Review of Shopify Hosted Ecommerce Shopping Cart

[mandy]

Huddled around a handful of computer screens at their downtown Ottawa office, the five staff members of Jaded Pixel are busy working to update their online shopping software, Shopify.

Their goal: to take on giant Internet auction house eBay.

It's an audacious plan, but the software that allows anyone to set up an online store for free in minutes has already met with surprising success.

Even though it has been available at shopify.com for only eight months and has not been advertised, more than 2,500 people have already signed up to create stores...

full article: http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news...0aba5d458e&k=81736

[amy]

I always forget  to mention Shopify when someone asks about opening a store.

[chiquita]

[quote author=amy link=topic=7249.msg43400#msg43400 date=1171170917]
I always forget  to mention Shopify when someone asks about opening a store.
[/quote]

Is this a good site?

[mandy]

[quote author=chiquita link=topic=7249.msg43402#msg43402 date=1171172866]
[quote author=amy link=topic=7249.msg43400#msg43400 date=1171170917]
I always forget  to mention Shopify when someone asks about opening a store.
[/quote]

Is this a good site?
[/quote]

There are no monthly fees but Shopify charges a 3% commission on successful sales.  Shopify sites are easy to setup but offer limited functionality.

[DecorativeDishes]

THe 3% would be a deal killer for me.

Once again thanks to BBH for telling me that Shoppal would probably be a good solution for me. It has worked out great! Kim

[bargainbloodhound]

[quote author=DecorativeDishes link=topic=7249.msg43438#msg43438 date=1171220771]
THe 3% would be a deal killer for me.
[/quote]

:ditto:  Rule #1 when choosing a 3rd party hosted store: never choose one that charges a sales fee (others that charge sales fees are ProStores and Yahoo Stores).

Another way of looking at Shopify's "free stores":
$500 monthly sales = $15 sales fee (same cost as using ShopPal)
$1000 monthly sales = $30 sales fee (same cost as PrestoStore)
$2000 monthly sales - $60 sales fee (more expensive than MonsterCommerce Standard or Volusion Bronze)
$3500 monthly sales = $105 sales fee (more expensive than Volusion Gold or MonsterCommerce Pro)

Is this a good site?

If your monthly sales are under $500 it might be a good choice for a hosted store.

[mandy]

A related article by CSE Strategies' Scot Wingo:

I've long admired Shopify's design-centric approach to e-commerce and recently discovered that Shopify now has a marketplace on deck to launch -- essentially a federated version of all stores on the Shopify platform...

Shopify currently hosts 20,000 stores...

# Marketplace fuses the concept of an e-commerce platform with that of an online shopping community
# The Marketplace has always been in the works and is the next natural step after building the platform tools; it's both a broadcast medium for the Shopify community's products, as well as a distinguishing feature of the Shopify service vs. other e-commerce platforms

full article: http://www.csestrategies.com/cse/2007/08...rketp.html

[mandy]

A new review of Shopify: the site now charges a monthly fee for its services

Three plans (in addition to the "10 free sales" trial program) are currently available. Charges are based primarily on number of SKUs allowed and total storage space provided. The commitment is month-to-month, and users are free to change plans or cancel at any time. Plans are: Basic ($24) for 200 SKUs and 60 MB of disk space; Professional ($59) 2,500/240 MB; and Enterprise ($299) 10,000/480 MB. There are no setup fees at any level, and transaction fees diminish from 2% for basic subscribers to .5% at the Enterprise level.

Since many online businesses are aimed at a global audience, sales to more than 60 countries and payments in more than 45 currencies are supported. Owners can choose from 35 direct payment processors (including PayPal), five offsite processors (including Gestpay and nochex) and standard Google Checkout. Shopify provides a complete sales and inventory tracking system...

full article: http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abu/y208...bu0218/s02

[sneakymagenta]

Plans are: Basic ($24) for 200 SKUs and 60 MB of disk space; Professional ($59) 2,500/240 MB; and Enterprise ($299) 10,000/480 MB.

They also charge a transaction fee on top of the monthly fees: basic 2%, professional 1%, and Enterprise 0.5%


Ripoff city. They're charging more than Volusion or Make-a-store and offering less.  Hell, even Yahoo Stores and ProStores give you more features for less money.

[amy]

:ditto: to the shark's comments.

Shopify was an option for beginners when it was free but I definitely wouldn't recommend it with its new pricing structure.