E-Commerce Solution Help Needed

[macdebbie]

I am in the beginning stages of forming a start-up, so budget is tight.

I "think" I understand some of my choices, but need to clarify.

1) I could use a "webstore" which is hosted such as Amazon checkout. Design is cookie-cutter, but costs are small. Merchant account is included so wouldn't have to worry about that.

2) I could have a developer design the site with OS Commerce or similar and then include a shopping cart solution (little vague on this). What shopping cart solutions should I check out?

3) This I am less clear on - could use something like XCart or 3D Cart or Pinnacle which is a hosted solution, but appears from their web sites that can be customized a bit? Then could add a cart solution such as Amazon checkout or similar?

I have a short list of solutions if anyone can comment - Amazon Checkout, Core Commerce, Pinnacle, Big Commerce, Nexternal, XCart, Network Solutions.

Of course I would like a great site starting out, but is it better to start with something like Amazon checkout and then grow later on to something else? Is that even possible?

I am working with a web designer, as I do not know how to code/design, but ultimately want a product that allows me to change my products/prices, etc.

Any help anyone can provide would be much appreciated.

[califmerchant]

ok the best to use is Ebay, yahoo stores or zencart. yahoo will take care of everything but u have to pay them, the more u sell the more u pay. starts at like 39.95 per month i think. with zencart u gonna have to do everything, including getting ur own merchant account. go with a big bank, dont go with any small merchant acct providers...

oh and LEARN HOW TO PROGRAM its pretty much a requirement when running an e-business, u cannot depend on other ppl for it especially in the beginning

[macdebbie]

What about Amazon webstores?

[macdebbie]

As an aside, I don't want to go with E-bay.

I am looking for something higher level. I have seen stores done with Zen Cart also, and to me they look amateurish.

Other hosted solutions that aren't bad? Or go with something the developer creates and host separately?

[conortreacy]

Personally I use X-Cart for online stores as it gives a lot of flexability for the custom work that we needed done. Lots of 3rd party modules available too.

Amazon is nice if you're selling Amazon products or need your products drop shipped (they have a nice program for that) but beyond that, if you need to tweak anything outside of their normal box store, it's a next to impossible job.

If you need flexibility, I'd look toward a shopping cart you can put on a host. This will also help when you tweak it out for SEO. I've heard great things about Pinnacle Cart also, but I have zero experience with their product.

[fizi]

Why not try eBay, yahoo, prostores, networksolutions ? I have heard a lot about them but never tried so could 't suggest you however I am a license member of bit-cart they have been providing a great selling online experience to their ecommerce customers. It is one of the most flexible shopping cart software solution i ever came across.

[macdebbie]

I want to integrate Amazon Checkout. So it's Amazon Webstores or one of their partners that allows the integration - CoreCommerce, OS Commerce, Miva Merchant, Magento.

[24SevenCart]

Why don't you check 24SevenCart?

[chrison600]

Hi macdebbie,

I've also been searching for a cart within similar parameters as you are. Unfortunately, when you post a request such as you did on this (or any) forum, you inevitably get the cart companies firing off unoriginal, unresearched, "Hey! Look at me!" posts.

I had a look at the Amazon Checkout partners page and it looks like they have quite a few options. I wouldn't recommend any of the open source options they list. I've looked pretty extensively at open source alternatives, including osCommerce and variants, ZenCart, and Magento. I was initially very excited about the capability of paying $0 for a cart, but after you look more deeply into the actual scope of administering those zero cost stores, they can actually be quite costly, especially if you want a really good looking, fast, reliable store. The only open source store I would recommend at this time is PrestaShop, but be aware that even though the core store is freely downloadable, critical components must be either purchased from their plugin store or downloaded from the PrestaShop community. The Authorize.net connector alone is almost $500.

That leaves either the commercially licensed carts or the hosted carts. I personally have been leaning toward the hosted carts because then I don't have to worry about managing infrastructure, passing PCI evaluations, or dealing with hosting, upgrades, etc. You also have to be cautious here as well, because hosted options advertise the sun, the moon, and the stars, but don't always deliver. Search for Volusion down to see what I'm talking about.

Based on the options given at Amazon, I'd lean toward 3DCart, although when I tested out an automotive site they showcased, the search function didn't work right, and I'm not a huge fan of their backend.

I've found that picking a cart is extremely difficult. The cart sites are great at self-promotion, it's tough to find objective and fair reviews or comparisons, blog posts turn into flame wars, etc. My recommendation is to build a list of requirements and preferences, build a short list of possibilities, look at backend demos, browse store forums and help areas, do searches for "cart x vs cart y" and so on.

This will not be an easy task and the ecommerce software world is moving very quickly. Some shops move up, others down, and customer requirements are constantly moving. You may want to check out Shopify. I can't tell if they offer the Amazon integration you need, but they do mention that they work with Amazon. Their primary drawback is they take a % of your sales until you sign up for a large plan. Another drawback is that it appears that, rather than continue to expand store functionality within the core feature set, they instead have set up an application pool/store, where plug ins are available for a fee. This may drive the total cost of ownership up quite a bit.

Sorry I can't be more definitive, there are simply too many options out there...

Chris

[macdebbie]

Thanks Chris. Very helpful.

I can honestly say I've learned a ton this week. I had no idea going into this what I was looking for.

Now I know I do not want an open source solution for the reasons you mention and am leaning toward a hosted solution also for the reasons you mention.

One thing I have to have - not sure if it was in the post you read - is extremely good and efficient drop ship order management, as my whole business is drop ship.

I liked Nexternal alot, but it is extremely expensive compared to the other options. I did look at 3D Cart as I like some of their sites, but have not heard good things about their customer service, and being a "newbie" that is critical for me.

I've glanced at Shopify. It seems pretty basic and I am not sure how good their drop shipping is. Some of their sites are not bad, though.

I looked at Core Commerce, and didn't lilke their templates, nor did I like Network Solutions templates.

Considering Pinnacle maybe. Need more info. Intensive process....

Initially I was set on using the interface with Amazon, now I just want a good platform that does what I need it to do!

Thanks again for responding. Let me know what you choose.