RE: Is minivend the right choice?

["Ian Cameron" <ianc@cristie.com>]

Hi Christopher

Thanks for your message.  We have been playing with mvend for a couple of
weeks now and although it has been quite easy to install on an internal
Linux server we have had a lot of difficulties on our virtual site.  The
problem is that it never seems to do the same thing twice (I know that's
illogical - its only software after all).  Also we're not real Perl
programmers and looking at all the fixes and problems posted here I can see
a black hole that will suck in all available resource.  I guess therefore
that we will go for something far more mundane which is a shame as I would
like to think that we could grow our e-commerce products with us as we
(hopefully) grow.

Before I completely throw in the towel I would like to ask whether there are
any experienced minivenders out there who will develop and maintain the
system for us, whether this is a realistic option and what it is likely to
cost.

Thanks and regards
Ian Cameron
ianc@cristie.com

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-minivend-users@minivend.com
[mailto:owner-minivend-users@minivend.com]On Behalf Of Thompson-Jordan
Sent: Friday, July 30, 1999 11:09 PM
To: minivend-users@minivend.com
Subject: RE: Is minivend the right choice?


******    message to minivend-users from "Thompson-Jordan"
<Thompson-Jordan@mindspring.com>     ******

> ******    message to minivend-users from S Jackson
> <sjackson@stratmarkcorp.com>     ******
>
> I am trying to set up an e-commerce site with a single store on my
> own web server.  I am pretty new to web development, but I'm confident
> I can learn fast.  Is a full featured program like minivend a good
> place to start or should I use something less powerful?  I'd appreciate
> any input, thanx.

If your store is fairly basic, I would honestly suggest going with a
hosting service and using something like Miva Merchant (which is part of
most hosting company's plans). These days there are excellent ones for
less than $50/month. I know, I know, I can hear all the diehard
Minivenders groaning. But, going that route will truly save you from a
very large number of headaches. You should really be focussed on marketing
and selling, not struggling to get you site working.

There are also number of companies who setup and maintain Minivend sites.
It costs more, but it may be a good.

On the other hand, if your store has more than say 5000 items, needs to be
very customized, has complex shipping or other site specific features,
(and you tend toward the masochistic) then Minivend is probably the best
way to go. Especially if you have Perl programming resources. Even then,
Minivend will take your words, "I'm confident I can learn fast" and make
you eat them over and over again.

Christopher Thompson


> Jackson
> jaxsn@pdga.com
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