It’s “GitHub meets Shopify”: Binpress sells your source code
thestartupfoundry.com
thestartupfoundry.com
If you sell source code do you have to include some amount of training/consulting to hand it off?
What kind of source code are people buying? Libraries? Windows applications? Finished web apps?
Understanding the API and integrating it into the current system is all most companies need or want to do, so buying some code off the shelf is a LOT cheaper than the development effort, and in many cases actually less risky, even if they don't fully grok the full source.
Of course, support can be sold separately. But that doesn't mean the code itself doesn't have value. Right now I'm using dozens of OSS modules, most of which I'd be happy to pay some money for because of the time they've saved me and my business.
When I pick an open source library to use, the continued active development, documentation, and support community around it are my main criteria. Much the same is true of commercial software.
I have little interest in downloading some random source code off the internet. Maybe that's not what's for sale on these sites but that's what it sounds like from first glance.
If you're selling commercial components, why not set up your own website and sell it there?
If you run a cool service that has no hope of making you money directly, it's worth considering offering the source to big companies that might want to white label it or use it internally.
They definitely need to work on that, maybe that will solve their chicken and egg problem!
Check out http://www.binpress.com/wanted/list
A possible method might be what I'd call "code shares". Here the author of some code might receive payment for support in the traditional manner, but because the authors resources are limited they might issue a number of shares, perhaps corresponding to lengths of time. Like other kinds of shares these would have a valuation, and customers could buy or sell shares amongst themselves. Each share is basically an entitlement to a certain amount of support for the given code base. Cryptographic methods could be used ensure that shares are unique.
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