i need a shopping cart but i have no clue about these things. which ones are considered most reliable? easy to use? preferably free.... you know that kinda stuff..

what would you guys recommend?

zen cart

hm? Shopping Cart software?

yeah you know, like online stores? oscommerce? that kind thing...

i've seen zen cart advertised various places but don't know anything else about it.

like amazon and such? I think those sites depend on what your looking for i recently found a site to get camcorders under 50% off the retail, Local stores could not match the price.

no it'smostly been searches i've been running, various tech sites. but it seems like they've all either just posted what the manufacturer advertisement says or don't list too much of anything about them.

I have no experiance with it, but I guess you could try http://www.uburst.com/uShop/.

http://www.magentocommerce.com/

Az what exactly are you looking for i could probabaly search for a couple of good sites =)

He is looking for a software solution for an ecommerce site. A site that sells stuff over the internet.

The question is.. do you have a server in place? If you do, is it a secure server? Linux, Microsoft or other? Is it redundant or a box sitting in your house?

If you do not have a server.. I'd start there. Looking for redundancy and security features. They usually have shopping cart sollutions in place.. and depending on the size, traffic, other needed features...you can easily find something that fits your needs for a reasonable price. Recommending anything without knowing what you are doing is kind of putting the cart before the horse. The same thing goes for software solutions too. Not knowing what type of server, your database, traffic...etc.

Just Google 'ecommerce web hosting' and 'ecommerce software solutions'.

i've got the website all set up, pretty good company, very secure.
no, it's not a box in my house.unfortunatly they do not offer ecommerce solutions. they have all the functions i.e mysql and that kinda stuff but they don;t provide the ecommerce software themselves.


what would be nice is to find a hosting service that all i have to do is sign up to it, add the items and point a link at it. that would actually be ideal.

There are several out there. Priced from anywhere between 5.00 a month on up to 100.00 plus, depending on the services required.

I am currently in college studying Technology Management. One of my core courses is a Management Information Systems (MIS) class. Chapter 5 of our text was entirely devoted to e-commerce.

I am thinking the solutions software you are looking for is called "Storefront Software." Here is a Google search by using simply the word "storefront" as the keyword for the search.

http://www.google.com/search?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=&q=Storefront&btnG=Google+Search

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In our course, we had to comment on several pieces of Storefront Software. Here is what I commented for this assignment (I am in no way affliliated with goecart, I just used that web site as an example for my comment for the course):

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I first went to www.zdnet.com as suggested in the book, and then my curiosity got the better of me and I did a Google search for keyword: “storefront.” I came across the web site http://www.goecart.com/storefront_software.asp it was the second one of the hits on the Google search. I chose it because I noticed they offered a flash demonstration/marketing video available for viewing online.

I was amazed at all of the features that are included in the goecart software package. They boast of bundling 250 standard features with their software. They also offer a free completely functional 30-day trial access to their systems and their software.

Not only does goecart allow you to set up your own e-commerce web page, but it also includes features like real-time credit card acceptance, real-time e-check acceptance, real-time shipping via UPS, USPS, FedEx, DHL, and Canada Post. Another portion of their features include Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools. The system will remember the customers name and shipping address, and will also store a favorite’s page for later access much like Amazon.com utilizes.

There are also back-end tools available with goecart that allow the management of invoices, order tracking, and inventory for the convenience of the system user. They offer 99.9% up time on their servers as well as 24x7 e-mail support and live (chat-based) tech support.

If I were to set up an e-commerce site of my own, I would seriously consider doing business with goecart. I have them saved in my favorites under a personal business section. I may just check back with these folks in the future.

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Hope some of this helps... I wish you the best in your business venture.


TM

osCommerce is an open source shopping cart, and it's free.

http://www.oscommerce.com/

Here's a Google search for keywords "Storefront Software"

http://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&safe=off&q=Storefront+software&btnG=Search

Here's a link to the textbook page of my MIS class:

http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0072935863/student_view0/e-commerce_projects.html#CC05

If you click on:

"CHAPTER 5 – Getting Your Business on the Internet"

You will notice many links to storefront software... look for this:

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Storefront Software

5Click
Actinic
Active Commerce
Amazon.com
Bigstep.com
Bizar
BizPlaces
CityMax
Clickcartpro
Earthstores.com
Easycart.com
E-Commerce Solutions
ECongo.com
ECWare
EROL
Freemerchant
FrontHost.net
Homestead
iiscart
InstanteStore
Intershop
Mcart
MerchandiZer
MidiCart
MonsterCommerce
MyStore
Nexternal Solutions
PDG Software
QuikStore
uStorekeeper
Web Genie Software
WEBMASTERCART
X-Cart.com
Yahoo!

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Access to this textbook online is free, but they have just come out with a new version (edition) of the book, so they may or may not keep these links up after the new text hits the streets


TM