Re: [cobalt-users] E-Commerce {From Digest}

[Jeff Lasman <jblists@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

At 01:20 PM 2/29/00 -0500, you wrote:

> Good to hear this response. I was going to buy the $895 Commerce Server. 
>From what I have gathered it's a scripting language that gets parsed by 
> he engine. Is this correct?

It's been a while...

But this is what I just found on their website:

Miva Empressa is the server; it's an interpreter for the Miva scripting 
language.  It sells for $495.

Miva Merchant is a program writen in their scripting language.  A single 
storefront license costs $495.

Each additional storefront costs $495.  It's really a complete storefront 
including a catalog; it's a lot more than a shopping cart.  You can see a 
demonstration at <http://www.miva.com/products/demo/Merchant/>.

Miva Order is also a program written in their scripting language.  A single 
order license costs $99.  It's a lot less than a shopping cart; it's 
nothing like a shopping cart.  Although, quite frankly, it may be fine for 
you.  You can see a demonstration at 
<http://www.miva.com/products/demo/Order/order.mv>.

> > It'll cost you over us$6000 to start as a Miva-equipped ISP, and there are
> > a lot of restrictions.  Or you can buy the licenses one at a time, at over
> > us$400 per customer.

I'm talking about an ISP parternship which gives you the ability to host 
Merchant without charging the customer for it upfront.  For examples of 
companies offering this product, see 
<http://www.miva.com/partners/index.mv?action=listing&xid=C1_2>; Jatek 
Corporation, where I used to be a partner, is on this list.

Yes, you can buy just Empressa for us$495, and sell your users $99 order 
forms or $495 storefronts.  But I can give away storefronts with 
us$40/month webspace.  Which is a better deal for your client?  However the 
investment is NOT insignificant.

Of course if you want to give away storefronts with hosting packages you 
can arrange reseller arrangements with companies that already have a Miva 
agreement in place.  I do have an agreement for <nobaloney.net> allowing me 
to sell Miva Merchant enabled sites at a monthly rate, either direct, or 
through resellers.  I also support Miva as a consultant.

Rather than get angry at me because the above paragraph may appear to be 
advertising, please note that I'm giving out this information in direct 
response to questions, and that I've been as helpful as possible, giving 
out contact information at Miva, and even pointing you to pages at Miva's 
site where you can choose anyone you wish for your Miva-enabled solution.

My hope is that you sell a competitively priced solution you and your 
customers can both afford.  If I can make a few bucks in the bargain, 
that's nice, too <smile>.

> I must be missing something. From what I read on their site, you buy 
> Commerce Server for $895 as the engine that allows Merchant (1 
> license/domain included) to run. And then for additional domains 
> Merchant/Order is $99. Is there more to it? Help, I need to get this going 
> for a new customer ASAP.

This'll certainly work for one customer.  Hopefully the customer is willing 
to pay for it.  Make sure you look at the demos, and understand the 
difference between shopping carts, the Miva Merchant storefront and Miva 
Order forms.

Jeff

--
Jeff Lasman <jblists@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>