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I definitely agree. My only issue is that the open-source options just aren't working out for me. Up to now, I have been using SimpleCaddy, which is a terrific application. But it cannot handle shipping and tax situations. OpenCart, which again I like a lot, just doesn't seem to work with Joomla. HikaShop, which is a very capable application, is far too convoluted for me to send it off to clients.

For now, redSHOP is the highest-ranking candidate on my list.

Thanks,
Matthew

Another option is to have 2 DB's , one for joomla and one for OC
then setup both individually , keeping the theme across board.

then in the Joomla Side (Menu) and other links > Directly to the OC
on the OC side have a (menu link) back to the Joomla console.

(only downside is the dual login for admin's/users)
OC is still imo the best Free cart out there... even now.

in fact depending on the client I would probably either build the website in either
joomla or OC as OC is capable of being self sufficient in it's own right and is not designed
to work with joomla.

JHShop and the other one are simply hacks which allow the incorporation of OC into Joomla, but as you may know that with every upgrade / security patch the chances of these system's failing is rather high. And from what Ive seen the developer's of these hacks are not always on the ball as fast as we would like.

There are many options there. I quite like oscommece.

To Wises:
I've considered using OpenCart exclusively for some projects. But it's not very complete as a CMS. I've tested various ways to join Joomla and OpenCart, but nothing is ever quite elegant enough.

I there was a way to have the great shopping cart elements of OpenCart and the terrific CMS capabilities of Joomla. As it stands now, each one has a major weakness.

My latest venture is to try creating the e-commerce elements I need using JSeblod. We'll see how that goes.

The search continues.

Thanks,
Matthew

Ok, everyone here is suggesting different kinds of shopping cart software. Some of them are known and some are not, but I do know that you all know Magento right? I mean, there are lots of shopping cart software in the market and they are all claiming they are the best. The thing is most people do not know them, but who among you here don't know magento? I know you all guys have known magento or hear about magento right? For me magento is the best shopping cart software, highly customizable as long as you have some computer knowledge. You can check magento's features here at shopping cart software site among with others, just for comparison.

This made me laugh out loud!!

I'm still not a fan of VM.. Last time I checked into the VM forum, I saw that NOT MUCH has improved at all including the SURLY attitudes of the folks who "support" VM.. (and I use the term "support" VERY loosely!)

Sure.. Magento is indeed a fine e-commerce solution..

Fine that is as long as you are not in a shared hosting environment as many SMALL business are.. and BEFORE you say they should pay for dedicated hosting, please note the word SMALL in small business..

Hello,

I totally agree with DivaVocals. Most of the clients I'm working with are small businesses. if I told them the prices would jump hundreds and perhaps even thousands of dollars just to host their site and use particular e-commerce platforms, they would not do it.

Magento is interesting. But for now I am dedicating myself to Joomla development.

The search for a good e-commerce platform inside Joomla continues!

Thanks,
Matthew

I was as well, but in the end found that the lack of viable e-commerce options for Joomla makes this an almost impossible proposition where integrated e-commerce is concerned. I did find that Zen Cart + WordPress met all of my clients who require CMS + E-Commerce much better.. No doubt, I'll still be developing Joomla sites, but it will be limited to sites that do not NOW (or in the future) need INTEGRATED e-commerce.. I have a fairly extensive interview process to vet the client and make sure I match the right solution to the client..

You sound like me (or I sound like you)! I do the same thing. But I then struggle to make e-commerce work. At the moment, I have had to learn three different systems (SimpleCaddy, HikaShop, and redShop) and I choose which one to use depending on what the client can afford and how complex their project is. But I would much rather have a single e-commerce system I can use to build every site.

Thanks again,
Matthew

Indeed!! After lots of experiments (including a FAILED VM implementation which I re-built using Zen Cart for FREE for the client..) I have found that for SMALL businesses, nothing beats Zen Cart.. I still love Joomla, but when it comes to e-commerce, until there are better working and better SUPPORTED options available for Joomla, I'm going to leave INTEGRATED e-commerce out of my Joomla sites.. I'd rather align the templates between Zen Cart and Joomla if I go that route.. For INTEGRATED e-commerce + CMS, Zen Cart + WordPress has been a VERY viable option..

Has anyone tried Mighty Commerce, or have a list of the current Muti-Vendor Joomla solutions?
jMarket sounded promising but it also sounds like they have little integration with Community Builder, and are booked as far as customizations go.

I was hyped for IXXO but I can't say I've seen a single good review on it. I also tried their admin panel and couldn't figure out how to add a product with a download or if that's even supported.

CB VMVendor Suite looks like it might do, but it sounds like they use points rather than cash for vendor payment and it requires an extra conversion? That's weird. Hopefully it won't annoy our users too much.

All I really need is selling downloads for functionality (no shipping), but none of the download-only scripts are multivendor. Sucks, because some had really nice ratings.

Hello,
Interesting posts here as this discussion continues...

After testing and re-testing all the e-commerce applications, I'm still trying to figure out which will be my long-term solution. In a broad sense, I've determined that I want something that works natively in Joomla. I don't mind commercial products.

For now, I'm using SimpleCaddy for "simpler" sites, and HikaShop for more complex sites. There are still functions I can't quite accomplish, but these two applications get the job done. Both have very talented designers behind them who are involved in the projects and are there to help when you need them. They both have great futures.

By far, the most capable e-commerce application continues to be redShop. However, it costs $400 USD per year for every project (their free and regular "12-month" versions are not very useful). Unfortunately, in today's economy, tacking on that cost to a client's project can often mean losing the project.

My problem with VirtueMart is not that it's too complex. I don't mind that. My problem is that, with all its power, I find myself having to un-create so much of its functioning and look and feel. Maybe they are getting ready to update it. If so, I'll take another look.

My favorite shopping cart application continues to be OpenCart. But I don't see any good way to make it work in Joomla.

The continuing saga of e-commerce.

Thanks,
Matthew

i think OpenCart best eCommerce,Joomla best cms.
If you want OpenCart in Joomla,then you can use JooCart.
JooCart is an integration of Open Cart(1.4.9.5) within Joomla.
It includes
*Features of Opencart
*Single Login(joomla user plugin)
*Search Plugin to integrate opencart products with Joomla Search
*No encoding loader needed.
*compatible with joomla 1.5 and 1.6

You can say JooCart is the integration of best eCommerce(OpenCart) within best cms(Joomla)

See details of JooCart here http://www.soft-php.com/joomla-shopping-cart-system.html

mfazlul,
I've seen Joocart, but I have to admit I don't quite get how it works. Does it allow me to use the Joomla core article/category/section/menu options to display OpenCart pages? Or is it just running OpenCart on one side and Joomla on the other, with a bridge of the user names/passwords?

Also, I'm not sure about the licensing. Is it $70/installation, plus $40/year upgrade?

Also, do you have any examples of sites that are using this product?

Thanks,
Matthew

Here are some live sites of JooCart
http://www.soft-php.com/reviews-and-live-sites.html

It is fully integrated OpenCart into Joomla.It is working as a joomla component.
JooCart package contains opencart latest version.
if customer login/register to joomla,then it automatically login/register to opencart also(single login).No iframe.so seo,bookmars works.

68.99 usd package includes upgrades and support for first 3 months.+ 40 usd for another 9 months upgrades and support.

mfazlul,
Thanks for the showcase link. Some very nice sites there!

So for Joocart it's $110/year for every site installation?

My main point of comparison for "major" shopping cart solutions is redShop, which is $400/year for every site installation. Of course, redShop is native Joomla, not a bridge.

I'll have to do some kind of deeper comparison.

Thanks,
Matthew

first year 110.then 60 usd per year for upgrades.
license validation lifetime.

I've done a lot of work with Magento, it's cheap, easy to install and scales reasonably well. It's got all the modules you would need for ecommerce, such as credit card processing, order management, and inventory management. Front end is fully templated and only needs skinning. Also it is written in Php so it should be easy for Joomla developers to pick up.

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See these
JooCart=OpenCart + Joomla
http://www.soft-php.com/joomla-ecommerce-system.html

jCommerce=osCommerce + Joomla
http://www.soft-php.com/joomla-oscommer ... ation.html

Id like to find a solution for this problem. I'm reluctant to use Magento as it's so expensive to become PCI compliant, BigCommerce is nice but not cheap per month, Opencart's also nice but not PCI compliant......this might be the solution:

http://www.ecwid.com/

RocketTheme has also produced a simple extension for it:

http://extensions.joomla.org/extensions ... dges/10720

I intend to test it this week and will report back as impartially as I can - even though like most people I really want to combine the shopping cart functionality with Joomla!

I'd rather build my own shopping cart then ! It will do everything I want it to. I'm also a one man business selling and buying online. Checkout this site for tut's:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65gV8JOg ... ure=relmfu

Follow all the videos.

Just wanted to clarify that the PRO subscription to redCOMPONENT.com is 249 euro per year (no renewal needed if not wanted).

Also the PRO subscription gives access to all the close to 200 extensions we do for Joomla (components, modules and plugins + templates) and not just to redSHOP

This gives access to downloads, support and soon automatic updates (domain limited).

What you do with our GPL software is not limited as it _is_ GPL - there is no limitations of any kind.

So if you run 5 or 10 or 20 redSHOPs is your decision not any limitation set by us.

After all we are truly FOSS and all GPL

Also do remember the entire main component of redSHOP + some 8-10 modules and plugins including cart module, paypal integration etc. is 100% free and just needs a registrered account so do check it out for yourself

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http://www.redcomponent.com/ - redSHOP, redEVENT, redMEMBER, redBOOKING, redFORM, redLIST, redCOMPETITION + other Joomla Extensions.
http://redweb.dk - Joomla Webdesign & Udvikling
redHOST.dk - 100% Joomla Webhotel - Dansk support med Joomla viden!

Hi tresan,

Does this mean that after one year if I will not renew with the Pro Subscription, the webshop will lost some functionality? It will become free version or basic version of redShop only?

IXXO cart not only supports digital downloadable products but it also supports subscriptions for downloadable products and you can even limit how many times the product can be downloaded or even setup an expire date.

Mariastone: it means that nothing changes on your installed redSHOP - you only loose access to new downloads, support and soon to come automatic upgrade.

_________________
http://www.redcomponent.com/ - redSHOP, redEVENT, redMEMBER, redBOOKING, redFORM, redLIST, redCOMPETITION + other Joomla Extensions.
http://redweb.dk - Joomla Webdesign & Udvikling
redHOST.dk - 100% Joomla Webhotel - Dansk support med Joomla viden!

This one looks really promising... How did your testing go?

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I would definitely recommend having a play around with it. Just installed it tonight as my day job has been priority recently. It takes less than 5 minutes to sign up and download the RT extensions from the ECWID site.

The catalog, products, customers etc. are all held on your ECWID control panel, and the extensions provide Joomla functionality.

I'll add some of my clients products over the next few days and post a link on here. Very impressed at this point tho - no need to worry about PCI Compliance either - it's all handled by ECWID - including accepting your own credit card payments.

Personally I have used a few carts free and paid. They all come with problems, just read the help forum for each cart you are thinking about and pay close attention to the response times and the language used.

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I prefer ZenCart over OsC.
its very nice

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