THMS is “The Hobbyist Machine Store”, an e-commerce website that I have operated for over six years. I offer replacement steel gears for a popular line of machine tools and also offer the complete line of Taig Tool micro-machine products.
I have used several e-commerce store software products. The first one was much too difficult to maintain and had some serious limitations. The second product has been my mainstay (X-Cart) actually designed and maintained by a Russian vendor. It has severed me for a long time.
One drawback to X-Cart was the multi-step checkout that was a bit confusing for many users. They were afraid to go too far before they would become committed to the order. The actual commitment was made in PayPal, not my store so there was nothing to fear. However, I often received emails about shipping costs and options that are fully presented before payment. The customer was fear full of taking the next steps in the checkout to see this information.
The new software presents everything on one page so I am hoping it clears the confusion a bit. I don’t mind the reply emails but it does slow down the order process.
I use PayPal because there are rigorous rules about handling credit card information. The buyer does have to register with PayPal as they are taking the risk of approval, but the customer is not required to create a bank account. They can use their credit card every time and there is no fee (to them) for using the service.
The new e-commerce software is running within WordPress, the same CMS software that runs this “Ramblin’ Dan” blog. It’s called WP e-commerce and is a couple of plug-ins that creates the shopping cart and keeps the history.
The transfer to the new format took about three days of work. Luckily I don’t have a huge list of products.
I am pretty good at this web site stuff and the new CMS (content management software) programs like WoodPress, Joomla, and Drupal make the task of complex websites mush easier and pleasing to build. A little HTML and PHP knowledge helps too. If you want to do something like this yourself, I’ll give you an idea how it is done. Just ask.