Who builds the best webshop extension solution?

Report · Dec 16, 2006

Hi

I need to make a decision on what extension to buy that will help me build solid web-shop applications based on ASP VB script and that will work with MS SQL Server. I hope to find some honest reviews of people who have experience with products like:

1. SalesCart
2. Cartweaver
3. WA eCart & eCommerce Solution
4. InterPhakt
5. others..

Please help me make a decision - The money I can spend is limited.. I limited my budget to € 300

I have had some bad experience with Webassist before since their eCart 1.01 which DID not include a backend administration plus matching database.

I have had good experience with Charon Cart build by Julian Roberts.. but I need more than all the modifications I have been able to make to the cart.

Things on my list are
1. allowing customers to chose their preferred method of shipping - TNT Post or FedEx or DHL -
2. allowing to cut sales (VAT) tax on certain products - like free gifts or samples to go with
3. line item discounts -- buy 3 pay for 2
4. individual discounts per product
5. reward certain customers with discounts via a voucher code or otherwise. - allow me to give customers a discount when ordering for minimal 50 euro''s of value and a set a limit use of vouchers.

Report · Dec 16, 2006

I loved the UltraCart II .. I don't think the developer is developing any
longer however. But it was great for ASP/VB and didn't dictate your
design. Interakt is out of business because Adobe bought their company and
their shopping solutions were discontinued. I have heard both good and bad
about Cartweaver .. and not much about WA eCart. If there is a trial for
either, try them out. Both have some solid names behind the development, so
you should be able to get some answers by contacting the companies.

--
Nancy Gill
Adobe Community Expert
Author: Dreamweaver 8 e-book for the DMX Zone
Co-Author: Dreamweaver MX: Instant Troubleshooter (August, 2003)
Technical Editor: DMX 2004: The Complete Reference, DMX 2004: A Beginner''s
Guide, Mastering Macromedia Contribute
Technical Reviewer: Dynamic Dreamweaver MX/DMX: Advanced PHP Web Development

"siegler" <webforumsuser@macromedia.com> wrote in message
news:em1aq3$qbd$1@forums.macromedia.com...
> Hi
>
> I need to make a decision on what extension to buy that will help me build
> solid web-shop applications based on ASP VB script and that will work with
> MS
> SQL Server. I hope to find some honest reviews of people who have
> experience
> with products like:
>
> 1. SalesCart
> 2. Cartweaver
> 3. WA eCart & eCommerce Solution
> 4. InterPhakt
> 5. others..
>
> Please help me make a decision - The money I can spend is limited.. I
> limited
> my budget to ? 300
>

Report · Dec 16, 2006

I have been had by WebAssist before when buying the eCart when it first came out. I had hoped that I bought a full extension with an fully functional administration panel and database. I soon found out that it did not. No instead they tried to lure me in buying additional components to even make the extension do exactly what a 35 pound Sterling application by Julian Roberts would do for way less.

Now that has been 2,5 year ago when buying last from WebAssist. Now I wonder if they really are doing a better job than they did then. Back then their eCart I would consider a true scam. ... How is it today I wonder? What experiences are their about this company?

As for Joseph Scavitto's UCII .. It seems to offer exactly what my needs are.. but how about development? Joseph seems to be more busy with this core business than with developing the UCII even further or am I wrong?

Right now I have made a shortlist of extension(suites) that I am willing to consider.. But I can buy only one.

1. UCII - ASP/VB
2. Shopping Cart by Gianluigi of http://www.dwzone-it.com/
3. WebAssist eCommerce Suite

The one thing WA seems to have in favor of the other two is that is allows you to build a cart on a PHP and ASP platform.

I need more input.

Report · Dec 16, 2006

> As for Joseph Scavitto's UCII .. It seems to offer exactly what my needs
> are..
> but how about development? Joseph seems to be more busy with this core
> business
> than with developing the UCII even further or am I wrong?

I haven't talked to Joe in a long time .. we used to be good friends. I
don't think he's doing much in the way of development any more, or at least
doesn't hang around the communities any more. I'll have to drop him a line
and see what's up. 🙂 I like his cart because it provides basic
functionality without taking over the site.
>
> Right now I have made a shortlist of extension(suites) that I am willing
> to
> consider.. But I can buy only one.
>
> 1. UCII - ASP/VB
> 2. Shopping Cart by Gianluigi of http://www.dwzone-it.com/
> 3. WebAssist eCommerce Suite

You appear to have crossed Cartweaver off the list. There is a version for
ASP and one for PHP as well as Cold Fusion, thanks to the involvement of Tom
Muck in the programming. That fact alone would give me hope .. he's very
good.
>
> The one thing WA seems to have in favor of the other two is that is allows
> you
> to build a cart on a PHP and ASP platform.

As does Cartweaver.

I hope you find the one you want!

Nancy

Report · Dec 17, 2006

quote:

Originally posted by: Newsgroup User
> As for Joseph Scavitto's UCII .. It seems to offer exactly what my needs
> are..
> but how about development? Joseph seems to be more busy with this core
> business
> than with developing the UCII even further or am I wrong?

I haven't talked to Joe in a long time .. we used to be good friends. I
don't think he's doing much in the way of development any more, or at least
doesn't hang around the communities any more. I'll have to drop him a line
and see what's up. 🙂 I like his cart because it provides basic
functionality without taking over the site.
>
> Right now I have made a shortlist of extension(suites) that I am willing
> to
> consider.. But I can buy only one.
>
> 1. UCII - ASP/VB
> 2. Shopping Cart by Gianluigi of http://www.dwzone-it.com/
> 3. WebAssist eCommerce Suite

You appear to have crossed Cartweaver off the list. There is a version for
ASP and one for PHP as well as Cold Fusion, thanks to the involvement of Tom
Muck in the programming. That fact alone would give me hope .. he's very
good.
>
> The one thing WA seems to have in favor of the other two is that is allows
> you
> to build a cart on a PHP and ASP platform.

As does Cartweaver.

I hope you find the one you want!

Nancy

Dear Nancy

I must say that I have not included Tom's Cartweaver because the way I see it it has not more to offer than Joseph UCII, Gianluigi's Shopping Cart (Revellog) http://www.dwzone-it.com/. And Tom's Cartweaver is at 250 USD not very competitive compared to Shopping Cart (95,00 USD) and UC II ((99,99 USD).

I am not a full-fledged coder but a designer who happens to know his way around ASP code and managing a MS SQL Server database.

Quite frankly I wish Joseph, Julian Roberts, Gianluigi and Tom and Lawrence from Cartweaver would work together instead of coming out with a separate e-cart. I need a e-Commerce solution for my company. We manufacture and sell sports nutrition and distribute raw materials for the nutritional industry. SalesCart I think to hard to incorperate in my current design - http://www.pasioingredients.com. I do not need an full enterprise e-commerce system which requires help to customize but something I can do my self with all of the features that Joseph's Cart and Gianluigi have to offer.

But I need to be quick. I have seen Webassists is offering a complete bundel for the same price Cartweaver is offering their scaled down shopping cart.

Kind regards

Anthony..

Report · Dec 19, 2006

I have most of the extensions from webassist, the ecart I have had over the
last few years, always trying to get my head around it. I still had issues,
but then that was just down to me not been too clever, and marginally down
to poss the documentation that came with it. any way, that didnt stop me
from purchasing all the other extensions indivually from webassist.

I see they have just created a better kinda cumminity support system, with
fourms just like these. and I am very excited about it lol. so prior to
purchase you could go there and ask as many questions that you need to
qualify your purchase.

as for InterPhakt and Interakts Kart extension, even thought I know of it
I never used it as I am an ASP/VB person and they only had it as PHP.
Interakt had brilliant support and following (I had all Interakt extensions)
I see now why it was purchased by Adobe, I have no idea as to the future of
Interakt at the moment.

your comment " help me build solid web-shop applications " , have you
asked yourself as to how much help you would want, and what or how much of a
shop you wish to create, are you selling single products or are you trying
to create an entire back end to insert other products dynamically at a
later date.

regards
k

"siegler" <webforumsuser@macromedia.com> wrote in message
news:em1aq3$qbd$1@forums.macromedia.com...
> Hi
>
> I need to make a decision on what extension to buy that will help me build
> solid web-shop applications based on ASP VB script and that will work with
> MS
> SQL Server. I hope to find some honest reviews of people who have
> experience
> with products like:
>
> 1. SalesCart
> 2. Cartweaver
> 3. WA eCart & eCommerce Solution
> 4. InterPhakt
> 5. others..
>
> Please help me make a decision - The money I can spend is limited.. I
> limited
> my budget to ? 300
>

Report · Dec 19, 2006

oops the last message was from me but I had nt configed my pc after the
latest rebuild.

k

"forums.macromedia.com" <aa@bb.com> wrote in message
news:em99ki$8rg$1@forums.macromedia.com...
>I have most of the extensions from webassist, the ecart I have had over the
>last few years, always trying to get my head around it. I still had issues,
>but then that was just down to me not been too clever, and marginally down
>to poss the documentation that came with it. any way, that didnt stop me
>from purchasing all the other extensions indivually from webassist.
>
> I see they have just created a better kinda cumminity support system, with
> fourms just like these. and I am very excited about it lol. so prior to
> purchase you could go there and ask as many questions that you need to
> qualify your purchase.
>
> as for InterPhakt and Interakts Kart extension, even thought I know of
> it I never used it as I am an ASP/VB person and they only had it as PHP.
> Interakt had brilliant support and following (I had all Interakt
> extensions) I see now why it was purchased by Adobe, I have no idea as to
> the future of Interakt at the moment.
>
> your comment " help me build solid web-shop applications " , have you
> asked yourself as to how much help you would want, and what or how much of
> a shop you wish to create, are you selling single products or are you
> trying to create an entire back end to insert other products dynamically
> at a later date.
>
>
> regards
> k
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> "siegler" <webforumsuser@macromedia.com> wrote in message
> news:em1aq3$qbd$1@forums.macromedia.com...
>> Hi
>>
>> I need to make a decision on what extension to buy that will help me
>> build
>> solid web-shop applications based on ASP VB script and that will work
>> with MS
>> SQL Server. I hope to find some honest reviews of people who have
>> experience
>> with products like:
>>
>> 1. SalesCart
>> 2. Cartweaver
>> 3. WA eCart & eCommerce Solution
>> 4. InterPhakt
>> 5. others..
>>
>> Please help me make a decision - The money I can spend is limited.. I
>> limited
>> my budget to ? 300
>>
>
>

Report · Dec 19, 2006

Hi,

I use and recommend WebAssists Extensions and have built several shopping
sites using them plus you can get the whole eCommerce Suite
http://www.webassist.com/professional/products/productdetails.asp?PID=71&WAAID=79
for only $319.99 if you purchase before December 31st, fantastic value !

--

Dave Buchholz
I-CRE8
www.i-cre8.co.uk
Skype ID: I-CRE8

"siegler" <webforumsuser@macromedia.com> wrote in message
news:em1aq3$qbd$1@forums.macromedia.com...
> Hi
>
> I need to make a decision on what extension to buy that will help me build
> solid web-shop applications based on ASP VB script and that will work with
> MS
> SQL Server. I hope to find some honest reviews of people who have
> experience
> with products like:
>
> 1. SalesCart
> 2. Cartweaver
> 3. WA eCart & eCommerce Solution
> 4. InterPhakt
> 5. others..
>
> Please help me make a decision - The money I can spend is limited.. I
> limited
> my budget to ? 300
>

Report · Dec 19, 2006

Sounds great Dave but I really wanted to be sure before I buy. I am not a full fledged coder. I just happen to know my way around ASP and a MS SQL Server database and of course Dreamweaver.

I current project would be with or without the tools of webassist to upgrade our current store. www.pasioingredients.com
.. it now has a back end based on the Charon Cart and build with extensions from various developers like Julian Roberts, Tom Muck, George Petrov and others.

Report · Dec 19, 2006

Why not use CharonCart or do you need more functionality ?

before I moved over to PHP I used CharonCart on a couple of sites one of
which (www.rallyartmotorsportprints.com) is still happily running taking
orders after nearly 3 years

--

Dave Buchholz
I-CRE8
www.i-cre8.co.uk
Skype ID: I-CRE8

"siegler" <webforumsuser@macromedia.com> wrote in message
news:em9o0h$pdv$1@forums.macromedia.com...
> Sounds great Dave but I really wanted to be sure before I buy. I am not a
> full
> fledged coder. I just happen to know my way around ASP and a MS SQL Server
> database and of course Dreamweaver.
>
> I current project would be with or without the tools of webassist to
> upgrade
> our current store. www.pasioingredients.com
> .. it now has a back end based on the Charon Cart and build with
> extensions
> from various developers like Julian Roberts, Tom Muck, George Petrov and
> others.
>

Report · Dec 19, 2006

Dave

Quite frankly we need more than the Charon Cart can offer us. But I will stick to MS SQL Server and ASP. ... I not into PHP.. but we use a PHPBB forum on the same server as a standard support forum for our customers.

We want to be able to give a discount starting for orders more than € 50 and for certain customers only and set for certain products only. Also we want to give our customers the choice in shipping via TNT Normal and Express shipping based on actual weight rather than a flat fee that is too high for certain destinations and too low for certain destinations.

So we want to expand the current adminsection and functionality of the shop build with Charon Cart in the first place.

Report · Dec 19, 2006

OK I understand.

There is post on the new WebAssist forums regarding putting something
together along the lines of the discount facility that you are looking for
here
http://www.webassist.com:8119/readmessage?id=%3C7dcf523f$5aacedb2$1354@www.webassist.com:8119%3E&gro...
that you might want to have a look at.

The shipping is certainly possible as I have implemented something similar
on the site I am currently finishing for a client but it will require some
hand coding outside of the cart object to check postcodes etc for the
shipping zones that have surcharges.

--

Dave Buchholz
I-CRE8
www.i-cre8.co.uk
Skype ID: I-CRE8

"siegler" <webforumsuser@macromedia.com> wrote in message
news:em9rli$1c$1@forums.macromedia.com...
> Dave
>
> Quite frankly we need more than the Charon Cart can offer us. But I will
> stick
> to MS SQL Server and ASP. ... I not into PHP.. but we use a PHPBB forum
> on the
> same server as a standard support forum for our customers.
>
> We want to be able to give a discount starting for orders more than ? 50
> and
> for certain customers only and set for certain products only. Also we want
> to
> give our customers the choice in shipping via TNT Normal and Express
> shipping
> based on actual weight rather than a flat fee that is too high for certain
> destinations and too low for certain destinations.
>
> So we want to expand the current adminsection and functionality of the
> shop
> build with Charon Cart in the first place.
>
>
>