I am very happy with Viart
Easy to install, easy to modify, support is great (unless it's a really hard question)
Price is great. Much cheaper than the Free carts that end up costing alot more due to the number of mods required.
 
But there is one thing that I really, really don't like.
I don't like how the shipping cost is hidden until checkout. If I was a shopper on a Viart site, I would back out real fast as I'm not going near checkout to find shipping costs.
 
Other than that, the only other niggly things are lack of documentation and the templates have room for improvement.
 
I spent alot of time trialling free carts. It was a waste of my time. It ain't free if I have to spend so much time and money for mods.
 
Many thanks to Viart for a great product

This request has been brought up numerous times. I hope something is done very soon.
In the meantime, try adding an explanation or rates card to the shopping cart CMS page to give the customer some indication before they proceed.

Agree - Happy with ViArt software and organisation (although our sites are still to be launched as I am still working on them).
 
Agree - Some pre-checkout solutions for calculating shipping would be good for customers. But a basic rates card could suffice as it shows customers what to expect and that you are charging reasonable rates or otherwise. Clearly identify if you charge any 'handling' fees, etc.
 
Agree - Free cart investigation was invaluable because I came to the same conclusion about not going with them, so was invaluable because I appreciate the final solution even more and won't need to rethink cart solutions for a while to come.

I see the logic in showing delivery "up front" and it does make the cart conform more closely to the UK distance selling regulations but perhaps we should work out a strategy for it.
 
One problem will be for retailers who deliver different small items bundled together in one consignment.
With delivery charges shown, as items are added to the basket the initial price will be higher than the advertised price as its item cost + minimum delivery charge.
When the minimum delivery charge is reached as items are added and the weight increases the prices will jump again.
 
For customers who don't understand the system this would be a disincentive.
 
Perhaps the customer should choose in the Small Cart block to display prices exclusive or inclusive of delivery, using a javascript "hover" over the items to display a popup with an explanation?

The first issue is creating a process that meets customer expectations and not just our own preferences or prejudices.
 
However, I do feel that openness and transparency are important. So, we give links [using articles with a block in the right column as well as the top menu - http://www.malikstores.co.uk/products.php? ] to delivery pricing - fortunately ours is currently very simple.
 
So long as a potential customer can see how the delivery pricing works I would feel that is OK.

Yer, a rates card is about the best that we can do with Viart until Checkout.
For sites that sell expensive items, a rate card is fine eg one digital camera is $10 shipping
But for sites that sell multiple items and base shipping on weight, a rate cart is too complicated
eg a site sells oranges, water melon and hair brushes. There is no way to do a price matrix for a rate card for such a situation.
 
Ned, I currently run a site like the one you describe and there is no problem. The customers can see the shipping remain constant until it reaches the next shipping band. That site currently uses Mals-e.com cart

jty - then have a look at mine - thousands of lower cost products.
 
Our principle is KISS - Keep It simple - and then the customer is not confused and deterred from buying.
 
Chris

Thanks Christopher. I had a look at your site and that is what I'm thinking is the only option with Viart.
It'll work OK with my next site but for the site I'm working on right now, it's not good enough
The situation is such eg 5 apples @$1 each attracts eg shipping of $5 but 6 apples attracts shipping of $12.
If they arrive at Checkout and see shipping is $12 I lose the whole sale.
But if they can see shipping as they add items, they can take one apple out and I get a 5 apple sale which is better than losing the whole sale.
 
The other thing is that they can't make changes at Checkout. So, they have to navigate back to View Cart and remove the one apple which starts to get clumsy and might just encourage them to click off to another site and buy from someone else
 
I have a current site on other software and I have observed the buying pattern to be greatly influenced by shipping costs. They always buy eg 5 apples and rarely 6.