It’s “GitHub meets Shopify”: Binpress sells your source code

http://thestartupfoundry.com/2011/02/04/it%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%9Cgithub%E2%80%9D-meets-%E2%80%9Cshopify%E2%80%9D-binpress-sells-your-source-code/

by g0atbutt • 15 years ago

70 25 15 years ago

thestartupfoundry.com

g0atbutt2• 15 years ago

As a side note, the guys who work on Binpress are very nice people. It was really easy to pick up on even via email.

leftnode• 15 years ago

This is awesome. I sell code (non-exclusively) on Codecanyon so they take 75%. Only taking 30% is huge for me.

citricsquid• 15 years ago

I think you've identified their problem, you're their target audience AND you're not 100% happy with their competitor yet you don't know about their service!

They definitely need to work on that, maybe that will solve their chicken and egg problem!

erangalp4• 15 years ago

It is definitely something we are working on (I'm one of the co-founders). We've just launched and it will take some time before the words spreads around - codecanyon has been around for over a year and a half. Features like this certainly help

gaz• 15 years ago

You could sell on http://www.freemarket.com they only take 20% if your a high volume seller.

100k2• 15 years ago

Do people really buy source code? I would think raw source code is of limited utility. A lot of the value is in the heads of the people who wrote it.

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?

g0atbutt2• 15 years ago

Yes they do. Checkout Code Canyon. They are doing quite well with the same concept.

ladon86• 15 years ago

Are you kidding? Raw source code has huge utility! Many companies build businesses upon open source software, and this is really no different except they're paying for the code.

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.

100k2• 15 years ago

I think there is a continuum, from fully supported proprietary executable to tar dump of abandoned code.

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?

jasonkester• 15 years ago

Yes. I lived for a couple years off the proceeds of licensing the source code to one of my sites.

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.

noodle• 15 years ago

simple example? wordpress plugins.

whalesalad2• 15 years ago

I don't know how The "Startup" "Foundry" is going to "take on" "TechCrunch" with their "unnecessary" quoting.

http://www.unnecessaryquotes.com/

whalesalad2• 15 years ago

Why the hell am I being downvoted? They used unnecessary quotes (amateur mistake) in their title, and a previous mention on the HN homepage suggested they were going for the jugular of TC.

snissn• 15 years ago

they should sell their own source code and be meta

gregwebs• 15 years ago

What I really want is an easy way to donate to any open source project or pay for development of features/bug fixes.

nkassis• 15 years ago

I think this is a great idea, a bounty system.

krakensden• 15 years ago

Have you considered a consumer petition side as well? My immediate thought upon looking at this (late on a friday night) is "I'd like to sell something here, but I'm not sure what people want that isn't here."

erangalp4• 15 years ago

That is a very good question - we actually thought about that, and are about to launch a section for wanted components - people can suggest what they need and discuss it. Developers can pick up ideas from those

Check out http://www.binpress.com/wanted/list

asnyder• 15 years ago

I think this is a great start, but there doesn't appear to be enough detail in some of the classes/libraries for sale. For example, there is an interesting scaffolding class but the details provided are very limited. There's no compatibility list regarding what databases it works with, or how customizable the output is via the object's functions. I understand not exposing the source code of a for sale library, but there should definitely be auto-generated API docs for each class, in this way I have a better understanding rather than just a limited demo, clearly in this case $29 isn't a big deal, but it does add an unnecessary layer of doubt.

erangalp4• 15 years ago

There is actually auto-generated API doc for that component, but it should probably be featured in a more prominent place. Thanks for the feedback

motters2• 15 years ago

I'm not sure that this is really going to work very well. A better approach might be a bounty system. Another approach might be a method by which you can buy support for specific code bases, but this may not scale well and suffer from the same problems as "open core".

motters2• 15 years ago

How to fund software development, without the problems of proprietaryness or antifeatures, is the perpetual quandary of our time.

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.

sandaru1• 15 years ago

Is this only for web development libraries? I think there will be a huge market for iPhone/Android libraries.

erangalp4• 15 years ago

Currently it's only for web development - we will be adding mobile and desktop development environment in about a month or two.

kupertino• 15 years ago

If someone sells source code that they do not have the rights to (open source or someone else's code), is Binpress liable?

It’s “GitHub meets Shopify”: Binpress sells your source code

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