Are there many other options for shopping carts out there, with the same value, user friendly interface & add-on features as Coffee Cup? I have only recently purchased it, but I did research a lot before buying, and I really couldn't find anything that come close to the simplicity and value for money. I understand people do need some of the new features for their business, but I wonder how much will you end up paying to get them... a few weeks, a month, or similar before the release of SCC Pro.

I'm asking this with sincerity, and don't mean it to start off a war. I just wondered as I'm new to shopping cart systems.

Not really. You are faced with three other options.

1. Use a free open source solution that requires technical abilities to setup and administer. Or use the "one click install" some hosts offer for these systems, but good luck on customizing the appearance. And you have the possibility of database hacks.

2. Purchase one for a considerable amount more, and it may not be as easy to administer or customize the appearance.

3. Pay a monthly fee for an online solution, as well as the possibility of a setup fee and lack of customization options.

I've been patiently watching this thread and hoping since the beginning for the dream to become a reality. But like others, I unfortunately can not wait much longer. The search for another SC program has begun. If by chance a miracle happens and an official release date is announced before I commit then I will gladly wait. I am not holding my breath though.

Scott, how about giving me your best guess on release date for SCC Pro?

I won't say anything, promise.

@Sally;

I don't know what in my post could be construed as a slight against her governorship.

Im with you,im tasting SCC now and i like it , i don't want to lose it !
So maybe a tentative release date would keep the dream alive !
C'mon throw us a bone ! The Swag shop wasn't enough !!!

Ya know, I've been using coffeecup for a short time. I don't have all the programs but I like the ones I have. I have been looking at other software to create shopping carts as some of you have. The thing that keeps me hanging on to coffeecup is the fact that on a Sunday afternoon, I had a problem and Scott and others answered my questions and helped me out. There are other programs out there. I have chosen to be old fashioned and remain loyal to a company that I can believe is one ofthe good guys (besides I grew up in Atlanta well, Lilburn). I have to believe that there is going to be a product that will be superior, fun, flashy, easy on the eyes, and I can make money with. The other thought that stuck me was that perhaps this is a funding issue. I recieved an advertisement for the color schemer for $9.00 maybe if we all bought that we could get the new sccpro!!
....Kidding

Your choice of cart is dictated by what your actual needs are. Cart Creator is aimed at folks with little technical knowledge, that quickly want to put a site up with the minimum of hassles.

The simplest solution for a cart is to simply place PayPal 'add to cart' buttons next to products, but that creates two distinct problems. The first is that every time a customer adds something to the cart, they get redirected to PayPal, then have to come back to your site (hopefully). The second is that you have to create some sort of tabled layout to display your products, then find some way of monitoring those layouts. For the minimal cost that is involved, Cart Creator takes away all of those hassles for you, plus it gives you the option to deal with more than one payment provider.

At the top end of the scale, the free open source carts are undeniable powerful and packed with features, but unless you are able to code in PHP, work with MySql queries and are comfortable with modifying CSS, then you would find them technically challenging and difficult to work with. They are definately not for the faint hearted and take an immense amount of time and dedication to create a customised shop.

When the pro does eventually get released, you will have a product with a wider range of features, whilst still retaining its ease of use. Use it with the separate Cart Designer program and you'll have one of the best combinations around to rapidly create custom websites.

Those were the exact options I found when I went looking Tom. You are spot on.

I agree with you Will. I'm already head of sales, purchasing, dispatch & marketing, so to throw a heavily scripted website into the mix would just be too much for me & my little business. I do want to try and continue to enjoy it, not tear my hair out.

And I also received the $9 offer, but I can't quite work out how it fits in. Is it just a color schemer to fit in with the designer software?

Hiya Bren,

The Color Schemer is an awesome program, helps you find colors you want to use for your site, helps you get the colors from anything on your computer screen at all. You can build color schemes for each site you work with so you don't have to go hunting down what part of your css file has what color in it and of course you see the colors directly rather than guessing by the css tag which color it might be since it's all in hex hehe.

I can go on for hours about my right hand program LOL. I have used it for at least 5 years, maybe more when I earned it many many moons ago for putting links on my site to coffeecup before they got so famous , and I finally broke down and bought it a few years back to get an updated version.

You'll never be without the ability to find just the right color, or to identify the color number of a color you see or visa versa color number to color. It's an amazing little helper. For $9 I'd scoop this up fast!