eCommerce Shopping Cart's

Ben Turner · Post by **Ben Turner** » 26 Sep 2006 1:53 pm

I need a shopping cart for a website I'm putting together. Anyone have any suggestions? I'm currently considering "X-CART" (http://www.x-cart.com/).. I really don't know a lot about shopping carts or how they work, seems like I read something about having to pay per month for them? I really don't know. I am currently in the process of researching it further before I dive in. Any thoughts or suggestions on this subject would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Wiz Feinberg · Post by **Wiz Feinberg** » 26 Sep 2006 7:15 pm

Ben;
To have a safe, secure https shopping cart you will need your own SSL certificate and a static IP address for your https server. If you don't have your own IP you may be able to obtain the use of a shared SSL certificate, owned by the web host. Alternately, you can use a PayPal shopping cart and payment portal.

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Ben Turner · Post by **Ben Turner** » 26 Sep 2006 8:11 pm

Bob, I have a webserver, domain name, static IP address and the works. the server supports all of the basic programming codes/languages and etc, ftp/shell accress as well as unlimited webspace. I just need the software to get it all started. Are you saying PayPal has a shopping cart? I've been on several sites that are setup with PayPal's shopping cart but was unsure about that.

Wiz Feinberg · Post by **Wiz Feinberg** » 26 Sep 2006 8:48 pm

Yes, PayPay has several shopping carts, all free for PayPal Premium and Business accounts. The only problem you'll encounter is their 5 minute inactivity logoff timer, so keep clicking on links as you read.

Ben Turner · Post by **Ben Turner** » 27 Sep 2006 5:29 am

Would it be easier to use an external app/script or is the PayPal shopping cart just as easy as all the rest?

Jim Cohen · Post by **Jim Cohen** » 27 Sep 2006 5:53 am

Mine is set up through a PayPal business account and, as I recall, they offered one of their own, or you could bolt-on an external one. It seems to work very well, as far as I can see. If you'd like to try it out for yourself, just go to http://jimcohen.com/order.shtml and click on all the boxes, enter any quantity between 1 and 99, input your PayPal or Visa/MC numbers, and click "Complete Purchase". If the order arrives in a few days, then you'll know for sure that it worked as you expected.

John Fabian · Post by **John Fabian** » 29 Sep 2006 1:48 am

Be aware of PayPal's terms for settling disputed purchases. While this may not be too problematical for the sales of inexpensive items (CD's, etc.), it has the strong potential to be disastrous for large ones (guitars, etc.).

If you are going to use PayPal, I recommend setting up a stand-alone bank account specifically for PayPal and never keeping more than the required minimum in it. Withdraw any payments immediately and do NOT link your PayPal account to any credit card or other bank account.
http://www.paypalsucks.com/

<div style="display:none"> [This message was edited by John Fabian on 29 September 2006 at 02:58 AM.]