A listing must contain the thing it sells

When a buyer pays on Getly, the download that arrives should be the thing they paid for. That sounds too obvious to need a rule. It needed one. Some paid listings delivered a text file saying the product "will be sent to your email", or a messenger handle to write to, or a single link to a folder hosted somewhere else. From 26 September 2026, a paid listing like that is sent to review instead of going live.

This article explains what the rule checks, what it deliberately leaves alone, and how to deliver the kinds of products that are hardest to put in a file.

What the catalogue looked like

Among paid listings with files, measured 26 September 2026:

• 2.59% delivered only a link to files hosted elsewhere;
• 1.54% delivered a file plus a link;
• 3.39% delivered only a text file.

The most common outside hosts were Google Drive, then Canva links, then YouTube. Most of these listings are honest: a Canva template is sold as a Canva link everywhere, a text file can be a real prompt pack, and a Drive folder next to a real archive is just a bonus. The rule is built to tell those apart from the listings where the file is a placeholder for a delivery that may never happen.

What sends a listing to review

The rule applies to paid listings, on new publishes and on edits going forward. It reads plain text delivery files (.txt, .md and similar) and looks at where outside links point. A listing goes to review when its delivery is:

• A promise of later delivery. A file that says the key, the link, the access or the product "will be sent", or asks the buyer to contact you to receive it.
• A messenger contact instead of a product. A Telegram, WhatsApp or Discord handle as the whole delivery.
• Only a link to a file-hosting service. Drive, Dropbox, Mega, WeTransfer, shorteners and similar, with nothing else delivered. A link can change or vanish after the sale; the buyer then holds nothing.
• A copy of the listing. A file that only repeats the listing's own text.

Two things are handled separately. Messenger links and phone numbers in the description of a paid listing should go: buyers pay and receive on Getly, and your social links belong in your store profile. And a file containing payment card data or account login lists cannot be published at all.

What the rule deliberately allows

These were written into the rule from honest listings on the catalogue, so they pass:

• Template links where the link is the product: Canva, Figma, Notion, Google Docs and similar tools.
• A link or a README next to a real file. If you deliver an actual archive, PDF or project, an extra Drive folder or a note beside it is an extra, not the delivery.
• Real text products. A prompt pack, a code snippet collection or a guide in a text file adds far more than the listing says; it is judged on what it contains, not on its format.
• Delivery by email that Getly can verify. If the product really is sent later, it passes when that sending is automated in a way we can check: Getly licence keys, your own key pool, or a working sale.completed webhook.

How to deliver what is hard to put in a file

Most products that ended up as "we will email you" had a real delivery path available:

• Software licences. Paste your own keys, one per line, into the key pool on the Pricing step when you edit the product ("Deliver my own license keys"). Each sale takes the next key. An empty pool does not stop the sale: the buyer is told the key will arrive by email and receives it as soon as you add keys.
• Access to your own service or account. Register an HTTPS endpoint in developer settings. The signed sale.completed event carries the order, the items and the buyer's email, so your system can create the account or send the invite itself, without you.
• Large files. Upload the file itself; files up to 2 GB are supported. A bigger pack can be split into parts.
• Something that is renewed over time. Timed access sells a period with an end date the buyer can see, instead of an open promise.

Why this protects honest sellers

A buyer who pays and receives "contact me on Telegram" does not blame one seller. They conclude that a Getly download might be empty, and they carry that doubt to the next listing, which may be yours. Every empty delivery is also a refund request, and refunds are decided by Getly for every shop, so a pattern of them affects how buyers see the whole marketplace. Keeping empty deliveries out of the catalogue is how a buyer's first purchase becomes a reason to buy again rather than a reason to stop.

Listings that were already live before 26 September are not taken down. If one of yours matches a rule, it may show a label in your product list naming the issue and the fix.

What to do today

Open each paid listing and ask one question: if a buyer paid right now, would the download contain the product? If the answer is "a note", "a link" or "an address to write to", replace it today with the file itself, fill the key pool, or connect a sale.completed webhook. Then remove any messenger handles from your descriptions and put your social links in your store profile instead.