Recommendations for "Free" E-Commerce Platforms

It's difficult to make recommendations since "free" e-commerce platforms are not yet a mature product and seem to be changing rapidly to meet customer demands and competitive pressures.

Each of the four platforms that I've reviewed has some unique strengths, and each has significant weaknesses. There is no clear winner that has done everything right.

For the new online merchants that free e-commerce platforms are designed for, I'm looking for easy set-up, relatively low merchant account costs, flexibility in catalog design, scalability, and merchant platform independence. Each of these four platforms includes a serviceable order management system, something seldom seen a year ago. And all offer relatively low cost Merchant Credit Card Accounts as business partnerships with third parties.

GoLinQ has the most flexible webpage layout tool of the litter in StorelinQ and the greatest flexibility for designers. It is the only platform that offers use of high bit characters such as Chinese and Japanese. Few expensive platforms have this feature. Yet it suffers from some serious flaws. Current templates look dated and help screens are weak. The pre-set product categories are designed with a mall in mind and doom any individual website's basic layout and subcategories. Moreover, the revenue model is not really free but levies 2.5% to 1% fees on transactions, and it requires banner advertising on a merchant's pages. Its shipping, tax, and Merchant Account restrict its use primarily to US merchants.

eCongo's most recent version is a substantial improvement, but it doesn't allow bulk database and photo uploads, and its shipping system is crude. While it is expanding to allow for sales to English speaking countries, its shipping, tax, and Merchant Account restrict its use primarily to US merchants. One of its most serious drawbacks is a requirement that its stores use an econgo.com domain, rather than the merchant's own domain.

Bigstep has done a lot of things right. It provides the most guidance to new merchants just setting up an online store, with helpful suggestions as to content. It also offers a very strong, simple system to build an attractive and effective website. Product placement and shipping are flexible, though it doesn't currently allow bulk database and photo uploads. One strength is the lowest cost Merchant Account of any free platform. It also offers the strongest system to e-mail newsletters and updates to customers, who can be mailed to by interest groups. Unfortunately, its Merchant Account is restricted to US merchants, and even worse, it is not setup to ship to foreign purchasers who pay by credit card. While this US-centric approach is slated to change, I'm told, it is a serious detriment to merchants as long as it lasts.

FreeMerchant doesn't have as much design flexibility as Bigstep, has shipping and tax calculation systems best suited to US merchants and customers, and is the most expensive in terms of Merchant Account and payment gateway. Having said that, FreeMerchant shines in terms of flexibility of product display, product options and personalization, and bulk upload of product database (though not photos). Since it allows IntelliPay as a payment gateway, and doesn't require Merchant Accounts through its preferred provider, non-US merchants can easily use it as a sales platform, especially for US customers. It can be customized to other currencies and languages. Its order management system provides strong merchant support. FreeMerchant also facilitates promotional e-mail to customers, accepts coupons, exports financial data to QuickBooks, and submits products easily for sale on eBay.

I recommend Bigstep to small merchants who want to get started in e-commerce with a good platform at the lowest cost. Bigstep's features also show signs of growing in the future. I recommend FreeMerchant to US and non-US merchants who want a relatively low-cost, high feature e-commerce platform to sell to the US and other countries.

For more detailed analysis see the Comparison Chart of "Free" E-Commerce Platforms, and reviews of FreeMerchant, Bigstep, eCongo, and GoLinQ.