Questions before I use Zen Cart...

Hi,

I'm new here.
I do PHP, MySQL, CSS & XHTML.

A client has asked me to build a shopping cart so they can:

• Create categories/sub-categories.

• Upload products to those categories.

• The customer can add items to his/her cart then complete an order just by completing and submitting a form, no checkout payment required. The contents of the form are emailed to the client who then prepares the product for collection/delivery.

• For Delivery, the client can have different prices for the different area that the customer is from. The client has a rate to say(£5 if 3 miles away, £10 if 10miles away etc.)

• The customer chooses either to collect or have the item delivered.

• The client can create special offers(discount codes etc.)

• Use an existing SKU coding scheme.

• It must allow registered members(user groups) AND these registered users can then view more categories when logged in.

Many thanks for any help, really appreciate the time given to a newbie :)

InvisionII

All of this is possible in Zen Cart, though some bits are harder than others.

Have a look at the Tutorials/FAQ section to get started. Download and install Zen Cart locally for testing. (Use XAMPP or MAMP as local servers.)

Ask lots of questions here.:D

Rob

Yes... all of this is possible.

For the shipping, you may need to consider a commercially available module (Advanced Shipper by ceon) that handles shipping by geo-location. This module allows you to configure shipping charges by DISTANCE from your warehouse (set by entering the warehouse's postcode).

Many thanks for the speedy replies guys. Seems like a friendly lot here :)

OK, so on the surface the only 'tricky' part which may require extra work would be the Shipping part.

What's your thoughts rstevenson, what parts do you feel would be more time-consuming than others?

I am currently installing ZenCart as we speak and may be back :)

... what parts do you feel would be more time-consuming than others?

From what you've descrbed, setting up the (non) payment in a way that your customers will understand will be, um, interesting. It's not that ZC does not have the options you'll need, it's more a matter of communicating to the customer. I think you'll be doing a mix of settings in admin and customizing the language defines to make it all look sensible. But very doable.

Rob

invision2:

... OK, so on the surface the only 'tricky' part which may require extra work would be the Shipping part...

Conor Kerr (aka ceon in this forum) did a HUGE amount of work developing a one-size-fits-most shipping module. I know it took him a couple of hundred hours. I contributed to its development, because at the time (November 2006) I needed a shipping module that would cater for shipping based on the distance between the delivery depot and the customer's address.

Conor started with a Region Tables module that embodied geo-location (initially for UK postcodes but now includes many other countries). This module was then further developed into the Advanced Shipper.

By all means, try configuring a geo-location module yourself - (Conor proved its possible), but why re-invent the wheel? OK, so Conor sells his mod - but I believe you will save yourself a lot of hassle, time and money using the Advanced Shipper.

PM ceon for further details.

Again, can't thank you guys enough for your help with this.

By all means, try configuring a geo-location module yourself - (Conor proved its possible), but why re-invent the wheel? OK, so Conor sells his mod - but I believe you will save yourself a lot of hassle, time and money using the Advanced Shipper.

Yes, I would never have taken on the dev work when an existing module already works.
Thanks, I will pm ceon for more info on this.

A couple more questions if you guys can help...

• Can customers view their own past orders and current orders to see if they're 'pending' or 'complete'(?)
• Should I buy: e-Start Your Web Store With Zen Cart eBook ?
• Do I need CURL for any of the above? I assume not.

Thanks again!

invision2:

• Can customers view their own past orders and current orders to see if they're 'pending' or 'complete'(?)

Yes

invision2:

• Should I buy: e-Start Your Web Store With Zen Cart eBook ?

Yes

invision2:

• Do I need CURL for any of the above? I assume not.

cURL "may" be necessary - it's also used in things like updating currencies - not just to talk to payment gateways. You'll need a ZC "expert" to fully advise here - I'm just a novice!

Thanks fairestcape! Great signature too :)

Hi,

I'm testing adding a product but a little unsure what these fields are for:

Product Qty Minimum:
Product Qty Maximum:
Product Qty Units:

Product Qty Min/Unit Mix:
Products Quantity:

Thanks again guys!

In my retail greeting card store I have those set to (with an explanation after)...
1 (1 or more cards)
0 (any number of cards)
1 (1 card is a unit [ie, not boxed sets])
Yes (I'm not sure what this means)
0 (I print when needed, so I have an endless supply; set this to your stock quantity if you want the store to count stock as it's sold)

The only difference in my wholesale store is that the min is set to 6, since retailers buy at least 6 of any one card.

Rob

Does anyone know of a module like this that is either free or a lot cheaper? I can't afford AU$98 for this module.

Aussie Gadget Shop:

Does anyone know of a module like this that is either free or a lot cheaper? I can't afford AU$98 for this module.

What module are you referring to?

The Advanced Shipper by ceon

One has to look at cost in different ways. Put a value to your time - say $50 per hour. You will never create a shipping module that is as comprehensive as Advanced Shipper in 2 hours. Rather than look at the price of things as a "cost", it is sometimes better to regard price as an "investment", and something that will add value to your project.

Only you can make that decision. I personally think that Advanced Shipper is worth every cent.

I understand that it may well be worth the money being asked, but the reason why I am using ZenCart is because of it being Free. I am also dropshipping my products so I have no outlay. Everything I do in this business I am trying to do with as little outlay as possible. If I had the amount being asked I would gladly pay it, but I am trying to find something similar (it doesn't have to be as comprehensive) that I can use.

Describe exactly how you want your shipping system to operate. There may be ways of achieving your requirements by adapting, or "cloning" existing modules.

I am going to be dropshipping my products from https://www.chinavasion.com and would like to be able to have the same shipping costs that they use with DHL. The only way that I can think of doing it is by adding the shipping cost of 1 item to each item and include free shipping to my customers. But the problem with that is if they purchase multiple items of the same product they will be charged double the shipping. I want the shipping to increase by a certain amount the more they purchase of each item.

I hope that makes sense.