which platform should i choose?

[pasat]

hey everyone..
ok i try to explain my needs for exaple...i'm working on my new project Toonamorphose...the idea of this site is <snip> i need e-commerce platform to help me selling my digital products...pls guy tell me some recommendations which platform should i choose...

[edited by: lorax at 2:12 pm (utc) on Nov. 30, 2005]
[edit reason] no example sites please [/edit]

[bsterz]

I have used oscommerce, x-cart, and monster commerce. I won't make specific recommendations for vendors, but I will give you some things to think about as you shop..

You have 2 basic options for a third-party cart system as I see it:

Externally Hosted Shopping Cart
Advantages:
Fast/cheap setup
Instant access to software upgrades
Good performance (generally)
Security (generally)
Disadvantages
You lose the clickpath when they leave your site
You lose some control of the data
They often look "different" in some way than the rest of the site
Generally "off" for reporting - much data is lost to your internal reporting tools - common areas of abandonment for example
Somewhat generic in functionality - you must fit your processes in their mold (not always a bad thing)

Off The Shelf Locally Hosted Shopping Cart
Advantages
All clicks are contained within your site
Any errors are locally logged and available to you
Abandonment reports are available in your logs (if cart is written for this - and most are)
Can be customized for your special needs/functions
More tightly integrated into your style/functionality
Disadvantages
Cost/time of setup usually higher
Somewhat generic functionality - must be as across-the-board to appeal to large market
Sometimes steep learning curve

Custom Cart
Another topic - another day..

I personally prefer locally hosted solutions. You would need your own IP and SSL cert (generally) but it makes for a more _comfortable_ user experience when they see the same domain thru the process..

I'm SURE I missed some stuff - please chime in where necessary