Comparing e-commerce providers Stripe + ComponentSource
ComponentSource Stripe
Based in UK, with offices in USA, Ireland, Japan US/San Francisco
Founded 1995 2009
Fees Setup $500 + $100/mo, 40% per sale 1.4% + €0.25 for European cards, 2.9% + €0.25 for non-European cards, Chargeback Protection +0.4%, €0.03 per 3D Secure attempt
Has marketplace

Yes

No
Has affiliate network No
Has SDK No API
Fund withdraw
Description

The Software Superstore for Developers & IT Pros.

As official and authorized distributors, they supply you with legitimate licenses directly from 200+ software publishers.

Trusted for 20+ years.
Over 850,000 licenses delivered to Developers, SysAdmins, Corporations, Governments & Resellers, worldwide.

Offices in USA, UK, Ireland and Japan, with international Customer Service in the following languages: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, Korean, Cantonese and Mandarin

It offers 3 categories of software.

  • Components
    With software components available in all platforms, we offer the widest choice of pre-written solutions in one place.

  • Applications
    Choose from our comprehensive range of products dedicated to Software Development and Operations.

  • Add-ins
    Extend your favorite applications with our wide range of add-ins and plugins.

Online payment processing for internet businesses.

Stripe is a suite of payment APIs that powers commerce for online businesses of all sizes, including fraud prevention, and subscription management. Use Stripe’s payment platform to accept and process payments online for easy-to-use commerce solutions.
Advantages
  • Has a well-designed marketplace.
  • Highly sophisticated publisher program.
  • Well established (since 1995) and reliable distributor.
  • Offers source code escrow guaranty service.
  • Specializes in software components. If you build a software component/library this is maybe the best e-commerce merchant for your needs.
  • Developers mention the Stripe API as the best in its class.
Disadvantages
  • Expensive (starts at setup $500 + $100/mo and 40% per sale) but offers a lot in return.
  • Probably not suitable for starters with low budget. Such developers would probably first test the selling capabilities of their software with other merchant services before joining ComponentSource.
  • Not specialized in Software sales.
  • Does not have an affiliate network.
  • You are responsible for creating proper invoices and charging (and deducting) VAT in countries that charge it, including about all EU countries — which also charge varying VAT rates per country. (See "Merchant of record" providers that solve this problem).