Cost and user-friendliness...?

[amason]

Hello

 

I have a fairly urgent requirement for e-commerce for a store with few products. I'm based in France. At this stage, I don't have the luxury of a huge budget (or the need for a complex store system) which was why, initially, I looked at PayPal; they've been trumpeting their new option to accept payments without membership but I've since discovered that this is not available to European merchants and I don't really want my customers to be forced to get an account.

 

My questions are:

 

1) What are the real costs of running with osCommerce - including security certificates, merchant banking and other things I'm missing?

 

2) How easy is it to install and use for someone not familiar with much of the technology involved? I was a programmer in the Dark Ages (late 80s) so I'm not a technophobe by any means, but immediately after installation of osCommerce I'm finding myself confronted with the expectation to understand databases, SQL and the like - which I don't! Can anyone give me any reassurance on this? The Knowledge Base looks very good and clear, but if it's going to be one of those hurdle-after-hurdle experiences, I can't afford the time.

 

Thanks in advance,

 

A

[justmake]

Hello

 

I have a fairly urgent requirement for e-commerce for a store with few products. I'm based in France. At this stage, I don't have the luxury of a huge budget (or the need for a complex store system) which was why, initially, I looked at PayPal; they've been trumpeting their new option to accept payments without membership but I've since discovered that this is not available to European merchants and I don't really want my customers to be forced to get an account.

 

My questions are:

 

1) What are the real costs of running with osCommerce - including security certificates, merchant banking and other things I'm missing?

 

2) How easy is it to install and use for someone not familiar with much of the technology involved? I was a programmer in the Dark Ages (late 80s) so I'm not a technophobe by any means, but immediately after installation of osCommerce I'm finding myself confronted with the expectation to understand databases, SQL and the like - which I don't! Can anyone give me any reassurance on this? The Knowledge Base looks very good and clear, but if it's going to be one of those hurdle-after-hurdle experiences, I can't afford the time.

 

Thanks in advance,

 

A

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I dont know a thing about PHP or Databases or SQL but with the help of the awsome people in this Forum i have a store up and running in three weeksMy Webpage have look.

Its very confusing for the first couple of days but it gets clearer after a while, you learn pretty quickly.

My advice as a newbie would be to run with oscommerce coz you will definitely pick it up quick.

[amason]

My advice as a newbie would be to run with oscommerce coz you will definitely pick it up quick.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Thank you for replying! That's very encouraging (and the store is looking good - much more complex than mine needs to be).

 

So how much is it costing you - and do you feel, for what you're spending, that you're providing watertight secuirty for clients?

 

Cheers

 

A

[justmake]

Thank you for replying! That's very encouraging (and the store is looking good - much more complex than mine needs to be).

 

So how much is it costing you - and do you feel, for what you're spending, that you're providing watertight secuirty for clients?

 

Cheers

 

A

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I purchased a secure SSL Certificate today for $390 Australian dollars, my web hosting is $50 AUS per month, so it doesnt cost much at all.

The biggest kick in the pants is that the bank charges me 3.5% on every transaction that is made, but as soon as the cash flow going through the website is larger they will drop it to 1%.

As i said before i really dont know a thing about websites, with the security side of things i just took the advice of my ISP and he said the SSL certificate is rock solid.

Someone else on this forum will know better though.

Apart from the one off certificate charge it only costs me $50 per month to have my site.

 

Luke

[amason]

The biggest kick in the pants is that the bank charges me 3.5% on every transaction that is made, but as soon as the cash flow going through the website is larger they will drop it to 1%.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Ah. But is that, and the SSL certificate, the only expense connected with acceptance of CCs? I was reading somewhere that one needs to sign up with a CC processing company too. I'm really showing my ignorance here, I know!

 

Also, did you get the certificate via your ISP? And are they international, do you know? Everything is much more expensive here. My web host is American for that reason. And I'm going to bookmark your store for future peripheral requirements! I already buy quite a few things from Aus for reasons of cost; even with postage it often works out much cheaper.

 

Thanks again,

 

Alpha

[justmake]

Ah. But is that, and the SSL certificate, the only expense connected with acceptance of CCs? I was reading somewhere that one needs to sign up with a CC processing company too. I'm really showing my ignorance here, I know!

 

Also, did you get the certificate via your ISP? And are they international, do you know? Everything is much more expensive here. My web host is American for that reason. And I'm going to bookmark your store for future peripheral requirements! I already buy quite a few things from Aus for reasons of cost; even with postage it often works out much cheaper.

 

Thanks again,

 

Alpha

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I did get the certificate via my ISP, he is going to install it tomorrow.

My ISP would be worth checking out, they have been a huge help to me ausweb and they handle heaps of over seas accounts.

Not to sure if the certificates are international, good question, i better ask him tomorrow.

I just have a mechant facility with my bank, so when an order is made it saves the order in the admin part of oscommerce, i just fill in an internet sale slip that i got with my merchant facility and i take it to the bank the next day and the money goes in like a cash deposit, so for the time being until i start making hundreds of sales a week i don t feel the need to get a payment processor which would just be an extra cost.

.

 

Good luck with everything, email me your site when its up and running.

my email is [email protected] if you want to get in contact with me.

 

Luke

[amason]

Good luck with everything, email me your site when its up and running.

my email is [email protected] if you want to get in contact with me.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Again, thanks very much. Your info prompted me to do the obvious thing and actually quiz my own host. They provide a shared SSL cert in with the price; I'm just in the process of ensuring that will be sufficient, but I've a feeling, for my purposes, that it will. They also provide a merchant account for $20US/mth. Unlike you, I think I really need the CC processing because I'm selling books, i.e. lots of little units - probably mostly paid for by CC.

 

I'll keep you posted as to progress - and many thanks for your addy!

 

Alpha