If you’re looking for a professional e-commerce site option that’s a little different than Etsy and BigCartel, check out Stall Cart. It’s pretty awesome (example shop above). I asked Neil, the creator of StallCart, a couple of questions. Here’s what he had to say…
1. Can you explain what Stall Cart is to those that are unfamiliar?
Stallcart is quite simply the easiest and most affordable way to get your own shop that sells your goods online. You don’t need to pay the exorbitant cost of programming and you don’t need to wait on designers who say they’ll get back to you but never seem to. It’s more than just a shop though, of course that’s important, but backing up the shop is order management and reporting, easy to set up email addresses (no more writing your personal email addresses) and most importantly the marketing guide. Each week I’ll send you an email with specific steps you can take that will help you promote your shop online, that way people know it’s out there. All of this is backed up by fantastic support, if you have any problems or questions I’m there for you.
2. I love the story of how and why Stall Cart actually came about. Can you share the story with my readers?
Stallcart was born out of the need for an online shop for my fiance’s jewelry, www.kashenjewellery.com, she sells her jewellery at markets and tried etsy but found it was somewhat limiting in how much she could sell. I suggested she set up an online store and had at the services that were out there, all of them seemed to limit you in someway or try to charge you at every step of the way (adding more images, or promoting your products among others) or assumed you were web designer, and if you did put a store up none of them told you what to do after. So I created a website and shop for that was as easy as possible to use and thought that others in a similar position would find it useful as well.
3. What are the few of the unique features that Stall Cart offers that Etsy, for example, does not?
Stallcart is about running your own shop, so to begin with your shop has an address that you choose for example, yourshopname.com, right away this lets people know that you’re serious about the work you’re doing and gives you instant credibility. Once your shop is up there are no limits, you can have as many images as you want for as many products and categories as you want and as mentioned before stallcart also lets you easily set up email addresses so you can have you@yourshopname.com (again create as many as you’d like). The main advantage though (aside from great support!) is the ease of use in adding, updating and editing your products and website as well as the step by step marketing guides with screenshots. All of this leaves more time for you to create the products you love, rather than worrying about your website and shop.
Limited Time Awesome Deal>> Now through the end of January the signup fee has been waived!
Visit Stall Cart now to see if it’s right for you.
14 comments | Click here to reply
Thanks for the comments Mai, I appreciate it a lot.
I’ve also added some other requested features such as organizing stockists into groups, the ability to put your store into holiday mode and a choice for laying out your descriptions so they’ll look nicer if there is a lot to describe.
Look out for more customization options and inventory management coming soon too.
Neil @ StallcartAWESOME! Thanks so much Mai for following up on this again. I am sure it will be so helpful for people. Have a great night.
papernstitch-Brittni
Review Update:
StallCart has recently undergone many updates that now make it a fabulous place to set up shop. If you’re still considering BigCartel or another non-Etsy store alternative, definitely give Stallcart a try. You can now:
*set your shipping rates to whatever you choose
Mai*upload a large banner for your store
*have category descriptions
*shipping rates page is editable
*you can now rearrange your items in your store
*Perhaps one of the biggest pluses is the customer service!! Neil is just wonderful and super helpful. He’s always open to suggestions and new ideas, and responds quickly.
Awesome! I’m looking forward to all the updates. Attention to concerns and details is what will inevitably make Stallcart a great place to set up shop. 🙂
MaiThanks for the review Mai, I’m looking forward to seeing your shop being completed 🙂
Just to address a few of the cons:
* website banner size is restricted to a very small logo – This will be changed within the next few days and you’ll be able to add an image as large as you’d like.
*a community forum for FAQ would be nice. – There is an FAQ, which addresses the notices for your shop, I’ll make it easier to find and if you have any questions and answers you think would be good to add I’d love to hear them.
* Stallcart rounds your shipping rates to the nearest dollar. Irritating! – I figured most people wouldn’t mind this (and so far they haven’t) but there was no reason so I’ve changed this so you can add rates with cents now. This is live as of now.
* the cost is much more than I was paying for BigCartel, but all in all, $36 a month isn’t terrible… – I think you’ll find the on going marketing guides (and improvements) will be worth the price
* you can’t rearrange your items within the collection to change the way they are ordered on your website. You can’t rearrange product photos, either. – No one has brought this up before but it’s definitely something I need to add, I’ll get on to it and let you know when you’re able to order your products.
* there are some pages that you really need to be able to edit that you can’t, such as the Shipping rates page. – Again another page that should be editable but no one has specifically asked for and I hadn’t thought of. So I’ll get on to this as well.
I hope that addresses your concerns 🙂
Neil.
Neil @ StallcartMai. Thank you so, so much for the detailed review. I am sure this will help LOTS of people considering StallCart.
papernstitch-Brittni
Ok, so I signed up for Stallcart to give it a shot. I was searching for something that had a better default layout that wasn’t such a pain to make it look professional, and not like a “shop in a can.” BigCartel is fine, but it does require extensive coding knowledge to customize it decently, and it has zero order management options. I’m in the process of setting up Stallcart. It has a lot of perks and its downsides too. Let’s just say that while having to customize the heck out of BigCartel was annoying, at least you COULD, if you wanted to. Stallcart limits your access to the overall framework of the site, and leaves you with minimum customization options. I’ll share my experience so far:
Pros:
* clean/simple default layout (there are no “themes,” this is your only option, but it’s a good one.)
* fairly straightforward shop set-up steps
* add gift wrap option
* professional email addresses that are associated with your website (they forward to an existing account that you already have.)
* the discount coupon options. Oh my, thank you. Finally. A way to have specific types of discount codes–codes that automatically expire when you set them to, threshold codes, free shipping codes, items that are excluded from codes…this type of discount flexibility is usually only available in more expensive shopping cart venues.
* Customer service is good. Neil is very friendly and aims to help as promptly as possible (thanks Neil!)
* unlimited product images
* easily sort your items into categories
* add unlimited “custom” pages
* customize emails that go out to your customer when an order ships
* allows you to set ship rates for different countries
* extra marketing/biz how-to tips (including helpful pages about setting up your shop)
* ability to add google analytics code, SEO options
* I’m sure I’ll discover more pros later, but this is a start..
Cons:
* website banner size is restricted to a very small logo
* the cost is much more than I was paying for BigCartel, but all in all, $36 a month isn’t terrible…
* store is automatically integrated with Paypal, like BigCartel, and does not use credit cards on-site. You can set up other payment options, but I’m not sure how easily that works out.
* custom pages–you can only add 2 images, and you don’t have any control over where they are placed. You can utilize html/css somewhat but you cannot access the overall source code for your site.
* with that said, product pages are hard to customize; the spacing and placement of text can be awkward.
* placing items into subcategories seems to be difficult or not possible. Not sure yet.
*a community forum for FAQ would be nice.
* there are some pages that you really need to be able to edit that you can’t, such as the Shipping rates page.
* Stallcart rounds your shipping rates to the nearest dollar. Irritating!
* you can’t rearrange your items within the collection to change the way they are ordered on your website. You can’t rearrange product photos, either.
So, it seems to me that if you’re searching for a sharp looking website (not just a marketplace, like Etsy, but your own online presence) that’s fairly easy to set up and you don’t have the desire to micro-manage every last detail, Stallcart is a good option. You’ve got discount coupon options galore and a professional presence on the web. On the other hand, if you like to micromanage every thing or think that BigCartel’s themes are fine, then go with that. If you don’t really care too much about coupon flexibility and like that Bigcartel costs less, then that’s probably the best option for you. (not counting Etsy in this comparison–that’s its own type of market.)
Hope this review was helpful for others who are investigating their options. I may perhaps update this later after I’ve used it for a while and can comment on other aspects, such as order management, checkout process, etc.
MaiHi Guys
Thanks for kind words. Stallcart is definitely easy to use and I hope you’ll find it to your liking if you sign up.
If anyone has any questions please don’t hesitate to contact me either here, via the website or email me directly at neil@stallcart.com
I’m looking forward to working with you all soon!
Neil @ StallcartNeil.
Awesome Mai. Yeah, definitely check it out. I’d love to know what you think. I am curious to hear about people who are using this system.
papernstitch-Brittni
This is a very timely post; I’ve been searching for a BigCartel alternative and I will be sure to investigate Stall cart more thoroughly. Thanks a bunch!
Mai[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by FeedHandmade, brittni mehlhoff and balanced. (Rach), Mo Murray. Mo Murray said: RT @papernstitch: Sponsored Post: Move Over Etsy and Big Cartel, Stall Cart is Here: If you’re looking for a… http://goo.gl/fb/p5E5e […]
Tweets that mention Sponsored Post: Move Over Etsy and Big Cartel, Stall Cart is Here | papernstitch -- Topsy.comThank you Laura and Van for your input. It definitely does look like a super simple solution for people wanting another e-commerce option. The best part (I think) is that you can use your own url, which is awesome!
papernstitch-Brittni
This looks like a simple solution, especially for beginners or anyone who wants to establish their own presence online. I’ll share it with some vintage resellers I know 🙂
Vansounds interesting … i’ve been looking to set up on another site just worried about the cost & time. thanks for sharing i will check it out some more.
laura Evans