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I just read a post asked by a minor "how do I sell my games". Well its very simple, most people use paypal. An most of your customers will preffer to use paypal as well. So how do I get my games listed on paypal?

Step 1)
You need to make a paypal account. Im not 100% sure on the age restrictions but its free and easy to set up a Merchant Paypal

Step 2)
Website is critical to online sales. So make one, hundreds of free sites and tools to use if you have no captial to invest in your game(s)

Side Note)
Lets say you don't want a website. No problem. Make sure you legally Lic. your product at very least. To do that consult a lawyer. Typical free to consult and find out what you need to do legally. So whats next? Next would, talk to local store owners. Show them your product and ask if you may sell the game in their stores. An all ways offer a incentive to them. Typical incentive would be about 30% of all sales profit going to his store. Maybe more or less depending on the store owner.

Step 3)
So your legally set up to sell your game now. Great! So what happens when you make your first sale? Taxes! Uncle Sam wants his cut. Talk to the IRS (U.S. based) and explain your product and how its sold etc. Also present your current sales invoice to them. They will need it to calculate how much you need to pay them in taxes. Typical about 7%. They will also want to see your business Lic. and legal paper work so have it handy.

Side Note)
So you want to sell games for donation and avoid taxes. This can be a bit tricky and your walking a thin line bewteeen legal and illeagal but it can be done. Post your games stating clearly that this is in donation to help keep the website running and not to profit. I strongly advise consulting a lawyer as well before attempting this route.

Step 4)
So now everything is all legal and your products selling. Everyones happy right? Ahh no. Now that you have made a successful game that is selling, you need to make more. In order to stay on top of the industry , you need to release newer versions. Take a portion of the profits and reinvest in your self. This means buy a better engine or add on to the story line etc.

A more advanced game engine can offer better graphics and more sales. However, its costly and a gamble. If your not into gambling, stick with your orginal game engine. An simply add on to the storyline. All ways try to set your games up to be added too, never end the story line. Leaving it open will allow you to allways be able to build off of it.

Step 5)
Creating games is very intense and compeative process. So allways remember to have fun! Go out and enjoy life. The best game designers did not spend their life in momys basement shutting out the world. A good designer is a well rounded person. Someone who has experianced life to its fullest. Game designers main goal is to take fiction and make it reaility. To do that you need to observe and research everything literly. You can never know to much. Think of your self as a scientist. You constantly observe the world and how everything works.

I hope this helps you guys create, design and sell your games. If anyone fells this information to be incorrect, please stay why specificly. The legal side of gameing is very conseing and hard to overcome. So please post your ideas if you find mistakes in mine. Thank you.

Some interesting comments here; I too saw the Soul Taker (I think that is what he wishes to be called) thread and commented therein.
For me there are a few fundamentals;
1. Unless it's great, original or has a new angle, don't try to sell it.
2. Web presence is key; and that is whole new and very big topic, what with promotion, refreshing content, staying competitive, incentives, updates...
3. The payment side does require a credit card. For some younger creators that could be an issue, but sometimes, oddly, adults can be supportive if they are invited to help.

There is a number four.
Don't give up.
Ever.

Thanks for imput. Anything I think I forgot to hit and you touched on it lightly is marketing. Alot of people seem to think if u advertise once u will get traffic. Not the case. Marketing is something thats very expensive and takes alot of time to build up traffic to make it pay for its self.

Anyone ever wonder why when u read the newpaper its the same ads from the same business? Marketing simply put. One of the basics to marketing is branding your store or products. Every sunday I get a newspaper and look through the ads same as most people do. An every week I see ads from Wal Mart, K Mart etc. They our branding their stores name inside your head. So when you go shopping you will remember their store and consider shopping their.

As we all know wal mart lately sucks for shopping but we all still shop there. Even though they don't carry as much as they use too. So why do we contenue to shop at these retailers? Store s branded simply put. The store has branded in our brains to the point it has become a habbit.

So how do you brand your products? Well thats the trick to sales. Everyone must learn their own little trick to market and brand your product. Its expensive and takes alot of time. But the rewars can pay off big time. Their is no guanteed way to brand or market your company to success. Its up to you to figure out how to market your products. However, if you don't market your products, theres a high chance you will fail. So keep that in mind.

Question: what if say i made a game and steam has accepted to distribute it on their service, and the person who created it is not from the US but is from Canada. Do any steps change?

That would likely be something that Steam Inc. would handle for you legal side. When you sell your game to a publisher, it generally helps alot legal side. Now your basicly handing over all creative and legal rights over to the other company. The big thing would be taxes on your part. Find out what your country etc says is your tax rate and subtract that from the offer. this will equal your total profit for the sale.

In some cases they may just offer you a royality incentive. Generaly this would be if they took a % of sales or a cut. If this is the case, its likely they have done all the general taxing part allready on their side. An now you must pay your tax income side or portion. Again this is something though tha would be discussed durning the sell or trade of the product for finalizing the sale. If it is not disucssed, you made a big mistake. A big key to successfuly selling a product is knowing fully what you will recive in return once the selling process is completed.

So if you or whom ever sells a product to Steam or any other publisher. Ask what there cut is if any and find out if they our pruchasing the copyrights as a lump some or just giving you royalties. Each case will hae its own legal side and tax side that applies. I recomend selling it full out. Take the lump some and pay your taxes first thing, take the remaning money and ethier reinvest or save it. I hope this helps.

Thanks for answering that.

@ Defiler, Old_School has offered good words and is (in my opinion) spot-on.
The other thing to consider is as a new developer, distributors will regard you as having an element of risk attached. That means they may have to spend more on promotion to see a return (they are in this for the money, it's a business after all). Therefore you'll need to ask yourself how much you are prepared to let go. 50% is the bare minimum I think you'll get away with - and it will probably be much (much)more than that. BUT - you can negotiate, time a deal, and you'll make some good contacts.
Good luck with it.