The Wholesale Forums

[anotheruser]

I'm thinking of Open Source, but other contributions welcome if you think it adds to the debate.

The reason for asking is that I've been testing both osCommerce and Zen Cart on sub domains but note much mention around here of Cube Cart.

There are more similarities than differences with the first two, because ZC is a developer split from osC to try a few new things out, whilst retaining good relations and, as so often across the OS community, share new findings and so forth.

So how does Cube Cart compare in terms of ease of installation, use and maintenance? And are there any others out there I should be aware of?

All sensible contributions welcome. Genuinely funny ones even more so.

[jpgames]

actually just finished my website using cube cart

its really easy to use

www.jpgames.co.uk/shop

i can answer some simple questions for you but im not an expert

only test products on there at the moment.

[Pete]

Actually there is quite a bit about CubeCart here. LewisSellers promotes it and talks about it, he even recently did a thread about a possible mod he was working on.

I also install it, as well as the other free, open source carts you mention, plus AgoraCart. I would say for most folks that CubeCart is the easiest to use. I have installed it for a number of people on this forum, but have never installed OSC or Zen for anyone. I'd say that for the UK / EU area it's a very popular product. The same in Australia.

One note on CC though. They are about to offer a new version tihs month. Unlike the current version, the new one will have a price of $ 129.95. This will be an up-front cost, there will still be the $ 89.95 cost to remove their copyright from the bottom of the page. So, to own it entirely the cost will go from $ 89.95 to over $ 200 (There is a bundled price of $ 179.95 if you buy both together). I do not know if the current (soon to be previous) version will remain as a free option with Fantastico.

The user community forums with CC are great. There is a lot of help there and the developer and staff join in. There are a number of free and low cost mods and templates available on the one forum they have devoted to just that. Most mods are in the $ 20 range or less. I'm only aware of one that is $ 50 and that is complex.

The biggest drawback to CC as I see it is the inability to import your invnetory into the database. Out of the box you have to enter each item in the time consuming method of single entry through the browser. (That $ 50 mod addresses this). This may be changed in the new version, I do not know at this time. For anyone with a lot of products, or frequent price changes this could be a problem.

Of course, neither OSC or Zen have a built in import / export option, but the free ezloader takes care of that. There is no such freebie for CC.

FLASH! the new version does include import from a csv file.

One other thing that I don't care for is that each customer must register. I feel like this process turns some prospects off. I may be wrong, but I think that should be an option. (It is in the new version) This is true with OSC and Zen, as well., but can be modded out. I don't think it can be avoided with CC.

I have a real live working installation of the free version of CC I let people snoop around in. It's on line and has everything turned on. I give you the user and pass and you can get in the admin and check out things to your heart's delight. Send me a PM and I'll give you the address and the login info, if you'd like to check it out.

Here is a link to the comparison between the current free version and the soon to be released paid version - http://www.cubecart.com/site/features/compare.php

[TheBear]

i realy like cubecart its simple to use (trust me if i can use it anyone can) have a look at the live demo pete offers and youll soon get the hang of it

with regards to customer having to register there is an express checkout mod that gives the customer the option of just prosesing there order without signing up for an account i think it costs $18

hope that helps
Andy

[BrandDirect]

Yeah i second Cubecart.

Ive tried oscommerce, zen cart, cre loaded(best of the osc imo) and cubecart and i must say it does make it worthwhile going with a paid cart if you can afford it.

Cubecart 4 looks good but unfortunately if you upgrade you will lose your cubecart 2 or 3 skin although customers, orders, products etc etc remain intact.

The cubecart forums are an excellent resource with friendly people and have a great modding community where the mods and skins are cheap as compared to the alternatives out there.

With regards express checkout, that is available from toucan designs for £18 rather than $18.
Its also worth noting that there is a google checkout mod for version 2 and 3 but this is something that should be integrated into V4 as well as a fully working paypal system which of course has proved to be buggy. All in all i believe Cubecart is a great shopping package for those new.

I also read from AL on the forums that he was considering just having ' powered by cubecart ' as opposed to the long and winded version that has been on previous versions so the $89+vat price may not have to be a necessary cost for those considering it.

So to wrap up id say give cubecart a try and checkout their forums and the cubecartforums.org site for 3rd party mods and hacks.

[anotheruser]

I don't go for OS because it's free as in beer. I go with it because it gives me freedom to do a lot more. I can script and I do network in a couple of geek communities. Having access to the source code is a far greater benefit to me than all the "usability" defined by someone else in a proprietary system.

For less than what a proprietary system typically costs over, say, a year or two, you can usually afford a programmer to modify an OS system to do what you want. Add that to the zero start up costs and the technical help available all over the web, it'll take a very strong argument to move me away.

Even if CC does start charging a fee, I prefer paying an OS supplier for the reasons stated - as a user, I can get it changed; as a geek, I can change it. Also, when an OS source starts charging, they usually continue to maintain a free version. SugarCRM and sqlLedger are two which spring immediately to mind.

Another advantage is that it is usually reasonably easy to combine OS applications. Again, this is due to having the source code available. As pete mentioned in another thread (addressing LewisSellers), for instance, mailing list managers are useful in e-commerce. There are several instances of OS developers offering free how-to's tying osCommerce and phpList together.

So I know what I'm about. The question is where to point those less experienced in programming and with small budgets, when they want to get started. I'm getting a strong vibe in favour of CC here.

Thanks for all the contributions so far. Please keep 'em coming.

[titanwholesale]

iv only ever used oscommerce, if i was to set up a shop now would you recommend cube cart

[greedyboy]

I've used OS commerce in the past. After having a test version installed on a friend's site, I prefer cubecart for flexibility of hacking.

SO much so I have just parted with the best part of a grand and have a programmer/CubeCart guru located the otherside of the world to hack (I mean heavily customise/custom mods/re-design) the site from ground up (for a new site I am launching in a few months).

The end result will be a search engine friendly, non standard cart with bags of funtionality and extra/required features that looks like the millions of other cubecart sites (so said my designers brief!).

[anotheruser]

You've got the terminology right, greedyboy. Hacking is legit except when it's done illegally - then the actual term is crack, but that seems to have fallen out of use. Both mean changing original code.

By the way, for SEO, both Zen Cart and CC, latest versions at least, use CSS for layout. osC still uses tables. (Oh, that tasty alphabet soup - just like being on a technical forum )

Dunno which I'd recommend yet, titanwholesale. I haven't played with CC yet. I don't know its history, either. The couple of quick glances I have taken to date indicate it may have been some developers noting any weakness in the osC/ZC approach and deciding to start afresh. If those developers are any good, that would tend to indicate something very worthwhile coming out. Which appears to be the consensus here. I may just grab it for a play before the price tag appears.

I'm still most tempted by ZC, though. Lots of work has been done already and is freely available for extending it, changing the skin, completely different layouts and functionality, and for configuring it to run with other applications. I can choose the relative importance of each and make donations to the developers accordingly.

[anotheruser]

Update: being in the habit of doing what I say I'll do, I was just on the CubeCart (using proper title, to prove it ;o) ) home page having a read through with a view to downloading - there is a clear statement that this is not OS software. Fourth paragraph under the "How much does it cost?" heading and immediately above the "Requirements:" heading.

Be careful, greedyboy, if you are about to alter the code without looking further into it. Software copyright infringements are taken very seriously by UK courts and using such even if sourced overseas is likely to attract a heavy fine. Think about the number of product scammers slated on this site - software scamming is very similar.

I have no axe to grind with anyone who chooses to use proprietary software. That is a matter of choice, choice being something else I wholeheartedly support. However, as stated and for the reasons stated in an earlier post, it's not for me.