I’ve been given the task to build a bot that will automate content sales on Telegram. I have a week to finish it and can only dedicate 2 hours each day. I need to show my calculations on ROI to justify my decision to either build it myself or hire a developer.
The bot’s main function should be to sell content automatically, create payment links, monitor transactions, and release the content once payments are confirmed.
I found a developer who has a ready solution, but it costs quite a bit - R$2.00 plus 5% for each transaction. Considering my limited time and budget, I’m looking for alternative solutions that are faster and more affordable.
Has anyone faced a similar challenge? What suggestions do you have for someone with beginner coding skills and limited time?
honestly with just 2hrs daily you’re gonna struggle big time. i tried building my first telegram bot last month and the payment stuff is way trickier than expected. even basic webhook setup took me like 6 hours of troubleshooting. that developer fee sounds reasonable when you consider all the headaches they’re handling - security, compliance, server costs etc. maybe try negotiating the percentage down if you can guarantee decent volume?
I actually built something similar about six months ago and went the DIY route initially. The biggest issue I encountered was underestimating the complexity of payment verification and content delivery systems. You need proper error handling for failed payments, duplicate transactions, and various edge cases that only surface after going live. With your 14-hour constraint, you’ll probably spend half that time just understanding webhook configurations and payment gateway documentation. The math becomes clearer when you factor in potential revenue loss from bugs or security vulnerabilities. A botched payment system can damage customer trust permanently. The developer’s pricing structure suggests they handle the infrastructure costs and compliance requirements, which alone would eat up your budget if done independently. My recommendation would be to negotiate the developer’s rate based on volume commitments rather than attempting a rush job that could compromise the entire operation.
Given your tight timeline and limited coding experience, I’d honestly recommend hiring the developer. When I faced a similar situation last year, I thought I could build a payment bot myself in a few days. What seemed straightforward turned into weeks of debugging payment gateway integrations and handling edge cases I never anticipated. The R$2.00 plus 5% fee might seem expensive initially, but consider the opportunity cost of your time. With only 14 hours total available, you’ll likely spend most of that just figuring out Telegram’s Bot API, let alone implementing secure payment processing. I learned the hard way that payment systems require extensive testing and security considerations that beginners often overlook. The ready solution also means immediate deployment and professional support, which is crucial when dealing with financial transactions.