Shopping Cart Software

[Jonathan Duncan]

On Thu, 16 Mar 2006, Art Pollard wrote:

>
> I'm in need of some shopping cart software for a little (well not quite so 
> little) project.
>
> I would like to find "the best" solution without spending tons of $$$.  I 
> don't mind it being hosted by someone else -- though I have my own server so 
> I'd need a way to link to it somehow.  If I can host it on our Linux server, 
> that is fine too.
>
> A few of the things I would really like are:
>
> * Easy customization of HTML / colors / custom graphics / etc.
> * Good UI for users.
> * Affiliates program
> * Inventory Control
> * Ability to notify multiple people in the advent of order
> * Usual billing stuff.
> * Ability to have more than one "catalog" -- this way I can have a second 
> password protected catalog for wholesale orders.
> * Strong shipping options.
> * I'm not going to have 100's of products so it need not be db driven.
> * etc.
>
> I found one called ShopSite that looks very robust but it looks like it is 
> pretty expensive though apparently, there are some hosted solutions (isps) 
> that use it.  Does anyone have any recommendations for shopping cart 
> software?  Any resources to find a good one?  Advise? Things to stay away 
> from?
>
> Oh, and what is the project?  Well, my "little side project" is that I will 
> be opening sometime this summer a chocolate factory in Orem -- we will be 
> making a high quality (European style) chocolate all the way from the cocoa 
> bean.   We will be importing our own beans from Central America and other 
> locations to turn into chocolate. I've spent the last year importing vintage 
> chocolate manufacturing machinery and hopefully, sometime in the next few 
> months, we will be up and running.  It's quite different than cranking code 
> all day and gives me a good change in pace.
>
> Thanks,
>
> -Art
>

Mmmmmm... chocolate...!

Well, web hosting and e-commerce is my business and I am sad to say that I 
am still looking for the perfect cart.  I am designing my own currently. 
Anyway, I have been unimpressed with all of the free ones that I have 
found.  I have used to good commercial products, but they still do not 
meet all of my needs.  I sell ShopSite, Mercantec SoftCart, and Miva 
Merchant servers but as you mentioned, they are not really cheap.  The one 
free one that I have used the most is osCommerce and some of the 
osCommerce spinoffs like Zen-Cart.com, x-cart.com, and osc-Max.  The basic 
osCommerce takes a lot of work to get it to do what you want.  Some of the 
spinoffs are more decent.

These are some that I have never used but were recommended to me by other 
hosting providers like myself:

Chain Reaction Reloaded (osC spinoff I think)
creloaded.com

CartWeaver
cartweaver.com

PDG Cart
http://www.hens-teeth.net/html/products/PDG/index.htm


hth,
Jonathan