vokf
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Posts posted by vokf
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One thing not mentioned is the cost of promotion.
Ebay also gives good exposure (albeit you'll be listed with competition)
Also, Ebay is fairly non-technical to set-up and use.
Compare this to a shopping cart (CC, Zen, OSC, etc). Unless you are fairly "techy", it will be an uphill struggle to get a successful store without paying for outside help.
Don't get me wrong - I prefer the power to make my CC stores look and behave (mostly) how I want, but there are a few more costs to throw into the equations!
Interesting thread!
Jason
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Its best to ask in cubecart.org as this is a 3rd party commercial mod.
I have it running on my store:
http://gear4mobiles.co.uk/pricelist/batteries-price-list.php
(I'm slowly working through other categories)
Jason
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Could you advertise for affiliates and if you get any take-up from serious people look into it then?
From what I've seen, affiliate schemes work well when you're selling a popular product. In your case, what sites/blogs would people place your links on? Could you be a bit proactive and ask complimentary sites if they would be interested?
I'd be surprised if your spammers are finding you from the Live Sites link. You may get a few "test orders" which are annoying, but nothing more.
You can restrict access to your site(s) by IP range. If you check your logs and the spammers mainly from the same IP range this would give good results.
Obviously, this assumes they are casual spammers - if you're being targeted by determined individuals, they can always get to your site via a proxy.
You should also be able to tighten security on your forum - are you using the latest version and applied any bug/security fixes?
Jason
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No worries - good luck!
Jas
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Hi Erin,
I've created a test purchase, and have the following comments;
View cart button - not really visible
I added an item, and could see the basket, but not the "View Cart" button (I had to look fairly hard).
On the std cubecart install, the ViewCart button is pretty obvious (Orange background methinks). Do somethign to make it clickable.
Express Checkout.
There is a small mod to the Express Checkout mod (mod to a mod!). This drastically cuts down the number of clicks/basket views required to get to the final payment page. This is only a small code tweak that the author offered. Visit www.cubecart.org / commercial mods section for more info.
Place a test order on my store (http://gear4mobiles.co.uk) to see the flow. Please use "test" values, so I don't send a chase email!
Cart Step2,4,5 - Basket contents mis-aligned (FireFox)
This is a biggy. I'm on a widescreen laptop (1280x800) and the basket contents were shifted over to the right of the screen. This means a bit patch of white, with the basket over the blue background and a nasty horizontal scrollbar. This looked a mess - and needs sorted asap.
On a plus note, its really good to see someone using their logo on the PayPal payment page.
I'd advise to put the "PayPal payments" logo at the bottom of the front page- or perhaps put it in a sidebox (use a different logo)
Change the "Fabulous Toys"... etc Text, and possibly put a motange of products, or perhaps something a bit flashier (I do like the cycling products - very nice!)
After looking at your store, the main problem is the shifting on the cart pages. Fix that, and the rest are fairly minor.
I wouldn't worry too much, your site looks really good (alignment issue aside), and it all takes time to build up traffic and custom.
Jason
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One solution would be to set a session cookie on the homepage. If the visitor views a different page first, the cookie wouldn't have been set, and you can re-direct to the homepage.
I can't do this in PHP, but thats what I would do in ASP, it should also be possible in JavaScript - but less secure.
HTH,
Jason
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I haven't a clue what I am doing! I am trying to install cart 3.0 and have followed the instructions but when trying to do ftp, there is no public_html file showing. The box on the right doesn't have any directories. I have successfully uploaded files before onto my webspace on another site and everything was ok. Any ideas? Please help.
Hi,
can you list any directories shown on the remote server? Are you able to move up a directory level?
Sometimes the directory is named "HTDOCS", or "www" - this can depend on the server.
Are you using a Windows or Linux server?
Jason
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I can recommend the Express Checkout Mod. Visit .org and there is an active thread under the commercial mods.
The mod removes the need to supply a password, and coupled with a few other free mods, the checkout process becomes very streamlined.
Jason
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Not sure if this is the right section but couldn't see an appropriate section. (mods feel free to move)
I wanted to know if any of you had any suggestions for good droppshippers. free or paid i'm not worried.
How have you found them to deal with etc etc. I'm looking primarialy for dropshippers that will ship to UK and USA first of all and mainly for electrical, computor games and DVD's and other such items.
Thanks in advance guys!
Hi Mook,
Good thread!
I can start the ball rolling with a few:
www.theselect.com
Pay £30 to "join" (non-refundable), and they have a nice fully managed ecommerce store. Order status etc is viewable. They have recently changed how they work. They list many items, but if they are not in stock, they require you to purchase up front, and when they have enough orders, they order on their supplier and then ship out.
I used to use them, but have suspended my inspectourgadgets.co.uk store for the time being.
I can supply a price list if they have product you'd like to sell- PM me if you'd like this.
www.dropship365.co.uk (warning: adult store)
Fee payable to join, but this is returned in credits. They sell adult items, and have a large product range.
No experience of use, but I have a log-in, and get weekly updates.
They come across as reasonably professional, and supply wholesale as well as drop-shippers.
One word of advice, try to get a price list before you sign up or part with any money. Its easy to have a few examples which show high potential profits, but if the remaining products were low profits, its not good.
Jason
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I just caught this thread..
The above fix is ok for store admins - but its unreasonable to expect customers to do this if it effects them.
If this effects store customers too, can't the code delete the invalid cookie?
Jason
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Congrats to you all. Welcome to "Dadhood"!
Jason
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Dear All,
My partner and I have recently set up a site using the fabulously simple Cubecart system but we are not getting any traffic. any help would be really useful.
Thanks
The Novice
Hi,
I strongly recommend setting up a Froogle Feed.
One of my stores is selling mobile phone accessories, and until MSN & Google index my store, 90% of my orders come via Froogle.
Jason
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So i see the snowman Cubecart banner's out once again................
One year goneeeeeeeee. Seems like a long time huh.
So spill the beans, your big achievements this year? Holiday plans? Maybe you renting out an apartment in aca puco? Illegally crossing the border into mexico?
Whatever it may be tis indeed christmas time once moreeeee
Well, I've had a good year. My decision to use CC, rather than my ASP based cart proved to be right.
I've got 3 registered stores, but only 2 are currently active.
My simplyslippers.co.uk and gear4mobiles.co.uk stores are both busy thanks to a mix of paid and free mods.
I finally joined CND a few months ago - and visited Brian Haw in Parliment Square (search him out on Google).
My girlfriend finished her Theisis and now has her PhD AND she turned 30 (hehe).
We went to see "Spamalot" in the West End, its a great show if anyone is thinking of going.
My motorbike was stolen (grrrrrrrr), and then recovered
(WTD: RF600RR Tank+lock and ignition lock. Cash waiting)
I spent a few days working in Cognac, France - nice area, and really friendly people (and good food n drink)
I'm 35 in a few weeks, and are still in denial about turning "nearly 40".
I have my children this Christmas day, so will be in Dad mode :-)
I'm hoping to sort out my sons present this weekend (some "Cars" radio controlled toy methinks)
So, 2006 was good, but I want 2007 to be better!
(note to self, ensure bike has disc lock fitted when going away for the weekend!)
Cheers!
Jason
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Thats the kinda think I'm after although it has to be portable so it can be taken offsite. Therefore we have a safety measure against fire/theft. The office is next to a pub with kitchens so thats hazard.
have you considered an online backup service?
As you've already got your own server, it may be cheaper to back-up to that across the net.
Paid-for online back-up usually comes with some kind of client software, or WinZip10 can even do scheduled backups to a remote FTP server (SFTP).
If not, I recommend "Fire watch duty" in the pub from 6-11pm each night, ensuring a cold Stella is in each hand "Just in case"....
Jason
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Thanks ladies for your reply.
So meta tags are like strings of words ? for example i sell children's clothing, so the meta tag would be,
chidren's clothing, v-baby designer, designer clothing etc?
these meta tags are not for the person who is googling around for children's clothes right?
Also, Ansuk do you know what the mod is called? me go look for it! - will it do this easier for me in what sense? i thought i have to do all of this manually. I'm trying to advertise my site by going through 'free submission listings' and from what i've been told i have to do one by one! i'm up to no.2! lol
Thanks
Antz
Antz,
Getting the description correct is of more use than worrying about keywords. In the 90's, meta keywords used to be important, but for many years the content of the page is what major search engines look at.
If you sell on Brand (Nike etc) make sure this is mentioned on the page description for that product, and the product title (if possible) and the product description.
Don't spend too long worrying about Search Engine submission, add to Google and MSN, and the others will follow.
A good strategy for you would be to find a complementary partner - another store that sells, say, "Childrens Toys" (not a competitor), and doing a link exchange with each other.
Google can take a month or more to index a site, (it will check regularly to ensure the site is stable before running a full crawl), and so you could try reading up on "Google Base", and then regularly submit a product feed.
Jason
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Thanks.
where can I find the "google base"?
sounds stupid - just could not find it. I attached a window-capture as attached.
Click on Products, in the Admin section. The Google Base logo is shown at the top of the screen.
Jason
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Yep -its slow here too.
Have you tried restoring your backup and running on pre- 3.0.14?
I would suspect a hosting issue - hence trying to run the pre .14 store.
Are you running a VPS? I've found they can grind to a crawl if you don't have much RAM allocated to your VPS. If you are on a VPS, and don't need root, you'll probably be better off on a reseller with a quality host.
Jason
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Hi,
New here. I'm trying to figure out how to upload pics to my store, everytime I try to load a pic I get the following message. Don't I just get the pic from my computer? or does it have to be on something like sellersourcebook or photobucket? I am using emonster for hosting. Any help would be appreciated as i'm totally not computer savy. This message shows up when I try to add new products or when I try to add images in the image folder. Thanks
Warning: move_uploaded_file(/home/lolapopb/public_html/cart/images/uploads/snowflake_copy.gif): failed to open stream: Permission denied in /home/lolapopb/public_html/cart/admin/filemanager/upload.php on line 104
Warning: move_uploaded_file(): Unable to move '/tmp/phpZK4qDG' to '/home/lolapopb/public_html/cart/images/uploads/snowflake_copy.gif' in /home/lolapopb/public_html/cart/admin/filemanager/upload.php on line 104
This is a permissions problem.
You need to FTP into your site (I'll assume you can do this)
Navigate to /images/uploads - set uploads permission to 0777
Also, set the /images/uploads/thumbs directory to 0777
All should work.
If you're having problems with FTP, search this forum - I know there is a bit of info on that subject.
Jason
So is that from the emonster host or cubecart? sorry if that's a dumb question. Thanks for your help.
You'll need an FTP client (filezilla) OR if emonster host has CPanel- you could do it in the CPanel File manager.
If emonster has a different control panel - I think I saw "Simple Control Panel" - it'll be under Manage Files, then change permissions as my prev msg.
If you get stuck on their control panel, it may be quicker to call emonster and ask them for help.
Jason
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upgraded to 3.0.14.
now my website is intermittently really slow and gives error
MySQL Error Occured
1040: Too many connections
i had no problems before upgrade, and im the only one accessing the database.
has something been changed that affects the database?
_http://www.abroaderpicture.com
i have checked and double checked everthing before and after install of upgrade.
Yep -its slow here too.
Have you tried restoring your backup and running on pre- 3.0.14?
I would suspect a hosting issue - hence trying to run the pre .14 store.
Are you running a VPS? I've found they can grind to a crawl if you don't have much RAM allocated to your VPS. If you are on a VPS, and don't need root, you'll probably be better off on a reseller with a quality host.
Jason
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Hi,
New here. I'm trying to figure out how to upload pics to my store, everytime I try to load a pic I get the following message. Don't I just get the pic from my computer? or does it have to be on something like sellersourcebook or photobucket? I am using emonster for hosting. Any help would be appreciated as i'm totally not computer savy. This message shows up when I try to add new products or when I try to add images in the image folder. Thanks
Warning: move_uploaded_file(/home/lolapopb/public_html/cart/images/uploads/snowflake_copy.gif): failed to open stream: Permission denied in /home/lolapopb/public_html/cart/admin/filemanager/upload.php on line 104
Warning: move_uploaded_file(): Unable to move '/tmp/phpZK4qDG' to '/home/lolapopb/public_html/cart/images/uploads/snowflake_copy.gif' in /home/lolapopb/public_html/cart/admin/filemanager/upload.php on line 104
This is a permissions problem.
You need to FTP into your site (I'll assume you can do this)
Navigate to /images/uploads - set uploads permission to 0777
Also, set the /images/uploads/thumbs directory to 0777
All should work.
If you're having problems with FTP, search this forum - I know there is a bit of info on that subject.
Jason
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Can anyone help me I have done a few 1p test buys on my website through paypal and the payments goes through fine then it comes back to my site telling me I have to log in for confirmation then when I have logged in I get this message:
Confirmation Screen
Basket » Address » Payment » Complete
Sorry, your order failed!
You can attempt to purchase your basket contents again below:
But when I check my account it shows the order there and paid for???
I have had a lot of hits on my site and I am afraid that customers will be put off by this can anyone help please
What version of CC are you running? The recent versions have all the previous fixes applied, and providing you set-up PayPal correctly, you shouldn't get this problem.
There are lots of posts about this (did you search these forums?)- and most problems are to do with config (PayPal and CC).
If you installed CC via Fantastico, ensure your /includes/global.inc.php has a www before your site url.
Double check your return URL is correct. If you don't need IPN, I suggest turning it off. I manually check each payment/order, so IPN is a bit redundant.
There is an excellent tutorial on www.cubecart.org which will tell you things to check.
Jason
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Hi, after upgrade to 3.0.14, just realized I could not find the Froogle bar -- Any suggestion??
thanks. Jay
Its now called "Google Base".
The feed is in a slightly different format, but the .14 code works fine. Click on the link, rename the file, and upload to Base.
Jason
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Hi,
I've been pretty busy, but did manage to get something running;
<object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,47,0" id="wimpy"> <param value="always" name="allowScriptAccess"/> <param value="http://www.allthingsbouncy.com/samples/player/wimpy.swf" name="movie"/> <param value="wimpyApp=http://www.allthingsbouncy.com/samples/coyotevol1part1/wimpy.php&wimpySkin=http://www.allthingsbouncy.com/samples/player/skins/skin_tube.xml&theVolume=80&popUpHelp=no&startupLogo=http://www.allthingsbouncy.com/samples/player/loading.jpg&limitPlaytime=20" name="flashvars"/> <embed src="http://www.allthingsbouncy.com/samples/player/wimpy.swf?wimpyApp=http://www.allthingsbouncy.com/samples/coyotevol1part1/wimpy.php" loop="false" menu="false" quality="high" wmode="transparent" width="200" height="16" scale="noscale" salign="lt" name="wimpy" align="center" bgcolor="#000000" allowscriptaccess="sameDomain" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" /> </object>
However, I didn't have the time/info to work out what was going on. (the player is very small)
If you're looking to automatically select the demo from the currently selected product, its going to need some PHP to generate the filename.
I suggest getting the above working as you need it - just as a single standalone page (copy into notepad and save as mp3.htm Then open/test in FF/IE
If you can get is so that a param can set the mp3 file;
<param value="your productcode.mp3" name="filename">
You're not that far away...
However, this will require you to read the Wimpy docs.
Once you've got a working test, you should be able to place most of the HTML code inside viewProd.tpl on your skin. Selecting the filename will require some PHP coding though. However, if you ensure all the demos have the filename as "productcode.mp3", it shouldn't take too much work.
I'm a bit tight for time at the moment!
Jason
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When I click on the google base icon to produce the file it comes out at 5k and the only text in it is
produ
i have 287 products in the store..... can anyone help!
Russ
This is a known bug in .12 (?)
I can't remember the fix, it was pretty simple - and is listed here (search for base??)
If you get stuck, download the current version, and compare /admin/products/index.php with your store's version.
Jason
How do I get started accepting credit cards?
in Technical Help
Posted
The costs will vary depending on your risk, trading history, levels of sales and your location. For example, the US has different rules with regards to a merchant account than the UK.
I was quoted �200 setup and 7% (yes, SEVEN) by Royal Bank of Scotland. The setup fee wasn't a problem, the commission was. I was selling low-risk items and it should have been sub 3% imo. For the time being, I'm using PayPal with a custom payment page.
If you don't have any trading history, and are on a budget - PayPal / NoChex (UK only) etc are a good start with reasonably low commission for no set-up fee.
Jason