ecommerce opinion

danielle

Ok... so this is a general discussion question - i would really appreciate your input. sorry if i sound like a total idiot - i'm only a partial one :rolleyes:

i have a client who wants a shopping cart...

i could build them one in php no problem but that's a good chunk of time and $ for them.
the host i use has Agora and Interchange installed but then there's a good chunk of time figuring out that stuff (i'm not too familiar w/cgi).
then there's the case of if they want to keep their own host that has no cart installed.

and then there is the whole gateway, merchant accounts...

can anyone give me a general overview or a "how you do it" outline?

again - sorry to be such a dunce. the good news is, i only have to learn it once to get it straight in my head....

Elizabeth

Danielle, you're not a dunce- that title is reserved for a select few around here (they know who they are, ha ha).

I've used Cart32 before - roughly $30 a month for them to host your cart - you can use your own product database, or theirs, pretty easy to set up and quite a few configuration options (e.g., gift certificates, shipping discounts, quantity discounts, etc.). I had a few issues with them, but overall they are pretty good.

I'm assuming they'd like to use something a little more professional than pay pal to process their credit cards, so they need to do the following for payment:

As far as the merchant account goes, your client will have to go to their local bank and request a "card not present" account- similar to those that run mail order catalogs use. Your client will need to explain to the bank what they're doing, so the bank can provide them/you with the proper information.

You will need to set them up with a payment processor, such as Verisign. You will then have to marry the three (shopping cart software with Payment Processor with bank info). You will probably need to explain to your client then that everybody is going to want to take a piece of the action- shopping cart charges a little here and there, payment processor charges here and there, and bank charges here and there. Oh and lets not forget the credit card companies- they get a cut too.

There are also services like www.2checkout.com that allow you to bypass several of those steps, but doesn't give you a lot of control over what the payment portion of the site looks like, and other things. And www.propay.com allows you to receive credit card payment w/o the merchant account/payment processor hassle, but it doesn't allow real-time processing as far as I know. These options may be worth looking in to if your client balks at all the fees they will have to pay to do it the "right" way.

hth

-Elizabeth

two40

Originally posted by Elizabeth

You will probably need to explain to your client then that everybody is going to want to take a piece of the action- shopping cart charges a little here and there, payment processor charges here and there, and bank charges here and there. Oh and lets not forget the credit card companies- they get a cut too.

yes yes. everybody wants a piece of you (or your client in this case).

you can elude the shopping cart expense by using oscommerce (php, free, buggy) or x-cart (php, $185, not as buggy). not sure if your client wants to integrate the cart with an already built site or just wants a store package so those two might or might not work for you.

planetsim

The problem about pre-built packages many of the bigger ones at least dont show the professionalism a company wants shown to there customers. Oscommerce one of them.

blinkk

Does anyone have any ideas about how you would deliver things like MP3s or digital media online? I'm thinking about getting a Yahoo! Merchent Account because you pay a monthly bill instead of a 15cent proccesing fee (Good because I will be selling things that cost around a buck so 15cents is 15%)

As far as I know all i need to get is that merchent account, set up the shopping cart, get the SSL sertificate and i'm ready to go. I'll just make it so when they buy the media/s they have 2 days to download it.

Is there a better way to do this or better Merchent Accounts that anyone knows of? I don't mind paying a monthly fee as long as there is no proccesing fee, or if it is, it is in percents and not cents (preferbly below 3%)

planetsim

If thats your situation PayPal is probably better to go with to start off. Until you make x amount of money per month.

blinkk

PayPal charges a something around a 15 cent transaction fee. Thats 15% of my money if I sell stuff around a dollar.

planetsim

hmm.. its only 5% of what you do which is 5cents if your $1 a lot better than paying a monthly fee as even if you dont make money for month x you still have to pay. And until you get a solid sale rate PayPal is quite good.

two40

Originally posted by planetsim
The problem about pre-built packages many of the bigger ones at least dont show the professionalism a company wants shown to there customers. Oscommerce one of them.

sure, if you use the release from the oscommerce site. there are packages out there that people have put together that make them really functional. now functionality to me equals professionalism. if you're talking about the look of the store, then osc offers templates so you can build one to your liking with the functions that you like. hell, you can offer many templates so your clients customers can choose the look they feel comfortable with. opportunities are endless but each to his own. 🙂

cheers

blinkk

I know I am going to make enough profit to pay for server and merchent account fees so I would rather have a lower rate and no transaction fee. The only major problem with Yahoo is their shopping cart. From what I am seeing with other sites you can't build your own and have to use theirs. Let me tell you it aint pretty. Its grey with Times text. Also when you go to checkout it takes you to a page where your logo is barely noticed. Highly unproffesional.

Does anyone know any good merchent accounts without transaction fees? Preferbly ones that let you make your own shopping cart also.

two40

Originally posted by blinkk
Does anyone know any good merchent accounts without transaction fees? Preferbly ones that let you make your own shopping cart also.

do you know of a bank that doesn't charge bank fees? :p

i wouldn't be surprised if you found a payment system with no costs associated but i would be surprised if they actually offer a good service.

blinkk

I can pay costs I just dont want transaction fees. I would rather forge up $200 a month and keep 20% more of my money then the other way around.

AstroTeg

You're going to have transaction fees. If you accept a credit card, the credit card company tends to tack on a transaction fee on top of any other fees.

I was doing some math and PayPal works out if you're going to be less then 30 transactions a month. If you're doing more then that, it would seem you'll pay more fees with PayPal than if you went with a merchant account and paid their fees (PayPal has a higher per-transaction fee then merchant accounts and this is what will eat you alive).

All I can say is do your research and shop around. You never know what you might find.

mark_h_uk

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