Re: Rating Minivend

[Birgitt Funk <birgitt@minivend.com>]

******    message to minivend-users from Birgitt Funk <birgitt@minivend.com>     ******


> ******    message to minivend-users from "Rob Zimmerman" <rob@readysite.net>     ******
>
> I am doing a little homework for marketing my application of Minivend. While
> I know that it is mentioned on the minivend website, does anyone know of
> any independant studies/reviews of Minivend comparing it to other storefront
> packages that are used by the big companys.
>
> Thanks
> Rob
 

Being subjective (as I am may be an unreasonably stubborn believer in
the MiniVend package), I throw in my 0.0176 Euro worth of comment:
 
I do not think it is easy to get an independent, comprehensive survey
about how MiniVend is valued in comparison to other commercial storefront
packages. Large companies, who use MiniVend successfully, do not run out
and show off with it. They are too embarrassed to admit that they were 
able to save ten or hundred thousands of dollars in their investment
switching over to MiniVend.
 
As long as MiniVend itself doesn't become a commercial package, companies
won't open up their books to show what they invested in building sites
with a commercial package and what they saved and how well
they performed in building and running the same applications with
MiniVend.
 
I HEARD about one case where a company invested $150,000.00 in a
MiniVend-based solution compared to an investment more than 
$1,000,000.00 on the same applications with no better, even less 
return on their investment than the first company.
 
I KNOW of another case where a company could invest $ 100,000.00 and
more and refuses to consider MiniVend, because it is NOT a commercial
package. So, if they will decide to use MiniVend, they keep it to them-
selves if it works nicely, and will complain loudly if it would not.
  
I WITNESSED that MiniVend can be used to build sites like amazon.com.
 
MiniVend was already capable of being set-up (given enough knowledge, 
funds and a suitable existing business to do e-trade with) with 
a 1.2 million record product.asc file (even without any additional 
commercial database), relying on GDBM tables, indexing, binary searches, 
glimpse text searches and later the static page built feature, in
late 1996/1997. Later on, it has been proven that MiniVend can deal with
heavy loads. Today it can add flexibly all the bells and whistles
a storefront needs.
 
MiniVend (as is right now) is expensive only on the use of your mental
faculties. Otherwise it is most cost efficient and flexible.
 
I wonder how this could be shown through an independent market research.
I just know, because I have seen it happening in front of my eyes. 
One can't know if one hasn't had a chance to build sites this
large, which also are capable of attracting heavy traffic. 
 
Someone today said kindly, that MiniVend has come a long way since 1995.
I add, there were already all the seeds in place to grow into what it can
do today a long time ago in late 1996. 
 
If that sounds too much like cheer-leading, you have heard right.
  
I think MiniVend can do amazing things. Period. Now, I stop here, 
this is already worth more than 0.0167 Euro, more like $ 0.03.

:-)

Birgitt Funk
 

-
To unsubscribe from the list, DO NOT REPLY to this message.  Instead, send
email with 'UNSUBSCRIBE minivend-users' in the body to Majordomo@minivend.com.
Archive of past messages: http://www.minivend.com/minivend/minivend-list