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ibaker
Starting Member
Australia
19 Posts |
 Posted - September 06 2006 : 23:38:08
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I have just purchased vpasp and it was a real hard decision especially because Comersus had more features that I needed. I went with vpasp because of their support and the fact that they are only 20kms from where I live - oh, and plus the interface looked better which meant less work I needed to do to integrate it with my own site.
Now the extra features that Comersus already have (not comparing the free versions but the around $350 versions) that nearly made me forget that I was an Aussie were:
1. Auction functionality - this would be good for say getting rid of dead stock as you could auction it off.
2. Compare products - I believe this is coming in the next release of vpasp but Comersus already has it.
3. Rental Products - this would be great where a customer can book a product for a certain time and day
4. Delayed Payments - a product could be purchased and paid for on-line but not actuall debiting their credit card etc until the product arrives to the customer.
5. Return Merchandise Authority - great when a customer wants to return a defective product.
6. Back Order system - the customer can back order a product if it isn't in stock and allows the merchant to buy a minimum order when the back orders reach that minimum quantity
Now my ideas:
1. Option Packs - instead of getting a "Option Pack" with set extras why not have a option pack of where you can say select 5, 10 or 15 options and you can select which options you really want. For example a person may only want some of the options in the Plus Pack and say one of the options in the Deluxe Pack - what does a person do - they have to pay for the Plus Pack and extra for the single Deluxe option.
2. Image select - on the product page the customer should be able to select from say 4 thumbnail images (like E-Bay) - this needs to be included in the Plus Pack
3. File construction - there should be a seperate header asp and footer asp that are just blank ready for you to put your header and footer into and all pages have an include of them. WebWiz Forums have an incredibly easy asp structure
Side boxes - an opportunity to be able to select from many different side boxes that can be used either on the left or right colums of the site. Boxes like quick login, merchant details, polls, manufacturers etc like what X-Cart have - the merchant can just turn these on or off and place them in any order on the left or right colums
I am sure I can think of a lot more in due course as I go through struggling with the file structure in customising vpasp for my site.
regards
Ian |
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devshb
Senior Member
United Kingdom
1904 Posts |
Posted - September 07 2006 : 05:14:28
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you might find our panel-splitter addon useful; it breaks down the individual panels into separate files, as well as the javascript, meta-tags, titles etc. and it comes with v6 sample panel contents/config options which mimic the default vpasp contents.
on those sample files, we also went through and tab-indented the contents so that it's easier to spot each sub-chunk
panel splitter for vpasp:
http://www.bigyellowzone.com/shopexd.asp?id=26
for the image-select, you might find our zoomer/viewer/multiple-images addon useful:
http://www.bigyellowzone.com/shopexd.asp?id=91
for the rma; someone else has done an addon for that, but I can't remember who; hopefully they'll post here.
whether or not those elements end up being inside vpasp as extra options at some stage I'm not sure, but for now they're available if you want them.
if you need anything else done, it's always a good idea to post on the forum; lots of people would have probably already done what your after.
Simon Barnaby
Developer
[email protected]
www.BigYellowZone.com
Web Design, Online Marketing and VPASP addons |
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ibaker
Starting Member
Australia
19 Posts |
Posted - September 07 2006 : 16:48:55
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Thanks Simon
The point is the first 6 items are already in Comersus which comes out at about the same price as vpasp - if one had to then go and "buy" the extra features from a 3rd party then that puts the price of vpasp far higher then Comersus. As I said i still purchased vpasp.
I also have WebWiz Forums (and have used MegaBB as well) and I find it rough that a community like vpasp have here all supporting their product that the community can't help out each other with mods like other asp applications. I have noticed that with shop front applications one has to "pay" someone for a mod instead of helping each other.
Note - like vpasp you can get free versions of forums or you can pay for the forum to get a better product but everyone is doing mods and they help each other. If I were to purchase just those 2 mods that you have mentioned it would cost me 75 pounds which in Aussie dollars is $185 which is getting close to half of the total price for the complete vpasp Plus version for just 2 mods.
Don't get me wrong they are probably good mods and for a lot of people they may be exactly what they need and obviously willing to pay you for them - you have given users of vpasp an option that they otherwise do not have.
regards
Ian |
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rvaga
VP-CART Super User
USA
254 Posts |
Posted - September 07 2006 : 17:37:35
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I have a lot more than $185 worth of BYZ mods, added to the original cost of the deluxe version of VPASP.
$185 is nothing, pocket-change, that will be (or should!) easily be paid for in increased sales. For a viable online business, as with any business, there are costs involved. And for a viable business, hundreds of dollars are insignificant. Anyone that is looking to save a few dollars here, a few dollars there, is not a serious business person. Look at the big picture, yearly sales figures or objective potential. If $200 is an issue, there are free carts out there better suited for hobbyists.
I don't want to start a war here, so please don't think I'm just being a jerk. But, after being involved with VPASP and BYZ, there are so many occasions where these people did more in helping my site become a success (free and sometimes for $), that comparing start-up costs and the cost of add-ons misses the point of the "community" of people here that help, and the type of people that you will become familiar with as you build your site.
Compared to contracted microsoft goo-roo-guys that charge a fortune, both VPASP and BYZ are more than cost-effective - they are both very inexpensive, in the grand scheme of things.
Just my opinion. . . |
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ibaker
Starting Member
Australia
19 Posts |
Posted - September 07 2006 : 20:39:57
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Yes rvaga I see your point. My shop is just at start up and who knows in 6 months time it may or may not still be operating. It is setup to provide recreational pilots to purchase items below retail prices as more of a service to them as they are already struggling to fly for fun given the cost of fuel now.
The point of the post was to say what features Comersus already has included in their product so it would be good if vpasp had these features as well so the choice between carts would be made very simple. If X-Cart was asp then that would make the decision even harder.
As my project is both at start up stage and designed not to make a great profit as such but rather help other pilots I can not pay the high prices that commercial ventures can enjoy.
Anyway as I said the objective of the post was simply to say what would be good to have included in vpasp!
regards
Ian |
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patrickong
VP-CART New User
Singapore
58 Posts |
Posted - October 23 2006 : 21:02:12
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Hi Ian,
I agree with Rvaga about the cost of doing things especially business. I've created a few VPASP sites for clients and sadly to say, only 1 is making real progress in terms of sales and marketing efforts i.e. www.gothemilkyway.com I'm a freelance web designer and I didn't use Comersus because I just don't feel good after visiting their website e.g. no forum and it seems messy in the installation files after downloading it and tried to install it. It seems to me like it's an Open Source projects after looking at the way the installation files are organised from the start.
VPASP already have people helping one another out with free code customisations. I'm not talking about mods whereby it's a downloadable patch developed by members whereby you can download and then apply the patch onto VPASP. Alot of other applications that other members had developed mods for are not mentioned as the official release and the code owners do not represent that it's from them nor it'll work and doesn't guarantee anything if anything goes wrong.
And finally, I want to share with Ian, the tips of having a successful web business... and that is MARKETING MUSCLE. It involves money and time to tell people about your website to make them aware of your presence. Having a powerful website is only 1 side of the show. You need cymbals, dancers, music, etc. to entice the public / customers to visit your website.
Patrick |
Edited by - patrickong on October 23 2006 21:07:21 |
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Packard40
Starting Member
USA
15 Posts |
Posted - October 24 2006 : 06:37:34
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| For someone like me (and perhaps others) not versed in making my own customizations, I view every post advertising "bigyellowzone" as a DEFICIENCY of vpASP. They have some very desireable customizations and vpASP should consider purchasing these customizations and incorporating them in the next version of vpASP. I find it annoying to ask for help in the Forum only to get a sales pitch. |
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devshb
Senior Member
United Kingdom
1904 Posts |
Posted - October 24 2006 : 07:10:59
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our addons have never been created to make money; they've purely been a by-product of things that we or our clients find useful or need, and we offer them off-the-shelf to anyone else who might find them useful. It's more like a public service than a money-making exercise, because the amount of time/effort that goes into building/supporting them hardly ever gets made up by the amount of cash they generate.
For example, if someone (as per the original posting) wants to tweak their panel contents/structure/sizings etc, then spending a few pounds on an addon to save you weeks of complex-html-development is something that I'd do in that situation. Similarly, if I wanted to do something that we didn't have an addon for, but which someone else did have an addon for, then I'd pay the cash (or advise the client) to that seller to save time/money by buying it.
If someone wants "x", which would normally take, say, 20 hours to build, but we have an addon which already does it, then it's worth making the posting for it; it helps everyone.
Some of our addons occasionally become redundant (eg html-editor) as some elements are sometimes incorporated into vpasp as time goes on, not copied from us, but a generic vpasp improvement which then makes one of our addons irrelevant. But if something's not yet available in vpasp, then buying an addon is the next best thing, certainly a lot cheaper/better than re-inventing the wheel if someone else has already done it.
Simon Barnaby
Developer
[email protected]
www.BigYellowZone.com
Web Design, Online Marketing and VPASP addons |
Edited by - devshb on October 24 2006 07:16:33 |
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devshb
Senior Member
United Kingdom
1904 Posts |
Posted - October 24 2006 : 07:22:59
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if it's any consolation, I agree with the original posting/points
Simon Barnaby
Developer
[email protected]
www.BigYellowZone.com
Web Design, Online Marketing and VPASP addons |
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patrickong
VP-CART New User
Singapore
58 Posts |
Posted - October 24 2006 : 07:40:44
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quote:
Originally posted by Packard40
For someone like me (and perhaps others) not versed in making my own customizations, I view every post advertising "bigyellowzone" as a DEFICIENCY of vpASP. They have some very desireable customizations and vpASP should consider purchasing these customizations and incorporating them in the next version of vpASP. I find it annoying to ask for help in the Forum only to get a sales pitch.
What BigYellowZone offer is optional add-ons and so do VPASP i.e. - Option Package, Gift Registry, Pin Numbers, Recurring Billing, etc.
It's not defective because all optional accessories are not included. Same argument goes if you buy a camera, it comes with body only for $xx and with lens for $xx++ If you want a tripod stand, you buy it for $xxx.
And no one product is perfect. If you can find one better product and at the same price, do let us know too. |
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Scooter
VP-CART New User
USA
102 Posts |
Posted - October 24 2006 : 07:44:39
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This to packard. i not see you helping anyone here tho?
Ask questions but nnot help?
Devshb help lot of people and has to make money too.
Maybe look at way you here on forum before you point finger at anyone.
Not too flame you but some people here really help and i think devshb make good add-ons.
VPASP as well very big product but they not do everything although they much much better than most. If they do everything though then devsb not able to sell add-ons and would not spend time here helping you out.
Sorry for rant. See lot of people demanding help but they not help anyone.
Scoota |
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elammers
VP-CART Super User
USA
256 Posts |
Posted - October 24 2006 : 08:02:10
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I agree with Scooter. I'm a developer and sometimes have killer problems that I submit to the help desk. I ALWAYS get a fast informative response/resolution.
Therefore, I try to pay back by helping out on this forum with some of the things I know the answers to.
Personally, I wish there were a few others like BYZ here as I learned long long ago, don't reinvent the wheel. If someone else has already developed a code snippet for what I need, drop a few dollars on proven code rather than developing it myself and fixing its bugs, saves time and usually money.
Regards,
Eric in Maine |
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Packard40
Starting Member
USA
15 Posts |
Posted - October 28 2006 : 14:32:45
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| Some valid points have been made. We believe vpASP is a very robust shopping cart, that's why we purchased it. Having installed and requested customizations to meet our needs, we are very satified with vpASP and appreciate their support and we appreciate the support received from this forum. Respectfully, Marshall |
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