Overview
Sales (purchases) represent customer transactions in your Gumroad account. Each sale contains complete information about what was purchased, payment details, customer information, and delivery status.Purchase States
Every purchase goes through a state machine with different possible paths:Normal Purchase Flow
State Definitions
Purchase States Explained
Purchase States Explained
- in_progress - Payment is being processed
- successful - Payment completed, product delivered
- failed - Payment declined or processing error
- not_charged - Subscription charge skipped (e.g., free trial)
- test_successful - Test purchase in sandbox mode
Subscription Purchase States
Subscription sales have additional states:- not_charged - Free trial or plan upgrade (no payment)
- is_original_subscription_purchase - Template for recurring charges
- is_free_trial_purchase - First charge after trial period
Gift Purchase States
Gifts create two purchases:- Gifter Purchase - Standard successful purchase
- Giftee Purchase -
gift_receiver_purchase_successful(always $0)
The gifter receives the receipt, but webhooks and seller emails use the giftee’s information.
Purchase Lifecycle
Creating a Purchase
Purchases go through extensive validation before creation:Pre-Purchase Validations
Pre-Purchase Validations
- Product is live and sellable
- Product is not blocked by compliance
- Variants are available and not sold out
- Price is within allowed range
- Offer codes are valid
- Shipping information (if required)
- Fraud detection checks
Processing a Purchase
After Successful Purchase
When a purchase succeeds, multiple actions trigger automatically:-
Artifact Creation
- Generate URL redirects for file downloads
- Create license keys (if enabled)
- Set up media locations
- Generate PDF stamps
-
Customer Communication
- Send purchase receipt email
- Deliver downloadable content
- Send to Discord/integrations
-
Seller Notifications
- Email notification of sale
- Webhook POST to configured URLs
- Update analytics and metrics
-
Affiliate Credits
- Calculate affiliate commission
- Create affiliate credit record
- Notify affiliate of sale
Sales Management
Viewing Sales
Sales can be filtered and searched by multiple criteria:By Product
View all sales for specific products
By Date Range
Filter by purchase date or date range
By Customer
Search by email or customer name
By State
Filter by success, failed, or refunded
Sales Search Options
The platform supports advanced search with multiple filters:Purchase Information
Core Purchase Data
Each purchase contains: Product Details:- Product name and ID
- Variant selection
- Quantity purchased
- Rental vs. purchase flag
- Price cents (product price)
- Total transaction cents (what buyer paid)
- Tax cents (seller-collected tax)
- Gumroad tax cents (VAT, GST)
- Fee cents (platform fees)
- Affiliate credit cents
- Email address
- Full name
- Shipping address (if physical)
- IP address and country
- Browser fingerprint (GUID)
- Credit card fingerprint
- Payment processor (Stripe, PayPal)
- Currency used
- Offer code applied
- Subscription ID (if recurring)
Sensitive payment information is never stored directly. Only tokenized references and fingerprints are kept.
Refunds
Processing Refunds
Refunds can be full or partial:Refund Logic
- Stripe Refund - Payment processor refund initiated
- Fee Handling - Platform fees typically waived
- Affiliate Credits - Create negative affiliate credit
- Balance Adjustment - Update seller balance
- Customer Notification - Send refund confirmation
Refund Policies
Sellers can configure refund policies:- Product-level policies - Specific terms per product
- Account-level policies - Apply to all products
- Time-based windows - E.g., “30-day money-back guarantee”
- No questions asked - Automatic approval
Chargebacks
Chargebacks occur when customers dispute charges with their bank:Chargeback Workflow
- Notification - Webhook alert of chargeback
- Evidence Period - Submit evidence to contest
- Resolution - Won, lost, or reversed
- Balance Impact - Deducted from seller balance
Chargeback Fields
chargeback_date- When chargeback occurredchargeback_reason- Dispute reason codechargeback_reversed- Won the dispute
Chargeback fees are typically $15 and are deducted separately from the purchase amount.
Order Management
Orders group multiple purchases together in a single checkout:Order Structure
Multi-Product Checkout
- Cart functionality for buying multiple products
- Combined payment processing
- Single receipt for all items
- Shared shipping (for physical items)
Shipping Management
For physical products:Shipment Workflow
- Purchase Created - Collect shipping address
- Prepare Shipment - Package items
- Mark as Shipped - Add tracking number
- Customer Notification - Send tracking email
- Delivery Confirmation - Update status
Shipment Information
Custom Fields
Collect additional information at checkout:Field Types
- Text Input - Single line text
- Textarea - Multi-line text
- Dropdown - Select from options
- Checkbox - Boolean yes/no
Field Configuration
- Global Fields - Apply to all products
- Product Fields - Specific to one product
- Required vs. Optional
- Per-product collection - For multiple quantities
Use Cases
Personalization
Collect names for personalized items
License Info
Get company details for business licenses
Delivery Details
Special shipping instructions
Custom Requests
Project requirements for services
License Keys
License Generation
For software products, automatically generate license keys:License Features
- Verification API - Check if key is valid
- Usage Limits - Track activations
- Multi-seat Licenses - Quantity-based licensing
- License Rotation - Generate new keys
- Disable/Enable - Revoke access remotely
License Management
License keys are automatically embedded in PDF files when PDF stamping is enabled.
Sales Analytics
Key Metrics
Total Sales
Gross revenue before fees
Net Revenue
Revenue after fees and refunds
Conversion Rate
Purchases divided by product views
Average Order Value
Mean purchase amount
Revenue Breakdown
Transaction Fees
Gumroad Fees:- Standard: 10% of transaction
- Discover boost: Additional 10% for promoted sales
- Affiliate commission: Variable percentage
- Credit card: 2.9% + $0.30
- PayPal: Similar to credit card rates
- Varies by country and currency
Export and Reporting
Sales Export
Download your sales data in CSV format:Export Fields
Includes:- Sale date and time
- Customer information
- Product details
- Pricing and fees
- Refund status
- Custom field values
Fraud Prevention
Automatic Protections
The platform includes built-in fraud detection:- Card testing prevention - Block rapid failed attempts
- Velocity checks - Limit purchases per card/IP
- Browser fingerprinting - Track suspicious patterns
- Geographic analysis - Flag unusual locations
- Risk scoring - Machine learning risk assessment
Manual Controls
- Block specific emails - Ban abusive customers
- Block IP addresses - Geographic restrictions
- Hold purchases - Manual review before delivery
- Refund and ban - Remove fraudulent buyers
Customer Communication
Receipts
Customers automatically receive:- Purchase confirmation email
- Product download links
- Order details and pricing
- License keys (if applicable)
- Custom receipt text from seller
Receipt Management
Contact Preferences
Respect customer preferences:can_contact- Opt-in for marketing emails- Unsubscribe links in all emails
- Separate transactional vs. marketing
API Access
Query sales via the API:Webhooks
Receive real-time notifications:Webhooks are sent for successful purchases, refunds, disputes, and subscription events.
Best Practices
Fast Delivery
Ensure download links work immediately after purchase
Clear Communication
Set expectations in product description
Monitor Refunds
High refund rates indicate issues to address
Respond Quickly
Reply to customer inquiries within 24 hours
Next Steps
Products
Learn how to create and configure products
Subscriptions
Manage recurring revenue and memberships
Affiliates
Set up affiliate tracking for sales