Shopsite, and probably many others, handle size/color well. SS can do different pricing by color/size. SS comes in three feature levels, with three monthly price levels. Rent or buy the software.

SS can be customized--easily--to get almost any look. Wide range of add-ons available from 3rd parties. Wide user base and long track record.

If you're doing a lot of business and growing, consider optional back office software, such as Stoneedge-- which is available for SS and many--not all-- good carts.

Thank you for the reply jsinger.

So, you think ShopSite is clearly better than X-Cart?

Thank you for the reply jsinger.
So, you think ShopSite is clearly better than X-Cart?

Haven't looked for a new cart in a few years. I don't know a thing about X-Cart. I'm pretty sure Shopsite would handle your needs. We've used it for 2 years with zero reliability issues. SS is regularly enhanced and has a large user base.

Cart32 is good, IMO. I've use it on a number of sites for many years. Not only does it allow variables, but it has a quantity countdown feature which a lot of my customers really like. And you can add things either with HTML or through a database, whether built-in or imported. I don't mean to sound like an ad for the product, but I've been very pleased with it and their support team.

Spending $150+ monthly
For example: $200*12=2400
3 years=$7200, so we are speaking about real money
as such have you considered finding a good programmer
that will for possibly 10K+ develop a custom made
E-comm solution? to fit all your requirements.

Plus from an investment stand point of view it also should make sense.

>> Spending $150+ monthly

On what? Certainly not on X-Cart.

Marshall's comments on Cart32 don't seem to compare it with X-Cart.

I'm looking for comparisons to X-Cart. I'd like the responses to this thread to explain why another cart is better than X-Cart.

Thank you for your help.

Lorax,
Very first post
Very first line

henry0 -

X-Cart Gold costs $199 for the basic software, and $33 max per month for hosting thru their ready2go hosting service.

I don't mind spending up to $100-$150 per month in hosting/software if the software is clearly better than X-Cart. Sorry if that wasn't clear.

I would be scared to buy custom stuff. I'd feel locked into it and the developer.

If you not opt to go with PHP only solution check out XSE their demo store was at xsenet.iqservices.com

gomblue as a developer/web-programmer the point I was trying to make is that if your are decided to possibly spend 100/150 monthly then consider that after 3/4 years the amount of money spent becomes sizeable.
Any software out of the box is very much cookie cutter like;
You will need to slightly modify it in order to pass on the user your look and site feeling. Unless your index page will be the cart index… nevertheless you need to develop some proprietary look.

I am not in cart dev from scratch (therefore I am not embarking on any marketing operation)
The WWW knows that my fellow programmers from allover the world coding in cart area deliver (Hopefully!) up to their client highest expectations.

It is your duty as a business person to make an educated decision in choosing (if you decide to go that route) a developer that understands your business.

As a humorous note:
If everyone was developer-scared as you are we will probably be gone fishing forever :)
And WebmasterWorld would be less busy!.

Please, understand that I am just defending “my ground” and not trying to force your hand

I don't know if this was clear or not, but:

I'm not afraid of developers. In fact, I plan on spending quite a bit of money to create a fun place for my customers.

I'm going to want a good developer that works closely with a solid shopping cart. That is why I am researching the carts first, and then I will pick a terrific developer/graphics group that works with the chosen software. I don't think there is any shortage of good developers out there.

MikeKesu - why do you feel XSE is better than X-Cart?

I'm going to want a good developer that works closely with a solid shopping cart. That is why I am researching the carts first, and then I will pick a terrific developer/graphics group that works with the chosen software. I don't think there is any shortage of good developers out there.

My advice (as a developer whose deployed X-Cart & ClickCartPro for clients) - look at the activity on the provider's forums, look at the 3rd party mods available, it indicates a good community, and chances are if there is a good community, the developers are there to do the mods you need, and in some cases mods may already exist.

For instance, I've got a client that is scrapping her current cart "solution" because there are no developers to make the mod she needs, but we've already done exactly what she needs in X-Cart - the other cart doesn't have much of a developer following and the providers of the software are not interested in making mods. Hope that helps with your research. (I don't care much for Miva either, haven't for quite some time.)

LisaB

Have you looked at CubeCart? Large dev community,
lots of mods: Free, for a fee, custom ordered.

Easy to modify
Last release passed a security audit (I do not have further details and do not sale it!)

gomblue - I do not rate XSE is better than X-Cart. It depends on each customer requirements which shopping cart to choose for particular ecommerce project.

Thank you! I've got a lot of studying yet to do it appears.

my personal experience for the x-cart team is:
i asked for a demo.a was send link to me. some days was working same days not working. but one thing was sure. i take no answer to my emails.

so thing it twice before you go to a cart with such a lazy support, and look for a more active company

Keep in mind, if you happen to run or intend to run an affiliate program, that unless there's been a fix, ShopSite does not track affiliate generated sales paid for through Google Checkout.

If you need a professional strength cart, take a look at Volusion. It's a hosted solution (not open source), but the features are nice.

I've built several stores on it.

It's .ASP / SQL based, (you don't have to know much abuot either to use it)...

Some of Volusion's features: "one page checkout", many payment methods / gatways, live calculated shipping for several carriers, all kinds of products/product-option/category configurations, extensive customer relations management (CRM) functionality including support ticketing system, ability for customers to check order/shipping status, etc... It also has inventory control, "member only" areas, digital delivery (with "unique key" generation), tiered affiliate management, tiered discount levels, multi-vendor drop-ship, live chat (for support), integration with QuickBooks, .CSV, Access/Excel import/export of most data and a lot of other features not easily configured in other packages.. etc..etc..

They have 24/7 toll free phone support -- and actually answer the phone and help you!

...no, I don't work there.