Picking a website provider.

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Wayne-SAF

  • #1
    Help Needed please!

    If you were a customer looking to buy from the internet, and you came across these four sites, which one you be most comfortable buying from, and which would you avoid like the plague!! (please ignore what they sell)

    1 wdmusic.co.uk
    2 reds-superstore.co.uk
    3 squadronleader.co.uk
    4 staractionfigures.co.uk


    I'm thinking of moving my shop to a new provider, and am weighing up all options. Sorry I can't post direct links, but unfortauntely I haven't been posting long enough yet!
     
    W

    Wayne-SAF

  • #6
    Dawg said:
    I like 3.
    1 and 3 are from the same source, with different treatments. It's the treatment not the shop provider that you are asking to be judged here.
    Click to expand...
    I really want to know, Which one would you buy from? The top three are just random sites picked from a couple of providers, but any views on the ecommerce providers would be appreciated.:)
     
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    Duncan_W

    Duncan_W

    Free Member
    Aug 29, 2008
    160
    31
    Glossop - High Peak
  • #7
    Its not so much about the provider but the implementation. I would be less likely to buy from 4, but this is as much to do with the lack of address & phone number on the site (1 2 and 3 are OK).

    In looking for an e-commerce provider I would say that there are a number of things your should consider carefully:

    • Configurability/expandability. Will it allow you to create a nice shop that fits your corporate identity & that lets you run the site not the other way round
    • Portability. Does the solution tie you in to 1 supplier or is it easily transportable from on host to another
    • Support. Do you rely on support from the people you but it from, or are there others out there who could support your site if you want to move from the original supplier
     
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    fisicx

    fisicx

    Moderator
    Sep 12, 2006
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    www.aerin.co.uk
  • #8
    As Duncan says, it's not the provider it's all about meeting your visitor's needs.

    I don't care who I buy stuff from, if the product is sensibly priced and I feel I can trust the supplier I'll use there website. I don't care which application they use, where they are hosted, who they used to build the site or how easy it is for you to manage the products.

    It's all about user experience.
     
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    strikingedge

    Free Member
    Jan 25, 2009
    467
    112
    London
  • #9
    No. 3.

    They've had a think about branding the site - nice graphical implementation, I like "The Hangar" area and the rest of the site functionality seems fine.

    I'd far prefer to buy from a company that can actually communicate what it does effectively and professionally - decent branding tends to engender trust far better than low pricing or site functionality.

    I frequently find myself paying a little more for something from a professionally looking (so I assume a professionally run) site than one that looks amateur - more confidence the product will actually arrive without hassle.

    That said...I think they could tidy up the site a bit.

    The Star Wars and Guitar sites are amateur.

    The Barnsley site is ok...but not a great deal of thought or imagination has gone into it.
     
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    Wayne-SAF

  • #10
    fisicx said:
    As Duncan says, it's not the provider it's all about meeting your visitor's needs.

    I don't care who I buy stuff from, if the product is sensibly priced and I feel I can trust the supplier I'll use there website. I don't care which application they use, where they are hosted, who they used to build the site or how easy it is for you to manage the products.

    It's all about user experience.
    Click to expand...
    I agree its all about user experience.

    That's why with 1-3 the user account is a major plus, in that you can check up on previous/outstanding orders.

    The average user, it not going to have a clkue about hosting/application, they are more interested in the product and price.

    But my question was really more along the lines of would the apperence/functions of any of the sites put you off buying from them?
     
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    E

    emerchant

  • #14
    Wayne-SAF said:
    Help Needed please!

    If you were a customer looking to buy from the internet, and you came across these four sites, which one you be most comfortable buying from, and which would you avoid like the plague!! (please ignore what they sell)

    1 wdmusic.co.uk
    2 reds-superstore.co.uk
    3 squadronleader.co.uk
    4 staractionfigures.co.uk


    I'm thinking of moving my shop to a new provider, and am weighing up all options. Sorry I can't post direct links, but unfortunately I haven't been posting long enough yet!
    Click to expand...

    Hasn't your current provider banned you from participating here or having any opinion of your own? Semi-joking but I would be very careful about what you post, especially if you rely on your store for income... no doubt you have already had a "friendly" warning.
     
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    J

    jolew

    Free Member
    May 11, 2008
    19
    4
  • #16
    1st off, i would like to say i have no affliation with StarActionFigures, but i will say i have actually used them around 3-4 times for stuff for my kids and found their service 1st rate (quick and professional, emailing when order received, shipped etc).... I only post this because i find the perception of 'eye candy' quite disturbing, we've used really 'good looking' and 'professional' sites for both business & shopping purposes in the past, and found their service appalling in a lot of cases, in one case having to 'chargeback' (though none these sites (1-4) i must mention!).... It's like life, beauty is only skin deep, and in a lot of cases the 'professional' looking sites (lets be honest it doesn't need a lot create one) seem better than they really are - I think it's really comes down to what they / you sell, and the service you provide, if you're a bit different (and it's not that difficult, maybe a bit more time and work) - the customers will come. At the end of the day, you could have the dogs boll*** of a website, but it means nothing if you don't fulfill....
     
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