Hello all,

I've been using CRE-Loaded and creating my own templates for it over the last couple of years. I started out with a couple of clients who agreed to be guinea pigs and the process has been great.

What I am wondering is if CRE-Loaded is still the way to go. Although i feel comfortable using it the support is a little rough and the admin interface isn't great for clients to use or understand. Plus it is open source which likely makes it less secure.

The reason i am asking is that i am beginning to get some clients who can pay the bucks to get a store made. Is CRE-Loaded osCommerce still a viable solution? I'd consider getting a new software but there are so many out there i'm finding it a bit hard to decide.

Maybe CRE-Loaded is just fine? What software are my competitors using that would justify their costs being $60,000 for a job i quoted less than $10,000? (CAD)

For example what software is this company using?
memoryexpress dot com

Thanks for your help ahead of time.

Well i've found a list from bluedreamer in the Miva Merchant thread where he/she lists:

Jshop, Sunshop, Viart and Pinnaclecart which cost much less and offer much more. Also you have new entrants to the shopping cart arena like interspire dot com/storesuite/ and Magento, both of which are offering "next generation" features.

These look very interesting. I should mention that since my clients are willing to pay I am willing to pay for software. I just want to be able to offer the same services as the local "professionals" do, the ones quoting tens of thousands of dollars more than i am...

Does anyone have opinions on the above software or most of these carts up to snuff as far as SEO, security and support?

I want to be able to create my own templates for these stores as well.

I apologize for the generic "what shop should i use" thread but i've been doing this for a while and really felt like i had to ask myself instead of taking outdated thread advice.

I think i'm ready to drop CRE-Loaded and try something that's fresh and ready for 2008.

We using them on our site, Route 29 Napa. Great software. They also have a reseller program for hosting companies, agencies and designers.

PinnacleCart.com

Thanks i'll look into Pinnacle Cart further.

I need a shop that i can skin relatively easily and has an easy process to update with patches.

A client i have interested also wants to be able to make custom newsletters and import his current database of users.

I'll have to do a little more research but i noticed Viart can import newsletter lists.

I'm pretty sure you can import lists using Pinnacle Cart.... Actually I know you can. Also pinnacle has a great auto update feature for bringing in patches.

Pinnacle cart looks to be a very clean simple solution. I find it a bit disconcerting that I cannot find how much the extended update subscription costs anywhere on their website.

Cusp, I spent the last few months on CRE Loaded and it systematically killed my website of 10 years... Not only was CRE buggy as hell (it was awful -- many features didn't work at all, or kicked up weird crap that I could never fix -- and this was a standard, correct installation of v.11) but the way it handled SEO pummeled a lot of my SE listings. :(

It took only one solid day's work to skin ZenCart and port all my data over to ZC. It was about 6 hrs' database work (including breaks *grin*) and just a couple of hours to do the skinning. The result is..

a much better and cleaner-looking website for my customers,
customers can actually see our business information & links :rolleyes:,
adding pages is easy (and works!),
and it took 4 minutes to install SEO URLs -- and they work, too!
And, my SE rankings recovered to their previous glory within 48 hours. (Thank God!) Even my Mom can use the ZenCart administrative side -- which is saying a lot :) whereas CRE was pretty much a lost cause.

ZenCart has documentation, in PDF format, so anybody who does design work and doesn't use Windows (which is like the majority of designers, LOL) can actually access and read the documentation ... very much unlike CRE Loaded. That was another big problem with CRE -- no documentation, at least that I could access on OS X.

ZenCart is very full-featured, and it is secure, because it is open-source. Open Source = Insecure is a total misnomer. The more eyes you have on the code, the more likely it is to be secure, and the faster than holes will be seen & fixed.

The other nice thing is, ZC is free. :) I mean, I'm all for paying for software, but I'm not a big fan of paying for things that don't have to be paid for ... I'd rather spend that money on building my business. :D

:D Bailey

The license is lifetime. If you want support and updates it's something like $120 for the year. I'd check their reseller program too, you can get licenses for over 60% off. That is if your going to resell it.

I'm over open source.. Been there, done that. Too many hassles and too many bugs. I like the fact if I have a question I can call someone and they help. But to each his own. Good Luck.

The license is lifetime. If you want support and updates it's something like $120 for the year. I'd check their reseller program too, you can get licenses for over 60% off. That is if you’re going to resell it.

I'm over open source.. Been there, done that. Too many hassles and too many bugs. I like the fact if I have a question I can call someone and they help. But to each his own. Good Luck.

I try and recommend Zencart over OSC or CRE-Loaded to my customers. Its only little things that it always seems to work! Once you install a few controbs to OSC, I don't feel its rigid any more!

Also, I have used CS Cart, which costs $$ but is very nice to use.

EDIT: Here is a live website using CSC art: http://ashtekelectronics.com/shop/

Thank you for your input so far guys!

Yes i've been there - done that with CRE-Loaded. I learned a quite a lot during the process but it was way too much of a hassle. Also the admin section is not something i would expect a client to deal with. It's comforting to know that "open source" doesn't mean it's hacker friendly. I looked at Zen Cart before and i may again later. But like i said, my customers are willing to pay and so am i. I want something that is easy to update, template, has support and is user friendly.

I checked out quite a few carts, Avactis, Viart, Cubecart etc. and have come to like Pinnacle Cart with the reseller option. After just looking at CS Cart i like what i see there as well. Especially the unlimited free upgrades. I'm suprised i don't see CS Cart as one of the main carts people suggest.

Thanks for your input. i'll keep digging and let you know what i go with.

As with any software selection, you need to do your homework. Open source software DOES NOT EQUAL insecure. In fact, most of the time open source software is MORE secure after a few versions because the code has been thoroughly inspected by many different pairs of eyes.

Now on to doing your homework... CRE-loaded is based on OSCommerce, which is notorious for it's poor programming and numerous bugs and security holes. That is part of the reason the current OSC code is being scrapped and completely re-written from the ground up. I wouldn't touch CRE-loaded with a ten foot pole, just for the simple fact that it is based on OSC (which I hate).

If you want a good example of a great open source cart, check out Zen Cart (http://www.zen-cart.com) and Magento (http://www.magentocommerce.com/) (currently in BETA).

Well i feel good that at least the CRE-Loaded stores i have set up aren't going to be vulnerable. But yes, i am done with the OSC/CRE-Loaded experience. I thought Zencart was based on OSC as well?

Anyways, yes i am looking forward to Magento for the next open source shopping cart. Also looking forward to what Interspire will have to offer. I will most likely go with Pinnacle Cart for now.

I like the ability to rebrand the store software with my company's name and the general feel of it. Only question i have is how hard is it to get add-ons for Pinnacle Cart?

For example - what if i wanted to add some sort of points system for purchases made at the store. Points that add up to store credit in some form. Just as an example.

The coding in Zencart is very, very cleaned up. Download a copy and have a look ....... it's much leaner, completely reorganized, does things much differently than OSC.

:D Bailey

So if I understand correctly, both Magento and Interspire are in Beta form. They need to hurry it up. I have a few sites I need to get up and don't want to waste my time and energy building sites on one engine knowing I will be changing it later on. Waste of time and money.... This is so hard, at least we have choices.