Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

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Robert Carter
www.redknightmarketing.com
rcarter@redknightmarketing.com

Even though it seems to be hard to get an exact number, it looks like there is a fair number using Zen Cart.  I feel this warrants some further investigation on my part.  I had basically written off any carts with this type of business model as I know from my past that they usually last about 3-5 years and then they die.  I cannot count how many times I have seen this happen.  When it does happen though, 90% of their customers switch to some other system even though they have the source code.  I think the panic is more psychological insecurity than real, but it happens.  In this case it looks like they may be making enough to survive.  And, I have seen some companies like Zen Cart start out this way and change to a more financially sound business model once they establish a large base of loyal users.  Therefore, I am going to add them to my research list.

As I have been investigating this industry I have noticed several retail web sites where you couldn’t tell what cart they were using.  I thought they were home made system that they created scratch.  I thought that was weird so many were doing this as it is costly.  Now that you have explained how you are using Zen Cart, it makes me wonder if many of them were using Zen Cart and have removed the powered by tag.  This has all been very helpful and very informative. 

Thanks for all the work on bring me up to speed on Zen Cart.  If you ever need any help with one of your customers’ shipping needs, just let me know...

 

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Bert at Harvey Software, Inc.
Multi-Carrier Shipping Software and Supply Chain Solutions for Internet Retailers

Also a provider of free shipping information and resources at Harvey Software`s Parcel Shipping Blog along with free tracking solutions at TrackingPage.com...

I agree with the guy who said:

"X-Cart hands down is at the top of the heap."

We setup and support the site www.OrthoticShop.com using x-cart and the owner is very happy with the results..

Easy to modify and upgrade... Not to mention the community support is great.




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www.utropicmedia.com - professional business solutions
www.utropicmedia.net - world class hosting

Utropicmedia, thanks for the input.  X-Cart is definitely one I am looling at.  What things did you like best about X-Cart?

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Bert at Harvey Software, Inc.
Multi-Carrier Shipping Software and Supply Chain Solutions for Internet Retailers

Also a provider of free shipping information and resources at Harvey Software`s Parcel Shipping Blog along with free tracking solutions at TrackingPage.com...

Well, I may as well throw something in for OScommerce. ZenCart and OScommerce are essentially the same except that from my understanding, ZenCart comes with all contributions installed.

The website and shopping cart hosting company I have my website through have adapted OScommerce to a very nice system where you don`t have to know the code to bring in a new feature or contribution. We do that for our members. I say we because I ended up joining up as a staff member and currently serve in this capacity.

Our member base (I hate the word customer) is around 25K. We offer full support and all of that jazz but just want everyone to know that from the owner to the newbie coming in, we all have an interest in this because we are all store owners. Our top priority is to make our own businesses successful. You`d think customer service would be lacking due to this very reason but we have such a great group, that it`s never been an issue.

Anyway, back to the OScommerce. Once the installation is up and running, I`ll admit, I`m no guru or even a piddler when it comes to scripting. But it runs pretty smoothly and as long as you have a contribution which meets your needs, why ask for more. Too many bells and whistles which will sit idle will just take up space on the server. The important part of getting an ecommerce site up and running is getting it up and running instead of spending forever and a day scripting, installing, or whatever the techies do. I really envy them for their brains.

Our system has the contributions in place which provides for ease of upload. We have the Easy Populate feature which allows a mass upload of products and a great Bulk Image upload so that you can have a site up and running in no time. I not only maintain the one store but I have four through this wonderful company. Well, five actually, but we`re closing the cutlery division due to the expenditure of time.

Well, I`ve said my piece and know there are some who would disagree with me but I just say what`s on my mind at the time. Notice I didn`t downplay ZenCart too much. It could be the exact system some folks need. I say VSTORE.ca is all I need.

Later guys!

Dan

Dan thanks for all the great input!  I am starting to see a real trend from everyone’s input that is helping me explain why I initially saw no real leaders.  It appears that they may be hidden by their users.  There does seem to be some strong contenders surfacing after all.  I really appreciate everyone helping me find them.

Dan, I will have to also agree with your issue about the word ‘customer’.  I like the word ‘client’ better.  I don`t really know why.

Thursday and Friday of this week I am going to the Internet Retailer Web Design `08 Conference in Miami, so I may not be able to respond to input to this forum link.  Trust when I return I will get caught up and I really appreciate everyone’s input on this subject.

Thanks to all!

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Bert at Harvey Software, Inc.
Multi-Carrier Shipping Software and Supply Chain Solutions for Internet Retailers

Also a provider of free shipping information and resources at Harvey Software`s Parcel Shipping Blog along with free tracking solutions at TrackingPage.com...

Be safe Bert. And don`t forget to have fun while there!

Dan

Oops. Forgot to say this. The reason I don`t like the word customer is because it makes it all seem so automated and robot-like. When a member joins our ecommerce community (instead of signing up for the hosting shopping cart package), we treat them as well as possible to the point of like family.

Of course, you have the few who act like customers. Who want nothing to do with a personal touch. They just want answers and don`t want to get involved with the internal workings of the community. I say, since the social age has hit us, working with a website in the manner where you distance yourself away from others can actually hurt you. I`m quite vocal on our forums (both as support and as a Sir Talk-A-Lot) and the numbers which the posts bring in helps with my traffic ratings. Mind you, I`m no Google on traffic but I`m getting there. My main goal in business is not to make millions all at once (though it would be nice), but to be successful in the business I`ve pursued. It`s happened and I`m extremely happy. Now, if I can just work up the millions, I`ll be even more happy. =)

Take care!

Dan

I went to the conference last week and I was surrounded with hundreds of Internet reseller web designers and systems people.  Guess what I found while I was there.  It was more of the same mixed up mess.  It seems like the bigger the company, the more likely it was they had made their own home brew system.  Of those that used third party systems, they seem to be all over the place in what they were using.  The surprising thing was none of the vendors at the conference were shopping cart systems.  I would think a conference that was for Internet Reseller Web Design would have at least one shopping cart system booth!  Most of the vendors were analytics and web monitoring companies.  I did note several attendees that said they had started with one of the off-the-shelf systems, but had altered it themselves to meet their specific needs.  I guess this makes receiving source an important feature any system you purchase.  I had also noted that many said they had tried more than one system before they settled in on what they were using today.  It was an interesting conference…

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Bert at Harvey Software, Inc.
Multi-Carrier Shipping Software and Supply Chain Solutions for Internet Retailers

Also a provider of free shipping information and resources at Harvey Software`s Parcel Shipping Blog along with free tracking solutions at TrackingPage.com...