Tampa Bay Art Startup
Posted by Dan
There have been some twists in the set up of my startup. In reviewing software and the general expectations of the online shopper, I feel that I have to provide a standard online shopping cart. Since I will be focused on selling Tampa Bay Art, it is imperative that I provide secure sales transactions. Since I will be focused on exposing Tampa Bay artists that are not well known and I am not running a physical gallery, I need to show that this is a serious site and that it is secure to order from. More on that soon…
I finally made it to “Art After Dark“, which is held on the third Friday of every month at the interim location of the Tampa Museum. My fiancee and I bought memberships and checked out the Scooter display. The presentation was small, but featured some very well decorated strollers and various pieces from Tampa Bay artists. The main exhibits were “green designs” and plans throughout the Tampa Bay area including the incredible plans for the new Tampa Museum that should open in late 2009.
This refreshed my view on what I hope for from my “Buy Tampa Bay Art” site. I hope to provide enough exposure to local artists to finance their talent and hopefully land some of their work in the new Tampa Musuem.
Phase 1 - Service Selection
Posted by Dan
I have decided on FatFreeCartPro and Authorize.net for my cart and merchant services.
Why? FatFreeCartPro provides the most design flexiblilty. Since I am going to be selling art, I am focusing on a gallery look. I want a unique design and online shopping experience. Authorize.net is the primary merchant for FatFreeCart and I will be offering Google Checkout and Paypal as well.
Time was the biggest factor in eliminating the open-source solutions. High PHP server requirements eliminated Magento and an awkward install requirement botched my ZenCart ambitions. After two hours to download and upload, I ran into technical issues. This was a really good thing though, because it was a big glowing sign saying DO NOT DO THIS! The techie in me has felt obligated to install and run my own cart.
It was neck and neck between Shopify and FatFreeCart. My favorite solution of all is still Volusion, but it is out of my price range. With ten percent of overall sales being the primary revenue, merchant fees and hosting alone will threaten basic profitability without even considering compensation for time. Volusion is for actual merchants. It is awesome, but about double the price I’m willing to spend right now. Maybe for my next site….
So, now it’s on to design, which is the best part…