What are the pros/cons of available shopping cart solutions?

Question

I'd like to know what everyone's experiences are with various shopping cart solutions. I'm considering Google Checkout for payment processing, but would like to know of alternatives as well, and any reasons for or against those alternatives. At this point, teh technology stack doesn't really matter - but please specify what stack is being used if you suggest a solution.

clarification: I'm interested primarily in your experience with shopping cart solutions (pre-built). I'm also interested in the payment processor (paypal, google checkout, etc..)

One specific question though - what kind of integration with UPS is offered? I'd like for the user to get an accurate estimate from UPS and for the administrator to have the ability to print a shipping label.

Bottom line - I am looking to get something up and running pretty quickly, and would like to know what your experiences have been.

Thanks,

Ian

Answer 1

I have no answers, but I do have a question.

How much do each of these cost?

You can work around any API with a decent abstraction layer, but you cannot work around someone charging twice your expected profit margin.

Answer 2

The biggest problem with Google Checkout is that it doesn't have acceptance in a number of countries. We use it, but every so often we get requests from customers where Checkout is not supported, so we have to resort to wire transfers and the like (or have to turn them away).

Most services will have this limitation, so be prepared to turn them away or have a backup plan for payment.

Answer 3

E-commerce is my bread-and-butter, and I can tell you if up-and-running is your primary driver, including an application approval for a merchant solution, then you want an all-in-one SaaS like Yahoo! Store. You can also find a hosting provider that is recommended by the solution provider like ASPDotNetStorefront. These are the next best thing to an SaaS, and typically supported well. The most popular solutions will include both Google Checkout and PayPal, or one or the other. If you have more specific questions about feature sets I can provide further information.

Answer 4

From the Stater Kits and Community Projects page on the ASP.NET site:

• DotShoppingCart
• dashCommerce (was the Commerce Starter Kit)
• Paypal eCommerce Starter Kit

Those all seem like they could get you setup relatively quickly... My only experience is with CSK, which is definitely able to get you up and running quickly (it's a fully functioning site out-of-the-box, assuming you don't have any additional requirements). I'm not sure how integrated it is with UPS, but otherwise it's quite nice.