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JoeJon · March 22nd, 2007

It seems as though the basic information about EXACTLY what is needed to start a t-shirt biz online (ecommerce) is spread out over hundreds of posts, with no central guide to what is required. There is also a lot of confusion and disagreement about the langauge associated with an ecommerce site.

The administrators of this site would save hundreds of hours answering the same basic questions 50 times each week, if they took some time to put together a post or .pdf that goes over the basics.

I'll get things started. The following is my take on the elements needed, INDIVIDUALLY to start a site. Different "ecommerce solutions" bundle difference elements.

If people could take a moment to comment on this and perhaps add corrections or additions if necessary - then we can start to build a guide! PLEASE DO NOT INCLUDE ANYTHING REGARDING SHIPPING OR FULFILLMENT AT THIS TIME.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeJon


	! UPDATED !

Domain name registration
- GoDaddy
- Pair

Hosting
- aPLus
- GoDaddy
- Lunarpages
- iPowerWeb

Shopping Cart ( Shopping cart software - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia )

Free:
- Cube Cart
- Zen Cart
- Mal’s

Hosted:
- 3dCart
- Able Commerce

Not Hosted / Not Free
- X-Cart
- VP-ASP
- Clickcart

- Comprehensive list of carts:
Shopping Cart Reviews: view all shopping carts + 2Checkout.com - Third party Shopping Carts

Merchant Account ( Merchant account - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia )
- e-onlinedata

Payment Gateway (Could also be referred to as a "payment processor") ( Payment gateway - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia )

- List: X-Cart: Recommended payment gateways, payment processing services
- List: Payment providers for shopping cart software

SSL security certificate ( eCommerce and SSL - Web Hosting FAQ )
- e-onlinedata

Offering Payment Gateway + Merchant Account + Shopping Cart (optional)
- Paypal

Ecommerce Solution (Varies, but usually OFFER to bundle all of the above elements. Sometimes referred to as Turnkey solutions because they offer everything except fulfillment.)

Comprised of:
- Hosting
- Shopping Cart
- Merchant Account
- Payment Gateway

Examples:
MonsterCommerce
Volusion
Fortune3
GoECart
Yahoo! Merchant Services

-----------------------------------------------------------

I think people get confused because there a so many ways to configure your online store based on what you can handle. Also, different services will bundle different elements together, some of which are optional!

I think a lot of confusion comes from people identifying different services as belonging to different categories. We need to agree on a terminology. Obviously this does not help because as mentioned before, different services sometimes bundle different elements. For example, Paypal bundles a payment gateway with a merchant account and has optional shopping cart software to boot!

Also, I think people sometimes refer to a "hosted shopping cart" as an "ecommerce solution." I am still confused by the STRICT definition of what an ecommerce solution is. What has to be included for it to be considered an ecommerce solution?

UPDATE by Rodney: A great starting point for beginners that covers the basics for getting an ecommerce store up and running can be found here: Beginner's guide to E-Commerce

Blacksheep 78 · March 22nd, 2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeJon


	It seems as though the basic information about EXACTLY what is needed to start a t-shirt biz online (ecommerce) is spread out over hundreds of posts, with no central guide to what is required. There is also a lot of confusion and disagreement about the language associated with an ecommerce site.

Yea, I agree, though people will still be asking in the forums anyhow, but should cut down on it quite a bit. All the same, a list is a great idea.

This will be a pretty large task, but I think we should start with a list and then have a brief description as to what the items on the list are/do. Otherwise it will spawn a whole new set of posts asking what the specific items do. Just a thought.

Here are some additions you may want to add to the list.

Hosting:
1. nexpoint.net
This site offers nice e-commerce packages with shopping cart software as well.

Merchant Account:
(for people on a tighter budget)
1. Paypal (also keeps track of customers, transactions, shipping...)
2. Google

Shipping This is not so much e-commerce, but will be asked about in the process, so I figured I would include it.
1. usps.com
2. theupsstore.com
3. fedex.com
-Shipping Supplies
1. Shipping Lables onlinelabels.com
2. Shipping Bags pluspackaging.com
3. Postage Scale – Ebay

Rodney/Admins (Not sure if those links are acceptable or not. I know when someone asks where people get their shipping labels, someone will post onlinelabels.com. So would having this in a line list constitute more as an advertisement for that particular site or is that acceptable?)

I've actually been planning on making a guide myself that shares my experience from start to finish. I have done everything (minus programming done by a coworker) from ecommerce research, design, screen printing, the whole nine yards. It’ll just be more of an overview, but I think this line list you proposed is a great idea. I’ll be launching my site in a month or two, once everything is up and running I’ll share my journey/experience with everyone. It’s been a heck of a time putting all of this together from scratch with just a couple of books and sifting through the user groups which have been EXTREEMLY helpful. Thanks guys and gals!

-Tim

JoeJon · March 22nd, 2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blacksheep 78


	Merchant Account: (for people on a tighter budget) 1. Paypal (also keeps track of customers, transactions, shipping...) 2. Google

Tim, thanks for being the only one so far to reply about this.

Anyway, I noticed that you listed paypal under "Merchant account" - it actually is a merchant account and payment gateway rolled into one, and also has a shopping cart service if elected. So in that sense it is more than just a merchant account. I think having strict definitions and identifications is essential to sorting this all out.

Blacksheep 78 · March 22nd, 2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeJon


	I noticed that you listed paypal under "Merchant account" - it actually is a merchant account and payment gateway rolled into one, and also has a shopping cart service if elected. So in that sense it is more than just a merchant account. I think having strict definitions and identifications is essential to sorting this all out.

Yea, I didn’t want to put it under all those headings, that’s why I suggested the descriptions (which I should have followed through more on myself). If people participate and we can collect all of the information, I guess it could then be organized. But people really have to participate first.

Rodney · March 22nd, 2007

Quote:


	The administrators of this site would save hundreds of hours answering the same basic questions 50 times each week, if they took some time to put together a post or .pdf that goes over the basics.

Thanks for the suggestion. Something like that is already being worked on, but there's only so much time in the day

You're welcome to put together a list here if you feel it will help.

Questions will still be asked over and over again, because that's just the nature of forums.

All the answers are out there, and as you come to each step in the process of setting up your company, you can search for that info and find it in the forums or post a question about how to get past that step.

Part of the challenge is that not everyone here falls under the same "type" of t-shirt company. Some are designers, some are screen printers, some are marketing gurus, some are heat transfer folks, some use DTG, some don't want to do any printing, some want to do it all, some sell directly to customers at retail, some only do wholesale, some want to sell online, some are face to face sellers. There's no real way to make a list that will take care of everyone.

Quote:


	Rodney/Admins (Not sure if those links are acceptable or not. I know when someone asks where people get their shipping labels, someone will post onlinelabels.com. So would having this in a line list constitute more as an advertisement for that particular site or is that acceptable?)

As long as you're not advertising or promoting your own business, then it's fine. Recommendations are a natural part of networking, but we just don't want them to turn into self promotion or spam, which is why we stay away from printer or designer recommendations.

In general, forums are better for "discussion based learning", where you can read past information or ask questions based on what you want to know.

If you need a step by step guide, a book like "how to print t-shirts for fun and profit" (screen printing) or "i made that" (heat transfers) is a great way to get a good "overview" of the whole process.

But again, we're working on a resource that has a different organizational structure for people that prefer more of a "guide" than a discussion

JoeJon · March 22nd, 2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rodney


	Part of the challenge is that not everyone here falls under the same "type" of t-shirt company. Some are designers, some are screen printers, some are marketing gurus, some are heat transfer folks, some use DTG, some don't want to do any printing, some want to do it all, some sell directly to customers at retail, some only do wholesale, some want to sell online, some are face to face sellers. There's no real way to make a list that will take care of everyone.

I mentioned the fact that this list is for establishing an online store - ecommerce. It's obvious from the list I tried to produce, that that is the focus. All other concerns won't apply.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rodney


	If you need a step by step guide, a book like "how to print t-shirts for fun and profit" (screen printing) or "i made that" (heat transfers) is a great way to get a good "overview" of the whole process.

I am not asking for a guide to (screen printing) or (heat transfer) - I am asking for a guide that concerns ecommerce applications for t-shirts.... it is by far the most convoluted aspect of the whole process.

simpleskim · March 22nd, 2007

I just wanted to say that I was so excited to find this forum. I joined 2 days ago. Ive been on other forums that have a good positive community like t-shirtforums seems to have.

joejon- i think you have great idea for an guide/overview of tshirt ecommerce IMO. I look forward to the forum.

cgc

feilong · March 23rd, 2007

awesome thread rthis is exactly what I needed since I'm heading down this path!! Thanks a lot!

Rodney · March 24th, 2007

Quote:


	I mentioned the fact that this list is for establishing an online store - ecommerce. It's obvious from the list I tried to produce, that that is the focus. All other concerns won't apply.

I understand completely

I'm sure others will find the list useful once completed.

edit: I also wanted to add that my goal is to add one "sticky thread" per forum subject that provides sort of an "overview" of that forum and ways to find some of the commonly asked questions.

I think ecommerce solution might be better named "total ecommerce solution" or "all in one" solution just so people understand that the other parts are "ecommerce" as well.

Merchant accounts (like eonlinedata) often include a payment gateway (such as authorizenet) as part of their services.

I would consider PayPal, 2checkout, CCNOW to be "3rd Party Payment Processors". I don't think they would qualify as a "merchant account", with the exception of PayPal's $20 a month service called PayPal Website Payments Pro (which is an actual merchant account).

Otherwise, I think your list above is a good break down of the "necessities" for starting an online store.

I'm sure more can be added as necessary.

JoeJon · March 26th, 2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeJon


	! UPDATED !

Domain name registration
- GoDaddy
- Pair

Hosting
- aPLus
- GoDaddy
- Lunarpages
- iPowerWeb

Shopping Cart ( Shopping cart software - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia )

Free:
- Cube Cart
- Zen Cart
- Mal’s

Hosted:
- 3dCart
- Able Commerce

Not Hosted / Not Free
- X-Cart
- VP-ASP
- Clickcart

- Comprehensive list of carts:
Shopping Cart Reviews: view all shopping carts + 2Checkout.com - Third party Shopping Carts

Merchant Account ( Merchant account - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia )
- e-onlinedata

Payment Gateway (Could also be referred to as a "payment processor") ( Payment gateway - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia )

- List: X-Cart: Recommended payment gateways, payment processing services
- List: Payment providers for shopping cart software

SSL security certificate ( eCommerce and SSL - Web Hosting FAQ )
- e-onlinedata

Offering Payment Gateway + Merchant Account + Shopping Cart (optional)
- Paypal

Ecommerce Solution (Varies, but usually OFFER to bundle all of the above elements. Sometimes referred to as Turnkey solutions because they offer everything except fulfillment.)

Comprised of:
- Hosting
- Shopping Cart
- Merchant Account
- Payment Gateway

Examples:
MonsterCommerce
Volusion
Fortune3
GoECart
Yahoo! Merchant Services

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