$5.25 |
$7.50 |
$11.25 |
$15.00 |
$37.50 |
Yaskifo |
$1.70 |
$2.20 |
$2.70 |
$3.20 |
$3.70 |
$4.70 |
$6.20 |
$8.70 |
$11.20 |
$26.20 |
Notes:
All fees are in US Dollars
Apptastic.net
http://www.apptastic.net/
Sign-up fee:
None
Transaction Fees:
8.9%, $3.00 minimum
Refund fees:
Unknown
Monthly fees:
Unknown
Payment types accepted:
Visa, MasterCard
AVANGATE
http://www.avangate.com/
Sign-up fee:
None
Transaction Fees:
Two schemes: 8%, min 2.5$ or 4.9% + 2.5$
Refund fees:
None
Monthly fees:
Unknown
Payment types accepted:
Visa, MasterCard (both also within 3-D Secure System), Amex, DinerŐs, JCB, Wire transfer.
AutomatedEGoods.com
http://www.automatedegoods.com/
Sign-up fee:
Possibly for credit card merchant account
Transaction Fees:
$0.25 plus 2.35 - 4.00% (2.5% average, depends on address verification or not)
Refund fees:
$0.25
Monthly fees:
$2.50 per 10 MB over 3 MB free allotment
$19.95 per month if more than 2 products
$39.95 per month if more than 20 products
Payment types accepted:
USD, EUR and GBP, Visa, MasterCard, Discover, Eurocard, American Express,
Diner's Club, Carte Blanche, Novus, Optima, JCB, Switch/Solo, Maestro,
eCheck, PayPal and Purchase Orders
BMT Micro
http://www.bmtmicro.com/
Sign-up fee:
None
Transaction Fees:
WebSeller Standard: 9.5%, $1.25 min
WebSeller Plus (customized order forms, key generator integration, etc.):
15%, $1.25 min, over $40.00: 13% %
WebSeller Pro (adds ftp hosting, mailing list): 18%, $3.00 min, over
$40.00: 15%
Comprehensive (adds custom programming, ftp hosting, mailing list, etc):
20%, $1.25 min
Refund fees:
Equal to 7% of the product price, no fees for Comprehensive Tier
Payment types accepted:
Visa, MasterCard, Discover, Eurocard, American Express, Diner's Club,
Carte Blanche, Novus, and Optima
Digi-Buy
http://www.digibuy.com
(part of Digital River)
Sign-up fee:
$29.99 (Essential)
$199.00 (Advanced)
$9.99 for each additional product
Transaction Fees:
13.9%, never less than $3.00 per product.
$0.01 per 100,000 bytes downloaded for electronic download service
Refund fees:
$2.00
Payment types accepted:
Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover.
Digital Candle
http://www.digitalcandle.com/
Sign-up fee:
None
Transaction Fees:
10%, No minimum
Refund fees:
None
Payment types accepted:
Visa, MasterCard, Discover, Amex, Diners Club, JCB, Purchase Orders,
Paypal,
Checks, Cash, Money Orders, and Wire Transfers.
Other Services:
CD delivery of products.
Marketing Services
Emetrix
http://www.emetrix.com/
Sign-up fee:
None
Transaction Fees:
13.9%, $3.00 minimum
Refund fees:
None
Payment types accepted:
Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express, Eurocard, Check/Money Order,
Wire Transfer, Purchase Order
eSellerate
http://www.esellerate.net/
Sign-up fee:
None
Transaction Fees:
Pricing based on sales volume:
Aggregate Sales of But not greater than Service Fee Percentage
$0.00 $15,000.00 10%
$15,000.01 $50,000.00 15%
$50,000.01 $100,000.00 14%
$100,000.01 $500,000.00 13%
$500,000.01 $1,000,000.00 12%
$1,000,000.01 $5,000,000.00 11%
$5,000,000.01 No Cap 10%
Refund fees:
None
Payment types accepted:
VISA, MasterCard, American Express, Discover.
Get Software
http://www.getsoftware.com/
Sign-up fee:
None
Transaction Fees:
15%, $3.00 minimum; except 10%, $2.00 for ASP members
Refund fees:
None
Payment types accepted:
MasterCard, VISA, Amex, Discover, JCB, Diners Club, Carte Blanche
iPortis.com
http://iPortis.com/
Sign-up fee:
None
Transaction Fees:
Transaction Fees: 6.5% of transaction total (excluding taxes) + $0.50
Refund fees:
None
Payment types accepted:
Check, Money order, Visa, MC, Amex, Discover/Novus, PayPal
Monthly Fees: NONE
Kagi
http://www.kagi.com/
Sign-up fee:
No sign-up
Transaction Fees:
The transaction fee is the lesser of:
10%, minimum $2.50
5% + $5.00
Except 5% + 1.25 for products up to $25.
Refund fees:
$5 charge-back fee, plus transaction fee
No fees for refunds
Payment types accepted:
US and foreign cash, US checks, money orders,
American Express, Carte Blanche, diners Club, Discover, JCB,
MasterCard, Optima, and Visa.
Other services:
Custom CD Delivery via SwiftCD partnership
NorthStar Solutions
http://www.nstarsolutions.com/
Sign-up fee:
None
Transaction Fees:
4% plus $2.00 for Internet orders
Also a 6.5% plus $.45 rate for low to mid-ranged priced products
Refund fees:
None
Payment types accepted:
Visa, MasterCard, Amex, Discover, checks, money orders, wire transfers, e-checks, and PayPal.
Order1.net
http://www.order1.net/
Sign-up fee:
None
Transaction Fees:
15%
Refund fees:
None
Payment types accepted:
Visa, MasterCard, Discover, Amex, checks,money orders, wire transfers
The Ordering Network
http://www.evergreennetworks.com/register2/index.asp
Sign-up fee:
None
Transaction Fees:
7% +$0.60
Declined Credit Cards: $0.60
Refund fees:
Refunds: same rate as orders
Chargebacks: same rate as orders
Payment types accepted:
Discover, VISA, MasterCard, Amex
Osolis
http://www.osolis.com/
Sign-up fee:
None
Transaction Fees:
10% + $0.75 per copy-protected software licence
8% + $0.60 per upgrade or non-copy-protected software licence
Refund fees:
Refunds: original fee retained
Chargebacks: original fee refunded
Payment types accepted:
Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Discover, ACH, wire transfer, check, money order,
PayPal (instant, e-check, Switch & Solo)
RegNet
http://www.reg.net/
Sign-up fee:
None
Transaction Fees:
$3.00 + 10% of remander
20% for programs $20.00 or less
Refund fees:
None
Payment types accepted:
Discover, MasterCard, VISA, Amex, Diner's Club
RegNow
https://www.regnow.com/
Sign-up fee:
None (?)
Transaction Fees:
6.9% plus $1/unit with a $2.00 minimum charge.
Refund fees:
None (?)
Payment types accepted:
Unknown
RegSoft
http://www.regsoft.com/
Sign-up fee:
No sign-up
Transaction Fees:
$3.00 per registration fee for products $30.00 and under.
For products over $30.00, 10% of the selling price of the Product
Refund fees:
No chargebacks or refund bank fees will be charged to the vendor
Payment types accepted:
Bank Cards Accepted: Visa, American Express, Mastercard, Discover/Novus
Money Orders, Checks by mail (please allow time for processing), Eurocheques
Other services:
Custom CD Delivery via SwiftCD partnership
ShareIt
http://www.shareit.com
Sign-up fee:
None
Transaction Fees:
Option A: US$2.95 + 5% per order
Option B: 14.9% per order, $2.50 minimum
Starting with the 1000th order of each month: US$1.95 +4%
Refund fees:
None
Payment types accepted:
Visa, American Express, MasterCard, Eurocard, Diners Club,
Wire Transfer, US Check, Eurocheck, Money Order, Cash (USD and DEM)
SWREG
http://www.swreg.org
Sign-up fee:
None
Transaction Fees (choose one):
$1 + 6% (min. $1.50, 2% Amex surcharge, $20/monthly fee per account)
Micro-payments: $0.69 for items up to $7, subject to restrictions
WARNING!
If a customer buys multiple items at the same time, you are charged the $1 + 4% for
each item! This can make the total commission come out to be much more than you otherwise expect.
Special 9.9% Rate
Flat 15% rate, no monthly fee
Refund fees:
None
Payment types accepted:
Mastercard, Eurocard, VISA, Delta, JCB, Switch, Solo, Discover, American Express, Diner's Club, UK
cheque, US check, Eurocheque, International Money Order, Bank wire, Paypal.
Virtually-Free.com
http://www.sw-reg.com/
Sign-up fee:
None
Transaction Fees:
15%
Refund fees:
None (?)
Payment types accepted:
Visa, MasterCard
Yaskifo
http://www.yaskifo.com/us/
Sign-up fee:
None
Transaction Fees:
FRF 10 ("something like US$ 1.20") + 10%
Refund fees:
None
Payment types accepted:
MasterCard, VISA, Amex, Euro-Card, Cart-Bleue, Aurore
Last Updated January 7, 2008
The author of this site reserves the right to determine which services are
listed.
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