[alcimedes]

Anyone know of a good supplier for a semi generic online store? I have a friend who's looking to start selling his products online, but doesn't really have the tech knowledge to run an online store on his own. I'm looking for something that would work well, but I'd prefer to hear from people who have some working experiences with some of the options out there first.

Sure I can check google and see who's there, but I prefer real world reviews from people before making a decision with something like this.

Any info would be appreciated.

[scratt]

Hi dude...

OSCommerce.

Free. Open Source. Pretty good support, and lots of info in threads in the support forum.

Loads of mods.

Works great out of the box.

More features than I could ever imagine!

Can't recommend anything else.. I used to use another one which is worth a mention... Commerce.cgi. But it's miles behind OSCommerce.
There is a new MySQL version of "Commerce.cgi" but again OSCommerce beats it hands down still..

If you want any help with either PM me.

Just wanted to add. With OSCommerce I have my (just becoming Mac savvy) completely not a computer person Wife running the whole store so I can concentrate on other stuff to do with our business... And she's doing a great job.

[mattf]

Ooooh, uncanny. My girlfriend is looking to set up a crafts business part-time and asked me to look into the technical side of things. One of the things I was struggling with was the "basket" side of things. Most of the free ones that I found didn't quite meet up to the specification that I had. The more fully functioned ones cost too much for a very small time enterprise. Your recommendation, on first looks, is perfect. Thank you.

Couple of quick questions, if you don't mind (If you do, don't worry about, I'm going to read the documentation fully once I get home.). Their online demo for the administration side is down. I know you said that your wife does it all and she's not very computer savvy. Is it really that easy? My girlfriend is reasonably computer savvy (She loves telling me that she "knows Perl") but she has a certain.... how can I put this?.... low patience threshold. When things don't work in quite the way she needs, she gets pissed off. That's obviously why she uses a Mac! Anyway, basically, do you think that the Admin side of things is "noddy" enough for most people?

Also, do you know how easily it integrates into online payment systems (such as paypal web payments)? Do you have any recommendations for other online payment systems?

Finally, the demo shows somebody going to checkout either registering or signing in to their account. Do you know if it allows you to also have the option of not having an account? Sounds stupid, but she was ranting about a website that she was buying some Chinese food from recently, just because it wanted her to register in order to buy.

Once again, thanks muchly.

[scratt]

It really is as easy as using a web mail account such as .Mac or Yahoo. Really.

PayPal integrates quite easilly, and so does 2checkout.com.
2checkout.com is good for a small to medium business and offers pretty good payment terms. I will be moving to Verisign soon though, as 2checkout.com is not very good if you are not US based. Re. Exchange rates, charges etc. If you are dealing in only US currency, in the US then it is about the best solution there is and integrates the cart and everything perfectly with OSCommerce.

PayPal not so well so far for me, as it doesn't go back to the shop and allow it to update the customer records and such.. So you have to rely on tracking the order yourself, rather than OSCommerce doing it. However, that may be because I haven't looked into the PayPal code much... It's a fallback for my store when 2checkout.com refuses certain cards.

The registration thing is great as you can autogenerate invoices, and track customers and do emails.. BUt I understand the feeling about just wanting to buy something.

In actual fact you have to put in only the same details as you do for a normal purchase. So no real biggie. The great thing is if you repeat purchase you only have to log in. We have found it a boon.

But there are mods to change everything for the store. So just go find that mod. I have seen it.

If you are enterring a lot of stock look at the attribute sets mod as you can make generic options like date selection and clothing size selection a standard option and then re-use it in many products. My wife asked me to put that on as she was having a hard time doing all the options over and over again for each product. So do do that mod. Do be warned though that if you then put more mods on the shop they can clash.. So be very careful to document changes, and make sure that mods you choose do not conflict.

Other than that it fantastic.

[mattf]

Great, thanks. I was going to say that I need a UK friendly payment system. Paypal with some manual tracking is fine by me. To be honest, the transaction rate isn't likely to be high enough for that to be a problem. And if the number of transactions does become high enough for it to be a problem, great! It means we can both quit our shitty jobs and concentrate on running the store!

Seriously, scratt, thanks for your help. Consider yourself owed a pint.

[Brad]

I've read several accounts that lead one to believe that PayPal is run by a guy named Lucifer. So, caveat emptor.

[scratt]

No worries.. mattf.. Good luck. Let me know how it goes. And do shout if you have any problems.

Brad, Yeah. I have to admit PayPal are not my favorite company.
They have got some funds through that I could get no other way sometimes, so I use them primarily for that.

One final tip.. If anyone wants a cheap Verisign account sign up for membership of Commerce.cgi on their web site and they will give you a voucher to waive the US$150 membership fee. Membership of Commerce.cgi costs about US$40, and I haven't seen an offer better than that anywhere on the web.
I may well take it up... but need to check Verisign can pay into my accounts and are not restricted on certain countries.

The beauty of Verisign is they pay you daily and with little delay. There are some overheads, but once you are up and running they are not prohibitive and the low 'discount' rate on each transaction more than makes up for the fees.

I don't think many people realise that there are a lot of alternatives with much better rates, and a more professional approach out there than PayPal. And if you are in the US you have so many options it's untrue!

[curiousuburb]

Originally Posted by Brad I've read several accounts that lead one to believe that PayPal is run by a guy named Lucifer. So, caveat emptor.

In Hell, they use cash.

[alcimedes]

Excellent. Very useful post! (scratt) I'll have him look into it. He's selling coffee online, needs a store but he isn't the most tech savvy person in the world, so this sounds made to order.

[mattf]

Originally Posted by Brad I've read several accounts that lead one to believe that PayPal is run by a guy named Lucifer. So, caveat emptor.

Absolutely, but since I'm probably going to hell anyway, I might as well get in the guy's good books now.

Seriously though, if anybody can suggest a UK friendly online payment method that charges on a "per transaction" basis only (don't mind if it's fixed or percentage per transaction or both; the main thing is that there should be no monthly charge or setup fee), I'm more than happy to be educated.

[*Joe*]

Have you considered setting up an Amazon or eBay store? Many small businesses and self employed traders seem to have them? + They already attract a lot of customers through them

[scratt]

Originally Posted by mattf Absolutely, but since I'm probably going to hell anyway, I might as well get in the guy's good books now. Seriously though, if anybody can suggest a UK friendly online payment method that charges on a "per transaction" basis only (don't mind if it's fixed or percentage per transaction or both; the main thing is that there should be no monthly charge or setup fee), I'm more than happy to be educated.

It's not perfect (percentages are high) but moneybookers is ok. The only drawback is people have to use a mobile phone to recieve a verification code at checkout time... They then use that to confirm the transaction.

I have also been looking at PaySwiss. But they have not got back to me since I sent in my ID info to get a verified account....