Couple of EKM Powershop Questions
Discussion
Chaps (and chapesses),
Currently we sell on Ebay and Amazon and want to start our own website. Someone has recommended EKM as a solution, and on the face of it, it would seem pretty good. In fact, on the face of it, it sort of seems to good to be true!
From what it would seem, I can pay £30 a month and have a fully functioning website with my stock imported from Ebay (about 800 SKU). So far so good.
The questions I have are:-
Website name - if want a name e.g "www.whatever.com" then where is the best place to go and how do I go about buying it?
Payments - I've spoken to EKM and the chap just said when I set up the website I just select the method I want to use and that's it. To be honest, he was a bit vague about this bit. So my question is, what do I need and does anyone have any recommendations? I want someone to be able to pay online via credit/debit card - Paypal would be a bonus - and that's it. I'm not particularly fussed about taking card payments over the phone.
Is there anything else I need to think about?
I know EKM isn't probably as good as a purpose built website, but for £30 a month it seems like a good place to start!
Cheers
Currently we sell on Ebay and Amazon and want to start our own website. Someone has recommended EKM as a solution, and on the face of it, it would seem pretty good. In fact, on the face of it, it sort of seems to good to be true!
From what it would seem, I can pay £30 a month and have a fully functioning website with my stock imported from Ebay (about 800 SKU). So far so good.
The questions I have are:-
Website name - if want a name e.g "www.whatever.com" then where is the best place to go and how do I go about buying it?
Payments - I've spoken to EKM and the chap just said when I set up the website I just select the method I want to use and that's it. To be honest, he was a bit vague about this bit. So my question is, what do I need and does anyone have any recommendations? I want someone to be able to pay online via credit/debit card - Paypal would be a bonus - and that's it. I'm not particularly fussed about taking card payments over the phone.
Is there anything else I need to think about?
I know EKM isn't probably as good as a purpose built website, but for £30 a month it seems like a good place to start!
Cheers
I started off my website(s) on EKM Powershop and despite moving on I do rate it quite well. It appears to have got a lot better since I left as well.
Pros
It's easy to setup
It's easy to add categories, products, banners, templates etc.
It's all done for you, no hosting to worry about, no problems etc.
Cons
If it doesn't have a feature you want out of the box then you'll probably not be able to have it, or will have to pay a lot for EKM to make it for you.
If they decide to shut shop/sell up/get investors then you're at their mercy. I think they are one of the biggest providers of E-Commerce SaaS so you are "relatively" safe.
To be honest you can't go too far wrong with it, even if you only have it for 6-12 months then get something "better" made. For most stores it'll be more than enough forever really.
With payment gateways, well it's pretty easy really, you simply add your PayPal address and you're accepting PayPal payments straight away. They also have lots of credit card integrations, you would need to get a merchant account with someone like Cardsave (now WorldPay) they would give you certain details which you would then input to EKM Powershop. It's not /that/ hard really but makes more sense when you're looking at the screen asking for the details. The tricky part is choosing the right card processing company to get your account and merchant account with. Don't rule out PayPal. Some people will only buy with PP, some people hate it... you can also use PayPal as a credit card processor and with certain websites you'd never even know you were paying by PayPal (not sure how EKM handles PayPal Pro though)
Hope it helps.
Pros
It's easy to setup
It's easy to add categories, products, banners, templates etc.
It's all done for you, no hosting to worry about, no problems etc.
Cons
If it doesn't have a feature you want out of the box then you'll probably not be able to have it, or will have to pay a lot for EKM to make it for you.
If they decide to shut shop/sell up/get investors then you're at their mercy. I think they are one of the biggest providers of E-Commerce SaaS so you are "relatively" safe.
To be honest you can't go too far wrong with it, even if you only have it for 6-12 months then get something "better" made. For most stores it'll be more than enough forever really.
With payment gateways, well it's pretty easy really, you simply add your PayPal address and you're accepting PayPal payments straight away. They also have lots of credit card integrations, you would need to get a merchant account with someone like Cardsave (now WorldPay) they would give you certain details which you would then input to EKM Powershop. It's not /that/ hard really but makes more sense when you're looking at the screen asking for the details. The tricky part is choosing the right card processing company to get your account and merchant account with. Don't rule out PayPal. Some people will only buy with PP, some people hate it... you can also use PayPal as a credit card processor and with certain websites you'd never even know you were paying by PayPal (not sure how EKM handles PayPal Pro though)
Hope it helps.
Might be worth giving these a call: http://www.cardsave.net
I got a really good deal when I signed up, doubtful that you'd get the same sort of deal so might be worth trying sage pay etc too.
I don't know which PayPal you've got but you might have PayPal Pro (£20 a month, you'll know if you've got it), if thats the case then when you log into EKM Powershop and go to the payment integrations you should be able to add PayPal Express - simply add your email address for your PP account and you can then add PayPal Pro also which will then ask you for some other details which you'd be able to get from your PP account.
I would say sign up for the trial and check out the two PP bits above as that may well be more than adequate for you, especially to get you going.
Selling on your own website is a lot harder than on ebay for an experienced ebayer. Just like selling on ebay is really hard for people used to selling on their own website. I've never got anywhere with ebay really!
I got a really good deal when I signed up, doubtful that you'd get the same sort of deal so might be worth trying sage pay etc too.
I don't know which PayPal you've got but you might have PayPal Pro (£20 a month, you'll know if you've got it), if thats the case then when you log into EKM Powershop and go to the payment integrations you should be able to add PayPal Express - simply add your email address for your PP account and you can then add PayPal Pro also which will then ask you for some other details which you'd be able to get from your PP account.
I would say sign up for the trial and check out the two PP bits above as that may well be more than adequate for you, especially to get you going.
Selling on your own website is a lot harder than on ebay for an experienced ebayer. Just like selling on ebay is really hard for people used to selling on their own website. I've never got anywhere with ebay really!
I have two ecommerce websites with ekm...
www.onlinepoolstore.co.uk
www.discountpoolproducts.co.uk
Both sites are based on the same generic ekm template with a lot of customisation, as well as some custom javascript (try and buy liquid chlorine on the first site and at the cart it restricts your delivery method to 'collect in store'.
Features wise, ekm is pretty good, and is getting better. The cart system still needs a massive overhaul, as does the delivery method system. Both of these have been promised for years, whether or not they'll ever get done, who knows!
I run paypal and Sagepay on both sites, we take more through Sagepay than we do through paypal.
If you need any help with any part of the process, just shout.
Edited to add... The only thing that makes me uncomfortable with ekm (or any hosted solution) is that you don't 'own' the website. You're not under contract, so you can terminate with no notice, and they can terminate you should they wish. Also if they ever had a massive data farm attack, you don't have a backup of your site, you just pray they do.
www.onlinepoolstore.co.uk
www.discountpoolproducts.co.uk
Both sites are based on the same generic ekm template with a lot of customisation, as well as some custom javascript (try and buy liquid chlorine on the first site and at the cart it restricts your delivery method to 'collect in store'.
Features wise, ekm is pretty good, and is getting better. The cart system still needs a massive overhaul, as does the delivery method system. Both of these have been promised for years, whether or not they'll ever get done, who knows!
I run paypal and Sagepay on both sites, we take more through Sagepay than we do through paypal.
If you need any help with any part of the process, just shout.
Edited to add... The only thing that makes me uncomfortable with ekm (or any hosted solution) is that you don't 'own' the website. You're not under contract, so you can terminate with no notice, and they can terminate you should they wish. Also if they ever had a massive data farm attack, you don't have a backup of your site, you just pray they do.
Edited by Dr Interceptor on Tuesday 7th October 08:39
Dr Interceptor said:
I have two ecommerce websites with ekm...
www.onlinepoolstore.co.uk
www.discountpoolproducts.co.uk
and loads of other good stuff
Your websites look greatwww.onlinepoolstore.co.uk
www.discountpoolproducts.co.uk
and loads of other good stuff
Edited by Dr Interceptor on Tuesday 7th October 08:39
I sell clothing, so don't have any issues with any restricted items so I'm guessing the standard templates they offer will probably do for now.
Is Sagepay the bit that processes the payments? I'm assuming it's them that take a % fee for handling the transaction?
I know what you mean about it being a concern someone else hosting the website. In a way, I'm sort of used to that with Ebay and Amazon - either of them at any point could decide to just not bother any more and pull the plug. We did look at going with Play.com last year but binned it in the end - it now seems that they have stopped bits of their "marketplace" anyway so I'm glad we didn't waste too much time on it.
I think for an initial e-commerce website this seems to be an ideal solution. For the sake of a bit of hard work and not a huge amount of cash it's got to be worth a go. We've been talking about it for ages so I think it's time we got on with it!
northwest monkey said:
Dr Interceptor said:
I have two ecommerce websites with ekm...
www.onlinepoolstore.co.uk
www.discountpoolproducts.co.uk
and loads of other good stuff
Your websites look greatwww.onlinepoolstore.co.uk
www.discountpoolproducts.co.uk
and loads of other good stuff
Edited by Dr Interceptor on Tuesday 7th October 08:39
I sell clothing, so don't have any issues with any restricted items so I'm guessing the standard templates they offer will probably do for now.
Is Sagepay the bit that processes the payments? I'm assuming it's them that take a % fee for handling the transaction?
I know what you mean about it being a concern someone else hosting the website. In a way, I'm sort of used to that with Ebay and Amazon - either of them at any point could decide to just not bother any more and pull the plug. We did look at going with Play.com last year but binned it in the end - it now seems that they have stopped bits of their "marketplace" anyway so I'm glad we didn't waste too much time on it.
I think for an initial e-commerce website this seems to be an ideal solution. For the sake of a bit of hard work and not a huge amount of cash it's got to be worth a go. We've been talking about it for ages so I think it's time we got on with it!
The likes of Paypal, Google Wallet etc are fine, and many people use them, but I think having a proper payment gateway in place adds a bit more legitimacy to your site, certainly many of the older generation would prefer a proper payment gateway to Paypal (IMO).
To do this you need two things, the merchant account, and the payment gateway. The merchant account can be provided by a bank, ours is with FDMS. They are the ones who actually process the card payment, and take the % fee. Sagepay is the online gateway, they provide the bit the customer sees on the website, and the secure connection to authorise the payment. Gateways charge you a fixed monthly fee, anywhere from £15-25 per month. Aside from Sagepay there is Worldpay, Cardsave, Secure Trading etc.
Once a customer completes a transaction online through your gateway, the order is live. The funds will actually arrive in your bank account 2-3 days later. Your gateway though will provide you with a login though so you can see the details of the transaction and make sure it's all kosher. When we first started out, I used to double check every transaction, now I only check the ones that look dodgy - you get used to spotting the iffy ones though!
eatcustard said:
I looked at EKM, but the only thing it did not have was to show to the customer stock levels.
I hate to go on stores and try to buy x amount of items to be told not enough in stock, I want to see the stock.
Good point, but selling what we sell it's very rare people buy more than one of the same thing.I hate to go on stores and try to buy x amount of items to be told not enough in stock, I want to see the stock.
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