Setting up an online shop... Advice?

Zascar

OK I know this has been asked plenty of times before but I would appreciate some advice on a project I have. A friend of mine had an idea for an online shop selling supplements and nutrition etc - I'm going to help him set it up.

So, I would probably want to use OScommerce or Zencart - i.e. stick with one of the more popular trusted solutions. However I could also give one of the hosted solutions a go such as Shopify - I'm just not sure and would like some advice. Has anyone used Shopify? Is it cost effective, or only for certin products and price points etc? Are their any alternatives to Shopify worth considering? Would Zencart/OSC etc be cheaper - and is it worth the extra hassle?

If going the Zencart/OSC way, what I would plan to do is pay someone else to pretty much do all the groundwork for me - get the site set up and then I could do the rest of the work myself. Anyone want to guess how much this might cost me? I'll prob put a project on www.elance.com or similar.

Anyone who has any online shops I would appreciate any advice you could offer.
Thanks

Axwell

jaymo wrote: »

There is even one here in Ireland (cough cough )

Pimping your own services? cough cough

mneylon

Does your friend have a merchant account? If they can't take payments they won't be able to sell

There are plenty of open source and commercial shopping carts out there. Most designers / developers have their preferences...

BabyGoIE

Personally I would recommend http://shopify.com. I am using it at the moment and I am very satisfied. I have tried about 15-20 eCommerce solutions but this one is the best and looks very modern. It will also take care of stock.

flynnlives

id go with magento, much more funtionality and scope for design
http://magentogallery.com/
im looking to add a ecommerce site too my portfolio, pm me if ur interested

Feathers

Mods, any chance of sticky-ing this thread? Small-scale eCommerce is popular round these parts, it seems…