Robert Rolf wrote:
> Hi Gang.

Yo, homie.

> Since many of you here have probably already done this, I figured
> I'd ask here first.

Good idea!

> I am looking at the feasibility of selling online, devices & software I
> make. I expect the sales volumes to be low, but enough to be worth the
> trouble.
>
> Any suggestions on whom I should look at for hosting a site?
> I'm leaning toward Godaddy at this point since they host my other
> non commerce domains and seem to have rates that are very competitive
> and support most popular web site languages.

Hm, I considered hosting my personal stuff w/ Godaddy, but found Lunarpages 
to be more flexible/competitive.

> Any suggestions or warnings on whom/what to look at for e-commerce
> solutions?

osCommerce is a popular choice, unfortunately their add-on support is a mess 
(at least it was, two years ago). In order to add a plug-in you have to make 
changes to the main framework. SparkFun is using a modified version of 
osCommerce.

In 2008, we switched to Magento (also open source). There is a company 
behind it, and their approach to development is a lot more disciplined, and 
the result is more solid.

> Hopefully the product line will expand to where a back end database
> would be useful. Suggestions on what to look at for store management
> would be appreciated too.

Both osCommerce and Magento assume that you'll do everything (including 
inventory management and invoice generation) through the backend. We use 
QuickBooks with Fishbowl, but I know companies who do everything using their 
store backend.

> I'd like to accept credit cards and Paypal, but have heard
> horrors stories about PP, so wonder if there are better alternatives.

We've been with PayPal since 2002, never had a problem. I think the horror 
stories are from many years ago (late 90s/early 2000s), I don't think I've 
heard anything recently. In any case, I don't think avoiding PP because of 
potential problems is worth the trouble.

In order to accept credit cards, you have to set up a merchant account. Much 
more paperwork and rules to follow. I would start with PayPal, and add CC 
support if/when the need arose. Both osC and Magento have either built-in 
support or add-ons for different payment gateways.

> I am considering tagging the software with each customers user info,
> as a piracy deterrent. Any tools out there to do that as part of the
> sale download?

What kind of software are we talking about? Unless we're talking about 
firmware, there are sites out there (e.g., Digital River) that handle this 
sort of thing for small software companies.

> Hope you all have a great holiday season.

You too!

Vitaliy 

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