Stalled Trek: Amutt Time Digital Download!

[largento]

This is kind of experimental.

 

I found out about this site, Gumroad that lets you sell digital media and I want to give it a shot and see how well it works. It's set up so that all you have to do is give them your email address and payment info and you get an email with the link to download it. You don't have to sign up for anything.

 

Starting now, you can purchase a digital download of Stalled Trek: Amutt time for only $3.99! Significantly cheaper than the DVD and no shipping!

 

The file is an mp4 and should work on mobile devices.

 

The price may go up if I decide to make this permanent, so get yours now if you want one ...and let me know how well the process works!

 

Just click on the link in my signature...

[ptiversen]

Thanks Mark, I was the first on to download it. It's on my phone Infuse and tablet 10.1 (Samsung products). looks great.

[Ilidrake]

At work right now but will be getting a copy as soon as I can!!!

[largento]

Thanks, guys, and I'm relieved to hear that, Tony. I only found out about this site recently. Want to make sure it goes smoothly.

[Rodney]

Paving the way for animators everywhere as always Mark. Good on ya!

 

The price is certainly right.

If I didn't already have the DVD I'd be buying.

Still might.

 

As with most of the current crop of distribution sites I'm always looking for those that don't take too much of a piece out of the pie.

(I'm a bit leery of Kickstarter for this reason also)

Hopefully most of that $3.99 gets into your pocket.

 

Added: I see this from their FAQ:

What is Gumroad's cut?

 

Simple. It is just 5% + 25¢ of each transaction. For example: If you sell a digital video for $10, the fee is $0.75 and $9.25 is deposited into your account.

 

There are no setup fees, monthly fees, bandwidth fees, or withdrawal fees.

 

Seems very reasonable. Anything over 10% has me moving on immediately.

With tech the way it is today few distros should charge over 10%. If they are there should be some serious benefits returned for that fee.

Gumroad looks to even beat the 'best of class' model of charging 99 cents per transaction. At one time I thought that might be an optimal fee.

[largento]

The part I found appealing was that it was much easier for people to buy stuff with. You can put a button on your website and clicking it brings up a pop-up that doesn't even take you away from the site. You don't have to create a log-in or anything like that. Simple and fast.

 

I'm just reacting to people who have said they'd rather have a digital version than a DVD. I looked into Amazon's video service, but it requires the film to be at least 20 minutes and Stalled Trek is just under 16.

 

My primary concern is with having their be issues with the file, like incompatibility or things like that. With a DVD, there's not really that concern because you put it in a DVD player and it plays. I don't want to have to do tech support for people who buy the file and my concern was that it would be more complicated than it looks, but Tony seems to have had a good experience with it.

 

I would have to sell a lot of videos to make any real kind of money and I don't expect that to happen. Like I said, it's more about a convenience for people who'd rather watch it on their iPad or smart phone than on their TV.

[Dalemation]

I downloaded it smoothly. A very easy and fast process. I look forward to watching it later. I did try viewing it on the laptop just now but my wife is watching TV sat next to me and I was swiftly told to "shut up!"

[Rodney]

I would have to sell a lot of videos to make any real kind of money and I don't expect that to happen.

 

Those nickels and dimes do add up though especially when the money is needed the most.

I suppose the key would be to be in the right place at that right time when the interest really kicks in.

A couple thousand hits at even a buck or two would then amount to being worth the effort.

 

Slightly off topic: There was a write up not long ago that I enjoyed on the difference between quality and quantity.

It stated that quality being as subjective as it is, quantity is the prime area to tap into.

The article didn't exactly state it that way... that's just my rodneyfication of it.

Obviously you've got to have a high level of quality but end the end that isn't the deciding factor in what draws people in.

Some with the bare minimum of quality have captured the public's attention and have enjoyed some lasting nostagia and longevity as well.

 

So how does that apply here?

You've got several 'franchises' going and while none may draw a big crowd all by themselves, together they may help you reach some level of critical mass that you would recognize as being commercially successful (i.e. at least enough to cover the cost of wages and expenses). The point being that while important, quality is not enough to get you there... but quantity is and (theoretically at least) will. This is especially true with regard to animation because without quantity we just have a random selection of (tentatively related) still images.

[largento]

Thanks for the purchase, Dale! Hope you enjoy it!

 

There's definitely something to that, Rodney. I've definitely thought about it all year while I was sitting at my table at those conventions. If you only have one item, that's pretty much all you can sell to one customer. Some might buy multiple copies to give as gifts, but in most cases, it's for them and you have noway to build up more sales. With 2/3/4/etc. DVDs, I'd have the chance to increase sales with the same number of customers. Plus, some variety of subject matter, might draw a larger customer base.

 

If only I were about 20 years younger, I could get to a pretty good selection. :-)

[largento]

Just an FYI, if you've been putting off picking up the digital copy of Stalled Trek: Amutt time, you can save money by doing it soon.

 

On June 1st, I'm going to raise the price from $3.99 to $5. I'm looking into getting cards printed so that I can sell digital copies at conventions, so I'm going to have to up the price to cover the cost of the cards.

 

This is still half-price when compared to the DVD and you don't have to pay for shipping.

 

Just click on my banner in my signature and it will take you to my store.