Looking for an ecommerce solution

Hello. Recently I have been developing a new ecommerce website selling collectible card and board games. I need Ashton that is fully customizable and allows for “syncing” between different market places.

I noticed that most “best options” had a monthly subscription and came with “free hosting”. The problem: I’m already paying for hosting and although the paid hosting solutions seem to be better (crystal commerce). I don’t want to pay for something I already have.

So I’m trying to find the next best alternative. Any ideas?
I do know HTML/php

Welcome to the forums

Shopping cart systems are plentiful (100’s of them!) so there are many to choose from depending on your precise requirements.

Can you describe what the “synching” does in more depth?

Importing items from amazon/ebay into your web store, and linking the inventory levels. If an item sells on one medium, it will be automatically updated everywhere.

Hmm that’s quite a tall order since you’d need to pull in two sets of data and update your local database accordingly.

So assuming you have a database for your local site you need to do a few things:

  1. Set up a script to query both Amazon and Ebay data feeds to update your database
  2. The update would have to run at regular intervals to ensure data is always up to date, possibly using CRON event 5/10/15 minutes
  3. Set up another script to update Amazon and Ebay to account for sales made on your local site
  4. Again, the update would have to run at regular intervals to ensure data is always up to date

Which ecommerce solution is best for that?
And do any come with the ability pre-configured?

You’ll be lucky to find a shopping cart with all that functionality, the best bet is to look at a shopping cart system such as Magento that has addon functionality, there may be some addons that can do some of the syncronisation such as importing data, but I think you’ll end up having to have something custom written if you want bi-directional syncing.

Know any good examples or plug ins for magento to accomplish this?

I do know php, SQL, and HTML, but have no idea where to start.

No but do a web search for “magento extensions” or “magento addons” and you’ll find loads of them :slight_smile:

Just found this one - http://www.magentocommerce.com/magento-connect/ebay-magento-integration-order-import-and-stock-level-synchronization-also-supports-amazon-rakuten-and-play-com.html

That extension only imports orders, not products.
There are a few that do products, but they cost money and I’m not sure if I can trust it

That extension also syncronises stock levels :slight_smile: It’s also listed on the official Magento site so the developer is lilely to be well trusted, you can also read customere reviews (see link on page).

With regards to paying for software that’s quite normal, even developers have to earn a living! If you’re not sure about a developer then ask around for other peoples opinions and experiences, you’ll soon find out if they are ok or not. You’re in the ecommerce business as well so earning the trust of your customers is something you will have to do as well :slight_smile:

Ever heard of magegaga.com ?

I would suggest Opencart for you. It’s powerful yet flexible (unlike Magneto). Magneto requires powerful hosting like a dedicated server or VPS. Its over-complex with steep learning curve.

Opencart has many reasonably priced import extensions. Also there is a vibrant developer community. You may hire a developer to get a customised ebay/Amazon extension done.

How easy is it to customize open cart?
Eventually I want to design a fully functional website similar to pastimes.net and starcitygames.com in style. (Fully customizable three row CSS layout with drop down menue on top)

We extensively work on Magento, OpenCart and Prestashop. The easiest among them to customize is OpenCart followed by Prestashop … Magento is difficult for customization due to its complex database structure,

starcitygames.com is not not built using any shopping cart framework. Its built on codeignitor framework . Its like re-inventing the wheel ground up.

Do you have any knowledge of the extension open at pro? It looked interesting (I want something nearly identical to it) but I’m not fan of the subscription/import cap.

: /

Not aware of any extension of that name

Hi Axmangames

I think I know what your are looking for

Check out our site [noparse]www.linnworks.com[/noparse]

I would check Prestashop out. It can sync with Amazon, Ebay, The Find, and dozens more.

Thread closed, as the OP has not returned since January.

Thanks to those who responded.