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"Show me a site that offers more for less money, and I'll be shocked. I don't think one exists," says Rich Tretola, owner and CEO of ShopPal Stores (http://www.ShopPalStores.com). After breaking in as an Internet application developer, Rich worked with Cold Fusion (a scripting language for Web developers) for three years before changing course.
"I originally ran my own eCommerce Web site several years ago. Using a third-party auction management service, I listed inventory in an online storefront and then I decided to develop something myself." His motivation? "I eventually realized that the tools the service provided weren't what I wanted, so I created my own. My customers apparently noticed. When it became obvious that I had more requests from folks wanting to resell my software than sales from my store inventory, I decided to shift focus."
After developing the applications, Rich launched ShopPalStores.com in June of 2000. Version 4 rolled out last month.
"ShopPal is an eCommerce solutions provider for small to large businesses," Rich explains. "Utilizing an advanced Control Panel, ShopPal offers all of the tools needed to build and grow a successful eCommerce Web site at a fraction of the cost of other eCommerce solution providers - with no HTML or Internet technology experience necessary."
And he obviously spent some time on those applications. The Features tab on the ShopPalStores home page reveals a feature list long enough to create a short scroll bar.
Here's a ShopPalStores feature sample:
Customer Registration:
When a customer places the first order, the shipping/billing information is stored. Customers can update their general information anytime. Your customer's future purchases will process quicker. ShopPal also stores every order your customer places with your store for reference.
Coupon Discounts:
This optional feature allows your customer to enter coupon discount codes.
Breadcrumb Trail:
Your customers easily go from category to subcategory to product and then back in the reverse order they came.
Unlimited Categories and Subcategories:
No restrictions on how many categories you can create.
Automatic Thumbnail Generation:
As a product image is uploaded, ShopPal automatically creates a thumbnail image of the product to display on the category page.
To get a storefront going, click on the "Free trial" tab and your first 30 days are free (http://www.shoppalstores.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=newaccount.main). The setup Wizard can walk you through the process. You'll register a user name and password and then enter your payment information. Once your storefront is active you'll see your Control Panel, which is a series of buttons in the left side of the screen. These provide your storefront management and sales tracking tools. For example, when you reach the text-entry screen to design your store, click on "Page Design." You can enter and format text, import images from your hard drive or URL, select a background, and preview as you go.
Then you'll build your categories with some refreshingly advanced selections. You'll name each category and then enter keywords, add search terms, and upload a thumbnail image if you want one. The Add New Item form is similar to the category setup. Enter your description with rich-text formatting tools and then upload up to three images per item. Storefront setup is fast, easy, and offers plenty of options to dress things up. For an example, check out http://www.acandleco.com. For a long list of ShopPalStores, click on the "Mall" tab.
Now back to this user-friendly Control Panel. Each button has a built-in menu allowing you such functions as order tracking, email message customization by type (order notification, ship notification, payment reminder, etc.), page design, inventory management, and sales tax rates. And there's more.
The Control Panel contains something powerful called "Store Promotion." We've heard of item cross-promotions and upsells, but ShopPal lets you submit your storefront URL not only to the ShopPal directory itself, but also to Froogle, BizRate, ClixGalore, Tell A Friend, and a general upload to "the spiders." In some cases you'll have to register an account with the search engine first, but it's well worth the effort when considering the potential.
"Our sales through ShopPal have increased a lot," says Kien Huynh, who manages his DVD business through ShopPal at http://www.buycheapdvd.com. "We get more traffic from the search engines, mostly Yahoo, than from anyplace else."
Kien apparently did his homework. "I found ShopPal's ad at the PayPal site and clicked over. When I compared their prices with the other services, I found ShopPal to be the best match for us." And what about customer service? "The folks at ShopPal are easy to deal with," Kien replies. "They return email very fast and they apparently listen to us, because they make feature updates based on what we request."
Kien is just one example of ShopPal's target client. "We serve any seller who wants more than a basic eBay store," explains Rich. "We have clients that sell a few big-ticket items each month and also those who have thousands of items listed all the time. We offer our basic feature package and a few options, including an interface with eBay." They call this option the eBay Module, available for an additional $5 per month. According to the site, ShopPal integrates with eBay allowing for product postings using eBay's free Turbo Lister program. eBay auction winners can pay for their items using the ShopPal stores checkout.
"We're also integrated with PayPal and fully support the PayPal IPN (Instant Payment Notification) program to ensure proper payments are received," Rich adds. "We also offer a Google Discount, which is a test program that discounts your monthly ShopPal fee by $5 as long as you agree to place our Google Ad Sense banner within the header of your store." (ShopPal store owners who use their own domain name for their store can run their own Google ads.)
Here's the ShopPal pricing plan:
Small Store: $14.99/month up to 500 products
Medium Store: $29.99/month up to 2000 products
Large Store: $49.99/month up to 5000 products
These are very competitive prices considering the features offered. The most wallet-friendly feature at ShopPalStores: no sales commissions. You pay only the flat fee for the plan you select no matter how much you sell. They also have an active message board (Forum) and a site demo.
Will another provider shock Rich with a better offering? I guess that remains to be seen.
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