SpeakerNet News Compilations

E-Commerce Shopping Carts

—Carole Copeland Thomas

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My question: Who is your e-commerce shopping cart company? Are you pleased with their service? Would you recommend them and why?

BTW, I decided on mals-e. At $6 a month instead of $29 (for 1shoppingcart) they provided a considerable savings and provide just about the same amount of service as the other sources.

-- Jill Konrath

I use Mal's ecommerce package. They have a free package available, but I use their Premium Account which is only $18 per quarter. My Web guy did a lot of investigating and determined it's the best value on the web. I use it to sell ebooks, CDs, self-study packages and workshops. Works great. www.mals-e.com

-- Several speakers

Several speakers (Tom Antion, Jenny Hamby, Joe Sabah, Helen Wilkie, Elaine Dumler, Steve Kaye, Harriet Meyerson) recommended 1shoppingcart.com or their resellers:

  • Joe Sabah: This is an incredible program. If you are thinking of doing any commerce online or even if you already have a shopping cart, you should really check this out. Many top marketers are recommending it as THE tool of choice.
  • Helen Wilkie: It's not cheap, but worth the money because it's so user-friendly and has so many uses. I am emphatically NOT technically inclined and you don't need to be with this cart. Also, I use it to send out my monthly e-zine, and to broadcast messages to my list occasionally. I heartily recommend it.
  • Elaine Dumler: It keeps a record/database of up to 10,000 clients/orders, sends automatic replies to the purchaser confirming their order and also has lots of autoresponders that I can use to keep in touch.

    All this for $29/month. Here's the catch, AND why it works so well for me. Most ecommerce options that I looked at involved me needing the shopping cart software (at a fee), purchasing a secure fee license, a "gateway" set up at almost $300 PLUS lots of monthly fees, and the establishing of a merchant account and bank account to be used with only their gateway. LOTS of fees and I would have to do over $150/month of online business each month to even begin to see that it was worth it.

    On top of that, I already have (and have since 1999) a merchant account, bank account, "swiping" machine, etc. I process my card slips here in my office and batch them a couple of times a week. I didn't WANT or NEED another account. I needed a shopping cart service that would provide a safe secure way for people to order through my website, and let ME run the charge ships the way I always have. 1Shoppingcart does exactly that.

    It's professional and safe for my customers as they shop from a catalog page, it figures all shipping, sends the receipt and then emails me that I have an order at their Web site. I sign in and retrieve the order and all it's information including the charge card. I process the card and the order from my office. And the total cost is $29/mo and I like having control of the order. So if someone who does a small amount of business is looking for a way to provide online ordering for people and they already take credit cards this is the place. So far it's been great for me.
  • Harriet Meyerson: I love this shopping cart. They have various levels you can purchase. I have the Pro level and can sell eBooks. People pay online and download their eBook.

    Also, they have autoresponders, a broadcast module to send out your newsletter and many, many, many more features to automate your marketing. (And, the shopping cart also has an excellent tech support.)

    Many speakers and coaches also use this shopping cart.

-- Rhonda Waters

Bert Jackson, who runs my site, likes using the ones from yahoo.com for small business folks. smallbusiness.yahoo.com/merchant

-- Julie Christiansen

I use Paypal. They have simplified the process for customers now, so that you no longer have to be a registered Paypal user to make a purchase. Setting up "Buy Now" buttons to place on my website is a piece of cake, and since I manage my own website, this is important to me.

SpeakerNet News is produced by Rebecca Morgan and Ken Braly. It is not affiliated with the National Speakers Association. Send comments or suggestions