Newbie to E-commerce. What cart and what service?

mtmfx

Hi,

I am a newbie to E-Commerce as far as webpage design. What is the best cart? Also what service is better, Paypal, Google checkout or E-Junkie?

Thanks,
-mm

timtempest

Hiya mtmfx


Nice desk !

Its more of a question of which cart is best suited to your needs. There are pros and cons to them all.

What is it that you want a cart for ?


Tim

mtmfx

I am working on two sites.

1. A brochure type site that customers can view the items, order them and pay for them. There is no shipping as the items are delivered. The company is servicing the Las Vegas casino and convention market.

2. An audio site with sound effects, ringtones and other misc audio files. Customers can audition sounds, order and pay for them and then a link will be sent to download the files(s). BlueSkyy recommended soundcloud.com for playback of the audio files and they do have a commerce solution but I am having issues with the type of audio files they work with mostly MP3 which is not enough for this site.

I noticed you are selling audio on your sites. Are you using a soundcloud type providor to protect them from illegal download?

-Thanks

timtempest

on 1271880365:

I am working on two sites.

1. A brochure type site that customers can view the items, order them and pay for them. There is no shipping as the items are delivered. The company is servicing the Las Vegas casino and convention market.

2. An audio site with sound effects, ringtones and other misc audio files. Customers can audition sounds, order and pay for them and then a link will be sent to download the files(s). BlueSkyy recommended soundcloud.com for playback of the audio files and they do have a commerce solution but I am having issues with the type of audio files they work with mostly MP3 which is not enough for this site.

I noticed you are selling audio on your sites. Are you using a soundcloud type providor to protect them from illegal download?

-Thanks

Hiya mtmfx,

I'm only really familiar with Cartloom as that gave me the options I wanted for downloading.

1. This can be done. I think it only allows for one image to be associated with each item, but I use a stack (without an image) that I can then use with anything such as multiple images, video or audio.

2. Yes. Its why I bought cartloom: www.upfaderrecords.com
I host the audio samples myself. The full files themselves are hosted by Cartloom and are encrypted. I could host them myself and cartloom would provide an encrypted link to my files (CL has a size limit for individual files, but enough for a single audio .wav file as I recall). Really cost effective.

Tim

mtmfx

on 1271906631:

on 1271880365:

I am working on two sites.

1. A brochure type site that customers can view the items, order them and pay for them. There is no shipping as the items are delivered. The company is servicing the Las Vegas casino and convention market.

2. An audio site with sound effects, ringtones and other misc audio files. Customers can audition sounds, order and pay for them and then a link will be sent to download the files(s). BlueSkyy recommended soundcloud.com for playback of the audio files and they do have a commerce solution but I am having issues with the type of audio files they work with mostly MP3 which is not enough for this site.

I noticed you are selling audio on your sites. Are you using a soundcloud type providor to protect them from illegal download?

-Thanks

Hiya mtmfx,

I'm only really familiar with Cartloom as that gave me the options I wanted for downloading.

1. This can be done. I think it only allows for one image to be associated with each item, but I use a stack (without an image) that I can then use with anything such as multiple images, video or audio.

2. Yes. Its why I bought cartloom: www.upfaderrecords.com
I host the audio samples myself. The full files themselves are hosted by Cartloom and are encrypted. I could host them myself and cartloom would provide an encrypted link to my files (CL has a size limit for individual files, but enough for a single audio .wav file as I recall). Really cost effective.

Tim

Cool! Thanks for the info. Can it host any type of audio file such as .aif, .au, .snd or m4r?

timtempest

Cool! Thanks for the info. Can it host any type of audio file such as .aif, .au, .snd or m4r?


It doesnt read or process the file at all... its just a file... .wav, pdf, mov, word. etc etc. The only file types I specifically use on site are for the mp3 audio players for the samples.


Correction: I said the files are encrypted, I meant to say that the links to the files are encrypted.


tim

3mors

Or you can use RapidCart in addition to E-junkie.

We have recently launched a promo campaign to celebrate official E-junkie support on RapidCart 2.5.

90 days free trial on all new E-junkie subscriptions

http://www.omnidea.it/rapidcart/ejunkie/

mtmfx

I was hoping to get Pros & Cons of the different plug ins. Anyone?

timtempest

on 1271964771:

I was hoping to get Pros & Cons of the different plug ins. Anyone?

Hiya,

To be honest I dont think a pros and cons thread would necessarily help you. Both programs have a wealth of features and what one user would consider a useful feature, another might not.

If you suggest features you are looking for, I would imagine RW users would give example sites. Ease of use, running costs, how busy your site will be all come into play and are unique to you. You could also use e-junkie or any number of alternative services that can be found with a quick search.

Cartloom and Rapidcart both have nice free trail periods and great support from themselves and users.

I'm inclined to say just get stuck in, see how easy each is or is not to use. Ask in the forums for specifics.


Tim