How to Sell FiveM Configs, Maps and Digital Files (Without Getting Ripped Off)

If you run or build for FiveM, you're sitting on sellable work: ESX/QBCore configs you've tuned for months, custom MLOs, handling files, HUDs, loading screens, full server setups. There's real demand for all of it — the problem has never been demand. The problem is that most creators sell through Discord DMs and Google Drive links, which is exactly how you get ripped off.

Why the Discord + Drive combo fails

The typical flow looks like this: someone DMs you, you send a PayPal request, you share a Drive link. Three things go wrong, usually in the first week. First, the link leaks — one buyer forwards it to their friends, or posts it in a leak server, and everyone after that gets your work for free. Second, PayPal friend-and-family payments give you zero protection, and goods-and-services payments invite disputes you'll lose without delivery proof. Third, you're manually processing every sale, which caps your income at the number of DMs you can handle.

Leak servers are full of configs and MLOs that were sold exactly this way. The fix isn't watermarking harder — it's changing the delivery mechanism so a shared link is worthless.

Per-order links: the delivery model that holds

The delivery model that actually works is simple: the file lives on a server that never exposes it publicly, and each completed order generates its own download link tied to that purchase. Forward the link to a friend and it doesn't matter — there's nothing to guess, no public URL, and the file is only served against a real paid order.

This is how selling digital files works on ForgeStore: you attach the file to a package (up to 100 MB — zips, Lua scripts, JSON, YML, images, audio and 30+ other formats), and the buyer gets a secure per-order link on the payment success page. The link stays retrievable from their order status page, so "I lost the file" support requests answer themselves.

Anyone can buy — not just your players

A common misconception: game server stores are only for players buying ranks. A ForgeStore storefront is a public web page. A developer from another server, someone from a FiveM forum, a stranger who found you on Google — any visitor can buy a digital product with a name and an email at checkout. No game account, no whitelist, no Discord required.

That changes what a store is for. It's not just monetizing your playerbase anymore — it's a checkout page for your creator work that you can link from your Discord, your forum signature, your YouTube descriptions, anywhere.

Pricing your work

Price on the hours you save the buyer, not the hours you spent building. A server owner staring at a broken economy config will happily pay $25 to skip two weekends of tuning. Rough market ranges that hold up in practice:

$5–15 — standalone configs, single-purpose scripts, HUD presets, loading screens.
$15–40 — polished script bundles, job packs, tuned economy setups.
$50–200+ — full server bases, exclusive MLOs, custom maps sold in limited quantities.

Two tactics worth using: sell an "exclusive" tier at 5–10× the price with a purchase limit of 1 (ForgeStore supports per-package purchase limits), and bundle related files — a config plus its install guide PDF sells better than either alone.

The combo trick: file + in-game delivery

A package doesn't have to be file-only. One package can deliver a downloadable file and run a server command — sell a "Developer Kit" that hands over the zip and simultaneously grants a builder role on your server. For server owners selling to their own community, this combo consistently outsells file-only listings.

Keeping malware out of the equation

If you're buying files, the fear is real: leaked and resold FiveM content is a known malware vector. Every file uploaded to a ForgeStore package passes a multi-layer security scan before it can be sold — binary signature checks (no disguised executables), archive inspection (no .exe or .bat buried in a subfolder), and an antivirus pass. Legitimate mod content like Lua and JS scripts passes through untouched.

Getting set up

The whole flow takes about five minutes: create a free store, create a package, attach your file in the Digital Product section, set the price, publish. Your storefront URL is ready to drop in your Discord. Payments run through cards, PayPal and crypto, with payouts in 100+ countries, at a flat 5% all-in — payment processing included, no monthly fee, no listing fee.

For the full picture of what you can sell and how delivery works, see the digital products overview.