Shopping Cart Comparison
List of Shopping Carts
(This growing list contains the most basic and inexpensive package available from each shopping cart company)
There are many Shopping cart companies out there who offer many services and these are the comparisons and questions you should be asking.
What are your primary fees?
Are there any set up costs?
Is there a cancellation policy and fees involved?
Does it include a merchant account for payment processing/
Is there a merchant account cost?
What are the discount rates and transaction fees?
Do you have telephone support?
What are the total costs involved monthly?
What is the number of companies involved in the application?
Do you accept online checks?
Is there a fee for online checks?
Can I input as many products as I want?
Is there a fee for each product or a limit?
Does it include an email account?
Does it have a virtual terminal for processing manually?
Is a receipt of transaction sent to the merchant and customer?
Always ask if they are current with the latest shopping carts and can integrate with Ebay...etc.
The below chart is a bit outdated and will be brought to date soon. I am currently adding an extensive list of shopping carts with features and pricing. (see above). Keep me posted if you know of a shopping cart system that you would like to see included.
See ya surfin!
Steven, Info Merchant
Internet Merchant Account Shopping Cart Price Comparison
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| Popular E-Commerce Shopping Cart Services: | ECHO® Merchant America® | Microsoft bCentral® | Yahoo!® Store | eBay® Stores |
Popular Shopping Cart Price Comparison
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| Primary Fees | $19.95/month | $29.95/month or $259/year | $100/month for a store selling 50 items. $300/month for up to 1000 items. Larger stores costs $300/month for the first 1000 items plus $100/month for each additional 1000 items. | You pay: $9.95/month plus $.05/item added and pay on every sale: $25 and under: $1.25 $25.01 and up: $1.25 plus 2.5% of value over $25 |
| Startup Costs | $99 set up | $59.85 | $122.95 | $9.95 plus use fees |
| Cancellation Penalty | None | $29.95 + | Yes - merchant account requires a six-month contract | None |
| Includes Merchant Account For Payment Processing | Yes | No | No | No |
| Merchant Account Cost | Included | $19.95/month | $22.95/month | Billed per use |
| Discount Rates/ Transaction Fee | 1.99% to 2.49% + $.30 (AVS included) | 2.35% + $.20+ $.10 AVS | Secret until after you sign up with Yahoo | 3% for ticket sizes over $15 plus $.35 |
| Rate review annually to lower rates as business grows and establishes reliability | Yes | No | No | No |
| Telephone Support | Included | $9.95/month | Not Available | Not Available |
| Total Costs (excluding transaction fees) | $19.95/month | $59.85/month | $122.95/month | $9.95/month plus use fees |
| Monthly Fees Waived if no activity | Yes | No | No | No |
Comparison of Shopping Cart, Hosting, and Processing Services
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| Number of Companies/ Applications | One Company, One Application | Two Companies, Two Applications | Two Companies, Two Applications | Two Companies, Two Applications |
| Accepts Online Check Payments | Yes | No Option | No Option | Yes |
| Fee for Online Checks | $.60/item | N/A | N/A | $.35/item+ 1.5% |
| Unlimited Products and Categories | Yes | 40 MB total amount | 50 product limit at this price level | Yes |
| Includes Email Accounts | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Choice of Payment for Sign up | Yes | No. A credit card is required | No. A credit card is required | Yes |
| Virtual Terminal for manual transaction entry? Process checks? | Yes/Yes | Yes/No | Yes/No | No/No |
| Receipt of transaction automatically sent to customer | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Onerous Restrictions vs. Merchant America | Indexed responses to numbered restrictions shown at right: 1) ECHO always notifies you of changes to programs and policies! 2) System features a 99% uptime guarantee! 3 & 5) Merchants are free to post links to their other commercial sites! 4 & 6) ECHO provides 24/7 Live Telephone Support! | 1) Microsoft does not and will not notify you of any changes to the terms of use and notices or additional terms. 2) Your access to and use is at your own risk. Microsoft makes no guarantees of any kind regarding the dependability, accuracy, security, timeliness or availability of the bCentral Network or such products or services. | 3) Can not post links to third party commerce web sites outside Yahoo! Shopping. 4) No phone support is available only via e-mail. Yahoo reserves the right to establish limitations on the extent of such support and the hours at which it is available. | 5) Can not post links to third party commerce web sites outside eBay. 6) No phone support is available, only via e-mail. |
| Shopping Cart Price Comparison Case Study Web Site Hosts with Shopping Cart and Real Time Processing* | ||||
| Popular E-Commerce Shopping Cart Services: | ECHO® Merchant America® | Microsoft bCentral® | Yahoo!® Store | eBay® Stores |
| Price Comparison - Case Study of a Sample Merchant's costs | ||||
| Number of Products In Store | 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 |
| Monthly Credit Card Sales Figures | $3500.00 | $3500.00 | $3500.00 | $3500.00 |
| Number of Transactions | 70 | 70 | 70 | 70 |
| Fees Accrued on Sample Merchant's Store and Sales | ||||
| Basic Monthly Fees | $19.95 | $59.85 | $122.95 | $9.95 |
| Product Insertion Fees | N/A | N/A | N/A | $0.05/item added (50 items X $.05) = $2.50 |
| Final Value Fees | N/A | N/A | N/A | Average Ticket is $50.00 $1.25 + (2.5% X $25 = $0.625) = $1.875/sale (70 items X $1.875/item) = $131.25 |
| Discount Fees on Sales | At 2.49% ($3500 X .0249) = $87.15 | At 2.35% ($3500 X .0235) = $82.25 | At 2.49% ($3500 X .0249) = $87.15 (rate is estimated) | At 3.00% ($3500 X .03) = $105.00 |
| Per Item Transaction Fees | At $ .30/item (70 times X .30/item) = $21.00 | At $ .30/item (70 times X .30/item) = $21.00 | At $ .35/item (70 times X .35/item) = $24.50 (per item fee estimated) | At $ .35/item (70 times X .35/item) = $24.50 |
| Total Fees Paid | $128.10 | $162.10 | $234.60 | $273.20 |
| * Information current as of 8/1/01. ECHO and its Merchant America service are not affiliated with Microsoft, eBay or Yahoo!, Inc. ECHO's best efforts were made to ensure the accuracy of all facts. BCentral is a registered trademark of Microsoft, Inc. Yahoo! is a registered trademark of Yahoo! Inc. eBay is a registered trademark of eBay, Inc. MPC - 1 9/01 | ||||
