SecureNetShop.......contrasted with Free Carts

[BellisimaJ.]

I am also looking at paid shopping carts. This one was reccommended by a designer.
I would appreciate any info/opinions you might have regarding this cart system.

I am particularly interested in how it measures up to the free carts available through TH.
The link is for a demo of the cart.


http://www.securenetshop.com/sc_demo.htm

The following is only a partial list of the features offered by our Shopping Cart.

  Web-based Administration
There are no files to download or install to begin using our shopping cart. You can manage all of your shopping cart settings, orders, reports and customer information 24 hours a day through our secure, web-based administration area.

  Sell Products, Services, or Files (Digital Goods)
With the click of a button, you will be able to decide how your shopping cart works, based on the type of goods or services you sell at your web site. You can sell products, services, files or all three at once!

  Digital Goods Management
Sell files to your customers, such as e-books or software.

# To maintain the highest levels of security, all files are stored on our servers.
# Encrypted keys allow our system to carefully monitor download activity.
# Limit the number of times your customers can download a file.
# Limit the amount of time your customers have to download a file.
# Your customers can download files immediately after their payment has been processed.
# Enable/disable sending your customers download instructions and file links by email.

  eBay Checkout
If you are an eBay seller and would like to process buyer's payments through your merchant account, our eBay Checkout feature is the perfect solution. With eBay Checkout, your customers will have the option of paying for auction items through your shopping cart.

  QuickBooks® Compatible
Import orders directly into QuickBooks®. You'll save countless hours by not having to manually enter each order. Easily import one order or hundreds at once!

  Customize Shopping Cart Appearance
# Change background, font and section header colors.
# Upload a background image.
# Display your company logo at the top of each page.
# Use any currency symbol.
# Add custom messages to each page of your shopping cart.
# Use your own image buttons in the pages of your shopping cart.
# Display a small image next to each item your customer adds to their cart.

  Sub-user Accounts
Create sub-user accounts for employees and limit their access to specific areas of the administration area. This comes in handy when you need someone to retrieve your daily orders but do not want them to be able to change your cart settings or view private information.

  8 Methods of Payment
Accept up to 8 methods of payment. Accept credit cards, checks, PayPal payments, Purchase Orders, COD, telephone, fax and mail orders. Our shopping cart is compatible with the internet's most popular payment gateways.

 

4 Powerful Shipping Tools
Offer your customers shipping options using any of our Shipping Tools.

  UPS Online Shipping. Our shopping cart will retrieve all available
shipping methods and rates, in real-time, from UPS servers.

  USPS Online Shipping. Our shopping cart will
retrieve all available shipping methods and rates, in
real-time, from USPS servers.

  FedEx Online Shipping. Our shopping cart will retrieve
all available shipping methods and rates, in real-time,
from FedEx servers.

Create your own custom shipping options based on order weight, number of items ordered, order subtotal or flat fee per item. You can also limit shipping options to a one or more states or countries.

 

Product Management

# 
Add up to 20,000 products to our database. Easily edit all product information within our web-based administration area.

# 
Import and export product data. This allows you to edit product information using spreadsheet or database software.

# 
Sell products, services or a combination of both. Our shopping cart will automatically adjust the type of information requested from your customers, based on the type of items in their cart.

# 
Allow your customers to add one product at a time to their shopping cart or many products at once.

# 
Easily create add-on options for the items you offer (e.g., small, medium, large, X-Large add $2.00).

# 
Accept product quantities as whole numbers (e.g., 1 shirt) or in decimal form (e.g., 1.25 yards of fabric).

# 
Limit product quantities to specific increments. For example, only allow quantities that are a multiple of 1.5 (e.g., 1.5, 3, 4.5, etc.).

# 
Set a minimum and a maximum quantity amount for each product.

 

Order Management

# 
Store an unlimited number of orders in our database.

# 
Quickly look up customer information based on order date, range of dates, name, invoice number or email address.

# 
Easily organize your orders by placing invoices in the New, Pending, Processed or Cancelled folder.

# 
Allow your customers to track the status of their order 24 hours a day!

# 
Create custom order status levels such as, "Your order is being processed" and "Your order has been shipped."

# 
View all order details within our secure, web-based administration area.

# 
Export order data into a CSV or IIF file. A CSV file can be imported into spreadsheet or database software. An IIF file can be imported directly into QuickBooks®

  Customizable Autoresponders
Easily manage all of your outbound email messages by creating up to 20 autoresponders at no additional charge!

# Choose from different events that determine when an email is sent.

# Set rules that limit outbound emails to specific conditions.

# Customize the text and format of each email message.

# Insert the order information of your choice into email messages.

# Send each email to up to 4 recipients.

# Customize the text that appears in the "To" and "From" fields.

# Send emails in plain text or html format.

# Control where emails are returned in the event they cannot be delivered.

# Easily enable or disable any outbound email message.

 

Inventory Control

# 
Our shopping cart will track and update available inventory for each of the products you sell.

# 
Set a low inventory warning level. Our system will send you a notice by email if inventory is running low.

# 
Prevent customers from ordering "out of stock" items.

# 
Apply inventory settings to products or product attribute combinations. For example, if you sold t-shirts, you could track inventory for large, blue t-shirts separate from small, green t-shirts.

  Reporting
Review sales reports in an instant! Quickly view gross sales, net sales, sales tax collected, or shipping costs over a period of time. Choose from a variety of reports and formats.

  Fraud Prevention
You can require that your customers enter the security code displayed on their credit card. This is an excellent way to insure your customer's have physical possession of the credit card they are using.

  Sales Tax
Create an unlimited number of sales tax rates for any city, state, province, zip code or country. If you sell to organizations that are not required to pay sales tax, you can provide them with tax exempt codes.

  Minimum Order Amount
Set a minimum order amount that requires customers to reach a specific dollar amount per order. For each product, you can also set minimum and maximum order amounts.

  Lead Information
Add a "How did you hear about us?" drop-down box to your shopping cart. This is a powerful marketing tool that will enable you to determine where your customers are coming from.

  Volume Discounts
Reward your customers for purchasing in volume. Create volume discounts and apply them toward specific items or to an entire order.

  Promotional Discounts
Provide select customers with "Customers Codes" that can be used to receive a discount when ordering from your web site. This works great for customer appreciation sales!

  Recall Customer Information
Save your customer's time! Your shopping cart will automatically recall your customer's billing and shipping address each time they return to your web site to place an order.

  Remote Order Notification
Pass order information from your shopping cart to another server. This is a very powerful feature that allows advanced users to manage order data in any way they like.

  Affiliate Tracking
With seconds you can easily Integrate any affiliate tracking software with our shopping cart.

  Web Development Software Compatible
Our shopping cart is 100% compatible with all web site development software, including all versions of FrontPage and Dreamweaver.

  Business Resources
Gain access to our Business Resource Center and review products and services that will take your business to the next level.

 

FREE Services

# 
FREE Upgrades. We routinely make upgrades to our shopping cart that are available to all users at no additional charge!

# 
FREE Search Engine Optimization Tools. Position your web site at the top of the search engines and watch your sales explode!

# 
FREE Email Marketing Tools. Build an email list, create and distribute newsletters or promotions and track your results.

# 
FREE Unlimited Technical Support. You will not be charged additional fees for technical support. Receive help 7 days a week, by telephone or email, from our friendly and knowledgeable technical support team. Our support hours are M-F, 9am-12am EST and Sa-Su, 9am-5pm EST.

[maggie777]

It's a cheaper hosted cart like Presto Stores.

[sneakymagenta]

[quote author=maggie777 link=topic=4643.msg19776#msg19776 date=1154805408]
It's a cheaper hosted cart like Presto Stores.
[/quote]

goth fairy girl I'm catching up to you.  My combined is 23 as of today.  :twistedevil:

you will not have to go through the trouble and expense of setting up a secure server. You will avoid paying annual fees for SSL technology, database software and an SSL security certificate. You'll save at least $500 each year

How do you save $500? Most hosting plans includes databases.  SSLs are way cheaper than $500.

[misteroriginal]

[quote author=sneakymagenta link=topic=4643.msg19801#msg19801 date=1154841818]

you will not have to go through the trouble and expense of setting up a secure server. You will avoid paying annual fees for SSL technology, database software and an SSL security certificate. You'll save at least $500 each year

How do you save $500? Most hosting plans includes databases.  SSLs are way cheaper than $500.
[/quote]There are too many shopping carts out there to properly evaluate them all. As soon as I see a few bogus claims, I move on. The osCommerce family is overwhelmingly popular. Am I wrong? Once you know one, you can find your way in the others.

These other solutions, with tiny install bases or proprietary and tied to a hosting package, don't make sense to me. I got bit by 1and1's stupid shopping cart claims and their PHP-like language. Great! Just what we need! More proprietary programming languages!

The only way I'd take special interest in a cart with a tiny install base is if it addresses your business vertical. So if somebody wrote a Jewelry shopping cart that focused on streamlined uploading of information, descriptions, checkout, etc, that might make some sense. Actually, that should be a biz idea for the bears, right? Make a 1-click install Zen customization aimed at Jewlers, another for used cars, another for rip-off Nigerian scammers, etc.

[BellisimaJ.]

Thanks for your input.

1. It isn't a store,it is simply a cart.

2. I am no longer interested in discussing it.

3. If anyone else is, feel free.

Abandoning sinking thread.