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Thread: Best ecommerce platform for electronics dropship site newbie

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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Apr 2010
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    4

    Best ecommerce platform for electronics dropship site newbie

    Before I start I would like to express that I am a complete newbie when it comes to ecommerce platforms. I have only a little experience using some basic admin functions at work running OS commerce, and that’s about it.

    So, here is my situation. I am looking to start up my own ecommerce site. It will be a wholesale electronic s drop-shipping company operating out of China. I am trying to figure out what platform will best suit my needs. I will start this company small and eventually hire 10+ employees in about a year or so.

    I am looking for a free or relatively inexpensive open source platform that is more or less a complete integrated package. It needs to be very SEO friendly, easy for a newbie to use, and proven rock solid and secure.
    I was looking at Magento, but it seems a bit complicated, and the manual is not much help. I am also looking at Prestashop. I guess I would like to know first if Magento is worth learning for a newbie like myself.

    If the learning curve is not to bad maybe I will just go with Magento. If Prestashop is just as powerful but much easier to use, then Prestashop would be my first choice.

    Ultimately I want to build a webpage with similar features as dealextreme.com . I also need to be able to add Hong Kong and China shipping options that are automatically calculated via the software and allow for drop shipping options.

    Other useful features would be admin access profiles to limit access to certain areas, reward points for purchases, and SEO friendly options. I know there is much more that I need. So I will compile a list soon.

    Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. I am sorry if this whole post has n00b written all over it, but I am eager to learn which option is the best so I can begin work right away. Up until now its been countless hours of running in circles just to arrive to the above two options, Magento and Prestashop.

    One last thing, is there anything Prestashop is seriously lacking that Magento offers? Or visa versa?

    Thank you for reading my post.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    East Hampton, NY
    Posts
    1,896
    Any cart you choose will have a learning curve so look at the support forums and see if they are being helpful in a timely manner because you will almost certainly need them.

    Free is not always the best criteria to use as your benchmark. Look at the modules that come bundled with a standard installation. Some packages advertise themselves as free but you end up spending as much if not more on modules than you would have if you paid for a good cart system.

    From what you have described you will need to have an affiliates module with the ability to set a pricing structure for various user types.

    I use and recommend CS-Cart. I moderate on their support forum and I am a reseller.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Posts
    1
    I personally wouldn't recommend using a free eCommerce shopping cart script unless you are well and truly prepared to dig into the code and customise everything yourself. Also, don't expect any help if you encounter a problem.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Apr 2010
    Posts
    4
    Hey Roban,

    Thank you very much for your reply.

    You bring up 2 good point that I did not really consider. I guess what I need to do first is write down a complete list of the features that I will need to use. Then find a reasonably priced solution from there.

    CS-Cart looks pretty nice. But I could not tell a nice one from a so-so one since I am new to all of this.

    I am also considering Wordpress since I have heard many good things about it. Just not sure if that is a ready to go package or if it will need a lot of work to make it a complete solution.

    BTW. Does anyone have experience with Wordpress as an ecommerce solution? Like I said before, I want something that is super SEO friendly, looks great, super secure and stable, easy to upgrade, easy to use, has plenty of support when needed, and does not cost too much money. Like $500 or less.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    East Hampton, NY
    Posts
    1,896
    I use Wordpress frequently. The best e-commerce solution for Wordpress IMHO is Shopp but it is not a free plugin and I use it on a site I designed but it is by no means a complete solution. If you are going to publish an e-commerce site, use e-commerce software. Wordpress will not do it for you.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Apr 2010
    Posts
    4
    Hey Roban.

    Thank you for all your help. I have now decided that a hosted solution is best for me. I really like the design and look of lightinthebox.com . Do you know what ecommerce platform they use? Also milanoo.com seems to use the same cart.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Apr 2010
    Posts
    4
    Well I am pretty sure I am going to go with BigCommerce. It seems to be one of the easiest out there, has plenty of features, good community from what I can see, always adding new features and is super SEO friendly. They are not perfect, but so far it looks like I could work with it. Next step is to try the trial. Thanks everyone for all your help!

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Posts
    1
    Hi,

    I would like to know your experience with Big commerce, concerning your dropshipping plans. Are you happy in general with Big commerce and concerning dropshipping what are your comments? Have you used ordoro together with bigcommerce?

    Thanks a lot for your help.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Posts
    2
    If you haven't already, you should check out Quick Cart.

    Its a ColdFusion based platform with an extremely user-friendly interface, no programming experience required.

    It's not open source, but its relatively inexpensive and has no hidden fee's.
    Last edited by The Old Sarge; 06-18-2010 at 01:10 PM. Reason: attempted link removed. Please, no open solicitation in the forum

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jul 2010
    Posts
    3

    Smile

    I would also take a peak at www.oscmax.com which should be capable of doing what you are looking for ... and it is open source and therefore Free.

    The forums are very active and the support you get there is often better than the paid for carts!

    Regards,

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Posts
    28
    I think magento and volusion might be good options for you

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