Has anyone used the Pinnacle shopping cart?

modaclick

Has anyone used pinnacle shopping cart? I know a few people that have have used their hosting plans. However, they seem a little expensive. Is it worth paying $50 a month for their service?

Please note i have no idea on how to create a website.

fudjj

I don't know of Pinnacle personally, but a free shopping cart option is Zen cart. You can also use free listing sites like Bonanzle and ecrater to good effect, they don't give you the flexibility of your own actual site, but they are free to list so you can get into the market with no drama that way, and you only pay a success fee when you sell a product.

Btw, 1st post, so a big welcome to the forum.

modaclick

Thanks a lot for the welcome and I will definitely check out those sites.

However, can you tell me if, in your opinion, is worth paying a monthly fee of $50 for a service that includes (among other things):

1. Free templates

2. 400mb disk space, 6gb traffic

3. 10 email accts.

4. CSS / XHTML tableless design

5. WC3 compliant storefront

6. Product and image import tools

7. Add videos, flash presentations and other files

8. Ability to create additional pages

9. Multi-language / Multi Currency support

10. Completely Search Engine Optimized

11. Ability to manage all meta tags throught the

12. entire site

13. Create photo galleries

14. One-Page Checkout

15. Ability to checkout without registration

16. Create your own knowledge base

17. Create Free Shipping

18. Supports Wholesalers ( Pricing groups)

19. Allows for Product ID's, SKU's and UPC codes

20. Ability to export products / orders / customers

21. Real-Time shipping quotes via USPS, UPS,

22. FED-EX and Canada Post

23. "Estimated Shipping" price feature

24. Ability to create custom shipping methods

25. Manages inventory by product and attribute

26. Ability to create an unlimited number of product attributes (options)

27. Full reporting tools

28. Intergrates with Google Analytics

29. RSS product feeds

30. Customers who bought "x" also bought "y"

31. Simple, web-based control panel

I know its a lot to ask of, I appologize, I just don't want to get ripped off.

jo7878

Hi Modaclick I don't have a site of my own yet but I have been looking at hosting sites most have a shopping cart in their packages. Have you tried using google search and putting in the words hosting sites. I don't know if the sites I have researched have everything Pinnacle has but there are quite a few for less money. If you see one you think looks good go back to google and put the host name in and reviews or user reviews and see what they say about the web site hosting company.

Good luck,

fudjj

It's really hard for me to advise in a situation like this as I don't know your budget or marketing strategy.

I would say that you need to base your decision around those two key areas. Having your own site gives you fantastic flexibility in both design and function, however that is having a site built, not using a hosted template style like this.

Having said that, this will provide you with more flexibility than, let's say an eBay store. The key issue is that to make sales you need traffic, without it, it doesn't matter if you pay nothing for it, because the chances of you making anything from it are extremely remote.

It's all very well for these guys to push the SEO point, but all these types of template hosting sites offer that, and it means very little if you aren't generating your own traffic through your own marketing strategies.

If I'm to stick my neck on the block, I would say it won't provide you with value for money, especially not the 50 dollar plan!

If you're new to the game it's important to learn how the game is played first, and free listing sites such as the ones I spoke of earlier will get you into the market for free!

If you are comfortable spending some money, then I would suggest getting on eBay for sure. Yes, it will cost you to list, but nothing will come close to providing you with the sort of traffic eBay will.

It's a great learning ground for sellers, and once you understand the business and your market, then look at moving towards developing your own site from there.

: )

modaclick

Thanks for your input

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