CS Cart VS Interspire Shopping cart

Well fromt he looks of it they look the same but Interspire cart is cheaper.



Tell me why should i buy CSCart again vs Interspire cart?

[url]http://www.interspire.com/shoppingcart/index.php[/url]

I don’t have any experience with Interspire, but I have been with CS-Cart for 3 years now and have been very happy with them.



The features and cart work great.



When I’ve needed support they’ve been able to help me with what I needed.



And, this forum has been great.



Also as for the price, Interspire is $295.00 and CS-Cart is $265.00 so CS-Cart is actually $30.00 cheaper.



Brandon

I was looking at both carts when I bought CS-Cart, and price was NO FACTOR in my purchase. If Interspire had built a better cart I would have bought it.



I stayed away from interspire because of some of the issues some of the users were reporting on the forums, the Coupon issues was a big one for me. But if you want to read more, I am there is another thread around here somewhere going into more detail.



Interspire is not, cheaper, I recall it limits the amount of items you can have in the basic version. If you want the full version of Interspire it is well over a thousand dollars I recall…

Interspire is much more expensive, hosted and owned. See the bandwidth they offer on hosted edition. For 24.95USD you get almost nothing x 12 months = 299.40USD. I would need to pay them minimum 79USD per month so, it’s better to have your own CS cart + VPS and over the next 2 years, some bucks still left for CS support if necessary.

Hello itsjustmewhoelse,



You can read those two threads:



1 - [url]http://forum.cs-cart.com/showthread.php?t=10345[/url]



2 - [url]http://forum.cs-cart.com/showthread.php?t=10964[/url]





Lee Li Pop

Hey!



If you’re looking to start a new site, just get another license at $165.

[quote name=‘itsjustmewhoelse’]Well fromt he looks of it they look the same but Interspire cart is cheaper.



Tell me why should i buy CSCart again vs Interspire cart?

[URL]http://www.interspire.com/shoppingcart/index.php[/URL][/quote]





Comparsion Interspire vs. CS-Cart



[SIZE=3]Starter Edition $295[/SIZE] ------------------- [SIZE=3]CS-Cart $217 - $265[/SIZE]



Interspire --------------------------------------- CS-Cart



100 products -------------------------------------- unlimited

Staff logins 2 -------------------------------------- unlimited

Custom Form Fields=NO ------------------- Custom Form Fields=YES

Order Messaging System=NO ------------ Order Messaging System=YES

Sync to Quickbooks=NO ------------------- Sync to Quickbooks=YES

WebMail=NO ------------------------------------ WebMail=YES

Order Notifications via SMS=NO --------- Order Notifications via SMS=YES

Inventory Control=NO ------------------------- Inventory Control=YES

Bulk Product Editing=NO ------------------- Bulk Product Editing=YES

Export Customers (CSV/XML)=NO ------ Export Customers (CSV)=YES

Customer Groups=NO ----------------------- Customer Groups=YES

Discount Rules=NO -------------------------- Discount Rules=YES

Gift Certificates=NO -------------------------- Gift Certificates=YES

Staff Action Logging=NO ------------------- Staff Action Logging=YES

Custom Export Templates=YES --------- Custom Export Templates=NO

Gift Certificate Views=NO ----------------- Gift Certificate Views=YES

Customer Address Verification=YES - Customer Address Verification=NO



[COLOR=Red]Functions that are not available in the $295 version are available ONLY in the $1,795 version and not in the middle version for $995.

[/COLOR]

The CS-Cart is equal or better as the Interspire Professional Edition for $995 (e.g. max. 5000 products in Interspire Professional Edition).



There are maybe available functions of CS-Cart which Interpire doesn’t have.



Try to make a reverse comparsion.

I am also looking at this and both of my clients both like the templates better on interspire and their is also more of them. From what I have read (not verified yet) templating is also easier on interspire (could be a plus). I’d sure like to see more on the these two compared. Also, if you upgrade in Interspire (and used one of their templates) it also gets upgraded. The backend on interspire (try a demo on bigcommerce) seems to be laid out a bit better.



I do like the ability in CS-CART to change the blocks. That is really cool.

I looked at both and ultimately chose CS-Cart because they had similar features, but some things were different.


  1. It is a lot easier to edit files with CS-Cart.
  2. There is an active community with very helpful people.
  3. The price is very inexpensive compared to what you are getting.
  4. CS-Cart does custom development. I have used them twice already in the past 2 months.
  5. CS-Cart 3rd party developers were very excited about CS-Cart and they are actively developing addons.



    I searched for 2 months and tried a lot of different programs. I am very happy with CS-Cart.



    Hope the helps.



    Adam

[quote name=‘moka’]Hey!



If you’re looking to start a new site, just get another license at $165.[/QUOTE]



WOW where u have u been at?LOL

Just to the you know that I purchased CS-Cart and running on the Alpha hosting package from Martfox [url]http://www.martfox.com/[/url] . For under £20 per year hosting and CS cart approx £130 i’m over the moon. The speeds are noticeable faster approx 1.5 second difference. Not a single problem but still have to use SSL on Google checkout.



I had to cut my losses with Interspire running on Fasthosts hosting. I had upgraded my Windows package (£30+), purchased a MySQL database (£25+VAT) to later find it had no CURL support. Then purchased the Linux package to get CURL support (approx £100 per year) and still had problems, htcaccess files did not work etc… I’m out of there 30 day return policy which is a loss I’ll rather take. I can’t comment running Interspire on Matrox servers.



I still have Interspire running so I compared some features. I’m not going into detail but CS cart has everything that Interspire has, with the odd differences. The more I think of it, it looks like one has taken the same ideas as the other. CS cart is so much easier to customise and I love it.



So for under £150 hosted… with great and fast support from Martfox. I’ll leave the rest to you to decide.



Also the posting above this is mine before registering.

[quote name=‘indy0077’]Comparsion Interspire vs. CS-Cart



[SIZE=3]Starter Edition $295[/SIZE] ------------------- [SIZE=3]CS-Cart $217 - $265[/SIZE]



Interspire --------------------------------------- CS-Cart



100 products -------------------------------------- unlimited

Staff logins 2 -------------------------------------- unlimited

Custom Form Fields=NO ------------------- Custom Form Fields=YES

Order Messaging System=NO ------------ Order Messaging System=YES

Sync to Quickbooks=NO ------------------- Sync to Quickbooks=YES

WebMail=NO ------------------------------------ WebMail=YES

Order Notifications via SMS=NO --------- Order Notifications via SMS=YES

Inventory Control=NO ------------------------- Inventory Control=YES

Bulk Product Editing=NO ------------------- Bulk Product Editing=YES

Export Customers (CSV/XML)=NO ------ Export Customers (CSV)=YES

Customer Groups=NO ----------------------- Customer Groups=YES

Discount Rules=NO -------------------------- Discount Rules=YES

Gift Certificates=NO -------------------------- Gift Certificates=YES

Staff Action Logging=NO ------------------- Staff Action Logging=YES

Custom Export Templates=YES --------- Custom Export Templates=NO

Gift Certificate Views=NO ----------------- Gift Certificate Views=YES

Customer Address Verification=YES - Customer Address Verification=NO



[COLOR=Red]Functions that are not available in the $295 version are available ONLY in the $1,795 version and not in the middle version for $995.

[/COLOR]

The CS-Cart is equal or better as the Interspire Professional Edition for $995 (e.g. max. 5000 products in Interspire Professional Edition).



There are maybe available functions of CS-Cart which Interpire doesn’t have.



Try to make a reverse comparsion.[/QUOTE]



Indy I just love how your responses are always in detail and very helpful, you always get to the point with facts. Your presence have been noticed In the short time you have been around here and becoming a GURU.



I agree with everything you said.



Cheers

Joe

I have the Interspire multi-vendor edition and I’m now using CS-Cart + a custom add-on if that tells you anything. I can’t even remember what I paid for it now (I thnk I put it out of my memory so I won’t cry), but it was a complete waste of money. I don’t think anyone is using it to run a truly successful store unless they’ve modified it. Not to mention it would have cost me loads to upgrade it each year since they charge a percentage of the original license fee.

[quote name=‘gasngrills’]Indy I just love how your responses are always in detail and very helpful, you always get to the point with facts. Your presence have been noticed In the short time you have been around here and becoming a GURU.



I agree with everything you said.



Cheers

Joe[/quote]

Thanks… Sorry we don’t have any “Thanks Button” here :smiley:

I used interspire for over 4 weeks and got a refund when I found CS-Cart. Interspire refunded without any questions- they must know what a con the full price app is compared to cs cart. Why pay 2000 when you can pay 300?



CS-Cart costs less for loads of advanced features.

Lots of interesting viewpoints Unregistered!


[QUOTE] First, should’nt cost $280. Should cost $450-$600.[/QUOTE]



I fully agree, it takes revenue to stay on the cutting edge, and a prime example is the cost of PCI DSS certification! I have not even strongly considered an open source, “free” shopping cart program for several years now, simply because it takes revenue to continue sound development. Sure, open source developers will create this mod & that mod, and then, they eventially realize they also need money to buy groceries, or simply get tired of working for free, and the mod is no longer maintained. This is ok for startup businesses on a tight budget, however, I need to know the cart that our business piggybacks on has some financial backing.



I do believe CS-Cart could raise their price point even “after the fact” if handled correctly, in fact they could use the cost of PCI DSS certification (of which I have heard was in the $20K range) to their advantage right this minute! (And as you know Unregistered, it is all about the “presentation” & timing.) How many CS-Cart users / supporters would be willing to help offset these costs right now in exchange for some comfort in knowing we will indeed be able to get a good nights sleep prior to mid July? :wink:



PS: I am sleeping just fine right now for the most part, not feeling alot of PCI DSS stress simply because I predict the bureacrats will realize uhhm around July 1st, that the industry is not yet ready to absorb these implementations & will “begin” to wonder how wise it would be to throw this wrench into an already seriously struggling economy. My prediction is there will be an extension, or relaxed time frame given to compliance…but then, what if I am wrong again!

[quote name=‘Struck’]Lots of interesting viewpoints Unregistered!











PS: I am sleeping just fine right now for the most part, not feeling alot of PCI DSS stress simply because I predict the bureacrats will realize uhhm around July 1st, that the industry is not yet ready to absorb these implementations & will “begin” to wonder how wise it would be to throw this wrench into an already seriously struggling economy. My prediction is there will be an extension, or relaxed time frame given to compliance…but then, what if I am wrong again![/QUOTE]



Unfortunately, it has been proven that this does not occur. We have been looking at the INSANE CPSIA laws that were poorly written and with no lead time for business to adjust… and no one really cares. It’s all about protecting the consumer.



Having said that. I just got a message from CS-cart and they are willing to consider adding cresecure in the future.

Moka,

I think cre secure is interesting, but it is pricey. There is the cre secure costs AND you still need a gateway like Authorize.net, with its own costs. It could make sense if you are paying for daily/monthly scans and were able to stop. It’s just one solution in the mix.

Bob

Unregistered - I wonder how you’ve used these carts - as a developer or do you actually have a store that is doing a lot of business?



The only difference I saw in Interspire and CS-Cart is that Interspire costs a lot more. I have the multi-vendor cart and many features didn’t even work correctly once I went live. If I wanted to wait around for those things to get fixed, I would have had to pay thousands of dollars to upgrade. Charging people extra $$ just because they are willing to pay doesn’t make it more robust. :confused: I would happily pay that much for a cart if it meant the cart WAS robust and I wouldn’t have to worry about everything working smoothly. I have had fewer headaches with CS-Cart and it costs much less. I agree that CS-Cart is underpriced.

[quote name=‘pbannette’]Moka,

I think cre secure is interesting, but it is pricey. There is the cre secure costs AND you still need a gateway like Authorize.net, with its own costs. It could make sense if you are paying for daily/monthly scans and were able to stop. It’s just one solution in the mix.

Bob[/QUOTE]



Well, if you look at the math, you are looking at $20 a month, so $240 a year if you have under 250 transactions per month. After that it is $.10 per transaction. Let’s say you did 500 transactions a month. It would be $540 a year. The scans that I have seen are about $250 per quarter, so $1000 a year. We already pay merchant account and gateway fees, so that isn’t an added cost for us. To charge cards you would have to have a gateway anyway because storing credit card numbers to manually process would make it much more difficult to pass pci compliance. As for paypal, only about 10% of our customers use that option.



So to avoid headaches and fees, I think for us cresecure would be the option to go with.